Everything You Need to Know About ‘The Jinx’ Before Watching ‘The Jinx — Part Two’

Wait, wasn’t this a movie?

It sure was. In 2010, Jarecki directed All Good Things, a lightly fictionalized version of the disappearance of Durst’s first wife, Kathleen McCormack. The movie starred Ryan Gosling as the story’s Durst stand-in, David Marks, and Kirsten Dunst as his wife, Katie. You can stream it on Prime Video.

Why was everyone talking about the ending of The Jinx?

Airing on HBO on March 15, 2015, just a day after Durst was arrested for the murder of Berman, The Jinx’s sixth and final episode (titled “What the Hell Did I Do?”) built to an explosive sit-down between Durst and Jarecki. During the interview, the director shows Durst a highly incriminating piece of evidence — an anonymous letter addressed to the “Beverley Hills Police Department” after Berman’s murder alerting authorities to a “cadaver” at her address. “Beverly” was misspelled. Jarecki presents Durst with letters he’d written to Berman over the years that had the same blocky handwriting and similarly misspelled “Beverly.” Durst looks at the evidence and miraculously manages to look nonplussed. He admits nothing. When the interview is over, the cameras continue to roll as Durst heads to a bathroom unaware that he is still wearing his microphone.

Then what happens?

A lot of nervous burping. But the mic also records Durst mumbling to himself: “There it is. You’re caught. You’re right, of course. But you can’t imagine. Arrest him. I don’t know what’s in the house. Oh, I want this. What a disaster. He was right. I was wrong. And the burping. I’m having difficulty with the question. What the hell did I do? ... Killed them all, of course.”

Did the filmmakers immediately turn the audio over to police? It wasn’t until months after Durst’s incriminating hot-mic audio was recorded that Jarecki and his team realized what they had. But yes, when they heard what sounded an awful lot like a confession, they handed it over to the authorities as evidence, which helped build the case against Durst.

Where does The Jinx — Part Two pick up?

With Durst’s arrest by the FBI in New Orleans on March 14, 2015 — the day before the finale of The Jinx aired. At the time, Durst was staying at the Canal Street Marriott under the name “Everette Ward.” In addition to a .38-caliber revolver with four live rounds and one spent shell casing, authorities found 5 ounces of marijuana, Durst’s passport, a map of Cuba, a flesh-colored latex mask and more than $42,000 in cash. We also get to see Kathleen McCormack’s family watching the Season 1 finale and reacting to Durst’s shocking “killed them all, of course” admission.

What happened to Durst after that?

Durst was sentenced to 85 months in federal prison for the gun found in his hotel room. In 2021, he was finally convicted for Berman’s murder and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole. A month later, New York State Police charged Durst with the murder of his wife Kathleen. Before he could be tried, Durst died from cardiac arrest on Jan. 10, 2022. At the time of his death, he was in the custody of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney John Lewin

Courtesy HBO

What are the big reveals in The Jinx — Part Two?

Sorry, no spoilers here. But at the beginning of the second season (which we can tell you includes video of Durst’s police interrogation and audio of his prison phone calls), we hear Durst saying that his upcoming trial will be “a zoo.” He’s not wrong. You’ll learn more about the fascinating Berman and their mutual close friend Nick Chavin, who once hid behind a staircase to avoid cameras but now tells about their friendship and his career as a “country porn” singer. Chavin has performed with singer Kinky Friedman and appears as a character in Friedman’s detective novels; Friedman and Durst were both best men at Chavin’s 1988 wedding. In court, Chavin described Durst as “a best friend who admitted to killing my other best friend [Berman].”

Beyond that, you’ll have to tune in to find out for yourself. Fasten your seat belt.

The Jinx — Part Two debuts on Max on April 21, then new episodes air weekly. You can also stream 2015’s The Jinx.