"Death of the Pastor's Wife" is a three-episode true-crime docuseries that Netflix released on August 26, 2026. It covers the 2024 death of Mica Miller, who was estranged from her husband, South Carolina pastor John-Paul Miller, and the federal criminal case that followed, as reported by whats-on-netflix.com. The series pairs new interviews with people close to Mica with previously unseen footage, and it draws a hard line between what has been proven in court and what investigators have only alleged. The sections below cover the premise, the people behind the camera, the episode breakdown, how critics received it, and how to watch it.
Table of Contents
- What is the series about?
- Who made it, and who appears on screen?
- Episode guide
- How critics and audiences responded
- How to watch it
- Frequently Asked Questions
What is the series about?
Mica Miller was 30 years old when she died on April 27, 2024, found in a North Carolina state park. Her death was officially ruled a suicide, according to Court TV. At the time, she was in the process of separating from her husband, John-Paul Miller, who led Solid Rock Church in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The series reconstructs the final years of Mica's life and marriage using firsthand accounts from her friends and family, several of whom speak on record for the first time, along with footage that had not previously been made public, per ABC News 4.
A separate federal case runs alongside the personal story. A grand jury in Columbia, South Carolina, indicted John-Paul Miller on cyberstalking and false-statements charges, alleging he harassed Mica from November 2022 until her death — conduct that included posting a non-consensual nude photo of her, tracking her vehicle, and contacting her more than 50 times in a single day, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of South Carolina, cited by Court TV. John-Paul Miller has not been charged over Mica's death itself. The federal charges against him are limited to cyberstalking and making false statements to investigators, as ChurchLeaders reports.
Who made it, and who appears on screen?
Mike Gasparro directed the series and also served as its showrunner and executive producer. Julia Willoughby Nason co-directed, per ABC News 4. Both are documentary filmmakers with experience building true-crime series around a central, unresolved personal story rather than a straightforward procedural.
The series is not built around reenactments or a traditional narrator. Its weight comes from the people who knew Mica, several speaking publicly about her for the first time, combined with footage that had never been shown before, according to the same ABC News 4 report. That combination gives the series access to the texture of Mica's daily life and marriage rather than relying only on court documents and news coverage.
Episode guide
"Death of the Pastor's Wife" runs exactly three episodes, each under 50 minutes, according to Netflix's own title page: That structure, laid out on Netflix's title page, makes the series a single sitting for most viewers — combined runtime lands at roughly two hours and fourteen minutes across all three episodes.
- Episode 1, "A Note From Your Pastor" — 42 minutes
- Episode 2, "Helpmate" — 48 minutes
- Episode 3, "What Happened to Mica" — 44 minutes
How critics and audiences responded
Richard Roeper, writing for RogerEbert.com, gave the series 3 out of 4 stars. He credited the filmmakers with handling what he called a "lurid story" without sensationalizing the details or exploiting Mica as the subject, according to his review. Carla Hay of Culture Mix offered a more qualified take in the same piece, describing the series as "compelling but very one-sided." Audience response outpaced the critical reception. The series debuted at No.
1 on Netflix's global English-language TV chart for the week of August 25–31, 2026, drawing roughly 19 million views and 43.3 million hours viewed, and it also topped the chart in the UK, according to Comingsoon.net. It held the No. 1 global spot into its second week, adding about 13.9 million more views in that stretch. That combination — a positive-but-not-rapturous critical score alongside chart-topping viewership — is typical of true-crime docuseries built around a case that was already generating significant news coverage before the series premiered.
How to watch it
Streaming the series requires nothing beyond an active Netflix subscription. All three episodes are available worldwide through the Netflix app or website at the show's title page, with no separate rental, purchase, or add-on tier involved, per Netflix's listing. Because the series is included with any standard Netflix plan, there's no separate signup step for viewers who are already subscribers.
- Search "Death of the Pastor's Wife" in the Netflix app or go directly to its title page
- Press play on Episode 1, "A Note From Your Pastor," to start from the beginning
- Expect about two hours and fourteen minutes total if watching all three episodes back to back
Frequently Asked Questions
Is John-Paul Miller charged with his wife's death?
No. He faces federal cyberstalking and false-statements charges tied to his conduct toward Mica before her death, not charges related to the death itself, according to ChurchLeaders.
How long is the whole series?
About two hours and fourteen minutes across three episodes: 42, 48, and 44 minutes, per Netflix's title page.
Do I need anything beyond a Netflix subscription to watch it?
No. It streams for any active subscriber worldwide with no extra rental or add-on, according to Netflix.