20 best true crime shows you can binge watch today on Netflix

In recent times, there has been an increasing popularity of true crime shows. These shows are addictive because one cannot predict what will happen next. They explore bizarre behavior, criminality, and even mysterious situations. Imagining that the events happened in real life makes them more interesting to watch.

What is a true crime series? True crime shows are based on real-life events that were recorded in recent times or a while back. They embrace multiple truths, show the unreliability of the judicial systems, and try to connect to a bigger picture. There usually is a lot of suspense in crime TV shows.

Best true crime shows to binge on

Netflix has a variety of true crime shows that you can stream on any internet-enabled device as long as you have an active subscription.

The best crime shows on Netflix will give you chills. It is hard to believe that they are not just fictional stories.

20. Shadow of Truth

• Release: 2016
• Runtime: 40 minutes
• Episodes: 8
• Creators: Yotam Guendelman, Ari Pines and Mika Timor
• Country: Israel

Shadow of Truth is one of the true crime TV shows that will leave you in tears. The documentary mini-series is about the murder of a 13-year-old high school girl from Israel known as Tair Rada.

Tair goes missing, and her body is recovered in the school toilets after a long search. Her remains are in a stall that is locked from the inside.

After a week of investigations, the police arrest a Ukrainian immigrant named Roman Zadorov, who works for the school. Eventually, Roman confesses, and his trial begins.

However, his confession is not believable, and some people are sure that he did not do it. One person comes out and claims that he knows Tair’s real killer.

19. Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez

• Release: 2020
• Runtime: 3 hours 22 minutes
• Country: United States of America

Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez is one of the Netflix crime shows that you should watch. It is a three-part documentary that examines the cause of the death of Aaron Hernandez, who was a National Football League (NFL) superstar.

Aaron Hernandez was a young athlete from Bristol, Connecticut, United States of America, and he was determined to play for a top tier college before being listed into the NFL at the age of 20 years.

In 2013, he signed a $40 million deal with the New England Patriots. Soon, he was in all news headlines for the murder of Odin Lloyd and two other men from Boston.

During his trial, many of his secrets were revealed. He has an abusive upbringing that motivated his violent nature.

18. When They See Us

• Release: 2019
• Runtime: 4 hours 56 minutes
• Episodes: 4
• Creator: Ava DuVernay
• Country: United States of America

When They See Us is one of the top crime shows on Netflix at the moment. It is based on a true rape story that happened in Central Park in 1989.

That year, a female jogger was attacked and raped in the park, and five young men were charged for the crime. The five were branded The Central Park Five, and they all maintained innocence throughout their trials.

Their case was settled in 2014 in New York. The series features celebrities Michael Kenneth, Felicity Huffman, John Leguizamo, and Blair Underwood.

17. The Innocent Man

• Release: 2018
• Runtime: 4 hours 44 minutes
• Episodes: 6
• Creators: Ross M. Dinerstein and Clay Tweel
• Country: United States of America

The Innocent Man is among the best crime shows that you can stream on Netflix. It is about Ron Williamson, a man who was wrongly accused of a crime.

He sat in the death row for 11 years in Oklahoma. He was eventually found innocent.

The plot of this mini-series is based on the book dubbed The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town by John Grisham.

The series features Heather McPhaul, J.J. Arends, Maura Antas, Serena Burns, Seth Michael Connell, and Garrett Davis.

16. O.J.: Made in America

• Release: 2016
• Runtime: 7 hours 47 minutes
• Director: Ezra Edelman
• Country: United States of America

O.J.: Made in America is one of the best true crime shows currently because it explores issues such as race, violence, media, the criminal justice system, and celebrity status.

It is a documentary about the rise and fall of celebrity O.J. Simpson. He had a high-profile murder trial that created some racial tension in America.

It is over two decades since the trial, but the mini-series continues to shed light on the issues facing American society.

The mini-series has won one Oscar award so far. Some of the stars are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Muhammad Ali, Marcus Allen, F. Lee Bailey, Paula Barbieri, Rona Barrett, and many others.

15. The Confession Tapes

• Release: 2017
• Runtime: 46 minutes
• Episodes: 11
• Creator: Kelly Loudenberg
• Country: United States of America

The Confession Tapes is among the most intense crime investigation shows on Netflix. It investigates people who are convicted of murder.

Their confessions are coerced due to the lack of physical evidence. Devious psychological techniques are used during the interrogations to extract information from the suspects.

It features David Burns, Loretta Fisher, Sarah Isaacs, Ken Klonsky, James Konat, Michael Abramsky, and many others. All of them appear in the documentary as themselves.

