Netflix's new true crime docuseries Making a Murderer has haunting theme music that plays over images of the stark Wisconsin landscape prepares viewers for the series' grim tone. So, what is the opening credits song in Making a Murderer ? During the segment, Gustavo Santaolalla is credited for the theme and Kevin Kiner is credited with the score. Both Santaolalla and Kiner have impressive careers creating music for TV and movies and are responsible for the theme song and most of the other music in the 10-part Netflix series.
Santaolalla is a composer and musician from Argentina who has won back-to-back Academy Awards for his scores for Brokeback Mountain and Babel. His IMDb page has him listed as contributing music to the TV shows Jane the Virgin on the CW and Hell on Wheels on AMC and he also created the score for the video game "The Last of Us."
Kiner is also familiar with composing movies, TV, and video games like Santaolalla, though Kiner has more experience in the latter two mediums. His film work, according to IMDb, includes the movies The Other Side of Heaven and Madison from the early 2000s, and he has contributed to the video games Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Bond: Goldeneye 007. As for TV, he has worked alongside Santaolalla before with Jane the Virgin and Hell on Wheels — and the Hell on Wheels soundtrack is actually what inspired the Making a Murderer theme song.
While you can listen to most of the music from Making a Murderer on Kiner's website, the song from the opening credits is not included. The actual title for the opening song has also been almost impossible to find online, so it's not surprising that Internet users have taken to Reddit boards to debate the title. Bustle has reached out and is waiting on Netflix to confirm the official name of the song.
But, while the name remains a mystery for now, other information on the credits song has been discovered thanks to Reddit. Many viewers on the site commented on the fact that the song is reminiscent of the theme song from Game of Thrones. But as Redditor AllOfTheD noted, the song really sounds like "Weak of Heart" from Hell on Wheels' Season 1 soundtrack. The similarities become abundantly clear at 1:52 of "Weak of Heart." Listen to both the Hell on Wheels song and the Making a Murderer song below to hear for yourself.
Since both Santaolalla and Kiner worked on Hell on Wheels for AMC, it wouldn't be surprising that they borrowed from their own work. However, according to Reddit user Jaredf920, the producers from Making a Murderer had allegedly requested that the composers tweak the song specifically for Netflix. Jaredf920 claimed he is Jared Forman who worked with Kiner for Making a Murderer and claimed that Kiner adapted the theme at the behest of the producers. He explained that both the theme from Game of Thrones and Making a Murderer are in the key of D minor, which may be the reason for their similar, creepy tones.
If this information still doesn't satisfy your craving for the theme song, you can listen to the show's other songs on Kiner or Forman's websites or rewatch all 10 episodes of Making a Murderer on Netflix. Or if you can't go through the harrowing experience again, you can always turn to music inspired by the series, like the song "Lake Superior" from Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach's side project The Arcs, though I can't guarantee that it will make you feel any less depressed.
Images: Netflix (2)
