What to Watch Friday: 20/20 examines the life and crimes of Robert Durst
20/20: The Devil You Know (9 p.m., ABC) - Two months after his death, a new “20/20” reports on Robert Durst, the fugitive multimillionaire New York real estate heir, and his shocking trial that led to a murder conviction. From NBC: “Over the course of 40 years, authorities suspected Durst’s involvement in the deaths or disappearances of his first wife, Kathleen Durst; his long-time friend, Susan Berman; and his neighbor in Galveston, Texas, Morris Black. However, Durst eluded a murder conviction until his 2021 trial for Berman’s homicide.” That conviction was vacated under California law due to his pending appeal at the time of his death. Tonight’s 20/20 has an exclusive interview with Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney John Lewin, the lead prosecutor in that trial who successfully put Durst behind bars. The program also includes exclusive interviews with Nick Chavin, best friend to both Durst and Berman and a key witness in the trial, and three of the prosecuting attorneys in the Berman trial. We also get the first TV interviews with Marc Smerling, producer and cinematographer of HBO’s “The Jinx,” a documentary about Durst that features important evidence against Durst that producers uncovered during production.
Dateline: A Haunting Stretch of Road (9 p.m., NBC) - This week’s show looks at the strange connection between two missing women who vanished decades apart. Correspondent Dennis Murphy reports on the disappearance of Pamela Butler in Washington D.C., who, detectives discovered, had a puzzling link to Virginia resident Marta Rodriguez, who vanished two decades earlier. Tonight’s broadcast follows investigators as they untangle the mystery of the two missing women, revealing a sinister secret hidden along one of the busiest stretches of interstate in the country.
Deep Water (Hulu) - The premiere of a Hulu original film based on the novel by famed mystery writer Patricia Highsmith. “Deep Water” takes us inside the marriage of picture-perfect Vic (Ben Affleck) and Melinda (Ana de Armas) Van Allen to discover the dangerous mind games they play and what happens to the people that get caught up in them.
Life & Beth (Hulu) - A new original series (all episodes stream today) starring Amy Schumer as Beth. From Hulu: “Beth’s life would look pretty great on paper. Impressive to everyone she grew up with. She makes a good living as a wine distributor. She’s in a long term relationship with a successful guy and lives in Manhattan. When a sudden incident forces Beth to engage with her past her life changes forever. Through flashbacks to her teen self, Beth starts to learn how she became who she is and who she wants to become. We’ll go on her journey towards building a bigger, bolder and more authentic life. Learning to express herself and living in an intentional way. A trip down memory lane is a strong source of trauma, comedy and moving forward. This also stars Michael Cera, Susannah Flood, Violet Young.
Some programming descriptions are provided by networks.