14. The Jinx

• Release: 2015
• Runtime: 4 hours 39 minutes
• Episodes: 6
• Filmmaker: Andrew Jarecki
• Producer: Marc Smerling
• Country: United States of America

The Jinx is one of the best crime TV shows by Andrew Jarecki. It is about Robert Durst, a real estate heir, who was suspected of murdering his wife in 1982.

Besides his wife’s disappearance, he was also suspected of killing a family friend named Susan and a neighbor named Morris Black. In the series, chilling details were revealed.

It is interesting to know that the documentary was released after a whole decade of research. It features Robert Durst, Andrew Jarecki, Dick Deguerin, Kevin J. Hynes, and Jeanine Pirro as themselves.

13. Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes

• Release: 2019
• Runtime: 3 hours 56 minutes
• Episodes: 4
• Creator: Joe Berlinger
• Country: United States of America

Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes is among the Netflix best true crime shows that feature the actual serial killer, Ted Bundy.

In the series, the serial killer is on a death row. It looks into his mind to understand why he murdered people.

The people who feature in the chilling documentary as themselves include Stephen Michaud, Bob Keppel, Marlin Lee Vortman, Hugh Aynesworth, Carol DaRonch, Ken Katsaris, David Yocom, Bob Dekle, among many others.

12. Tabloid

• Release: 2011
• Runtime: 1 hour 27 minutes
• Creator: Errol Morris
• Country: United States of America

If you are looking for the top true crime shows to stream, Tabloid is one of the must-watch mini-series. It focuses on a former Miss Wyoming, who has a criminal charge.

Joyce McKinney, the former Miss Wyoming, has a self-reported intelligence quotient of 168. After her pageant days are over, she becomes the talk of the town in what is dubbed The Case of the Manacled Mormon.

What did she do? The North Carolina native was involved with some Mormons in her quest for true love, but she knew nothing about Mormonism. She fell in love with Kirk Anderson, and the couple even wanted to get married.

Kirk then disappeared, so she used a private investigator to track him down in England, where he was being mistreated by the Mormon elders. She kidnapped him and took him to a secluded cottage.

11. The Act

• Release: 2019
• Runtime: 60 minutes
• Episodes: 8
• Creators: Nick Antosca and Michelle Dean
• Country: United States of America

Gypsy is the daughter of Dee Dee Blanchard, who is overly protective, so she tries to escape from the toxic environment that the mother has created.

Her quest for freedom from Blanchard opens up a big box of secrets, and this eventually leads to murder. The real crime happened in 2015.

The mini-series features actors and actresses Patricia Arquette, Joey King, AnnaSophia Robb, Steve Coulter, Sawyer Schultz, Justin Miles, among several others.

10. The Staircase

• Release: 2004
• Episodes: 8
• Director: Jean-Xavier de Lestrade (original production in French)
• Country: United States of America

The Staircase is one of the top true crime shows on Netflix. In 2001, Michael Peterson’s wife, Kathleen Peterson, was found dead at the bottom of the stairs in the couple’s North Carolina home.

Michael called 911, saying that his wife fell off the stairs, and she was still breathing. Afterward, he was charged with first-degree murder.

His trial had strange stories and theories of how Kathleen died.

9. Wild Wild Country

• Release: 2018
• Runtime: 6 hours 43 minutes
• Episodes: 6
• Country: United States of America

Wild Wild Country is one of the top best true crime shows streaming on Netflix right now. It is about a controversial guru who decides to build a perfect city in the remote area of Oregon county.

The decision leads to a feud with the local ranch owners.

The feud leads to the first bioterror attack in America, and there is a lot of illegal wiretapping. What results is a country that is being tested for its tolerance for the separation of the state and the church.

The members of the cast appeared as themselves. They include Osho, Ma Anand Sheela, George Meredith, Jane Stork, Philip Toelkes, Robert Weaver, and many others.

8. The Keepers

• Release: 2017
• Runtime: 7 hours 16 minutes
• Episodes: 7
• Country: United States of America

The Keepers is a must-watch mini-series about sister Cathy Cesnik, who was murdered. The catholic nun worked for a high school in Baltimore.

On the night of the 7th of November 1969, she disappeared. Her body was recovered two months later.

To date, her case remains unsolved. However, Netflix attempts to piece the pieces of the story together. Secrets are uncovered over five decades after her demise.

The people who featured in the documentary appeared in their true identities. Some of them are Gemma Hoskins, Abbie Schaub, Jean Hargadon Wehner, Teresa Lancaster, Lil Hughes Knipp, Chris Centofanti, and Beverly Wallace.

