Netflix’s Most Disturbing True Crime Series Returns
True crime fans, the wait is finally over. Worst Ex Ever Season 2 dropped on Netflix on May 6, 2026 — and it arrives with four of the darkest, most disturbing stories the series has ever told.
This Blumhouse and ITV America true crime docuseries returns with gripping survivor testimonies and carefully produced animated reenactments, exploring real relationships that turned toxic, abusive, and in some cases, deadly. PRIMETIMER
The season features the story of convicted murderer Wade Wilson, known as the “Handsome Devil Killer,” and former reality television personality Geoffrey Paschel, who was convicted of kidnapping and domestic assault. Variety
The result is a season that hits harder, cuts deeper, and lingers longer than anything the series has delivered before. If you have not started streaming yet, this guide covers everything you need to know before you do.
Series Overview: What Is Worst Ex Ever?
Blumhouse Productions and ITV America produce the series, which first premiered on Netflix in August 2024 with four episodes featuring stories of toxic and dangerous relationships. Variety
Season 2 follows the same format — four hour-long episodes, each telling a standalone true story — but the production team has amplified the darkness considerably. Director Cynthia Childs returns to lead the season alongside executive producers Jason Blum, Gretchen Palek, and Jordana Hochman, with Natalee Watts as co-executive producer.
Quick Series Facts:
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Season 2 Release Date | May 6, 2026 |
| Streaming Platform | Netflix |
| Total Episodes | 4 hour-long episodes |
| Director | Cynthia Childs |
| Content Rating | TV-MA |
| Production | Blumhouse Productions / ITV America |
| Format | All episodes available simultaneously |
The official season description from Netflix reads: “Worst Ex Ever returns for Season 2, featuring gripping testimonials, startling bodycam footage, and vivid animated reenactments that bring harrowing tales of betrayal, violence, and deceit to life — exposing some of the most monstrous relationships and exes you’ll ever encounter.” FandomWire
Episode 1: “Dating the Deadpool Killer” — Wade Wilson’s Story
The first episode opens the season with its most high-profile and deeply disturbing case — the story of Wade Wilson, a Florida man who became known worldwide as the “Deadpool Killer.”
Wade Steven Wilson, born on May 20, 1994, shares his name with the Marvel character Wade “Deadpool” Wilson — and that coincidence is how the media came to give him his notorious nickname. But the reality behind the name is far removed from comic book fiction. Wikipedia
The episode follows Kelly Matthews, who fell for a man named Steven in 2018 — only to discover that her boyfriend pawned her laptop, seduced her close friend, and brutally attacked her while she drove him to rehabilitation. After he left her for another woman, Kelly discovered that his real name was Wade Wilson and that he carried a long criminal record. Netflix Tudum
His behaviour quickly escalated far beyond what Kelly had experienced.
On October 7, 2019, Wilson committed two murders within hours. He strangled the first victim, 35-year-old Kristine Melton, inside her home. Later the same day, he lured 43-year-old Diane Ruiz — a mother of two who worked as a bartender — into his car under false pretenses, strangled her, pushed her from the vehicle, and then drove over her multiple times. Wikipedia
Wilson called his biological father shortly afterwards and confessed to the murders. His father and stepmother contacted the police, and officers arrested Wilson the following day. When detectives questioned him, he told them he would be willing to “do it again.” Wikipedia
Wade Wilson’s Criminal Timeline:
- 2012–2014: Burglary, grand theft, firearms offences
- 2015: Sexual battery charges — acquitted at trial
- 2017: Convicted of stealing firearms
- 2019: Domestic assault against former girlfriend Kelly Matthews
- October 7, 2019: Double murder of Kristine Melton and Diane Ruiz
- 2020: Failed escape attempt from prison — attempted to remove cell bars
- 2023: Implicated in prison drug-smuggling plot
- June 2024: Convicted on six counts including two counts of first-degree murder
- August 2024: Sentenced to death
In June 2024, after a multi-week trial, a jury found Wilson guilty on all six counts. The evidence included eyewitnesses, phone records, DNA found at the crime scene and in Melton’s car, and Wilson’s own confessions. AETV
Wilson’s death sentence was notable as one of the first high-profile cases sentenced under Florida’s 2023 death penalty legislation, which allows a judge to impose the death penalty even when the jury’s recommendation is not unanimous. Soapcentral
As of May 2026, Wilson remains incarcerated at the Union Correctional Institution in Raiford, Florida, where he continues to appeal his sentence to the Florida Supreme Court. The Sunday Guardian
The episode uses body camera footage, archival court recordings, and Kelly’s first-person testimony to construct a deeply unsettling portrait of a charming, manipulative man whose violence no one around him could predict — or stop in time.
