The 65 best true crime series to watch on Netflix right now

Unsolved Mysteries

Netflix’s Unsolved Mysteries has proven a huge hit with fans and even resulted in one of the cases featured being reopened by the FBI. Episode four of the first series followed the case of 23-year-old Alonzo Brooks, who was found dead after attending a house party. Fellow guests at the party said Alonzo – who was of African-American and Mexican heritage – was on the receiving end of racial slurs at the bash. His body was then found a month later in a creek near La Cygne, Kansas but an autopsy couldn’t find a cause of death and no one was ever arrested. In July, Netflix’s official Twitter account offered viewers a huge update on the case. It read: “Update: The body of Alonzo Brooks was exhumed this morning. His case was recently reopened by the @FBI who are offering a $100K reward for tips leading to an arrest. If you know something please come forward. #unsolvedmysteries #Justiceforalonzobrooks.” Meanwhile another episode left viewers convinced that aliens existed after a disappearance of extra-terrestrial proportions. Unsolved Mysteries will return for a second season in October.

Don’t F*** With Cats

This three-part series reveals the sick and twisted crimes of Canadian killer Luka Magnotta, who started off filming himself torturing animals before posting them online. In 2010 he posted his first video which saw him killing two kittens, before later footage showed another kitten being eaten alive by a Burmese python. The internet was up in arms at his behaviour and the documentary follows the real life people who started a manhunt to find him. But things took a more sinister turn when Luka moved on to murdering humans, killing Chinese student Jun Lin after they met on a gay dating site.

Abducted in Plain Sight

This series is the gripping story of how a young girl was kidnapped twice by a neighbour. Jan Broberg was kidnapped twice by neighbour Robert B Berchtold as a young girl – once aged 12 and again aged 14. The community in Idaho in which she lived the early 1970s were completely under the 40-year-old paedophile’s spell. Berchtold lured both Bob and Mary Ann Broberg, who were members of the Church of the Latter Day Sain, into separate sexual encounters, playing on their vulnerability and guilt to achieve his sick aims. Berchtold was a friend of the family and had been molesting Jan for months and convinced her aliens wanted her to have a child with him before abducting her.

The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez

The harrowing documentary reveals how eight-year-old Gabriel was bound, gagged and made to sleep inside a tiny cabinet before he was murdered by his evil mother and her partner. The little boy was repeatedly beaten and tortured by his mum and Isauro in 2013 because they thought he was gay, including being put inside cabinet they nicknamed the “the box”. The series doesn’t shy away from detailing what poor Gabriel went through during his short life, and it has left many viewers struggling to watch it.

Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes

Ted Bundy, who died in an electric chair in Florida on January 24, 1989, confessed to killing 30 women in the 1970s. The documentary is based on the work of journalists Stephen Michaud and Hugh Aynesworth and uses hours of audio interviews they conducted with the killer while he was on death row in 1980. It also includes present-day interviews and archive footage. This unique series focuses on a man whose personality, good looks and social graces defied the serial-killer stereotype, allowing him to hide in plain sight as he committed the brutal sex-crime slayings of more than 30 women before being caught in 1978.  

Making a Murderer

If you haven’t seen this true crime drama series, what have you been doing? Originally released on Netflix in 2015 and immediately had viewers gripped. The series explores the complex case of Steven Avery, who was previously exonerated after spending nearly twenty years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. But he was then arrested and sentenced two years later for the murder of Teresa Halbach, another crime he insists he didn’t commit. Some of the questions that have arisen include whether Avery and Dassey received a fair trial, and whether the police conducted a thorough investigation at the time.

Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez

This the captivating Netflix documentary about how  one of the NFL’s most promising players became a convicted murderer.

The three-part series chronicles the player’s high-profile murder trial, conviction and prison suicide. It also explores his troubled childhood when he was sexually abused by a male babysitter and how he lived in fear of his homophobic father. The former NFL star was serving a life sentence without parole for the 2013 killing of semi-professional footballer Odin Lloyd when he committed suicide in his prison cell.