7. Making a Murderer

• Release: 2015
• Runtime: 60 minutes
• Episodes: 20
• Country: United States of America

Making a Murderer was filmed for over ten years. It focuses on DNA exoneree Steven Avery. He was in the middle of exposing corruption in the law enforcement department but instead found himself the main suspect of a crime.

As a result, he spent almost two decades in jail. He was exonerated but found himself accused of murder not long afterward.

The show features Dolores Avery, Steven Avery, Laura Nirider, Ken Kratz, Kathleen Zellner, and Brendan Dassey. The show has won four Primetime Emmys so far.

6. Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders

• Release: 2017
• Runtime: 1 hour 20 minutes
• Episodes: 8
• Creator: Rene Balcer
• Country: United States of America

Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders on Netflix is about the murder of a Hollywood movie executive and his wife by their sons.

The Mendez brothers brutally murdered their parents in Beverly Hills, and this story became a global issue. The series details the crime and its players.

It tries to unravel the shocking truth about what happened on that fateful day. The series has been nominated for the Primetime Emmy award once.

The members of the cast in the documentary include Edie Falco, Gus Halper, Miles Gaston Villanueva, Chris Bauer, Dominic Flores, and Constance Marie.

5. The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey

• Release: 2016
• Runtime: 4 hours
• Episodes: 2
• Country: USA

The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey is about the killing of JonBenét Ramsey, who was only six years old. She was a beautiful child who took part in beauty contests.

She was killed in her family’s house in Boulder, Colorado, and a lengthy note was found. The note asked for $118,000 in exchange for JonBenét's safe return home.

To date, the case is still unsolved. In the documentary series, there is an attempt to solve her mysterious murder.

It features Jim Clemente, Christopher Beanland, Danny Bohnen, Erin Feltes, Joanna Goud, among others.

4. The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story

• Release: 2018
• Runtime: 42 minutes
• Episodes: 9
• Creators: Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski and Tom Rob Smith
• Country: USA

The Assassination of Gianni Versace on Netflix is the second part of the anthology series dubbed American Crime Story. It aired in 2018.

It is about the murder of designer Gianni Versace, who was a victim of spree killer Andrew Cunanan. The plot is based on the book, Vulgar Favors: Andrew Cunanan, Gianni Versace, and the Largest Failed Manhunt in U.S. History, by Maureen Orth.

The show features Édgar Ramírez, Darren Criss, and Penélope Cruz as Gianni Versace, Andrew Cunanan, and Donatella Versace, respectively.

3. Dirty John

• Release: 2018
• Runtime: 50 minutes
• Episodes: 16
• Creator: Alexandra Cunningham
• Country: USA

Dirty John is about a handsome doctor with whom Debra fell in love. The couple had a whirlwind of romance.

Behind the scenes, John manipulated Debra psychologically. Before meeting her beau, Debra had a seemingly perfect life, and she resided in Newport Beach in California.

Her new love did not earn the respect and affection of her daughters, Terra and Veronica. His presence created some tension between Debra and her daughters.

The two girls decided to investigate their mother’s new lover. John’s mind games resulted in dire consequences for Debra and her children.

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

• Release: 2016
• Episodes: 10
• Country: USA

The People v. O. J. Simpson was the first release in the American Crime Story anthology. It is about O. J. Simpson’s murder case, and it is based on the book, The Run of His Life: The People v. O. J. Simpson by Jeffrey Toobin.

Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski developed the documentary. Cuba Gooding Jr., Sarah Paulson, David Schwimmer, and John Travolta featured as Simpson, Marcia Clark, Robert Kardashian, and Robert Shapiro, respectively.

1. Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness

• Release: 2020
• Runtime: 5 Hours 17 minutes
• Episodes: 7
• Directors: Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin
• Country: USA

Which is the best crime series? Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness is the talk of the town right now. The documentary is about the feud between people who love big cats.

Joe Exotic is a gun-toting polygamist and country music singer who ran the G.W. Zoo in Oklahoma. He often dealt with conmen, cult leaders, and drug dealers.

His big cat business was thriving until Carole Baskin, who owns a big cat sanctuary, threatened to end Joe’s business. Joe decided to eliminate her, but the hired murderer did not do his job even after being paid.

Joe has since been arrested for murder-for-hire plot and is serving a 22-year jail term.

True crime shows typically detail the events surrounding a criminal offense, such as murder. Although they present chilling content, they expose the challenges that modern society faces. Which among the above shows is your favorite?

Source: Legit.ng