Netflix has acquired The Poet, a true crime article by Corey Mead that was published by Greg Nichols and Matthew Pearl’s digital magazine and media company, Truly*Adventurous. The streamer has teamed with Stranger Things production company 21 Laps with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen producing the project under the label alongside Pouya Shahbazian.

This true story, which is described as being in the vein of Gone Girl and The Gift, is based on hundreds of pages of never-before-seen documents and newly discovered sources. The article tells the story of Ruth Finley, who escaped a murderer as a teen only to find herself on the run again decades later as the Btk killer terrorizes her hometown. With a team of police investigators and her devoted husband intent on saving her, the identity of her tormentor is too chilling to believe.

Last year, 21 Laps and Netflix set a first-look film and TV pact,...