From Classroom Assignment to Sundance: The Evolution of ‘Murder 101’

The true-crime docuseries Murder 101, directed by Stacey Lee, will premiere at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival as part of the Episodic Nonfiction Pilot Showcase. The project centers on a 2018 sociology class in Tennessee where students investigated a 30-year-old local cold case, ultimately developing a profile that helped revive the law enforcement investigation into a suspected serial killer.

Origins of the Investigation

The story began in a small Tennessee town when a high school sociology teacher assigned his students to examine a three-decade-old cold case. The students’ research gained significant public attention, leading to the 2024 podcast Murder 101. The upcoming Sundance docuseries expands on the narrative established in the podcast, utilizing a “coming-of-age” framework to examine the intersection of youth and investigative work.

“To me, it was an opportunity to set a new tone that is equal parts Dead Poets Society, Mindhunter, and Friday Night Lights,” director Stacey Lee said. According to Lee, the series aims to highlight the capacity of students to engage with complex, difficult subjects when provided with meaningful tasks that have real-world impact.

Production Challenges and School Access

Filming the series required significant cooperation from the local school district. Lee noted that Tennessee maintains some of the most rigorous standards in the United States regarding filming inside educational institutions. To secure the necessary permissions, the production team engaged in a lengthy process of building trust with the community, which included presentations to the local school board, the principal, and parents of the students involved.

“It was a long, slow process of building trust,” Lee stated. Once access was granted, the production crew spent significant time on campus, documenting daily activities including sociology classes, band practice, and school events like prom.

The Role of Educational Engagement

Beyond the true-crime element, the series serves as a case study on the current state of the American education system. Lee argues that the project illustrates how students respond when they move beyond standardized testing toward deep-learning activities.

“Mr. Campbell might have a lot of wild ideas, but like many good teachers out there, he’s the kind of teacher who changes the way a student thinks about themselves,” Lee said, referencing the teacher at the center of the case. By focusing on the mentorship aspect, the series emphasizes the long-term influence educators have on student development and self-perception.

Key Takeaways

• Sundance Premiere: Murder 101 is an official selection for the 2026 Sundance Film Festival’s Episodic Nonfiction Pilot Showcase.
• Source Material: The series builds upon the research of high school students who investigated a cold case in 2018 and the subsequent 2024 podcast of the same name.
• Director’s Perspective: Stacey Lee, known for The Secrets of Hillsong and Olivia Rodrigo: driving home 2 u, directed the project.
• Educational Focus: The series examines the impact of project-based learning and the role of teacher mentorship in student engagement.

The project stands as a testament to the potential for student-led research to impact cold case investigations, while simultaneously documenting the challenges inherent in modern secondary education. The 2026 Sundance Film Festival will provide the first public screening of the episodic pilot.