True crime is a genre that not only delves into dark tales of murder but also outrageous journeys through stranger-than-fiction stories with characters as quirky as they are criminal. Netflix has become a big name in true crime documentaries, producing a slew of new titles each season. But don't be overwhelmed by their selection. Trust us to point you toward the very best of the batch.
By now, everyone knows Making a Murdererand The Staircase. But being popular doesn't make either documentary series top-notch. Instead, we're offering films and TV shows that explore outlandish cons, wrongfully convicted redemptions, shocking truths, amateur detectives, and murder cases that'll keep you up at night. Whether you're seeking something chilling, cathartic, or surprisingly silly, we've got you covered.
Here are the 10 best true crime docs on Netflix streaming now.
SEE ALSO:HBO's 'Last Call' is true crime done right
Credit: NetflixIt was the cheese sandwich seen 'round the world, and the beginning of the end of aspiring impresario's Billy McFarland's biggest scheme. If you believed the sponsored content posted by celebs on Instagram, the first Fyre Festival was poised to be a party paradise, full of kick-ass music, haute cuisine, and bikini-clad models frolicking on gorgeous beaches. Then guests, who shelled out big bucks for an island oasis vacation, arrived to find rusty buses and urine-soaked tents. The backlash and schadenfreude came fast and hilarious. Director Chris Smith takes audiences behind the scenes of this fraud-filled festival, speaking not only to the stiffed guests but also to former McFarland employees, who smelled smoke but couldn't stop the Fyre. —Kristy Puchko, Film Editor
How to watch:Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happenedis now streaming on Netflix.
Credit: NetflixIn just 81 minutes on Saint Patrick's Day weekend of 1990, a daring nighttime heist conducted by a pair of counterfeit cops robbed the eccentric Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston of millions of dollars of works, including pieces by Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt, Edgar Degas, and Édouard Manet. Decades later, answers are still sought, as are the stolen pieces. Documentarian Colin Barnicle dives into the wild details of the investigation as well as the fascinating history of the museum's namesake, Isabella Stewart Gardner, and her peculiar will. But what truly brings this four-part mini-series alive is its colorful interview subjects, ranging from earnest art experts to the museum's unusual guards, the reporters who covered the case, and one of the heist's most infamous — and hilarious — suspects. From the self-proclaimed "wicked pretentious" to the proudly criminal, This is a Robberyoffers character and insight that makes it a thrilling and fun spin on true crime. —K.P.
How to watch: This is a Robbery: The World's Biggest Art Heist is now streaming on Netfix.
Credit: NetflixWhen Juan Catalan was hauled into a Los Angeles police station, he had no idea why the detectives were asking about his whereabouts on May 12, 2003. He had no idea that a 16-year-old girl had been murdered in cold blood, and he was the prime suspect. And he definitely had no idea how this ferocious frame job by the cops would be thwarted by a Dodgers game and a Curb Your Enthusiasmtwist. Now, we're not saying a twist that's funny in a sardonic way: Literally, Larry David appears in this Jacob LaMendola-directed doc. In an inexplicable interview, the comedy icon reflects on the time a random twist of fate led to his saving an innocent man from death row. Short, stunning, and ultimately heartwarming, this Netflix doc is a must-see for true crime fans — and Dodgers fans for that matter! —K.P.
How to watch: Long Shot is now streaming on Netflix.
Credit: NetflixYou might think you know the story of Amanda Knox, the so-called "Angel Face" killer. In 2007, her roommate was found viciously murdered in their flat in Perugia, Italy; Knox was instantly eyed as the prime suspect. The Italian tabloids were ravenous, fawning over her beauty while condemning the all-American college student as heartless demon who dared to kiss and cartwheel while her friend lay dead. For nearly a decade, Knox proclaimed her innocence, enduring three trials before ultimately earning her exoneration. Finally free, she shares her story in this doc from Rod Blackhurst and Brian McGinn. Her reflections are riveting, full of righteous rage and insight. Yet the doc's most shocking moments come from those who gleefully defamed her, caring more about splashy headlines than the cause of justice. Simply put, this investigation is spine-tingling in ways you might not expect. —K.P.
How to watch:Amanda Knoxis now streaming on Netflix.
Ava DuVernay’s 13thshould be compulsory viewing, a powerful documentary that examines mass incarceration and wrongful imprisonment of Black people in America and the long, sinister, racist history that has enabled this discriminatory system to continue. As Mashable’s Tricia Crimmins writes, “The documentary, titled to reference the 13th Amendment — the amendment that abolished slavery — not only elevates the voices of those who have fallen victim to the broken justice system, it exposes those who made such a system possible, such as proponents of Jim Crow-era statutes and the multiple former presidents and political leaders that contributed to the Republican Party's war on drugs (which enlisted Bill Clinton as well). 13thextensively enlightens viewers on how a majority of black Americans unfairly serve time in the prison industrial complex.” —Shannon Connellan, UK Editor*
Where to watch: 13this now streaming on Netflix.
