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Candle True Stories’ Bosses On Revisiting Michael Jackson 20 Years After Martin Bashir Doc & Building A ’20/20′ True Crime Franchise In The UK
James Goldston, whose Candle Media-backed indie Candle True Stories produced Netflix's recent hit Michael Jackson: The Verdict, has spoken about returning to Jackson's story more than two decades after he exec-produced ITV's controversial Living with Michael Jackson. That earlier documentary, hosted by Martin Bashir, was one of the catalysts for Jackson later being charged with child molestation and related offences, and Goldston said he was initially reluctant to revisit the subject before deciding the changed cultural climate around celebrity justified a fresh look.
The Verdict examines Jackson's 2005 trial, on which he was acquitted of all nine charges, drawing on interviews with jurors, journalists and figures from both prosecution and defence alongside archive footage. It landed on Netflix last month, reaching the top 10 in multiple countries and becoming the most-watched documentary of the first half of 2026, arriving shortly after Lionsgate's biopic Michael, starring Jaafar Jackson, was criticised in some quarters as sanitised. Candle's development chief Miranda Peters said the doc served as a companion piece to the film and highlighted the divided, often contentious response to Jackson's legacy among fans and the public.
In short
- Netflix's Michael Jackson: The Verdict was 2026's most-watched documentary so far.
- Producer James Goldston also made ITV's 2003 Bashir documentary on Jackson.
- The doc followed Lionsgate's criticised Michael biopic starring Jaafar Jackson.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The documentary provides a thorough, multi-perspectival examination of a significant historical legal proceeding where Jackson was acquitted—a fact deserving robust documentation to establish a complete record. Given the evolution in media ethics and public understanding over two decades, revisiting the subject with interviews from jurors, legal participants and varied voices offers genuine educational value and helps counter incomplete narratives. This reflects journalistic responsibility to examine major trials comprehensively rather than allow biased accounts to stand unchallenged.
The case against
The original Bashir documentary demonstrably caused real harm to Jackson and may have influenced subsequent prosecution, raising serious questions about revisiting this subject repeatedly. Even with different intentions, continuing to examine Jackson's allegations and trial risks perpetuating harmful narratives regardless of approach. There are legitimate concerns that commercial interests rather than genuine public need drive these projects, and that the cultural conversation benefits more from moving past this narrative than from repeated examination of alleged wrongdoing and trial proceedings.
Explained simply
Michael Jackson was a hugely successful singer whose life and reputation became the subject of intense public scrutiny. In 2003, ITV broadcast Living with Michael Jackson, a documentary presented by Martin Bashir and made with James Goldston as an executive producer. Its portrayal of Jackson was followed by criminal charges in California.
Jackson’s 2005 trial concerned allegations of child molestation and related offences. He was acquitted of all nine charges. The case remains part of wider debate about how the media covered Jackson and how people assess his legacy.
Candle True Stories, a production company backed by Candle Media, has returned to the trial in its documentary Michael Jackson: The Verdict. It uses interviews and archive material to examine the case, against the backdrop of renewed attention to Jackson through a recent biopic.