Captive Audience season 1

HULU
Apr 21, 2022

HULU
Apr 21, 2022

Summary The three-part documentary series directed by Jessica Dimmock features interviews, archival footage, and clips from the NBC miniseries "I Know My First Name is Steven" as it looks at the media's role in the tragic story that began with Steven Stayner's 1972 kidnapping and years later, the arrest of his older brother, Cary, for killing fo...

HULU
Apr 21, 2022

HULU
Apr 21, 2022

Captive Audience

Season 1

Season Premiere: Apr 21, 2022

Metascore Generally Favorable

User Score Available after 4 ratings

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Episode 1 • Apr 21, 2022 • 49 m

Chapter 1: Steven's Story

1972: 7-year-old Steven Stayner vanishes from Merced, California. His family struggles to keep his case in the public eye - until his heroic return seven years later sparks a media sensation.

Episode 2 • Apr 21, 2022 • 42 m

Chapter 2: Steven's Story, Part 2

A heroic escape. A televised family reunion. But the Stayner ordeal is far from over as painful secrets surface. When a hit TV movie rewrites the Stayner story, reality gets stranger than fiction.

Episode 3 • Apr 21, 2022 • 47 m

Chapter 3: Cary's Story

Two decades after Steven went missing near Yosemite, three tourists vanish from the same area. When the FBI finds the killer, the Stayner family is linked to the new, horrifying crimes and the family is thrust back into the headlines.

Top Cast

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Todd Eric Andrews

Self - Actor

Kay Stayner

Self - Steven's Mother, Self - Steven's Mom

Ashley Stayner

Self - Steven's Daughter, Self - Cary's Niece

Corin Nemec

Self - Actor

Cory Stayner

Self, Self - Steven's Sister

Ted Rowlands

Self - Journalist

Jody Stayner

Self - Steven's Wife

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore

Generally Favorable Based on 4 Critic Reviews

100% Positive
4 Reviews

0% Mixed
0 Reviews

0% Negative
0 Reviews

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Mixed Reviews
Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

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Metascore

Generally Favorable Based on 4 Critic Reviews

100% Positive
4 Reviews

0% Mixed
0 Reviews

0% Negative
0 Reviews

All Reviews
Positive Reviews
Mixed Reviews
Negative Reviews

Decider

Apr 21, 2022

Despite our reservations on the style choices by Dimmock, the story of Captive Audience is compelling, and the twist that involves Cary is what has us most intrigued.

By Joel Keller FULL REVIEW

Wall Street Journal

Apr 19, 2022

Ms. Dimmock, in collaboration with first-rate editor Ian Olds—and the very evident awareness that she's telling a story too—has created a memorable, thought-provoking and thoughtful piece that crisscrosses with considerable cool the often-imperceptible line between reality and realistic storytelling; between narratives and the way they're perceived; and between the awful truth and news that's stranger than fiction.

By John Anderson FULL REVIEW

The Daily Beast

Apr 19, 2022

An aesthetically assured and inescapably chilling look at a hopeless tangle of fact and fantasy, and the horrors, and unanswerable questions, it begat. ... Easy answers aren’t Captive Audience’s main concern, though; instead, director Dimmock introduces a host of thorny ideas without attempting to devise a pat conclusion that will neatly tie everything together.

By Nick Schager FULL REVIEW

Chicago Sun-Times

Apr 19, 2022

It’s strange to see these actors revisiting the characters they once portrayed—now reading the actual words of the subjects of the material. That misgiving aside, “Captive Audience” is a well-crafted, three-part documentary series.

By Richard Roeper FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

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Where to Watch

Where to Watch

Season Episodes

Top Cast

Todd Eric Andrews

Self - Actor

Kay Stayner

Self - Steven's Mother, Self - Steven's Mom

Ashley Stayner

Self - Steven's Daughter, Self - Cary's Niece

Corin Nemec

Self - Actor

Cory Stayner

Self, Self - Steven's Sister

Ted Rowlands

Self - Journalist

Jody Stayner

Self - Steven's Wife

Critic Reviews

Critic Reviews

Critic Reviews

Critic Reviews

User Reviews

User Reviews

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