As public interest in the Jeffrey Epstein files intensifies again, U.S. audiences seem to be searching for more answers about his criminal activities.
Netflix‘s 2020 docuseries Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich saw a massive spike in viewership during the week of July 18 to 24, tallying 73.1M minutes watched across all four episodes, per new data from Luminate. That represents a 430% increase from the 13.6M minutes watched for the series the week prior.
The growing interest in Epstein’s dealings come as the Trump administration has faced mounting pressure to release more files related to his criminal case. Earlier this month, the Justice Department announced that its review of the Epstein case was ending, finding no evidence to pursue additional convictions and denying that a client list existed.
That created a backlash among some of Trump’s die-hard supporters, who long have embraced theories that high-profile Democrats were involved in an Epstein sex-trafficking ring. The pressure has intensified amid new reporting from the Wall Street Journal that Trump had been briefed in May that his name was listed in the files, which he denies.
Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich does mention the close ties that Epstein had to prominent figures, including Trump as well as Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew, though it does not suggest others’ involvement in any criminal activity. Instead, the documentary primarily focuses on the accounts of Epstein’s victims.
The documentary does offer one more link to Trump in regards to Epstein’s 2008 “non-prosecution agreement,” brokered by state attorney and later Trump labor secretary Alex Acosta, which allowed Epstein immunity from federal criminal charges. Instead, at the time, he pleaded guilty to two state-level prostitution charges and served 11 months in jail, though he was out six days a week on a work release. The series illustrates how Epstein was ultimately able to evade justice for another decade before he was arrested on sex trafficking charges in 2019.
