# The Ripper
**The Ripper** is a four-part true crime documentary series released on Netflix on December 16, 2020, directed by Jesse Vile and Ellena Wood, which re-examines the Yorkshire Ripper murders committed by [Peter Sutcliffe](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-sutcliffe) in northern England between 1975 and 1980[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_ripper/s01) • [2](https://usa.newonnetflix.info/info/81006684). The series chronicles the largest police manhunt in British police history, in which 13 women were killed while investigators failed for more than five years to catch the killer[3](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81006684). Rather than centering Sutcliffe himself, the documentary places the crimes in the context of late-1970s England: de-industrialization, poverty, and what its makers describe as masculinity and misogyny that contributed to the Ripper evading capture for so long[3](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81006684).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | Four-part documentary limited series, Netflix, TV-MA (15 in the UK)[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_ripper/s01) • [4](https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81006684?source=35) |
| Release | December 16, 2020; all four episodes released the same day[2](https://usa.newonnetflix.info/info/81006684) |
| Directors | Jesse Vile and Ellena Wood; produced by RAW[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/show/the-ripper/) • [2](https://usa.newonnetflix.info/info/81006684) |
| Subject | The Yorkshire Ripper murders: 13 women killed by Peter Sutcliffe from 1975 to 1980[3](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81006684) |
| Episode runtimes | 51, 48, 49, and 47 minutes[4](https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81006684?source=35) |
| Critical scores | 83% Tomatometer (12 reviews) and 71% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes; Metascore 62 on Metacritic[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_ripper/s01) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-ripper/critic-reviews/) |
| Featured voices | Journalist Alan Whitehouse, Superintendent Keith Hellawell, Bruce Jones, Jeremy Thompson, Christa Ackroyd, and Joan Smith[7](https://www.cinnamondb.com/tv/the-ripper-2020) |
## Spoilers
### Content and structure
The series follows the case chronologically from the first murder in 1975 to Sutcliffe's arrest in January 1981. Its four episodes are titled "Once Upon a Time in Yorkshire", "Between Now and Dawn", "Reclaim the Night", and "Out of the Shadows"[4](https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81006684?source=35). The first episode establishes that the brutal murders of sex workers in economically depressed areas of the UK initially drew little public interest, until a teenager, Jayne McDonald, was also killed[4](https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81006684?source=35) • [8](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/the-ripper-netflix-documentary-criticised-for-treatment-of-peter-sutcliffe-s-sexworker-victims-b1776209.html). Later episodes cover the police release of phone calls and handwriting samples from a suspect, the women's protests against law enforcement's failure to catch the killer, and the arrest that set off a media frenzy and accusations of a botched investigation[4](https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81006684?source=35).
The documentary combines new interviews with detectives, victims' families, and reporters who covered the case at the time, alongside archival photographs, video, and animated maps marking the victims' locations[9](https://www.thereviewgeek.com/theripper-s1review/). Netflix's synopsis states that the show looks again at the murders against the backdrop of 1970s England, an era of sweeping upheaval, de-industrialization, poverty, masculinity, and misogyny, factors it claims helped the Ripper avoid being caught.[3](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81006684)
**The investigation's failures.** A recurring thread is the conduct of the West Yorkshire Police inquiry. The series documents that officers interviewed Sutcliffe nine times before he was eventually convicted[9](https://www.thereviewgeek.com/theripper-s1review/). The third episode takes its name from the Reclaim the Night protests of 1977, sparked by the case, in which women treated the murders and the police's failure to prevent them as symptoms of the same system of male violence[10](https://blindfieldjournal.com/2021/04/22/ripper-nation-serial-killer-reproduction-and-viewer-complicity-in-netflixs-the-ripper/).
## Reception
Critical response was generally favorable but divided on the series' purpose. On Rotten Tomatoes it holds an 83% Tomatometer from 12 reviews and a 71% Popcornmeter from more than 50 audience ratings[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_ripper/s01); Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 62, with three positive and two mixed reviews and none negative[6](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-ripper/critic-reviews/).
Several reviewers singled out the decision to focus on the investigation rather than the killer. Steve Murray of ArtsATL wrote that what is smart and sensitive about the series is that its focus is not on Sutcliffe[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_ripper/s01), and Joel Keller of Decider noted that the series examines the underlying factors that slowed the investigation instead of talking about the killer himself[6](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-ripper/critic-reviews/). Nick Schager of The Daily Beast praised the archival material for creating a sense of life in [West Yorkshire](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-yorkshire) in the second half of the 1970s, when economic hardship brought rising unemployment and infrastructural breakdowns[6](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-ripper/critic-reviews/).
Other critics were harsher. Ed Power of The Daily Telegraph gave it 2 out of 5, writing that beyond pandering to a ghoulish fascination with Sutcliffe there was little reason for it to exist, and that Michael Bilton's book and the earlier documentary *The Yorkshire Ripper Files* had covered the ground better[6](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-ripper/critic-reviews/). The Review Geek, giving 7.5 out of 10, criticized the editing for frequent jumps back in time, particularly in the first episode[9](https://www.thereviewgeek.com/theripper-s1review/).