Evil Genius

The four-part series focuses on the death/murder of Brian Wells in 2003. The pizza delivery man robbed a bank with a bomb strapped to his chest and neck, but evidence later emerged that he may have been forced to commit the crime and wear the device. Despite the subject matter of the series, viewers were still horrified to see footage of Brian blow up within the first 10 minutes of episode one.

How to Fix a Drug Scandal

The docuseries is based on the shocking real life crime committed by Sonja Farak, who was a lab tester for the Amherst lab, in the US state of Massachusetts. Woven into the series is the true life story of Annie Dookhan, whose actions caused thousands of drug convictions to be cast into doubt. The lab tester and Sonja Farak’s crimes resulted in the wrongful conviction of many drug related cases in the state.

Tell Me Who I Am

The feature-length Netflix documentary deals with the heartbreaking story of Alex Lewis, who lost his memory at the age of 18 after a motorcycling accident. Alex relied on his twin brother Marcus to teach him who he was and about their past, but Marcus chose not to tell him about their abusive childhood in a bid to protect his sibling from further trauma. However, following the death of their mother Jill Dudley in 1995, the brothers started to clear out the family home, and Alex made a shock discovery. At the back of their mother’s wardrobe was a secret compartment, and when he opened it he found a naked photograph of himself and Marcus as 10-year-old boys, with their heads cut off. The shocking discovery lead him to ask his twin if they had been abused.  

The Staircase

The Staircase follows a war novelist accused of killing his wife in 2001 and premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival before it arrived on the streaming giant. Eight episodes aired in 2004 and the follow-up runs for three installments. The Staircase has been described as a “gripping real-life courtroom thriller” and has been compared to hit show, Making a Murderer. Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Jean-Xavier de Lestrade was granted access to the case immediately following Kathleen’s death. De Lestrade captured every moment of the story from arrest to verdict, following in intimate detail Peterson’s home, the family and his defence team as it considered its strategic options.

The Keepers

This docuseries examines the decades-old murder of Sister Catherine Cesnik and its suspected link to a priest accused of abuse. Sister Cesnik taught English and drama at Baltimore’s Archbishop Keough High School, and her former students’ believed that there was a cover-up by authorities after Cesnik suspected that a priest at the school, A. Joseph Maskell, was guilty of sexual abuse of students. The series was directed by Ryan White and released on Netflix in 2017.

Out of Thin Air

This British documentary focuses on the Reykjavik Confessions, a case where six people were wrongfully convicted for the disappearances of Guðmundur Einarsson and Geirfinnur Einarsson in Iceland. The film concerns the 1974 disappearances of two unrelated men whose bodies were never found. The first, an 18-year-old man, vanished on a wintry night after attending a party, then months later, a 32-year-old father drove to a café after receiving a late night phone call. He parked his car and was never seen again. The 2017 production reveals how confessions aren’t everything.

Trial 4

Trial 4 is all about the story of Sean K. Ellis, who says he was wrongfully convicted of murder. In 1995 when Ellis was 19, he faced three trials for armed robbery and first-degree murder. His first two trials ended in a hung jury, but after the third Ellis was found guilty and sentenced to life.

Unbelievable

Unbelievable is a dramatization of the 2008–2011 Washington and Colorado serial rape cases. It follows “Marie, a teenager who was charged with lying about having been raped. The two detectives who are investigating the case follow a twisting path endeavouring to found out what really happened.

When They See Us

When They See Us is based on events of the April 19, 1989, Central Park jogger case. Five young boys were subsequently charged with the crime and maintained its innocence. They spent years fighting the convictions, hoping to be exonerated. This limited series spans a quarter of a century, from when the teens are first questioned about the incident in the spring of 1989, going through their exoneration in 2002 and ultimately the settlement reached with the city of New York in 2014.

