They got the confession, but did they get the killer?

Back in 1986, Michael Rooker played the title character in John McNaughton’s Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer to chilling perfection, and it was real-life murderer Henry Lee Lucas who served as the loose inspiration for the fictionalized character. Next month, Netflix shines the spotlight on the real-life monster with a brand new five-part true crime docuseries.

During the early ’80s, Henry Lee Lucas confessed to hundreds of murders, bringing closure to unsolved cases and grieving families. Even with no direct evidence linking Lucas to the crime scenes, he stunned authorities with his ability to sketch victims’ portraits while citing brutal details of each attack. Yet journalists and attorneys found impossibilities in Lucas’ timeline, and DNA testing started to contradict his internationally-reported claims.

“The Confession Killer” explores how the man once called America’s most prolific serial killer was really a complex figure entangled with a flawed justice system.

Oscar nominee Robert Kenner (Food, Inc.) and Taki Oldham directed the docuseries, which you can preview with the trailer below. It’ll hit Netflix on December 6, 2019.