How It Really Happened with Jesse L. Martin poster

How It Really Happened with Jesse L. Martin (2016)

Crime · Documentary · Mystery

Jesse L. Martin takes an in-depth look at some of the most notorious crimes, mysteries, trials and celebrity tragedies of our time.

IMDb rating: 7.3 (345 votes)
Episode average: 7.5 +0.2 vs IMDb
Seasons: 8
Streaming (US): HBO Max
Language: EN
Type: TV series

Rebound trajectory: dips, then comes back stronger. Rising Shows ranks whole shows by the shape of their rating trend rather than one average score, which is how you find a show that got better rather than a show that started well. See every Rebound show in the explorer →

Browse all Rebound shows in the explorer → Open in Rising Shows app → View on IMDb

Ratings refreshed Oct 3, 2026 · 8 seasons indexed

Seasons

Season 1 (2017)

7.55 avg 17 episodes 7.8 → 8.1 40 min avg

Season 1 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	The Menendez Brothers: Murder in Beverly Hills (Part 1)	7.8	31
2	The Menendez Brothers: Murder in Beverly Hills (Part 2)	8.0	26
3	The OJ Simpson Case: Other Killer Theories (Part 1)	7.0	21
4	Prince: The End	6.7	23
5	The Life and Death of Anna Nicole Smith	7.5	15
6	The OJ Simpson Case: Other Killer Theories (Part 2)	7.4	18
7	The Death of Michael Jackson (Part 1)	7.5	19
8	The Death of Michael Jackson (Part 2)	7.7	19
9	Who Killed JonBenét? (Part 1)	7.5	23
10	Who Killed JonBenét? (Part 2)	7.5	22
11	JFK Jr.'s Tragic Final Flight (Part 1)	7.5	19
12	JFK Jr's Tragic Final Flight (Part 2)	7.4	16
13	The Final Days of Whitney Houston	7.5	23
14	The Strange Case of Jeffrey Dahmer	7.7	20
15	Capturing the Unabomber	8.0	20
16	What Killed Heath Ledger?	7.5	23
17	DC Madam: The Woman Who Knew Too Much	8.1	17

Season 2 (2017)

7.57 avg 11 episodes 7.8 → 7.5 42 min avg

Season 2 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	The Casey Anthony Story (Part 1)	7.8	23
2	The Casey Anthony Story (Part 2)	7.7	18
3	The Gianni Versace Murder	7.3	18
4	The Mystery of Heaven's Gate	7.1	18
5	Who Killed Chandra Levy?	7.3	20
6	The Strange Case of the Killer Nanny	8.1	20
7	George Michael's Final Days	7.7	15
8	The Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal (Part 1)	7.6	15
9	The Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal (Part 2)	7.4	12
10	Did Scott Peterson Murder Laci? (Part 1)	7.8	20
11	Did Scott Peterson Murder Laci? (Part 2)	7.5	16

Season 3 (2018)

7.70 avg 10 episodes 7.9 → 7.4 42 min avg

Season 3 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Ted Bundy Part 1: The Girls Are Missing	7.9	18
2	Ted Bundy Part 2: Ted Escapes	7.8	17
3	Ted Bundy Part 3: The Murder Trials	8.0	16
4	Ted Bundy Part 4: The Death Row Confessions	8.0	16
5	Jodi Arias Part 1: Sex, Lies and Photographs	8.1	14
6	Jodi Arias Part 2: Dirty Little Secret	7.7	11
7	Aaron Hernandez: Secrets and Lies	7.5	16
8	Selena: Fatal Encounter	7.5	18
9	Waco Part 1: God, Guns and the Government	7.1	12
10	Waco Part 2: End of Days	7.4	10

Season 4 (2019)

7.68 avg 10 episodes 7.4 → 7.9 42 min avg

Season 4 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	The Mystery of the Gainesville Murders (Part 1)	7.4	12
2	The Mystery of the Gainesville Murders (Part 2)	7.4	13
3	The Kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart (Part 1)	7.5	12
4	The Kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart: Hiding in Plain Sight (Part 2)	7.6	13
5	Susan Smith: Someone Stole My Babies (Part 1)	7.8	14
6	Susan Smith: The Shocking Truth (Part 2)	7.6	12
7	Drew Peterson: Killer Charm	7.9	15
8	David Cassidy: Fatal Secret	7.8	14
9	The Bombing of Oklahoma City: The Explosion (Part 1)	7.9	19
10	The Bombing of Oklahoma City: McVeigh's Shocking Confession (Part 2)	7.9	18

Season 5 (2020)

7.41 avg 10 episodes 6.9 → 7.3 42 min avg

Mid-peak

Season 5 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	The Atlanta Serial Killer: Do You Know Where Your Children Are? Part 1	6.9	21
2	The Atlanta Serial Killer: The KKK Connection? Part 2	7.4	21
3	The Yosemite Murders: The Missing Women Part 1	7.5	24
4	The Yosemite Murders: The Evil Side Part 2	7.6	18
5	Siegfried & Roy: The Tiger Attack (Part 1)	7.2	20
6	Siegfried & Roy: Dangerous Illusion (Part 2)	7.4	20
7	The Boston Marathon: Reconstructing the Crime Scene (Part 1)	8.0	18
8	The Boston Marathon: The Manhunt (Part 2)	7.7	17
9	Tom Petty: Mysterious Ending	7.1	24
10	James Jordan: Vanished	7.3	19

Season 6 (2021)

7.46 avg 9 episodes 7.9 → 6.9 42 min avg

Season 6 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Finding Susan Powell: The Secret They Couldn't Talk About (Part 1)	7.9	16
2	Finding Susan Powell: What the Children Saw (Part 2)	8.3	17
3	Escape from Dannemora: Killers on the Loose (Part 1)	7.4	17
4	Escape from Dannemora: Where's the Getaway Car? (Part 2)	7.0	16
5	Bernie Madoff: The Most Hated Man in America (Part 1)	7.5	17
6	Bernie Madoff: Who Else Knew? (Part 2)	7.5	15
7	The Last Days of Glenn Frey: Heartache Tonight	6.9	16
8	The Dartmouth Murders: Evil in a Small Town	7.7	18
9	The Jenny Jones Show: Fatal Attraction	6.9	16

Season 7 (2022)

6.84 avg 8 episodes 5.7 → 7.9 42 min avg

Season 7 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Madeleine McCann: The Night She Disappeared (Part 1)	5.7	11
2	Madeleine McCann: Who Took Madeline (Part 2)	5.7	12
3	Kobe Bryant Fateful Flight: Red Flags	7.8	12
4	Kobe Bryant Fateful Flight: What Went Wrong?	7.9	9
5	The Yacht Murder Mystery: Unspeakable Cruelty	6.0	12
6	The Hollywood Ripper: He Was Watching Them	6.8	11
7	Mysterious Death of Adrienne Shelly: Nothing's As It Seems	6.9	12
8	Lorena Bobbitt: Tick Tick Boom	7.9	12

Season 8 (2024)

7.78 avg 6 episodes 8.1 → 7.0 42 min avg

Season 8 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Titanic Part 1: A Clear and Starry Night	8.1	14
2	Titanic Part 2: The Last Moments	8.0	11
3	Anthrax: Terror by Mail	7.4	8
4	Oscar Pistorius: The Bladerunner	8.0	7
5	Gardner Art Heist: Stealing Beauty	8.2	10
8	Tylenol Murders: Killer Capsules	7.0	5

How It Really Happened with Jesse L. Martin (2016)

Seasons

Shows like this