Murder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story

Murder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story is a 2020 documentary film directed by Daniel H. Birman. The premise revolves around Cyntoia Brown, who was 16 years old when she shot and killed Johnny Michael Allen in 2004. After she was sentenced to life in prison, questions about her past, physiology and the law itself call her guilt into question.

The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story

The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story is a limited series that takes you inside the O.J. Simpson trial with a riveting look at the legal teams battling to convict or acquit the football legend of double homicide.

It is based on the book The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson by Jeffrey Toobin.

It explores the chaotic behind-the-scenes dealings and maneuvering on both sides of the court, and how a combination of prosecution overconfidence, defense shrewdness, and the LAPD’s history with the city’s African-American community gave a jury what it needed: reasonable doubt.

Carmel: Who Killed Maria Marta?

This four-part, Spanish-language docu-series explores the 2002 murder of Argentinian sociologist María Marta García Belsunce, who was found dead in her bathtub. María, 50, was found at the home she shared with her husband of 31 years, Carlos, who was later arrested for her murder and spent five years in prison before the conviction was overturned. Carlos and police had initially believed she had accidentally hit her head and drowned, and the official autopsy ruled her death as “non-traumatic cardiac arrest” However, her family insisted on further investigation and it was discovered she had been shot several times.

Killer Women with Piers Morgan

Journalist and presenter Piers meets a host of American women who are convicted murderers in this chilling series. There are two seasons to binge on, with season one featuring Erin Caffey, whose boyfriend Charlie Wilkinson and his friend Charles Wade shot and stabbed her mother and two brothers to death in 2008. The second series features interviews with Rebecca Fenton, who murdered her husband and Amber Wright, who played apart in the murder of her teenage boyfriend.

The Investigator – A British Crime Story

Described by some as ‘Britain’s answer to Making a Murderer’, The Investigator is created and produced by Simon Cowell and consists of two series so far. The first series has four episodes and focuses on the murder of Carole Packman in 1985. The second consists of three episodes and focuses more on unsolved disappearances and murders which could be linked to serial killers Peter Tobin and Angus Sinclair.

Exhibit A

This 2019 doesn’t examine a specific case like most over true crime series, instead, it looks at how modern crime solving techniques can still be imperfect. The series deconstructs how things like blood spatter and touch DNA can be misread of manipulated, making it a fascinating watch.

Psychopath 

Another Piers Morgan-led series, Psychopath sees him meet Paris Bennett, who killed his four-year-old sister when he was just 13. This was no impulsive fit of rage, but a cold, deliberate act which he had planned for weeks beforehand and was born out of a festering resentment. At the time of filming, Paris is getting close to being eligible for parole and Piers speaks to Paris’ mother Charity about how she feels at the prospect of him leaving prison.

Fear City: New York vs the Mafia

Throughout the 1970s and ’80s, the ‘Five Families’ of the New York mafia – Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese and Luccese – held a powerful, and seemingly insurmountable, grip on the city. This three-part docuseries, from the creators of Don’t F**K With Cats, details the incredible story of the history-making organised crime investigation and prosecution case brought against New York’s most formidable mob bosses. Through interviews with dozens of law enforcement officials, ex-mafia associates and others, Fear City: New York vs The Mafia sheds light on how the mafia’s control of unions, high-rise construction and other industries netted billions for organised crime.

Wild Wild Country

This documentary focuses on Oregon, USA, in the 1980s and the rise of followers of Indian guru “Osho”, also known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. ‘The Big Muddy’ Ranch started out as a retreat but soon became a cult HQ for Osho and his followers. However, Osho isn’t the focus of the six-part documentary, instead, it’s his  right-hand woman, Ma Anand Sheela, who fell in love with him and carried out many terrible crimes in his name in the following years. She tries to defend her actions and crimes, which includes charges of attempted murder, second-degree assault, illegal wire-tapping, arson, and immigration fraud. The series is one of those stranger-than-fiction stories which make a compelling watch.

