Watchlist Wednesday: Revisiting The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel
Order Members — gather ‘round the evidence board.
This week’s Watchlist Wednesday pick is The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel, Season 1 of Netflix’s Crime Scene docuseries (2021). It revisits the haunting disappearance of Elisa Lam — a young woman who vanished while staying at the notoriously grim Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles. Her belongings were untouched. Her final moments captured on surveillance… and then, nothing.
We’ve all seen the elevator footage. We’ve heard the theories — the good, the wild, and the irresponsible. But the doc itself? That’s the real mystery.
Did Berlinger’s series uncover anything new, or just repurpose old speculation?
How did it handle tone, victim focus, and the chaos of online sleuth culture?
What stuck with you… or rubbed you the wrong way?
Pull up a chair, pour a cup of something sharp, and let’s dissect. The elevator doors may close — but this conversation stays open.
