Of all the mysteries in the Netflix thriller “ The Beast in Me ,” the least suspenseful is its source of inspiration. The limited series co-stars Matthew Rhys as Nile Jarvis, a reclusive New York real estate heir widely suspected of murdering his first wife who decides to unburden himself to a suspicious interlocutor. Nile’s conversation partner is a writer, not a filmmaker, but scrubbed of proper nouns, this synopsis is more or less identical to that of “The Jinx,” the 2015 docuseries that made now-convicted killer Robert Durst a household name.

Most of the invention in “The Beast in Me,” which was created by novelist Gabe Rotter (the “X-Files” revival) and showrun by Howard Gordon (“Homeland”), is reserved for Nile’s interviewer. Claire Danes is one of few actors with a TV résumé

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