''The Keepers'' is a seven-episode American documentary series that explores the unsolved murder of nun Catherine Cesnik in 1969. Cesnik taught English and drama at

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

's all-girls Archbishop Keough High School, and her former students believe that there was a

cover-up A cover-up is an attempt, whether successful or not, to conceal evidence of wrongdoing, error, incompetence, or other embarrassing information. Research has distinguished personal cover-ups (covering up one's own misdeeds) from relational co ...

by authorities after she suspected that a priest at the high school, A. Joseph Maskell, was guilty of sexually abusing students. The series was directed by

Ryan White Ryan Wayne White (December 6, 1971 – April 8, 1990) was an American teenager from Kokomo, Indiana, who became a national poster child for HIV/AIDS in the United States after his school barred him from attending classes following a diagn ...

and released on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

in 2017.

Cast

*Gemma Hoskins – former student and investigator *Abbie Fitzgerald Schaub – former student and investigator * Joseph Maskell – former priest and counselor *Jean Hargadon Wehner (a.k.a. Jane Doe) – former student *Teresa Lancaster (a.k.a. Jane Roe) – former student *Randy Lancaster – Teresa Lancaster's husband *Donna Von Den Bosch – former student *Juliana Farrell – former student *Deb Silcox – former student *Lil Hughes – former student *Chris Centofanti – former student *Mary Spence – former student *Marilyn Cesnik Radakovic – Sister Catherine's sister *Gerry Koob – former priest and Sister Catherine's former boyfriend *Tom Nugent – journalist and writer for the ''

Baltimore City Paper ''Baltimore City Paper'' was a free alternative weekly newspaper published in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, founded in 1977 by Russ Smith and Alan Hirsch. The most recent owner was the Baltimore Sun Media Group, which purchased the pape ...

'' *Bob Erlandson – journalist *Beverly Wallace – attorney for former students *Alan Horn – investigator *John Barnold – former captain, Baltimore City Police Department *James Scannell – former captain, Baltimore County Police Department *Brian Schwaab – former detective, Baltimore City Police Department *Gary Childs – detective, Baltimore County Police *Sharon A. H. May – former State's Attorney for Baltimore City *Edgar Davidson – possible suspect in the murder of sister Catherine *Deborah Yohn – Davidson's niece, who suspects her uncle's involvement in the murders based on anecdotes from her aunt, who is referred to as "Margaret" in the series. *Sharon Schmidt – daughter of Ronnie Schmidt and niece of Billy Schmidt, who suspects the involvement of both men in the murders. *Barbara Schmidt – mother of Sharon Schmidt, former wife of Ronnie Schmidt and sister-in-law to Billy Schmidt, who suspects the involvement of her husband and brother-in-law in the murders. * C. T. Wilson – Maryland state delegate *Charles Franz – former student at St. Clement's Church * Werner Spitz, MD – forensic pathologist

Episodes

Reviews

''The Keepers'' was met with critical acclaim upon its release. The

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gives the series an approval rating of 97% based on 30 reviews, with an average rating of 8.47/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "''The Keepers'' draws on riveting, real-life terror to expose long-buried secrets—and tells an inspiring, brilliantly assembled story along the way." Pilot Viruet of ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

'' wrote of the series, "It's harrowing and upsetting, and it will haunt you for a long time, which is part of what makes it necessary viewing." In ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine, Daniel D'Addario compared ''The Keepers'' with another Netflix true-crime series, ''

Making a Murderer ''Making a Murderer'' is an American true crime documentary television series written and directed by Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos. The show tells the story of Steven Avery, a man from Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, who served 18 years in priso ...

'', stating that ''The Keepers'' does not lead its viewers to a definite conclusion about what happened. "While Sister Cathy Cesnik's death remains a mystery, its aftereffects include both crushing heartbreak and, for the amateur sleuths who seek to crack her case, a sense of making a difference... This isn't just more respectful to the victim than other true-crime stories, with their breathless delight at new clues. It's also more effective." According to Jack Seale in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', "Where other true crime hits have followed a linear chronology, ''The Keepers'' hops between 1969, the 1990s and today, striking a fine balance between narrative structure – a wow moment at the end of every episode – and respect for a subject that doesn’t need or deserve sensationalism."

Church response

The

Archdiocese of Baltimore The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Baltimore () is the archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in northern and western Maryland in the United States. It is the metropolitan see of the Ecclesiastical Province of Baltimore. The Archd ...

declined when asked by Netflix producers to comment on sexual misconduct allegations within the church. Later, the Archdiocese responded to the series by adding a FAQ page to its website, in which it stated allegations that the archdiocese knew of Maskell's sexual abuse prior to 1992 were false speculation.

References

External links

Keepers''
on

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Keepers, The Netflix original documentary television series True crime television series Television shows set in Baltimore Films about Catholic priests Films about Catholic Church sexual abuse scandals in the United States Media coverage of Catholic Church sexual abuse scandals 2010s American documentary television series 2017 American television series debuts 2017 American television series endings Films about child sexual abuse American English-language television shows