SEE ALSO:12 of the best movies by Black creators to watch on Netflix now
Credit: NetflixEver have that itchy suspicion you're being watched? If so, Myles Kane and Josh Koury's documentary about a proud Peeping Tom will chill you to the bone. The story begins in the 1980s, when esteemed journalist Gay Talese got a curious letter from a motel owner out of Colorado. Through a correspondence that lasted decades, Gerald Foos confessed to a barrage of unsettling crimes, including spying on his guests during intimate moments, robbing them blind, and staying mum about a murder he'd witnessed. So why tell Talese? This mind-bending doc digs into this, untangling a twisted web of lies that call into question this odd friendship and the obsession that sparked it. Fascinating and infuriating, this is a different kind of true crime tale that is no less unnerving. —K.P.
How to watch:Voyeur is now streaming on Netflix.
If you watch a lot of crime procedurals, you know that some evidence is iron-clad, like video footage, DNA, blood spatter, and the howl of a cadaver dog. Throw the book at 'em, case closed. But what if it's not that simple? Over the course of four short-yet-insightful episodes, documentarian Kelly Loudenberg explores cases of robbery, assault, child abduction, and murder to reveal the shortcomings of so-called iron-clad evidence. Like her other Netflix series, The Confession Tapes, Exhibit Aurges true crime fans to question our assumptions by presenting incredible stories that expand our understanding of forensic science and reasonable doubt. —K.P.
How to watch:Exhibit Ais now streaming on Netflix.
Credit: NetflixThis seven-episode miniseries explores an unholy cold case and the dark secrets buried with it. In 1970, a nun named Catherine Cesnik was found murdered near a Baltimore dumpsite. Decades later, her students reunite in a quest to find justice for this compassionate nun. In their search, they expose allegations of sexual abuse against a powerful local priest, whom they suspect may have been Sister Cathy's killer. While this docuseries delves into disturbing content (including descriptions of child abuse), director Ryan White doesn't gawk. Instead, he gives the survivors room to tell their stories, and offers advocates/amateur detectives the space needed to lay out their case. These women are full of verve and resilience that is astonishing and inspiring. The result is a riveting series that is heart-wrenching yet deeply humane. —K.P.
How to watch:The Keepers is now streaming on Netflix.
You might recognize Jan Broberg from the TV drama Everwood. However, long before she was an actress, she was an outgoing little girl whose world was turned upside down by a manipulative predator. To warn others about the signs of grooming and abuse, she, her parents, and siblings share their soul-shaking story in Skye Borgman's devastating doc. In separate and stunning interviews, they reveal how one wicked man exploited bonds of faith, friendship, and loyalty to abduct and molest a girl, who went along because she was brainwashed into thinking it a necessary sacrifice. Not for the faint of heart, Abducted in Plain Sightunveils horrid details, but never loses touch with the humanity of a family who survived this nightmare together. —K.P.
How to watch:Abducted in Plain Sight is now streaming on Netflix.
SEE ALSO:The 23 best true crime documentaries on Max
Credit: NetflixThe Watts family became national news when mom Shanann went missing along with her two young daughters. Suspicions fast fell on her husband, Chris, but few could predict what horrors he'd unfold under police interrogation.
When the grisly details emerged, so did debate over the Watts' troubled marriage, and who was to blame for the bloodshed that followed. Documentarian Jenny Popplewell takes a distinctive approach to exploring this much-discussed case. Instead of relying on talking head interviews from experts and witnesses, she lets audiences see for themselves every step of the investigation through home movies, security footage, police body cams, and interrogation room recordings. She also enables Shanann to speak beyond the grave by revealing her Facebook posts as well as texts and e-mails, in which she frequently lamented about her husband's coldness. This grim story is respectfully told, humanizing the victim and avoiding graphic footage of the crime scene. All the same, the content may be too much for some viewers to stomach. —K.P.
How to watch:American Murder: The Family Next Dooris now streaming on Netflix.
Israeli conman Simon Leviev is the Tinder date from hell. He’d shower women with lavish gifts, pretending to be the son of a Russian mogul. Later, after earning his new girlfriend’s trust, he’d pretend to have been attacked and claim that his accounts were compromised, that he needed a little help to hold him over until the problem was solved. These poor women would take out loans and open new credit cards to help Simon, and then he’d use that money to buy lavish gifts for the next Tinder match he planned to scam. It’s a relationship Ponzi scheme that takes “bad date” to a whole new level.
