Summary
- Perfect Wife
docuseries on Hulu explores Sherri Papini’s 2016 kidnapping hoax, becoming most-watched Hulu docuseries. - Papini pleads guilty to false statement-making and mail fraud, leading to Keith Papini filing for divorce and custody.
- Director Michael Beach Nichols highlights Keith’s motivation to share his truth, fearing Sherri’s lies may impact custody of their children.
Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini has reached 3.6 million views on Hulu, shattering a record on the streamer (via Variety). During its first week – the three-part documentary premiered on June 20- it became the most-watched Hulu docuseries ever, a title previously held by 2022’s Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story.
Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini dives deep into Papini’s 2016 kidnapping hoax. The Hulu docuseries features interviews with Papini’s inner circle (including her then-husband, Keith Papini) and investigators who worked on the case.
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On November 2, 2016, Papini vanished from her northern California neighborhood while jogging, triggering a frenzied search that became news around the world. Papini resurfaced on Thanksgiving 2016, three weeks after her mysterious disappearance. She told investigators that she had been kidnapped by two Hispanic women and held captive and abused – providing vivid details about her ordeal. Beyond her words, bruises, broken restraints, and a disturbing brand corroborated her story. Papini claimed she had been released by one of her captors.
In March 2022, after DNA evidence led investigators to Papini’s ex-boyfriend James Reyes’ home, Papini was arrested on federal charges. According to Reyes, Papini had contacted him, claiming she was eager to leave her husband. James picked her up on November 2 and took Papini to his home, where she willingly stayed for three weeks.
Keith Papini’s Fight For the Truth
In April 2022 – nearly six years after her name made global headlines – Papini pleaded guilty to one count of false statement-making and one count of mail fraud, taking a plea deal that dropped other counts. Just days later, Keith filed for divorce, seeking sole custody of their two kids.
During a recent conversation with MovieMaker, Perfect Wife director Michael Beach Nichols (Welcome to Leith) explains the documentary’s timing, citing the importance of giving Keith a platform to share his truth.
“Speaking for Keith, he just got a divorce in 2022. So, up until very recently, he was still in this. So he’s just come out the other side. We started production in 2023. So, for Keith, it was really vital for him to, to get his story out there, because he is so fearful that Sherri will be believed, because he believed her. The FBI believed her. Law enforcement believed her, the wider sort of world believed her. And so he really wants to have his story on record, as almost like a defense against what she may do, because she is still telling a lie right now. She’s still maintaining this lie. And so for Keith, he’s really worried about custody issues with his children. And so for him, his children are the stakes in wanting to get his story out there. And so that was a big part of his motivation, I think.”
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Erin Lee Carr (Britney vs. Spears) Rob Ford, and Marwar Junction Productions’ Allison Berkley and Joseph Freed executive produce The Perfect Wife.
Hulu will drop two new true crime docuseries in July: Mastermind: To Think Like a Killer, which explores the life of Dr. Ann Burgess, lands on the streamer on July 11, and the sophomore season of How I Caught My Killer, premiering on July 18.
