The Best True Crime Documentaries To Watch Right Now (And Where To Watch Them)
While the popularity of the true-crime genre has boomed in recent years, it’s a topic that has fascinated the human race for decades. After all, there’s nothing quite as intriguing as a real insight into the mind of a killer, or a glimpse into the dark underbelly of the criminal empire... am I right?
As such, true crime has been flooding the shelves in every form you could imagine: documentaries, series, podcasts, books - and is arguably one of the best, and most binge-worthy, of all the genres.
Plus, let’s be honest, what better distraction during a country-wide lockdown is there than donning your best sleuthing hat and trying your hand at solving the inexplicable?
Presuming you’ve already binged all three seasons of Making a Murderer, and saw in the start of lockdown with a non-stop marathon of Tiger King ( if you haven’t, I’d highly recommend beginning there), here are a few more titles for you to sink your teeth into…
Abducted in Plain Sight
Synopsis: Abducted in Plain Sight is the bizarre story of the Brobergs: a naive, church-going family from Idaho. The documentary follows the story of Jan Broberg, a 12-year-old who was kidnapped not once, but twice by family friend and serial manipulator, Robert Berchtold.
From tales of alien abduction to some frankly very questionable parenting, you’ll truly lose count of the number of twists and turns in this incredulous kidnapping story.
Where to watch it: Watch it on Netflix
Ted Bundy: Falling For a Killer
Synopsis: After nearly 40 years of silence, Elizabeth Kendall, Ted Bundy’s long-term girlfriend, and her daughter, Molly reveal all in this five-part series about the prolific killing spree that shook 1970’s America.
Revealing unsettling new details, Liz and Molly intimately explore their relationship with Ted, uncovering a side of him that perhaps only they really knew about.
Where to watch it: Watch it on Amazon Prime
The Staircase
Synopsis: Did he do it? That’s the question explored in The Staircase, a 13-part docuseries which follows the story of novelist Michael Peterson, accused of murder following his wife’s fatal fall down the stairs.
Get ready for a number of twists and turns as Michael’s life is catapulted under the microscope in this revealing, bare-all account of the high-profile 2001 murder case.
Where to watch it: Watch it on Netflix
Casting JonBenet
Synopsis: While nobody knows who killed JonBenet Ramsey, most have their own theory on the prolific 1996 murder case that shook America.
In Casting JonBenet, the responses and reflections of local actors from the Ramsey's hometown of Colorado are collated, taking place over the course of 15 months to create a work of art, and a fresh new spin on the ‘documentary’ as we know it.
Where to watch it: Watch it on Netflix
I Am a Killer
Synopsis: In I Am a Killer, a ten-part docuseries, we hear firsthand from ten convicted murderers, each awaiting their fate on Death Row. Get ready for a real rollercoaster of a viewing as we hear the details of the moments leading up to the crimes in question and how, for some, a split-second decision made in the heat of the moment forever sealed their fates.
Where to watch it: Watch it on Netflix
The Keepers
Synopsis: Who killed Sister Cathy? It’s through the seven-part docuseries, The Keepers, that this question is asked, bringing to light the details of the now decades-old murder of Sister Cathy Cesnik.
A documentary that began as an examination of the murder of Cathy in 1969, soon begins to unravel the truth: years of cover-ups, secrets, systematic abuse and collusion.
Where to watch it: Watch it on Netflix
The Innocence Files
Synopsis: In this nine-part docuseries, The Innocence Files brings to light the shocking details of eight wrongful conviction cases, all of which the Innocence Project (made most famous for their work with the Central Park Five) helped to overturn.
A truly shocking watch, it highlights some pretty loaded examples of injustice and deceit, ever-present in the American criminal justice system.
Where to watch it: Watch it on Netflix
Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich
Synopsis: It was news that shocked the nation: on 10 August 2019, Jeffrey Epstein, while awaiting trial for a plethora of sex trafficking charges, died in his cell by apparent suicide.
In Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich, survivors from around the world loosen the lid on the abuse, manipulation and silencing they suffered at the hands of this wealthy convicted sex offender. The survivors, who exclaim: “the monsters are still out there. You took our freedom, now we’re going to take yours,” expose a ring of Epstein enablers, right up until his 2019 arrest.
Where to watch it: Watch it on Netflix