The Tinder Swindleris a heartbreaking watch that you simply can’t look away from. And even more troubling than his despicable con is that Simon wasn’t banned from Tinder until well after this chilling documentary was released in 2022. Ever the grifter, he’s now selling Tinder Swindler merch and NFTs with quotes from the movie that excoriates him. — Kristina Grosspietsch, Freelance Writer
How to watch: The Tinder Swindleris now streaming on Netflix.
Credit: Melissa J. Perenson for AP / NetflixIn January 2018, USA Gymnastics team physician Larry Nassar was charged for decades of abuse against girls and young womenafter more than 100 women — including athletes Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman, Simone Biles, and McKayla Maroney— made sexual assault accusations against him. It's now 500.
One of those athletes, Maggie Nichols, reported the abuse to the national governing body for gymnastics in 2015 and no action was taken. Nothing. Then, she was denied entry to the 2016 Olympic team. Nichols was anonymously dubbed Athlete A at the time, and forms the core of this enraging documentary streaming on Netflix. Centering the stories of the survivors, directors Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk conducted interviews with gymnasts who came forward against Nassar, including Nichols, Rachael Denhollander, and Jamie Dantzscher, alongside interviews with the investigative reporters and editors from the Indianapolis Star, which broke the story.
Athlete Ais a testament to the courage it takes to come forward — the bravery shown by these athletes to revisit their trauma through their testimony, their victim impact statements read in court, and then again on camera for the documentary is nothing short of astounding. But it's also a truly angering investigation into an organisation that failed to protect children over their own interests, creating an environment of control, dominance, and fear that enabled Nassar to remain in his position and continue to abuse young women. * — Shannon Connellan, Mashable UK Editor
How to watch: Athlete Ais now streaming on Netflix.
So claustrophobic in its intimacy that it becomes difficult to watch at times, director Yance Ford's personal memoir film is at its base about the killing of his brother 20 years earlier by a white mechanic who never paid for the crime, and the ways that that event tore apart Ford's family in the decades since. But that intimacy echoes outward with every step closer — into conversations about race and gender and who even gets to dream in America. Ford shoots his own face in extreme close-up as he painfully retells his family's story, from the Jim Crow South to the Long Island suburbs, letting us into a world that feels at times too private. But it's also profoundly relatable, and devastatingly sad. *—Jason Adams, Contributing Writer
How to watch: Strong Islandis now streaming on Netflix.
SEE ALSO:Netflix's 'Dahmer' backlash highlights ethical issues in the platform's obsession with true crimeIn 2013, Odin Lloyd was killed by New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez. The case and subsequent trial became a media spectacle, in large part thanks to Hernandez’ celebrity, and the tragedy of Lloyd’s murder was lost in the buzz. Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandezrights that wrong, celebrating and memorializing Lloyd as well as Hernandez’ other victims, and investigating Hernandez’ complex internal and external struggles. The doc does a wonderful job putting CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) front and center, highlighting its irreversible, degenerative damage to brain function and subsequent behavioral effects while crafting a cautionary tale about a condition that affects an outsized number of football players due to repeated head traumas.
As Mashable’s Tricia Crimmins writes: “Killer Insideis constructed in a way that acknowledges that Hernandez's story has been sensationalized enough. The docuseries is free of true crime gimmicks, twists, and turns, and Wall and McDermott set the tone immediately by addressing Hernandez's convictions upfront. Although the viewer better understands Hernandez, they aren't tricked into sympathizing with him.” —K.G.
How to watch: Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandezis now streaming on Netflix.
Credit: NetflixWhen Wild Wild Countrydropped on Netflix in 2018, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone with the streaming service who wasn't champing at the bit to talk about it. Created by Chapman Way and Maclain Way, the six-part documentary follows the true tale of Rajneeshpuram, a commune built in Oregon by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh in the '80s, and how its followers' clash with the local nearby town (steered by formidable spokesperson Ma Anand Sheela) provides just the beginning of a tale that ends in, well, biological warfare.
As Proma Khosla writes for Mashable, "Instead of telling you the story of a forgotten cult, Wild Wild Countrytakes you right into it. You'll start out wondering how anyone could get pulled into such a scheme, then find yourself intrigued by the sannyasins' world and lifestyle. For something that seems far removed from today's society, the series is deeply immersive and appropriately paced. It's nothing if not a wild ride – and a perfect binge." * —S.C.
How to watch: Wild Wild Countryis now streaming on Netflix.
