Netflix
Netflix Announces Docuseries on Michael Jackson’s 2005 Trial
Netflix has announced a three-part docuseries titled Michael Jackson: The Verdict, set to premiere on June 3, 2026. The series revisits the 2005 child molestation trial of Michael Jackson, which stemmed from allegations first made in 2003 and ended with his acquittal on all charges after a jury verdict in Santa Maria, California.
Photo: Netflix
According to Netflix’s official description, the docuseries features key individuals connected to the case who were inside or closely involved with the courtroom proceedings, including jurors, eyewitnesses, accusers, defenders, lawyers, and journalists who covered the trial. It also includes new interviews with participants involved in the trial, among them jurors, as well as media figures who followed the proceedings closely and observed the case unfold firsthand.
The production focuses on first-hand accounts of the proceedings, with emphasis on how the case was experienced through testimony and reporting, since cameras were not allowed inside the courtroom during the trial.
Photo: Netflix
The filmmakers describe the approach as one aimed at taking viewers inside the proceedings by speaking only with eyewitnesses and individuals who played a direct role in the events as they unfolded.
The trial concluded in June 2005 after jurors deliberated for several days before returning a not guilty verdict on all counts. Los Angeles Times reporting from the time confirms the acquittal and documents the conclusion of the case after months of proceedings in Santa Maria Superior Court.
Netflix frames the series around the trial record and participant accounts, revisiting both the prosecution and defence perspectives through those who were directly involved or present during the case, alongside journalists who covered the proceedings as they unfolded.
Michael Jackson: The Verdict premieres on June 3, 2026, on Netflix.