Conversations with a Killer: The Charles Manson Tapes – Review | Netflix

THE CHARLES MANSON TAPES is the final season of the true-crime anthology docuseries CONVERSATIONS WITH A KILLER. Which is good, because by now this documentary series has pretty much abandoned its core concept. Read our full Conversations with a Killer: The Charles Manson Tapes review here!

THE CHARLES MANSON TAPES is a new season of the Conversations with a Killer documentary anthology. And this has been called the final season, which is very fortunate if this is the best they can do. We’ve also reviewed the previous seasons of Conversations with a Killer, and they feature the following serial killers:

• Ted Bundy (season 1 released in 2019)
• John Wayne Gacy (season 2 from April 2020)
• Jeffrey Dahmer (season 3 came out in October of 2022)
• Son of Sam AKA David Berkowitz (season 4 released in 2025)

Continue reading our Conversations with a Killer: The Charles Manson Tapes review below. Find it on Netflix now.

Previously unreleased prison recordings used

For The Charles Manson Tapes, we’re not really getting actual interviews or “conversations” as teased by the actual title of this true crime anthology. Instead, we’re getting previously unreleased prison recordings. However, other than showing Charlie standing by a phone in a prison, there is no information about when each recording is from or who he was speaking with.

That just feels sloppy and very wrong for a documentary, where facts should always be at the forefront.

What makes The Charles Manson Tapes interesting are the firsthand accounts (several from former “Manson Family” members) and archival footage. Mostly from news clips after the murders that landed Charles Manson in prison, but also several recordings from his earlier days.

Is there anything new in this documentary series?

Well, not really. There’s a focus on Charles Manson’s rise as a cult leader, which was also featured in How to Become a Cult Leader. Also, obviously, the brutal and infamous 1969 murders, which have been covered in many movies and documentaries over the past many decades.

And finally, the overall media spectacle of his trial, and how he is a convicted serial killer, though he didn’t do the actual killing. Again, something we’ve seen in many of the previous documentaries about the charismatic character that is Charlie Manson. And done better, I should add.

Way too many dramatizations

While previous seasons of Conversations with a Killer have focused on longer interviews and previously unreleased recorded conversations with various serial killers, this one does not. The Charles Manson Tapes simply does not deliver on that core premise of this popular true crime anthology docuseries.

Instead, there is a lot of dramatization, which I am not a fan of. Sure, it can be done well or be necessary. As far as I see it, it isn’t done particularly well – mostly because the actor portraying Charles Manson doesn’t look much like him. And it’s hardly necessary, when there is already so much recorded with him.

If I wanted to watch a fictionalized account of Charles Manson, I would check out Mindhunter or Once Upon a Time in Hollywood instead. Coincidentally, Damon Herriman portrays Charles “Charlie” Manson in both productions and is eerily good.

Watch The Charles Manson Tapes on Netflix now

Joe Berlinger is the director and executive producer of Conversations with a Killer, and with The Charles Manson Tapes, he is ending this extremely successful true crime anthology. A little too late, if you ask me. As a rule, I have noticed that Joe Berlinger‘s productions are often better when he isn’t also directing them. The most recent example being The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare, which was directed by Skye Borgman instead.

This season has way too many “dramatization” elements, which you don’t really need when you have plenty of footage and interviews with first-hand witnesses. It still has three episodes, and if you’re not really familiar with the whole story of Charles Manson (the person and the criminal), then this delivers on that. As far as anything new and interesting, it does not.

The Charles Manson Tapes consists of 3 episodes, each with a runtime of around 1 hour. If you’re still curious about Manson and the whole hippie circus surrounding his criminal activities, then do check this out. Just don’t expect anything new or interesting. You will not get it from this docuseries, and I have to admit I expected more (and better) from this.

Conversations with a Killer: The Charles Manson Tapes is out on Netflix from August 12, 2026.