Everything you need to know before watching 'Making a Murderer Part 2'

In late 2015, Netflix started a phenomenon when its true crime docuseries, “Making a Murderer,” sparked debate all over the country.

The true-crime series follows the trials of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey, a pair of Manitowoc County, Wisconsin residents who were accused of murdering and mutilating the body of 25-year-old photographer Teresa Halbach in 2005. The series focused on the prosecution's lack of incriminating evidence, a confession that many believe was coerced, and a police department that possibly had something against the accused.

The series was a huge hit, and people immediately became engrossed in the case which began to make national headlines. 

Since the release of "Making a Murderer" in 2015, Netflix has released other addictive docuseries including "The Keepers,""The Staircase," and "Wild Wild Country."

If you don't have time to watch the entire first season of "Making a Murderer" before you dive into part two — or if you need a refresher (it's been a while!) — here's everything you need to know about the first season, and what's happened in between seasons one and two.

Here's 10 things you need to know about "Making a Murderer": 

The Avery family wasn't well-regarded in the community, and Steven Avery didn't exactly have a clean history.

The Avery family didn't mix well with their community in Wisconsin. They kept to themselves and lived close to each other or on their family property, where they ran an auto-salvage yard. 

Avery's record before the rape arrest wasn't clean. It included a few burglaries and cruelty to an animal — he doused a cat with gasoline and placed it in a fire. On "Making a Murderer," Avery, who's revealed to have an IQ of 70, says that it was all a result of hanging with the wrong people.

Steven Avery served 18 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit.

Steven Avery returned to his family in 2003 after being exonerated for the 1985 rape and assault of a woman, Penny Beerntsen, in his home county of Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. New DNA evidence proved that he was innocent. Avery served 18 years in prison for the crime. 

The series suggests that Avery was framed for the crime, because of the county's hatred toward the Avery family, because he was already a troublemaker, and because the county just wanted to wrap up the case. 

Avery sued Manitowoc County for wrongful conviction.

After Avery was freed in 2003, an investigation found no wrongdoing on the part of Manitowoc County's police in his conviction.

So Avery filed a $36 million lawsuit against the county and officers who took part in his wrongful conviction, and went through a civil case.