## Criticism over the victims
The series drew public criticism within days of release for comments made about Sutcliffe's victims who were sex workers. In the first episode, Yorkshire Post journalist Alan Whitehouse described the four sex workers Sutcliffe had killed as "chip paper murders", and said that the murder of 16-year-old Jayne McDonald, a girl from "a very ordinary family", was the moment West Yorkshire Police were pulled up short, having until then been dealing with "a certain kind of woman following a certain kind of lifestyle"[8](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/the-ripper-netflix-documentary-criticised-for-treatment-of-peter-sutcliffe-s-sexworker-victims-b1776209.html). Viewers objected on social media that all of Sutcliffe's victims were innocent regardless of their occupation[8](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/the-ripper-netflix-documentary-criticised-for-treatment-of-peter-sutcliffe-s-sexworker-victims-b1776209.html). Earlier that week, families of the victims had accused the documentary of glorifying Sutcliffe[8](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/the-ripper-netflix-documentary-criticised-for-treatment-of-peter-sutcliffe-s-sexworker-victims-b1776209.html).
A scholarly reading in *Blind Field Journal* argued that the series presents the hoax letters and tape that misled the investigation as a trick that tormented the police, casting the force as fooled victims, a trope the author identified as common to true crime productions[10](https://blindfieldjournal.com/2021/04/22/ripper-nation-serial-killer-reproduction-and-viewer-complicity-in-netflixs-the-ripper/).
## Context of the case and timing
The documentary arrived weeks after Peter Sutcliffe's death in November 2020, at age 74, after he tested positive for coronavirus[8](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/the-ripper-netflix-documentary-criticised-for-treatment-of-peter-sutcliffe-s-sexworker-victims-b1776209.html). The name "Yorkshire Ripper" alludes to [Jack the Ripper](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-the-ripper), because the killings shared commonalities with the 19th-century [Whitechapel murders](https://www.edgepedia.org/whitechapel-murders), though the series is not about Jack the Ripper[11](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/the-ripper).
The case has since been treated in other screen works. ITV commissioned the drama *The Long Shadow*, written by George Kay and based on Michael Bilton's book *Wicked Beyond Belief: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper*, which focuses on the lives of Sutcliffe's victims and the toll the investigation took on the detectives; its creator said the title was changed from the working title *The Yorkshire Ripper* because that terminology was disrespectful[12](https://www.c21media.net/news/itv-lines-up-yorkshire-ripper-drama/%20) • [13](https://tollbit.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/the-long-shadow-creator-title-newsupdate/). ITV also commissioned the documentary *Yorkshire Ripper: The Secret Murders* (2022), which investigates unsolved murders and attacks for which Sutcliffe remained a prime suspect after his death[14](https://senalnews.com/en/content/itv-commissions-documentary-series-from-impossible-factual).
## Production
The series was produced by the British production company RAW and filmed extensively across West Yorkshire, including aerial drone cinematography in and around Leeds and Bradford, with a two-person crew flying more than 12 hours of day and night sequences on a [DJI Inspire](https://www.edgepedia.org/dji-inspire) 2 with an X7 camera[2](https://usa.newonnetflix.info/info/81006684) • [15](https://www.halovue.co.uk/productions/netflix-the-ripper/).
## References
1. [The Ripper: Limited Series, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_ripper/s01)
2. [The Ripper, New On Netflix USA](https://usa.newonnetflix.info/info/81006684)
3. [The Ripper, Netflix Media Center](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81006684)
4. [Watch The Ripper, Netflix Official Site](https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81006684?source=35)
5. [The Ripper, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/show/the-ripper/)
6. [The Ripper critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-ripper/critic-reviews/)
7. [The Ripper (2020), Cinnamon DB](https://www.cinnamondb.com/tv/the-ripper-2020)
8. [The Ripper: Netflix documentary criticised for treatment of Peter Sutcliffe's sex-worker victims, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/the-ripper-netflix-documentary-criticised-for-treatment-of-peter-sutcliffe-s-sexworker-victims-b1776209.html)
9. [The Ripper, Netflix Season 1 Review, The Review Geek](https://www.thereviewgeek.com/theripper-s1review/)
10. [Ripper Nation: Serial Killer Reproduction and Viewer Complicity in Netflix's The Ripper, Blind Field Journal](https://blindfieldjournal.com/2021/04/22/ripper-nation-serial-killer-reproduction-and-viewer-complicity-in-netflixs-the-ripper/)
11. [The Ripper, Parents' Guide & TV Review, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/the-ripper)
12. [ITV lines up Yorkshire Ripper drama, C21Media](https://www.c21media.net/news/itv-lines-up-yorkshire-ripper-drama/%20)
13. [The Long Shadow creator explains why show changed "disrespectful" title, Radio Times](https://tollbit.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/the-long-shadow-creator-title-newsupdate/)
14. [ITV commissions documentary series from Impossible Factual, Señal News](https://senalnews.com/en/content/itv-commissions-documentary-series-from-impossible-factual)
15. [Netflix The Ripper, Halo Vue](https://www.halovue.co.uk/productions/netflix-the-ripper/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Documentary, docudrama, and lifestyle series › True crime and investigative docuseries › Premiered 2006 to 2022*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license