Review: National Geographic's "Missing Presumed Dead" Succeeds Episodically

The following thoughts on Missing Presumed Dead might come across as rude. Let it be known, nothing is to be said about these individuals' absolutely horrendous trials that they face. These triumphant survivors deserve not only their flowers, but compassion for their situations.

Now, with that out of the way…some people are not good narrators. That’s a fact of life. Whether it be their own stories or that of others, some individuals are not as engaging as necessary to hold the attention of an audience over hour-long episodes. Across the episodes I watched for review, it became an inner struggle to go “Oh no, this individual is quite boring" and follow it up with “Wait, does that make me an awful person?!"

To back up: Missing Presumed Dead is an interesting new documentary series from National Geographic. The series brings forward individuals who, for an extended period of time, were deemed either missing or unable to be saved. A hostage taken by Somalian pirates. A family stranded at sea for over a month. An individual held captive by the Taliban. With each story, they face tragedy so cinematic, it sounds unreal.

Yet, viewers must believe and live in these traumatic tales as those who were directly involved are narrators for the series. There is no “actor interpretation" and no off-screen narration. These are stories told by the people that lived it. To give them an abundance of credit, it must be so hard to recount such awful experiences over again. It’s a miracle of human strength that these individuals have survived and thrived since these experiences.

However, as mentioned above, as a piece of television storytelling, the format’s success is at the hands of each episode’s key narrator and their own stories. Placing someone taken by pirates having to fight for equal audience engagement with a family floating alone at sea feels like an odd pairing. It’s a shame, as some of these episodes have an inherent uphill battle at no fault of the people involved.

Then, there’s the narration issue. Some people are not meant to be public speakers. That is ok! That is totally fine! These people are survivors! It’s just hard to watch some instances of these people recounting their story with a monotonous explanation. They deserve nothing but kindness! I was just a smidge bored! Sue me, okay?!

Missing Presumed Dead is an intriguing riff on the onslaught of true crime and docuseries that have populated television in recent years. However, the episodic nature leads to highs and lows amidst the storytelling. If you’re scrolling through Disney+ and come across an episode summary that interests you, give it a shot! But don’t feel obligated to binge the season front to back. Revel in the ability to jump around.

Missing Presumed Dead premieres May 23rd at 9pm ET on National Geographic.