The Keepers Explained
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's all-girls Archbishop Keough High School, and her former students believe that there was a cover-up by authorities after she suspected that a priest at the high school, A. Joseph Maskell, was guilty of sexually abusing students.[1] [2] The series was directed by Ryan White and released on Netflix in 2017.[3] [4] [5]
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
- 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
Reviews
The Keepers was met with critical acclaim upon its release. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes 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."[6] Pilot Viruet of Vice 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."[7]
In Time magazine, Daniel D'Addario compared The Keepers with another Netflix true-crime series, Making a Murderer, 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."[8] According to Jack Seale in The Guardian, "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."[9]
Church response
The Archdiocese of Baltimore 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.[10]
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: Loughrey . Clarisee . The Keepers exclusive trailer: Netflix revisits a nun's unsolved murder five decades down the line . https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/the-keepers-exclusive-trailer-baltimore-nun-murder-a7691206.html . 2022-06-18 . subscription . live . The Independent . April 19, 2017 . April 19, 2017.
- News: Baltimore archdiocese pays settlements to a dozen people alleging abuse by late priest . The Baltimore Sun . 22 May 2017 . 2016-11-15 . August 10, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170810040058/http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-maskell-settlements-20161115-story.html . dead .
- Web site: Busch. Anita. 'The Keepers': Netflix Drops Powerful Trailer About Murder Of Baltimore Nun. The Independent. April 19, 2017. April 19, 2017.
- Web site: Is This Netflix Docuseries the Next Making a Murderer?. Vogue. April 19, 2017. April 19, 2017.
- News: 'The Keepers' is true crime with a fresh perspective: The victim's. The Washington Post. May 20, 2017. May 22, 2017.
- Web site: The Keepers: Miniseries. Rotten Tomatoes. October 9, 2019.
- News: Viruet. Pilot. Netflix's Latest True Crime Docuseries Will Haunt You Forever. June 19, 2017. Vice. May 25, 2017. en-us.
- D’Addario. Daniel. The Keepers avoids true crime's ghastliest pitfalls. June 19, 2017. Time. May 25, 2017.
- News: Seale. Jack. Who murdered Sister Cathy? Netflix takes true crime to the next level . 18 May 2017. The Guardian. 18 May 2017.
- Web site: Frequently Asked Questions Based on "The Keepers" . Archdiocese of Baltimore. June 19, 2017.
