Netflix Is Rebooting 'Unsolved Mysteries' With 'Stranger Things' EP Shawn Levy

The long running true crime and paranormal investigation series Unsolved Mysteries is making a comeback, thanks Netflix and Stranger Things executive producer, Shawn Levy.

Deadline reports that Levy and Cosgrove-Meurer Productions have partnered to bring Unsolved Mysteries back to the screen. The company (run by John Cosgrove and Terry Dunn Meurer) was actually responsible for the original series, and both Cosgrove and Meurer will run this new version of the show, along with Josh Barry.

Early details point to a 12-part show that will, "use re-enactments in a documentary format to profile real-life mysteries and unsolved crimes, lost love, cases involving missing persons and unexplained paranormal events." It's basically a one-two punch of two of the current most popular forms of programming in TV, which are true crime documentaries (Making of a Murderer), and supernatural investigation (Ghost Hunters, Finding Bigfoot) .

For those who don't remember, Unsolved Mysteries is basically the godfather to the true crime tv trend that we know today. The original series ran on NBC for ten years (1987 - 1997), before it was resurrected by CBS for two years (1997 - 1999); rebooted by Lifetime (2001 - 2002); and then rebooted again by Spike (2008 - 2010). The original series was famously hosted by actor Robert Stack and his signature voice, until Stack passed away in 2003. Snatch star Dennis Farina took over hosting duties following Stack's death. No word yet on if a new celebrity host would be brought onboard for this latest Netflix reboot, or who producer might have in mind.

John Cosgrove was teasing an Unsolved Mysteries revival back in 2017, claiming that not only was the marketplace ripe for its return, but that the showrunners have some great material to unveil when it does:

"We are actively talking to a couple of broadcasters who have shown interest," Cosgrove said at the time. "And we're very optimistic that we'll have something by way of new episodes by the end of the year. It's too early to go into much detail, but we've had our research producers look into possible stories, and they've found some excellent ones which can be ready to go quickly."

Truly this is the time for Unsolved Mysteries to make a comeback. Netflix has scored a major win in the true crime genre with pop-culture breakthrough that was Making a Murderer, and the streaming service has scored major supernatural horror points for Bird Box and Haunting of Hill House. If the new Unsolved Mysteries can balance real-life crime and supernatural phenomenon properly, it will be able to really capitalize on the best of both worlds.