The original series docuseries followed an anthology format, with each episode investigating a different mystery. In an interview with Channel Nonfiction, Cosgrove confirmed that the anthology format will be preserved, and explained how the host-less set-up has actually forced the creative team to tell more cohesive stories.
"It'll be very different and there's no host and no narrator, so it will be pure documentary style. We're excited about taking this on. We've done shows like that in the past and it's a different way of working," Cosgrove said. "We don't have the luxury of solving editing problems by writing some narration, so you have to be more organized when you go out and shoot, and then very creative in the editing room ... I think it will be excellent. It feels much more contemporary than the old style. And we don't have the horrible job of trying to find somebody as good as Robert Stack."
As for the actual content, the first three seasons of Unsolved Mysteries in the '80s had a distinct focus on aliens and UFO sightings. In 1990, the show started expanding to include other "unsolved" phenomena like ghosts, demons and cold cases. Per the episode titles and descriptions that have been released so far, it appears the Netflix version plans to take the latter approach. The first four episodes appear to deal with mysterious cold cases, whereas episode 5, entitled "Berkshire's UFO," clearly aims to investigate alien activity. Fans should expect a healthy mix of topics from season 1.
