Calling all who stay up late sifting through true crime message boards and can’t get that one case (or a certain theme song) out of your head: Unsolved Mysteries is returning to Netflix. The series, produced in association with Cosgrove/Meurer Productions and 21 Laps Entertainment, has intrigued audiences for more than three decades with countless real-life stories of open cases, supernatural occurrences, and unidentified flying objects. 

Five new episodes premiere on July 31, including a fresh look at a classic throwback episode about a chilling humanoid creature that’s been spotted countless times and a historical deep dive on the 19th century’s most notorious serial killer. What’s more: These baffling mysteries could each be solved with help from viewers like you — it’s happened before.

“Unsolved Mysteries continues to resonate with viewers in ways we could never have imagined, with some episodes leading to solving cases that were once thought unsolvable,” 21 Laps founder Shawn Levy tells Tudum. “It is a privilege to collaborate with Terry Dunn Meurer and her team on this iconic franchise, and we are so excited to share this next installment of compelling and fascinating mysteries with viewers around the world.”

Are you ready to solve a mystery? 

For Volume 4, the team behind Unsolved Mysteries has created a fully accessible dossier with additional materials that can aid viewers in closing the case. And in the meantime, you can comb through the Unsolved Mysteries Volume 3 dossier here. 

Ahead of the new batch of episodes, longtime Unsolved Mysteries co-creator and president and CEO of Cosgrove/Meurer Productions Terry Dunn Meurer talked to Tudum about the legacy of the show — and what to expect from Volume 4.

Where many similar series stick to one kind of story, Unsolved Mysteries covers events ranging from violent crime to missing people to supernatural occurrences. What led you to create a show that explores multiple aspects of the unknown?
We made a conscious choice that we didn’t want to focus only on true crime.  There are so many different types of intriguing mysteries.  I think it’s the variety of cases that sets Unsolved Mysteries apart from the true crime genre.

In the early days of Unsolved Mysteries, a number of distinguished actors served as hosts. How did Robert Stack come to be the permanent host?  
Raymond Burr and Karl Malden hosted the first Unsolved Mysteries specials, but they weren’t interested in a long-term series. We came up with a list of possible hosts and Robert Stack rose to the top. He was an incredible supporter of the series and was the perfect host.

What is the criteria that you use to determine which stories you want to build an entire episode of Unsolved Mysteries around?  
A perfect Unsolved Mysteries episode has either multiple theories about what could have happened (“Was it an accident, or was it a homicide?”), or it will have multiple suspects. We try to present cases that have lots of twists and turns to involve the viewers in forming their own opinions.

In all the years you’ve welcomed assistance from the public in solving these mysteries, how have you handled the gargantuan task of sifting through the thousands of tips you’ve received? Do you simply pass the tips along to law enforcement, or is there a preliminary step of filtering out crank calls and other unhelpful information?  
We have a dedicated team that responds quickly to all viable tips that are submitted.  It’s important to get tips to law enforcement ASAP. Often, viewers submit story ideas or their theory about what might have happened in a particular case, and those are also read thoroughly and archived in our database.

Are there any particular cases that have stayed with you throughout the years and remained unsolved? 
I began my career focused on missing persons cases, and I feel that those are still the most troubling. We want so desperately to provide closure for the families of those who have missing loved ones. I think the other category of case that we have profiled is unexplained death stories, such as the mysterious death of Rey Rivera. That case continues to baffle me.

What can you tell us about the next batch of mysteries? 
We have a wide variety of cases in the next batch: a severed head that has not been identified, a woman who died mysteriously in a basement, a mysterious flying creature that has been spotted around the Chicago area, a young woman who suffered a brutal death and her killer has escaped justice. And the famous case of Jack the Ripper, which has never been solved. This is our most unique volume yet. 

Unsolved Mysteries Volume 4 Episode Guide

“Who was Jack the Ripper?” 

Director: Robert Wise
Location: London, UK
Logline: London, 1888. The city is gripped by a string of murders, each more gruesome than the last. Experts delve into one of history's most notorious mysteries.

“Body in the Basement”

Director: Gabe Torres
Location: Calgary, Canada
Logline: Amanda Antoni's husband finds her body in their basement with blood everywhere. The scene confounds police: Was it foul play — or a tragic accident?

“The Severed Head”

Director: Skye Borgman
Location: Economy Borough, Pennsylvania
Logline: After a teen finds an embalmed head in the woods, investigators uncover a possible connection to a black-market organ trade as they try to ID the victim.

“Murder, Center Stage”

Director: Robert Wise
Location: Trenton University, New Jersey
Logline: Sigrid Stevenson's chilling murder on the stage of a locked campus theater still haunts a New Jersey college as new theories about her killer emerge.

“The Mothman Revisited”

Director: Gabe Torres
Location: Mainly Illinois/Chicago area - West Virginia too
Logline: Amid eerie sightings of a tall, winged humanoid creature with red eyes, paranormal investigators explore the Mothman's seeming link to major disasters.