Friends Like These director reveals “biggest priority” behind Skylar Neese documentary

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Before the premiere of “Friends Like These: The Murder of Skylar Neese” on Hulu, director Clair Titley explained her unique approach to the case and what she focused on most while creating the documentary series. She deliberately avoided the typical style of true crime productions.

This month brings a lot of new documentaries to streaming platforms, but “Friends Like These” is a must-watch. It’s a moving three-part series that investigates the disappearance of Skylar Neese from her West Virginia home on July 6, 2012.

For months, Skylar’s friends and family were deeply worried while police tried to determine what happened to the 16-year-old. In January 2013, her body was found in a secluded wooded area, and the people responsible confessed to the murder that same month.

This documentary series tells the story using social media posts, interviews, and Skylar’s own account, making sure her perspective is at the heart of it. Be aware: this series contains spoilers if you don’t already know the details of the case.

Friends Like These is not a traditional true crime documentary

TopMob interviewed Clair Titley, the director of ‘Friends Like These: The Murder of Skylar Neese.’ Titley explained that she didn’t approach the project as a true crime documentary, but rather as a story focused on Skylar herself.

The most important thing was capturing the feelings and energy of being a teenager. According to Titley, she actually watched a lot of teen movies—more than true crime—to get ideas for the project.

The community was stunned to learn that Brittany Neese’s murderers were her close friends, Shelia Eddy and Rachel Shoaf, who were secretly dating each other.

According to Titley, the goal of ‘With Friends Like These’ is to help viewers reconnect with the experience of being sixteen, when friendships often feel more significant than family relationships.

They wanted to capture the feeling of passionate, all-consuming love – that overwhelming intensity was the main focus when creating this work.

I really loved how they focused on developing Skylar as a character with her own voice and story, instead of just using her to move the plot forward. It felt so much more genuine that she got to be a storyteller herself!

The filmmaker explained they hoped viewers would connect with the characters – both Skylar and her friends – and experience their story personally, rather than trying to solve it like a puzzle.

Titley described the project as being just as much about the powerful and delicate nature of teenage friendships as it is a factual account, piecing together the story through social media posts, personal journals, and what classmates remembered.

These aspects became particularly prominent, though Titley clarified they still occasionally use common storytelling methods from the true crime genre.

Friends Like These: The Murder of Skylar Neese release date & time

The new documentary series will be available on Hulu and Disney+ starting Friday, March 6, 2026. New episodes usually become available at 12am Pacific Time/3am Eastern Time, but that timing isn’t always guaranteed, so be aware if you plan to watch right when it’s supposed to drop.

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2026-03-03 12:49