The haunting worlds of infamous killers often cross paths in true crime lore, but one name tends to play the understudy to another’s blockbuster role. Jerry Brudos, yes, the guy with a slightly over-the-top and twisted taste in footwear, bears some eerie connection to Ed Gein, the original horror muse for showbiz. Their stories brush shoulders in Netflix’s Monster: The Ed Gein Story, but Brudos’ own world remains mostly a footnote rather than centre stage.

While glass slippers might be a tempting steal, one could be slightly more wary of some shoe-thieving slayers out there. Netflix's alleys of true crime dramas might be the first place to scout, in fact. 

Jerry Brudos does not moonlight in his own documentary, for sure, but that does not mean the cruelties he inflicted remained unexplored. Apple TV, in fact, gives a recount of Brudos' terrors in the thirteenth episode of World's Most Evil Killers in its fifth season, titled Jerry Brudos: The Shoe Fetish Killer. Parallelly, Brudos also makes a cameo appearance in the final episode of the recent true-crime wave maker, Monster: The Ed Gein Story, titled The Godfather, on Netflix. The show camera pivots to Jerry Brudos, playing a chilling encounter where FBI agents interview Brudos about Ted Bundy, as a nod to the shared pathological, alarming traits among the offenders.

In The Godfather, actor Happy Anderson portrays Jerry Brudos, the shoe fetish slayer, during a fictionalized FBI visit. The episode is a surreal cocktail of nightmare visits, dream sequences, and overlapping killer lore, mixing Brudos and Ed Gein with the likes of Charles Manson and Ed Kemper. This touch is also a crossover nod to Anderson’s role in Netflix’s Mindhunter, as well, with Brudos having stalked the screen previously on the show.

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Jerry Brudos may be the ultimate shoe collector, but for now, it is only Ed Gein who fits Netflix streaming sock. 

Ed Gein gets the red carpet treatment across the whole of Monster: The Ed Gein Story, with Charlie Hunnam anchoring the show’s deep dive. Gein’s grotesque crimes, his twisted psychology, and his legacy as a horror icon fill eight episodes of grim fascination. In Netflix's true-crime streaming lineup, Gein is the headliner while Brudos plays the eerie understudy, haunting the edges but never quite dominating the spotlight.

If one had been hoping for a full documentary on Jerry Brudos, they might want to pick up a different boot. His story is bundled into these few episodes scattered across streamers from Netflix to Apple TV, without any documentary dedication solely to him. At least not in the way Ed Gein, who enjoys a full-length biopic series that cements his place in true crime streaming lore. 

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Do you think Jerry Burdos is going to fit the streaming shoe any time soon? Let us know in the comments below.