OPINION: When a running shoe with human remains was found on a New South Wales beach without a body attached, it was a story that unsurprisingly gripped both Australia and New Zealand.
When that foot, discovered in February 2021, was confirmed to belong to Australian financial advisor and alleged fraudster Melissa Caddick – it was a story so captivating, it seemed destined for on-screen dramatisation.
One day.
Enter popular TV series Underbelly, with very poor timing.
The show has been known for its interpretation of Australian true crime since 2008 and its creators, it seems, leapt at the chance to retell one of the biggest stories of the past couple of years. Unfortunately, they leapt far too early.
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The first two episodes take a first-person, often uncomfortably lighthearted approach to Caddick’s life leading up to her disappearance – from her lavish lifestyle to building an elaborate Ponzi Scheme. But while the entire three-episode season is an uneasy watch in its retelling of such recent, and for many – still raw – events, the final episode is where it becomes very clear this series is both far too early, and highly insensitive to her teenage son, family and victims.
Caddick disappeared in November 2020, hours after…