The Innocent Man

This series follows the non-fiction true crime book: The Innocent Man by bestselling author John Grisham. It looks at two murders and potentially false convictions in a small town in Oklahoma and examines what can happen when U.S Justice system fails, particularly the human cost.

The Family

A rare true-crime series which is not about murder, The Family examines a secretive conservative Christian group known as – you guessed it – The Family. The five episode series looks at The Family’s history and its impact on past and present world events. Often a horrifying watch, it will leave you feeling incredulous that such a large organisation could remain a secret.

World’s Most Wanted

Pretty self-explanatory but this docu-series looks at the most notorious criminals at large, some of whom have escaped arrest for more than 20 years. In particular, it looks at the five most sought after criminals who have avoided capture despite massive rewards and worldwide investigations. Shockingly, the location of one of the criminals is known to the FBI, but he remains free.

Athlete A

This harrowing documentary looks at the sexual abuse scandal which rocked the USA Gymnastics team in 2016. It follows the investigative journalists at the Indianapolis Star who broke the story of Larry Nassar, a physician, and his numerous assaults on young female gymnasts and the USA Gymnastics subsequent attempts to cover up his abuse.

Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel

The chilling docuseries focuses on the disappearance and subsequent death of 21-year-old Elisa Lam in January 2013.

Elisa disappeared while staying at the hotel, which is situated in downtown LA in an area rife with drugs, crime, poverty and homelessness.

Two weeks later, her body was found in a water tank on the top of the hotel and the docuseries looks at whether it was murder, suicide, an accident or even something supernatural.

Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer

The four part series tells the story of Richard Ramirez who went on a rampant killing spree across Los Angeles in the summer of 1985. His crimes ranged from sexual assault to murder and he appeared indiscriminate when it came to his victims, who were from varied backgrounds, both young and old. The story of Ramirez, his crimes and his final imprisonment is told through first-person interviews, archive footage, photographs and reenactments. Ramirez ended up on death row but died in 2013 due to complications from B-cell lymphoma.

Real Detective

This anthology series focuses on a different true crime murder in America each episode. It combines speaking to the real detectives who worked on the case with re-enactments of the events that took place in each scenario. With two seasons under its belt, it makes a riveting watch for any true crime fan.

American Murder: The Family Next Door

This film tells the story of the 2018 murder of the Watts family in Frederick, Colorado. It explores the crimes of Chris Watts, 35, who brutally murdered his wife Shanann, 34, as well as their two daughters Bella and Celeste, aged four and three. To try and cover his tracks, Watts initially lied and claimed that his wife had gone on the run with his children. Clips used include police visiting Watts at his family home, as well as Watts willingly carrying out a polygraph test as police put his lies under the microscope.

The Ripper

This documentary is made by the same team who gave us Netflix hit doc Don’t F**k With Cats. It looks at how poverty, masculinity and misogyny, all contributed to the Ripper evading capture for so long. The series hears from the key people who played a part in bringing Peter Sutcliffe to justice. The Ripper features testimony from senior police officers, journalists and family members who were involved and affected by the killings.  

Trial By Media

This documentary takes a closer look at how six of the most dramatic crime trials in history were discussed in the press. 

The harrowing cases – which includes the New York Subway Vigilante and The Jenny Jones Show murder – it shows how presentation fuelled the public fire. 

A whole host of reporters, civil rights experts, lawyers and special agents come together to discuss how the outcomes of the trials may have differed. 

Captive

This eight-part American documentary series took to Netflix in 2016 after an escalating international trend of hostage taking and kidnapping. 

The true crime show recounts the stories of high-stake kidnappings and hostage negotiations of everyday people caught up in bad business. 

Among them are Paul and Rachel Chandler, a British couple who were abducted by Somali pirates while sailing in the Indian Ocean on their yacht. 

While another episode tells the story of British aid workers

establishing a children’s rehab center in war-torn Chechnya who were taken prisoner and held for a year.

Casting JonBenet

Six-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey was murdered in her own home in 1996. 

