Netflix VP discusses 'Making a Murderer' sequel

So, just when will we be able to watch the second season of "Making a Murderer?"

Various websites have been speculating rampantly — this headline involves a recent example from a British site — but only Netflix knows for sure (because, you know, it's the service that will actually air the documentary).

The answer, though, is that there is no answer, at least according to a high-ranking Netflix official who spoke this week.

“The story is still ongoing, so you will see new episodes coming sometime this year as this story continues to unfold,” Netflix's VP of original content, Cindy Holland, told USA TODAY, per realscreen.com. “We don’t know when for sure new episodes will be coming."

Why no firm date? Netflix would rather wait 'til filmmakers Moira Demos and Laura Ricciardi are ready than make a promise it might have trouble keeping, apparently.

"Laura and Moira are (in Manitowoc) shooting regularly and working on what the right story is to tell in the next set, so we’re deferring to them on when it will be ready,” Holland told USA TODAY. “Very few people inside of Netflix actually know the details of what we’re getting because we’re wanting to keep it really under wraps and it is an ongoing case so we’re trying to be sensitive to that.”

RELATED: Lawyer; Avery has 'no motive' for murder

RELATED: Dassey appeal leads 'Murderer' news

RELATED: 'Murderer' keeps lawyers, viewers buzzing

RELATED: 'Murderer' sequel in the works

RELATED: Can making a Murderer improve justice?

You'll recall that "Making a Murderer" tells the story of Manitowoc County resident Steven Avery, who spent 18 years in prison for a rape he did not commit. Avery then was convicted, along with his nephew, Brendan Dassey, in the brutal 2005 murder of photographer Teresa Halbach.

Meanwhile, in other recent news related to "Making a Murderer" …

Kratz, Walker, Clarke

A report from a Milwaukee TV station draws a connection, sort of, between controversial Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke Jr. and erstwhile Avery prosecutor Ken Kratz. And the person linking the two is — wait for it — Gov. Scott Walker.

We had to read that sentence twice, too.

It seems that State Rep. David Crowley is calling for Walker to take action regarding Clarke, who Crowley calls a bully. "Take action," Crowley tells CBS58.com, means "remove from office."

That's where Walker comes in. The guy told the TV station that the last time the state's chief executive moved to remove a public official from office, it was 2010 and the official in question was Kratz, who was then Calumet County's district attorney.

Then-Gov. Jim Doyle moved to remove Kratz, who was embroiled in a sexting scandal involving a domestic violence victim. Kratz ultimately resigned.

Bottom line: Walker said no to Crowley, explaining: "It is only the responsibility of the governor to take action if someone in that position violates the laws of this state. Short of that, I think governors should stay out of local politics and leave that up to the voters,"

Twitter tales

No tweets this week from Avery's current defense attorney Kathleen Zellner, but that doesn't mean other members of the defense bar weren't active.

►My colleague Andy Thompson reports that Steven Drizin, who's one of the Illinois barristers handling Dassey's appeal, tweeted that the attorneys have been given an additional 5 minutes for oral arguments before the Seventh Circuit in Chicago on Feb. 14. That means each side gets 20 minutes to make its case.

►And Jerry Buting, one of two attorneys who defended Avery in the Halbach murder case, has been tweeting from the United Kingdom, where he's on a speaking tour. Of note: This outstanding shot of London.

Buting, it should be noted, will be discussing his book at 7 p.m. March 6 at a church in Chicago's far west suburbs. Tickets for the event at Community Christian Church in Naperville are $5, or $35 if you'd also like a copy of "Illusion of Justice." Order at www.andersonsbookshop.com or by calling 630-355-2665.

Naperville's previous contributions to Northeastern Wisconsin news: Brown County Sheriff John Gossage and Post-Crescent reporter Madeleine Behr.

Where's Dean?

The attorney who worked with Buting on the Avery defense continues to make news. Dean Strang has spent part of this month in Virginia, and part of it in the rumor mill, as it were.

►The Virginia visit involved an address to law students in which he stressed the importance of storytelling to attorneys.

“We are storytellers as advocates, as lawyers,” he said, according to the University of Virginia's UVA Today. “But you have to be careful to match your story with your audience. The point is not that you like the story. The point is the audience will believe you, will hear the resonance of reality.”

►The rumor mill, in the form of the UK's "Sun," hints that Strang "could return to Netflix after Steven Avery sacking."

Translating that to English from, well, English, the tabloid seems to say that despite Avery having parted ways with his original defense team of Strang and Buting, Strang would be OK with being in one or more episodes of "Making a Murderer 2."

Read a little further into the story, though, and we learn that the ultra-chill Strang would also be happy with NOT being in the sequel. Oh.

“I neither want to be a part of it, nor want to avoid it," he said. "If the filmmakers think I’ve got something to add … (I’d do it). If not, I’m interested to see what the story is.”

dschneid@greenbaypressgazette.com and follow him on Twitter @PGDougSchneider