Looking for new true crime shows to binge-watch? We’ve made a list of some of our favourite crime docu-series and dramas that will leave you with chills.
1. Ted Bundy: Falling for a Killer
Unlike the other films and series based on Ted Bundy, this show did not glorify this ‘charming’ serial killer. Instead, it focussed on his psychological hatred of women and how it collided with the feminist movement and culture wars of the 1970s.
2. Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness
This mini-series follows the life of zookeeper Joe Exotic, who is in prison for having hired someone to kill his animal-rights-activist nemesis, Carole Baskin. It became a sensation overnight, making it one of Netflix’s most successful releases till date.
3. Unbelievable
This mini-series is a dramatisation of the 2008–2011 Washington and Colorado serial rape cases where a woman was accused of lying about rape, and the two detectives who uncovered the twisted truth.
4. The Devil Next Door
A documentary series that follows a trial in Israel, which accused a seemingly harmless grandfather from Cleveland of being the infamous Nazi death camp guard, Ivan the Terrible.
5. Don’t F**k With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer
This three-part docuseries revolves around an online manhunt for a man who caught attention after killing two kittens and posting the video online. It was one of Netflix’s Top 5 most-watched documentaries of 2019.
6. The Confession Killer
The miniseries recalls the 1983 case of Henry Lee Lucas, who confessed to over 200 murders in the United States. However, years after his confession, they turned out to be lies.
7. Making A Murderer
With two successful seasons, this show tells the story of Steven Avery, who served 18 years in prison for the wrongful conviction of sexual assault and attempted murder of a woman.
8. When They See Us
Based on the 1989 Central Park jogger case, this series is a dramatisation of the event and explores the lives and families of the five juvenile male suspects who were falsely accused then prosecuted on charges, related to the rape and assault of a woman in Central Park, New York City.
9. Mindhunter
This psychological thriller series is based on the true-crime book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit written by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker. It follows FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit as they interview imprisoned serial killers to understand how they think.
10. The Confession Tapes
This Netflix series follows several cases of possible false confessions leading to murder convictions of the featured people.
11. The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Based on Jeffrey Toobin’s book, The Run of His Life: The People v. O. J. Simpson, this series revolves around the O. J. Simpson murder case.
12. I Am a Killer
This series includes interviews with infamous death row inmates as they recount the crimes they committed in harrowing detail.
13. The Keepers
This seven-episode documentary explores the 1969 murder of nun Catherine Cesnik. It follows the former students’ belief that there was a cover-up by authorities after Catherine suspected that a priest at the high school, A. Joseph Maskell, was sexually abusing students.
14. Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer
This Netflix series discloses the crimes committed by an American serial killer, serial rapist, kidnapper, pedophile, and burglar – Richard Ramirez with chilling details.
15. American Murder: The Family Next Door
This documentary follows the disappearance of Shanann Watts and her two young daughters, leaving behind her husband who isn’t who he seems to be.
16. Abducted In Plain Sight
Based on 1974 kidnapping of a 12-year-old, this documentary tells the tale of how a trusted neighbour and close family friend turned everything upside down.
How many of these have you watched?