Netflix’s hit documentary series Making a Murderer is many things – a meditation on the flaws of the American justice system, a cautionary tale about power and class and a tragedy on a par with anything Sophocles could have written. You’d be hard-pressed find something positive in the story of how Steven Avery was imprisoned for years for a rape and murder he didn’t commit. However, the story has one uplifting element: defence attorney Dean Strang, whose commitment to justice and compassion for Avery, his client, has won him fans all over the internet. He has even emerged as the show’s unlikely heartthrob.

The Tuesday before Christmas, about halfway through the 10-episode series, I tweeted “Am I the only one who kinda has a crush on Dean Strang from #MakingaMurderer?” The internet’s reply was swift: no. Not at all. The tweet has been liked more than 70 times, proving that there are a fair few people out there crushing on the short, glasses-wearing, nebbishy Wisconsin lawyer. Strang and his co-counsel Jerry Buting are the moral centers of an otherwise disheartening tale of justice gone terribly wrong, and what’s more attractive than kindness?

Maggie Serota, managing editor of the website Death and Taxes, is one of Strang’s admirers. She admits that she didn’t think Strang was a hunk at first, but grew more and more fond of him as the series went on. “He’s not a guy who turns your head when you’re walking down the street, per se. But in the context of the documentary, he comes off like a real-life Sandy Cohen,” she says, in a reference to the father character (also a soft-hearted defense attorney) played by Peter Gallagher on Fox’s the OC.

Cohen isn’t the only fictional character to whom Strang has drawn comparisons. Some women say he bears a resemblance to Coach Taylor from Friday Night Lights or to Law & Order’s Jack McCoy, while he reminds Minneapolis-based advertising professional Diana Saez of Atticus Finch, the noble lawyer from To Kill a Mockingbird. “He’s fighting a huge system, and he seems so tired by it all. It makes you want to hug him,” Saez explains. “And his hair is tremendous.”

Lizzie Breyer, a marketing manager, also loves Strang’s hair, but was won over by his personality. “I think what I love in particular is he is the only competent one in this entire mess,” she says. “He fights hard for this guy who everyone else scorns, which is really appealing. I also love him sitting around in his argyle socks, like a little kid.”

But why the love for Strang instead of Buting, when both lawyers seem equally competent? For Blair Koenig, author of STFU, Parents, there was something about Strang’s all-in commitment to the case that won her over. “I could imagine Jerry Buting having other hobbies and possibly even relaxing, but Strang seems so personally affected and emotionally tortured by his role in the Avery case,” she explains. “He’s a thinker and a feeler.” In real life, Strang is a board member of the Wisconsin chapter of The Innocence Project, a group which uses DNA and other evidence to exonerate people who have been falsely imprisoned.

Koenig’s sentiments echo many that other viewers have made. When Strang chokes up on camera talking about how he almost wishes Avery were guilty because otherwise the level of hurt that has been inflicted on him is almost too much to bear, it’s painful to watch. Those of us who found Making a Murderer hard to sit through are drawn to Strang’s sensitivity. He is kind to everyone, even those seemingly undeserving of his kindness. In a bleak documentary about the failings of America’s justice system, he’s the one guy you can truly root for. “It’s possible that I find him even sexier because he’s in so many scenes with the utterly repulsive Ken Kratz [the prosecutor going after Avery], whose voice makes my lady juices curdle,” admits writer-editor Amelia McDonell-Parry.

All of the crushes aside, Strang’s sudden popularity is ultimately about more than just one man and one TV show. He’s also helping to repair the popular image of defence attorneys, who are often depicted as sleazeballs who care more about a paycheque than justice. Staci Zaretsky, editor of the popular legal-world blog Above the Law, thinks this is an important shift toward recognising the work of these lawyers, who are usually low-paid and underappreciated. “It took a documentary series to showcase the fact that being a good attorney and being a good human being aren’t mutually exclusive,” she says. “A zealous defense against all odds can be incredibly provocative, and that’s why women (myself included) love the law men of Making a Murderer – which actually sounds like it could be a highly profitable calendar. Someone ought to get on that.”

The women of America seem to be in agreement, so how long before Hollywood comes calling? A calendar would be fun, but it’s thinking too small. Some entertainment executive needs to offer Strang a legal show, or at least give him a regular talking head role on CNN.