''Lorena'' is a 2019 American true-crime docuseries about the 1993 assault and subsequent court case involving

John and Lorena Bobbitt John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

. The four-part series premiered on February 15, 2019 on

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pr ...

. It was directed by Joshua Rofé who also served as an executive producer alongside

Jordan Peele Jordan Haworth Peele (born February 21, 1979) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his film and television work in the comedy and horror genres. Peele's breakout role came in 2003, when he was hired as a cast membe ...

Win Rosenfeld Win Rosenfeld (born February 22, 1978) is an American screenwriter and producer, best known for his collaborations with Jordan Peele. Early life Rosenfeld was born in New York, New York on February 22, 1978. He graduated from Grinnell Colleg ...

, Steven J. Berger, Jenna Santoianni, and Tom Lesinski.

Premise

On June 23, 1993, Lorena Bobbitt cut off her husband John Bobbitt’s penis with an eight-inch carving knife from the kitchen counter while he was asleep in bed. She left the apartment with the severed appendage and drove her car to the nail salon where she worked. She threw the penis out of the car window into a roadside field during her commute. It was later found and re-attached. After her arrest, Lorena accused John of ongoing

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for '' intimate partn ...

and

marital rape Marital rape or spousal rape is the act of sexual intercourse with one's spouse without the spouse's consent. The lack of consent is the essential element and need not involve physical violence. Marital rape is considered a form of domestic v ...

. The story and trial became a headline worldwide due to the 24-hour news cycle. ''Lorena'' features interviews with both Lorena and John as they detail the events leading up to the night of the incident, the trial and aftermath in their personal lives. It is described by Amazon as "a groundbreaking re-investigation of the deep moral issues and painful human tragedies buried at the heart of this infamous American scandal. Lost in the tabloid coverage and jokes was the opportunity for a national discussion on domestic and sexual assault in America."

Production

On April 5, 2018, it was announced that

had given the production a series order consisting of four episodes. The series was set to be directed by Joshua Rofé who was also expected to executive produce alongside

, Steven J. Berger, Jenna Santoianni, and Tom Lesinski. Production companies involved with the series were slated to consist of

Monkeypaw Productions Monkeypaw Productions is an American production company founded by Jordan Peele in 2012. The company is known for producing horror films, such as '' Get Out'', '' Us'', '' Candyman'', '' Nope'' and ''Wendell & Wild.'' In 2019, the company sig ...

Sonar Entertainment Halcyon Studios, LLC., formerly known as Sonar Entertainment, RHI Entertainment, Hallmark Entertainment, Qintex Entertainment, HRI Group and Robert Halmi Inc., is an American entertainment company specializing in the production and distribution ...

, and Number 19. On January 8, 2019, it was announced that the series would premiere on February 15, 2019.

Release

On January 8, 2019, the first trailer for the series was released. The series held its official premiere on January 29, 2019, during the

2019 Sundance Film Festival The 2019 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 24 to February 3, 2019. The first lineup of competition films was announced on November 28, 2018. Films U.S. Dramatic Competition * '' Before You Know It'' by Hannah Pearl Utt * ' ...

as a part of the festival's Special Events section of screenings.

Episodes

Reception

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Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, it holds an approval rating of 82% based on 45 reviews, with an average rating of 7.33/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Fascinating and frustrating, ''Lorena'' ample footage and fresh perspective on a long-mocked moment provide welcome context and vindication to the woman at its center — even if its reenactments don't quite measure up."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, which uses a weighted average, assigned the series a score of 75 out of 100 based on 18 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lorena 2019 American television series debuts 2010s American documentary television series English-language television shows True crime television series Amazon Prime Video original programming