While fingers were quickly pointed at her parents, who were soon ruled out by police, more than two decades later there’s still no conclusion to the case. 

After years of media speculation and fascination, Netflix filmmakers looked at the legacy and the lasting opinions of the world’s most famous child-murder case. 

While re-enacting the events of the murder, Colorado-based actors are quizzed about the details of the case and their opinions as to who did it.

Time: The Kalief Browder Story

This heart-wrenching documentary tells the story of Kalief Browder, a New York high school student who was wrongly imprisoned on robbery charges.

The youngster was accused at 16 of stealing a backpack before spending three years on Rikers Island, two of which in solitary confinement, despite being innocent. 

As his family were unable to afford his bail, the criminal justice system continued to keep Kalief inside – and when charges were dropped and he was released, he committed suicide. 

His life and tragic death are investigated in this review of the case, using first-person accounts and re-enactments of Kalief’s life. 

The Two Killings of Sam Cooke

Singer Sam Cooke, who wrote classics like What A Wonderful World and A Change Is Gonna Come, tragically died at 33. 

While the star’s death was initially considered as an act of self-defence, fans later wondered if it was linked with his involvements in the civil rights movement. 

Why Did You Kill Me?

Why Did You Kill Me? takes social media’s influence and turns it up to 11 – with a devastated parent using MySpace in a bid to track down and honey trap her daughter’s killer.

After daughter Crystal Theobald, 24, was shot dead in a drive-by, Belinda creates a fake account on the website in order to lure in and ensnare the gang she believed was responsible.

With the police’s investigation going nowhere, particularly due to the number of gang-related killings, Belinda enlists the help of 14-year-old Jaimie McIntyre, Crystal’s cousin, to get the information she needed.

The Sons Of Sam

The Son Of Sam shootings shook New York throughout 1976 and 1977 before killer David Berkowitz was finally arrested for his crimes. 

However, investigative reporter Maury Terry became obsessed with the idea that he didn’t act alone, and was actually part of a sadistic, countrywide cult that orchestrated the killings in order to start a class war. 

Over the course of four episodes, using extracts from Terry’s diary, we see how the reporter becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth – often at the expense of his own wellbeing as it became his life’s work. 

Who Killed Little Gregory?

The case of Little Gregory is often referred to as “the French equivalent of the Madeleine McCann case” – based around the death of a four-year-old boy. 

Grégory Villemin was abducted from his family home in 1984 and found dead in a river hours later.

The murder comes after his parents, Jean-Marie and Christine Villemin, had received dozens of death threats and letter from an assailant wanting ‘revenge’ on Jean-Marie. 

Grégory’s death sent shockwaves through all of France, with the detectives coming under fire for failing to capture the killer. 

This documentary series tracks the heartbreaking story. 

Long Shot

It’s not often that true crime stories actually come with a happy ending – but Long Shot definitely brings the surprises. 

The series follows a man who is desperate to clear his name after being accused of murder. 

Insisting that he was at a Dodgers baseball game at the time with his daughter at the time of the killing, it’s up to his lawyers to find proof or he will end up on death row. 

While it seems like an impossible task in a stadium full of thousands of people, a lucky chance from the help of comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm proves to be his lifeline. 

Surviving R Kelly

Surviving R Kelly is a harrowing account of the sexual abuse allegations surrounding musician R Kelly. 

Speaking to the alleged victims of the singer as well as those that worked with and knew him, the show tracks the reports that have surrounded his career, as well as first hand accounts of his behaviour. 

The Ignition singer was later arrested on at least 10 counts of sexual assault. 

A Perfect Crime

A Perfect Crime looks into the 1991 killing of politician Detlev Rohwedder, the head of Treuhand, the East German Privatization and Restructuring Agency, in Dusseldorf. 

The unsolved case, which still remains a mystery, lay at the heart of Germany’s tumultuous reunification.

In the documentary series, those involved and close with the case look back on evidence and evaluate theories surrounding the death. 

