A true-crime documentary has pushed a popular spy thriller down Netflix’s U.S. rankings. The three-part production revisits a disappearance that captivated audiences for nearly two decades.
Taken: Natalie Holloway is topping Netflix’s streaming charts
According to FlixPatrol, Taken: Natalee Holloway has claimed the top position on Netflix’s U.S. TV shows chart. It sits ahead of Black Doves, Love Is Blind, From, Nobody Wants This, and The One About Matthew Perry, among other titles. The documentary arrived on the platform on November 4.
The three-part series digs into the disappearance that shattered a family’s future. Natalee Holloway, an Alabama high school graduate, headed to Aruba in May 2005 to celebrate with friends. She had a full academic scholarship waiting at the University of Alabama and dreamed of becoming a doctor. However, the trip took a dark turn when she left a nightclub alongside several men, including Joran van der Sloot, and never returned. Her mother, Beth Holloway, soon flew to Aruba and threw herself into the desperate search (via TUDUM).
Many years passed, but investigators never found Natalee’s body. Police initially detained three men in June 2005, van der Sloot among them, but eventually let all three walk without filing charges. The case took another turn in 2023 when van der Sloot admitted to extortion and wire fraud charges in the U.S. He also disclosed details about Natalee’s death. His criminal record already included a 2010 conviction for murdering Peruvian student Stephany Flores.
Directors Dani Sloane and Matthew Galkin bring together interviews with Beth, Natalee’s friends, attorney John Kelly, former Aruban deputy police chief Gerold Dompig, and retired FBI agents Alexandra Montilla and Michael Leverock. The series also includes previously unreleased footage from the FBI’s 2010 operation involving van der Sloot.
Story Syndicate produced the series, with Liz Garbus, Dan Cogan, Jon Bardin, Sloane, and Tommy Coriale serving as executive producers.