Episode 2: “Primetime Predator” — Geoffrey Paschel’s Double Life
The second episode follows Kristen Wilson, a teacher from Knoxville, Tennessee, who connected with Geoffrey Paschel on a dating application in 2017. PRIMETIMER
Paschel presented himself as a charming, successful man — but the reality was something entirely different.
Kristen had no reason to doubt him until she discovered he had a criminal record and a violent past with more than one of his former partners. A neighbour’s emergency call eventually led to his arrest — but the story took a bizarre turn when the network cast Paschel in Season 4 of a popular reality television programme shortly afterwards. Netflix Tudum
Geoffrey Paschel was ultimately convicted in 2022 for kidnapping and assaulting his then-fiancée, Kristen Wilson Chapman, and is currently serving an 18-year prison sentence without the possibility of parole. FandomWire
This episode exposes how predators hide their true behaviour behind charm, social media personas, and the legitimising power of television celebrity.
Episode 3: “Fatal Attraction” — A Cold Case Breaks Open
The third episode covers Katie Long’s long-distance relationship with Joyce Pelzer, which began in 2016. The romance turned sinister when Joyce mentioned her missing former partner, Shawndell McLeod — a woman who had disappeared in 2011 — making Joyce a person of interest in an unsolved case. PRIMETIMER
Joyce Lewis-Pelzer was ultimately convicted of multiple violent crimes, including the murder of her former girlfriend Shawndell McLeod and her wife Rosalyn Lewis. FandomWire
This episode combines the intimacy of a modern relationship gone wrong with the cold case investigation that ultimately delivered justice more than a decade after McLeod’s disappearance. It stands as one of the season’s most emotionally complex stories.
Episode 4: Karen Kummerer’s Kidnapping Survival Story
The season closes with the story of Karen Kummerer — a survivor whose case dates back to 2006. The episode covers her kidnapping, the restraining order process, and the institutional failures that allowed her abuser to continue operating.
The production team uses this closing episode to refocus the viewer’s attention on survivor resilience and systemic accountability — ending the season on a note that is harrowing but ultimately empowering.
Why This Season Works — And Why It Matters
The most terrifying element of the first episode is how clearly Wilson was able to charm everyone around him — men, women, dates, and even law enforcement officers — in ways that prevented intervention until it was too late. Heaven of Horror
That theme of invisible danger runs through all four episodes of Season 2. Each story asks the same question in a different context: how do warning signs get missed, minimised, or ignored? And what does it cost the people left behind when they do?
The production team does not sensationalise. They let survivors speak directly and at length. They use animated reenactments and bodycam footage to reconstruct events without reducing victims to props in their own stories. Each episode treats its subjects — both survivors and victims — with genuine care.
What Makes Season 2 Essential Viewing:
- Survivor perspectives anchor every episode — not perpetrator mythology
- Bodycam footage and court recordings provide forensic authenticity
- Animated reenactments reconstruct events without graphic exploitation
- Each case carries genuine social significance beyond shock value
- The four-episode format allows deep, unhurried storytelling
- Director Cynthia Childs maintains consistent tone and quality across all episodes
