HBO's The Jinx Is Back: Here's What to Know About Part 2 and Why You Should Watch

It's been nine years since the world watched suspected killer Robert Durst utter a confession into a hot mic on the series finale of The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst. Since that shocking episode, Durst was convicted of the first-degree murder of his best friend, Susan Berman. He died in jail a few months later. 

So what's left to tell about this man and his suspected involvement in the deaths of Berman, his first wife, Kathleen McCormack, and his neighbor, Morris Black? According to The Jinx filmmaker Andrew Jarecki, lots. 

When The Jinx - Part Two debuts Sunday, April 21 on Max with the first of six new episodes, a surprising number of twists are in store. "The confession was just the beginning," promises the continuation's trailer. But was it?

Read on for everything you need to know about The Jinx - Part Two, including whether this continuation was even necessary. 

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What is The Jinx - Part Two about?

If the first part of The Jinx was about meeting Bob Durst and learning about his complex backstory, the second part examines those who helped Durst essentially get away with murder. These new episodes begin before the first season even finished airing, giving you the sense that cameras never really clicked off on this documentary. 

In the first new episode, the series breaks down what went into Durst's arrest and introduces the law enforcement officials intent on bringing him in. From there, The Jinx traces Durst's time in jail, his trial, and his eventual death. Along the way it introduces many colorful characters, including some of Durst's friends who refused to participate the first time around. 

Who is in The Jinx - Part Two?

For obvious reasons, Durst declined to participate in these next six chapters. However, Jarecki was able to use audio and video recordings of Durst from jail throughout, keeping him a main character in this story. Jarecki also appears in front of the camera several times, explaining his relationship with Durst and, at one point, trying to visit him behind bars (Durst declined). Jarecki also learns about Durst's death on-camera in an episode towards the end. 

Other Part Two characters include lawyers from the defense team and prosecution, investigators, the judge, and friends of Durst. Durst's best friend Nick Chavin also sits down for an interview this time, despite declining to participate in the first season. As the series recalls, Chavin's biggest goal in life is to be famous, and he was all set to do the first part of The Jinx. However Durst's younger brother (and Chavin's boss) said absolutely not. So when the cameras initially came, Chavin hid in a stairwell until they left.

This time, he doesn't hold anything back.

How many episodes is The Jinx - Part Two?

The Jinx Part Two has six episodes. The first four were made available to the press ahead of the premiere. 

The Jinx - Part Two trailer

Who made the show?

Filmmaker Andrew Jarecki initially began investigating Robert Durst when he was working on the 2010 film All Good Things, starring Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst. The movie was a scripted, dramatized take on the disappearance of Durst's first wife. 

Durst liked the movie so much that he called Jarecki within minutes of watching it and said they should do something together. So Jarecki began filming, and over the next 20 years, Jarecki learned the nuances of Durst's life and the murders to which he was connected.

As a result there were periods when Jarecki feared for his own life and for the lives of his wife and daughter. They hired security for a while, scared that Durst might try to kill them next.

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When did filming on The Jinx - Part Two start?

Although Jarecki hadn't initially planned on continuing this series, he kept filming material after The Jinx wrapped. At the same time, he was working with prosecutors and sharing his footage to help bring Durst down. 

What Jarecki didn't want to do was hand over footage to some guy at the FBI who would never do anything with it. He also wanted objective evidence that couldn't be dismissed in court. So he worked with renowned prosecutor Marcia Clark (the lead prosecutor in the O.J. Simpson trial) to find the right people and to do things by the book. 

What can we expect to learn from watching?

While we don't want to give too much away, there is much to look forward to in Part Two. You'll walk away with a new perspective on Susan Berman, learn more about Robert Durst, and see what an obsession can get you as a filmmaker. 

And on a more thematic note, you may also walk away asking yourself how you would have acted if you were friends with a person like Durst and they were accused of murder. As Jarecki points out, these crimes took a village.

Did we really need a continuation of The Jinx?

The second part of The Jinx isn't the true crime doc you'd expect (everyone knows what happened to Durst after the show), but it's still full of big reveals and twists. By watching these episodes, you'll get new insight into Durst, the people he surrounded himself with, and the legal process behind bringing down a killer after so many years. 

Part Two also contains a moving scene in which some of Kathleen McCormack's family members and people involved in the Morris Black murder trial watch the original Jinx finale. Their reactions to Durst's confession are palpable.

In other words, this really is the continuation you didn't know you needed. 

The Jinx - Part Two premieres Sunday, April 21 at 10/9c on HBO and Max. New episodes will air weekly.