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When it comes to viral true crime documentaries, The Curious Case of Natalia Grace — which followed Ukrainian adoptee Natalia being falsely accused of pretending to be a child by multiple families — is the sub-genre's Mount Everest.
Now, the same production team behind it is bringing you a new binge: The Many Lives of Benjaman Kyle, coming to ID across a two-night event, and HBO Max shortly after.
Yes, I promise you that I've spelled Benjaman correctly in this case. Back in 2004, a man was found naked in a dumpster behind a Burger King in Georgia, and when assistance arrived, it seemed as though he had total amnesia, meaning he couldn't remember his past. Without a name or any form of identification, he named himself Benjaman Kyle.
Husband and wife production team Shannon and Eric Evangelista got wind of the story and quickly became "obsessed" with it, as Shannon reveals in the opening scenes. They began to work directly with Benjaman, and FBI agent Ken Maxwell, in 2014, trying to rediscover his past. Only nothing was as it seemed.
The more that Benjaman's amnesia didn't seem legitimate, the more our trio felt as though he actually had complete mental faculties but was instead trying to run from his past. No spoilers here, but "Benjaman" is actually William Burgess Powell... and boy, does he have a past worth running away from.
There are so many twists and turns that you'll binge the docuseries' four episodes without even blinking. With Shannon, Eric, and Ken regularly on camera, things turn ugly, but Shannon still has no regrets about being left "in tears."
'I wondered if I was going to live out my life in fear, pretending everything was okay'
"Fitting 11 years into four hours is next to impossible," Shannon begins. "So during that timeline, that threat was probably around 2021 at the time."
What threat, you ask? The Many Lives of Benjaman Kyle opens with Shannon in tears, claiming that somebody who has been trying to shut down production of the documentary — thanks to what she has learned about Powell's past — has found out about her two children and their nanny, making veiled threats about them.
By the end of the series, it's implied that Powell himself could have been behind the threatening call we hear play out during episode 4. This remains unconfirmed.
"There were moments I deeply regretted this, and I just felt like I was never going to feel normal again. That I was going to live out my life in fear, looking out of the window, and having no peace of mind. Now, I just have to believe that there's a reason this all happened. I think I'm a firm believer in that."
Watching the episodes, the amount of detective work that Shannon, Eric, and Ken each put in is nothing short of remarkable, fashioning an entire life out of nothing (literally). They're even applauded for their efforts by the local sheriff's office.
By the time The Many Lives of Benjaman Kyle ends, it's 2021, meaning that five years have passed since we last heard anything about William Powell. So what's the best-case scenario from here?
"More episodes and answers," Shannon responds. "Going into a new season with people that recognize him and them giving us information."
Maxwell adds, "We're hoping so, because the mystery is still there. Where was this man between January of 1983 and August of 2004 when he was found lying naked behind a Burger King in Georgia? There's a big gap of time there.
"We're really hoping that these four episodes open the eyes of many people in a number of ways, not the least of which is to generate new leads for us that we may be able to fill in the other missing pieces to the puzzle about Benjaman Kyle/William Powell's life."
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