Top 5 Netflix True Crime Shows
Best Netflix True Crime shows
Top 5 Netflix True Crime Shows
Netflix offers an abundance of true crime drama that will capture your interest, from documentaries to scripted series that examine our flawed justice system.
These series will leave you questioning everything, from criminals with sketchy histories who keep telling unconvincing lies that somehow end up coming true to deceptive government operatives who lead lies for personal gain.
1. Making A Murderer
Making a Murderer was the show that kicked off the recent surge of true crime documentaries. Released in 2015, this series tells Steven Avery's story as he served 18 years behind bars for an unsubstantiated crime before being charged in another murder case two years later. Entertaining yet harrowing, Making a Murderer is an indispensable show for true crime enthusiasts everywhere.
While many true crime shows tend to glorify criminals, this series takes an opposite approach. Instead, it provides us with an unflinching portrait of those responsible for arresting some of history's most notorious serial killers and provides an insider view into their investigations and their work with psychologically-traumatic cases. A must-watch series for anyone interested in criminal psychology.
This intense documentary follows the investigation into the 1996 murders of Lori Vallow and her children in a small Indiana town. These killings can be linked to Chad Daybell, Vallow's fifth husband who indoctrinated her into extreme doomsday beliefs as well as teaching her to torture and murder her own children. This four-part series is at times difficult and unforgettable but remains crucial in understanding cults like these form and operate.
Real-life dramas that chronicle young people convicted of crimes tend to be oversold; this four-part Netflix production provides an eye-opening look into Rikers Island prison's reality as it turns its inmates into criminals. A must-watch for anyone interested in criminal justice issues; especially those without access to bail payments like high school student Kalief Browder who was held for three years without trial without ever receiving trial - two years of which were spent incarcerated without charge at Rikers Island!
2. Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal
An investigation of a murder committed in South Carolina unveils decades of corruption, power abuse and cover-up that encompassed Alex Murdaugh's family - one which left audiences reeling like Making a Murderer had done. This gripping show will explore issues of wealth and privilege in America that will surely keep audiences riveted!
Murdaugh, who served as the fourth generation to run his family law firm in Hampton, South Carolina, was an esteemed civil litigator with an impressive client list that included state officials and politicians as well as former state prosecutors who could give him leverage in court and with local police forces.
His reputation was irreparably damaged when, in 2021, he resigned in response to fund misappropriation allegations and his marriage broke apart. Shortly afterwards, both his daughter and son were murdered, leading investigators down a rabbit hole of unexplained deaths, hitman plots, and multi-million dollar fraud schemes.
Netflix's three-episode Murdaugh series does an admirable job in portraying the case and its aftermath, yet fails to go into greater depth on key aspects of investigation and family financial crimes. Mandy Matney and Liz Farrel's podcast provides much better coverage of both aspects of Murdaugh family abuse in Palmetto State as well as long history of financial crimes committed by them.
Although Making a Murderer features disbarred and convicted attorney as its protagonist, this Hulu limited series also stars Academy Award-winner Patricia Arquette. The series explores the Murdaugh dynasty's power in Hampton County as well as their effect on local law enforcement officers and townspeople; especially regarding fear.
3. Abducted In Plain Sight
Abducted in Plain Sight offers more depth to true crime shows than most movies and TV, without resorting to sensationalism. Since it debuted on Netflix in 2021, Abducted in Plain Sight has quickly become a must-see series for true crime fans. This series follows Jan Broberg, 12, as she is abducted by Robert Berchtold in 1974 and its aftermath; cleverly it centers around survivors more than the perpetrator himself while offering insights into society's response and understanding of paedophilia.
Exhibit A is another compelling true crime show on Netflix that's sure to surprise and disturb. Depicting one of the most infamous mass kidnapping cases ever, that of 26 California students taken hostage and eventually murdered in a soundproof underground cave, Exhibit A is sure to provide true crime fans with plenty of suspenseful moments as it unravels like an epic novel.
Mindhunter is another hit TV series with a unique approach, chronicling the early days of FBI profiling during the 1970s and '80s, providing an intriguing view into how people can act maliciously towards one another. Starring Holt McCallany and Jonathan Groff as profilers, this show is riveting yet heart-wrenching at once; ultimately telling one detective's tale as she struggles to come to terms with both her troubled past and murder investigations she investigates today.
4. The Staircase
The Staircase is an epic true crime show about an apparent murder and its effect on culture and society. A 2022 adaptation of Jean-Xavier de Lestrade's 2004 documentary series by this name by Colin Firth and Toni Collette takes up Michael Peterson, an author who claimed Kathleen Peterson died after falling down their staircase at their Durham, North Carolina home.
This show's central narrative follows Michael through his trial with defense lawyer David Rudolf (Michael Stuhlbarg), as well as into the minds of his two sisters, who publicly denied his innocence. Like an intricate Russian doll story, different sides to tragedy emerged depending on who told it and their perspective was revealed or protected depending on who told it.
Antonio Campos, who directed three out of 13 episodes as showrunner and directed two that weren't released to press, has created an American gothic that explores modern family tensions. It has an intricate plotline similar to Gone Girl but with greater weight and substance.
The Staircase stands out as more than just another do-or-don't story because Campos provides us with a more complete picture than just one-dimensional accusations of who committed Kathleen's unsettling death. With his co-showrunner Maggie Cohn on board as co-showrunners and adeptly portraying various personalities without jeopardizing the integrity of its case. It should be required viewing for anyone considering law school admissions or becoming police officers.
5. Evil Genius
Netflix quickly established itself as the premier source for long-form true crime documentaries with Serial and The Jinx, quickly creating an industry for such content. Evil Genius is another riveting look into a controversial case without crossing over into exploitative territory; although less compelling than Making a Murderer, this four episode limited series will still satisfy anyone looking to gain further insights into one of America's most perplexing murder cases.
This series traces the 2003 bank heist in Erie, Pennsylvania which resulted in pizza deliveryman Brian Wells' death and explores how an apparent simple story of drugs, murder-for-hire and an intricate plot became much more than initially anticipated. Director Trey Borzillieri uses interviews with people that knew Wells and Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong (alleged mastermind), police, and news reporters as the foundation of this epic narrative.
What sets this Netflix true crime show apart is its focus on how place and culture can help a criminal to conceal his or her crime, including exploring how the internet has played into this case (Luka Magnotta was an internet celebrity known for posting videos of himself murdering kittens).
Borzillieri does an admirable job of exploring many aspects of Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong's character; however, his focus becomes too concentrated when he treats her like a cult figure and seems enamored of how she disregards social norms. If he had simply taken his time during interviews with her instead of racing through them quickly then this show may have been even better; regardless it still gives viewers insight into just how far people will go in pursuit of money and power.