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American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murdersis the newest docuseries inNetflix’s stellar lineup oftrue crime content. A wild name with an even wilder story,The Octopus Murderstells the tale of a journalist namedDanny Casolaroand his untimely death, which occurred while he was researching a conspiracy called “The Octopus.” Because it covered topics from money laundering to spyware toRonald Reagan’s Iran-Contra scandal, Casolaro felt the term “Octopus” was appropriate given the number of legs attached to the fishy conspiracy.
Directed byZachary Treitzand produced by Duplass Brothers Productions,The Octopus Murderswill include archival footage of Casolaro as well as an updated look into the work he was doing before his death. Hoping to untie some of the tangled narrative is photojournalistChristian Hansen, who attempts to pick up where Casolaro’s work left off. This new deep dive into the case ends up taking Hansen all around the United States of America in search of answers. While the journalist realizes he is putting himself at the same level of risk as Casolaro, he continues to try and track down those involved in this complicated mystery. For the scoop on the new docuseries, including its release date and trailer, check out the information below.
American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders
When Is ‘American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders’ Premiering?
American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murderspremiereson August 09, 2025, exclusively on Netflix. Subscriptions for the streaming service start at $6.99/month and go up to $22.99/month depending on your plan.
Is There a Trailer for ‘American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders’?
Netflix released the first trailer forAmerican Conspiracy: The Octopus Murderson July 25, 2025. Warning: this trailer deals with the difficult subject of suicide.
What Is ‘American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders’ About?
Journalist Danny Casolaro was investigating what he believed to be an organization of eight men, which he dubbed “The Octopus,” when he died in his hotel room in West Virginia. While the death was ruled a suicide, members of Danny’s family believed that his death was caused by the very conspiracy he was attempting to hunt down.American Conspiracyfollows researcher Christian Hansen as he attempts to answer all the mysterious questions surrounding the journalist’s death.
The official synopsis from Netflix reads:
When journalist Danny Casolaro was found dead in a hotel bathtub, police ruled it a suicide. But his family and colleagues believe he may have been murdered for investigating a conspiracy he called “The Octopus” - a hidden organization connected to stolen government spy software, a string of unsolved murders, and some of the biggest political scandals of the 20th century. Years later, researcher Christian Hansen pushes to uncover the secrets behind Casolaro’s death, and the story that killed him.
Who Is Making ‘American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders’?
BrothersJayDuplassandMark Duplassserve as executive producers onAmerican Conspiracy,whileZachary Treitzis behind the camera as director. This is not Duplass Brothers Productions' first true-crime series, as they also producedWild, Wild Country, which tells the story of a controversial guru who built his own utopia in the Oregon countryside, andEvil Genius: The True Story of America’s Most Diabolical Bank Heist. The duo not only work in true crime, but are behind films likeThe Skeleton TwinsstarringBill HaderandKristin Wiig,Horse GirlstarringAlison BrieandMolly Shannon, and the dramedy seriesSomebody Somewhere, which has been renewed for a third season on HBO.
Alongside the Duplass brothers are executive producersMel Eslyn,Christian Hansen,Juliana Lembi, Zachary Treitz,Rachel Walden,Chapman Way, andMaclain Way.
What Is The Episode Schedule Of ‘American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders’?
All four episodes ofAmerican Conspiracy: The Octopus Murderswill be available to stream on Netflix on July 29, 2025. Releasing entire seasons all at once is a standard practice at Netflix, with few exceptions where series were released weekly.
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