This Is a Robbery

Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum was a treasure trove of art – from Rebrant to Vermeer. 

That is, until in 1980, when two thieves dressed as police officers managed to con their way in, tie up the security guard and steal 13 expensive artefacts. 

The series, produced over a seven-year period, beginning in 2014, interviews key witnesses, suspects and law enforcement before finally being released this year. 

Making a Murderer – Season 2 

Originally released on Netflix in 2015, Making a Murderer immediately had viewers gripped.

So much so, a second season was released in 2018 to follow up on the complex case of Steven Avery. 

Steven, who was previously exonerated after spending nearly twenty years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, was then arrested and sentenced two years later for the murder of Teresa Halbach.

The second season more closely follows his second trial in court. 

The Three Deaths of Marisela Escobedo

One of Netflix’s more recent true-crime ventures, The Three Deaths of Marisela Escobedo tells the tale of a woman seeking justice for the death of her daughter. 
Tirelessly struggling to prevent her from being forgotten, the activist mum of Juarez was killed while looking to uncover hidden details. 

Focusing in on the death of Marisela, the series follows the failures of the justice system leading to the 2008 murder. 

13th

Filmmaker Ava DuVernay explores the history of racial inequality in the United States prisons. 

Examining how and why the nation’s prisons are disproportionately filled with African-Americans, she looks back through history to uncover a path of vilification. 

The film maker, who received critical acclaim following the release, also uncovers how much money corporations make from the harrowing process. 

Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer

Aileen Wuornos was a notorious female serial killer who shot dead seven men. She became a household name after Charlize Theron portrayed her in her Oscar winning performance in monster.

The documentary follows the life of the sex worker turned serial killer who claimed the men she killed had tried to rape her and she was acting self-defence.

She was executed by the state of Florida with a lethal injection in 2002.

Icarus

When filmmaker Bryan Fogel met up with the head of the Russian anti-doping laboratory Grigory Rodchenkov, little did he know he’d be able to help him take drugs to help enhance his performance at an amateur cycling race.

The scientist manages to find a way for him to take the drugs that won’t appear on any tests, to highlight that some athletes manage to get away with it.

As the pair begin to become friends over their experiment, Rodchenkov reveals that Russia have their own state-sponsored Olympic doping program.

After forming a rapport with the scientist, when the media began to question what they were up to Fogel went to help him and the documentary follows Rodchenkov’s struggles with thee case.

The documentary was awarded the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award.

 

Elize Matsunaga: Once Upon A Crime

Elize Matsunaga was found guilty of brutally murdering her husband in Brazil

One of its most horrifying crime docuseries, this explores the notorious murder of Marcos Matsunaga, who was brutally killed by his wife.  

The spine-chilling series goes through a timeline of events, dating all the way back to Elize’s poverty-stricken childhood and adolescent years all the way to the crime itself.

It also follows the aftermath, from her attempts to cover up the murder to the confession itself, including the arrest and trial in 2016.

 

 

This Is A Robbery: The World’s Biggest Art Heist

The four part docuseries tells the story of how in 1990, two thieves stole millions of dollars worth of art from Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

It remains the biggest art heist in history with more than $500mil worth of artworks stolen from masters such as Rembrandt, Vermeer, Degas and Manet.

The mystery remains unsolved even three decades later.

 

Heist

This brand new series shows how ordinary people almost get away with extraordinary heists.

Some of the heists include, a 21-year-old woman stealing millions in Vegas casino cash, an aspiring father swiping a fortune from the Miami airport, and a Kentucky dad who is accused of one of the biggest bourbon burglaries in history.

Using dynamic reenactments, original interviews, and a fast-paced style viewers will see how the subjects select their targets, the meticulous planning that goes into the job, the sweet glory of success and also the errors that lead investigators straight to the truth.

The perpetrators sit down for in-depth, frequently emotional conversations, alongside family members, accomplices, and the law enforcement officers who eventually brought them to justice.