Investigative Journalist Michael Connelly and Series Director Alison Ellwood Talk About MGM+’s Series ‘The Wonderland Massacre & The Secret History of Hollywood‘.
‘The Wonderland Massacre & The Secret History of Hollywood‘ offers an incredibly haunting exploration of four unsolved murders in Hollywood’s history, which have mystified the public for over 40 years.
Michael Connelly (Bosch, The Lincoln Lawyer), who investigated the mystery and created the podcast of the same name, or with series director Alison Ellwood. This marks Michael’s return to storytelling in the realm of real-life events and my second interview with Connelly. Our initial conversation focused on the audio podcast, and this is our first interview featured director Ms. Ellwood.
The new true-crime docuseries from MGM+, ‘The Wonderland Massacre & The Secret History of Hollywood‘, is based on the Audible podcast by writer Michael Connelly (‘Bosch‘, ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’). The series delves deeper into Connelly’s investigation of the July 1, 1981, the Wonderland massacre, one of Hollywood’s most notorious murder cases. The docuseries builds upon the podcast’s archival footage and includes new testimonies and interviews with Scott Thorson, the only surviving witness of the murder night and once the boyfriend of Liberace. This is the first and only time Thorson has told his full story on screen (Note: Thorson has since passed away, making this story more timely than ever).
Directed and produced by Ellwood (‘San Francisco Sounds‘, ‘Laurel Canyon‘) and executive produced by Nick Gilhool and Jen Casey of One Traveler Productions, this gritty and fast-paced series explores a pivotal era of Los Angeles’ sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll scene. Its events have been referenced throughout pop culture, most famously by Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights. The four-part ‘The Wonderland Massacre & The Secret History of Hollywood‘ series premieres on MGM+ on September 8, 2024, with new episodes released weekly until the finale on September 29, 2024.
