The Jinx is an American true crime documentary television series about New York real estate heir Robert Durst, a convicted murderer.

[3] Durst had professed admiration for the film and telephoned Jarecki after its release, offering to be interviewed (this conversation was recorded and incorporated into the documentary).

Its complex editing style and narrative construction emphasize the contradictions within both Durst's life and the bizarre and grisly murders he committed.

[23] By showing that Robert or his wife, Debrah Lee Charatan, violated a Westchester County judge's 2006 order sealing the material, Douglas could sue to recover a $65 million family trust settlement.

[21][23] According to The New York Times, Robert gave filmmakers "unrestricted access" to his personal files, including the videotaped testimony.

[24][25] A lawyer for Douglas argued that The Jinx is a "sensationalized docudrama" and that its director is exempt from New York's shield law, designed to protect journalists.

[23] On March 14, 2015, the eve of the final episode's airing, the FBI arrested Durst in New Orleans on a first-degree murder warrant the LAPD obtained in connection to Berman's death.

[4][20][26][27] The Associated Press reported that the 1999 letter Durst wrote to Berman, unearthed by the filmmakers, provided "key new evidence" leading to the murder charges.

[28] According to The New York Times, the filmmakers sought legal advice on when to share the letter with law enforcement, weighing journalistic privilege against possible claims of evidentiary inadmissibility in a future trial.

Although sharply disputing some assumptions about the Durst family presented in Jarecki's documentary (which he had not seen), and continuing to stress the threat Robert posed to him and others, Douglas sounded a conciliatory note: "I no longer am looking over my shoulder", he said.

"[29] Douglas dropped his legal action against Jarecki in late April 2015, and was reportedly considering a move to freeze $74 million of his estranged brother's assets.

The website's critics consensus is, "Disturbing themes and an engrossing blend of interviews and dramatizations make The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst a docu-series that merits further pursuit.

"[46][47][48] Several media outlets questioned how long the filmmakers had sat on evidence damaging to Durst before turning it over to law enforcement.

[48][49] Jarecki subsequently sent an explanation to multiple media outlets: "Given that we are likely to be called as witnesses in any case law enforcement may decide to bring against Robert Durst, it is not appropriate for us to comment further on these pending matters.

"[50]A study of Westchester County case notes by The Guardian indicated that, contrary to then-District Attorney Jeanine Pirro's assertions in The Jinx that "we were about to speak with" Susan Berman about Kathie Durst's disappearance, New York investigators had not yet scheduled an interview nor funded an investigator to visit Berman in California at the time of her December 23, 2000, murder.

The website's critics consensus is, "Becoming more metatextual after the shocking revelations of its first season, Andrew Jarecki's riveting docuseries evades the sophomore jinx by exploring the insidious entourage that enabled Robert Durst's crimes.