Why did Moira Demos and Laura Ricciardi pick Steven Avery's story to cover in Netflix's Making a Murderer?

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Ever since its premiere on Dec. 18, Making a Murderer has captivated Netflix users through its addictive storytelling technique and its story of a family going against an entire criminal justice system.

But with so many criminal trials that go on every day in America, why did creators Moira Demos and Laura Ricciardi choose this one?

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The pair spoke with Fortune recently about their thought process in choosing to tell Avery's story, and why the docuseries has resonated so strongly with viewers.

"Unfortunately, we live in a culture and society where people are murdered every day," Demos noted. "When we chose this story, we were not choosing to cover a murder trial. We chose it because of Steven's unique status as an exoneree. We recognized this status as very special. It's the story of an ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances."

Ricciardi spoke of the series presenting new settings, even compared to other true crime stories that are out there.

"It has lots of things viewers haven't seen before: primary source material, depositions, interrogations. I think that's very captivating to people. There was a hunger for that," she said. "There's so much crime and true crime out there but if you're really involved in a case and show up at the courthouse, it doesn't feel like it does on TV. I think it's clear that the series very much offers viewers an experience that's positioned to stick with them after they turn it off. It says a lot that they're talking about it three weeks later when others have seen it."

Making a Murderer can be streamed in full on Netflix.

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