Credit: NetflixThe Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnsonfollows the relentless pursuit of justice by activist Victoria Cruz as she investigates the suspicious death of the transgender icon amid a broader look at the trans rights movement in New York City in the ‘60s.
Directed by David France, the documentary examines the defining roles Johnson and iconic activist Sylvia Rivera played in the campaign for trans rights, forming STAR (Street Transvestites Action Revolutionaries) in 1970. (Notably, trans filmmaker and activist Tourmaline alleged that director David France appropriated her research for the film.) Cruz’s tireless work bringing to light discarded or half-investigated cases of violence against trans women forms the core of this film — and it’s a battle that’s not yet won. *—S.C.
How to watch: The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnsonis now streaming on Netflix.
Dan Schneider was a Louisiana pharmacist whose teenage son was murdered while trying to buy drugs. The police didn’t put much effort into searching for his killer, claiming these kinds of victims “got what they deserved.” So Schneider took up the case himself, doggedly pursuing the man who murdered his son. With great effort, Schneider brought his son's killer to justice, but throughout the course of his investigation, he stumbled upon a troubling pattern: dozens of teenagers were getting opioid prescriptions from the same doctor. He becomes obsessed with bringing down this doctor’s pill mill. Determined to do all he can to prevent other teens from succumbing to addiction, he later puts Purdue Pharma, the manufacturers of OxyContin, in his crosshairs.
A moving portrait of a dedicated father, as well as a searing probe of the early days of the opioid crisis, The Pharmacistis a rare crime documentary with a happy ending — Dr. Jacqueline Cleggett, who prescribed over 180,000 pills, had her medical license revoked, and Purdue Pharma was forced to declare bankruptcy.—K.G.
How to watch: The Pharmacistis now streaming on Netflix.
Credit: Courtesy of NetflixIf you've at all grown tired or suspicious of all the "true crime" documentaries and series out there — if you feel as if too many are exploitative of people's real tragedies— then director Kitty Green’s 2017 meta-doc might just be the exquisite take that you desire. Quite improbably too, given the decades-long sensationalized subject matter at its heart — six-year-old pageant princess JonBenet Ramsey, whose 1996 murder remains unsolved today.
But Green somehow manages this wild feat, making instead a documentary about the making of the recreations inside her own documentary, interviewing the actors she's in the process of casting for the roles of JonBenet and her family. We hear their theories and thoughts, and it paints a portrait of our own communal lurid obsessions, and what they say about us. A funhouse mirror view of our tacky American nightmare. Pretty pretty. *—J.A.
How to watch: Casting JonBenetis now streaming on Netflix.
Credit: Courtesy of NetflixA deeply disturbing look at a Mormon cult, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Keep Sweet: Pray and Obeyis a harrowing story of polygamy, coercion, abuse, and child rape. There’s no other way to put it: this is a brutal watch. Warren Jeffs, the man at the center of this horror, at one point had over 60 wives, some still children at the time.
But what keeps this four-part series from drowning in its own darkness is that Keep Sweet’s main interviewees are the brave women who escaped Jeffs’ depravity and were instrumental to his eventual arrest and conviction. These survivors are given the space and opportunity to tell their own stories, to speak of abuse with their own words. Jeffs is no longer the narrator of the FDLS. Instead, we learn about the horrors of this splinter community, and the systems that allowed it to thrive, through the perspective of those who endured it and are now, thankfully, living in peace on their own terms.—K.G.
How to watch: Keep Sweet: Pray and Obeyis now streaming on Netflix.
Director Bryan Fogel took a colossal risk making Icarus, one that steered the filmmaker's life in ways he and the audience would never suspect. This Best Documentary winner sees Fogel, an amateur racing cyclist, wanting to investigate doping in sportsby taking performance-enhancing drugs himself — taking steps to evade detection while documenting any changes in his progress.
Along the way, he meets scientist Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, a crucial part of Russia's "anti-doping" program, who helps Fogel on his quest. But suddenly, things take a serious turn. This isn't even the half of Icarus, as the dangerous truth runs all the way to the top. * —S.C.
How to watch: Icarusis now streaming on Netflix.
Credit: NetflixThe Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal hit the headlines in 2018, as details emerged over the widespread data collection breached user privacy and impacted both the 2016 presidential election and Brexit campaigns. The Great Hackdelves into how this happened, the major players, and how we should feel about our own role in this mess.
"In Netflix's The Great Hack...our complacency is not shamed or vilified. Rather, it exists as a blameless reality of an unsolvable problem of the digital age — presenting unknowing consumers as clear-cut victims of Big Bad Tech," as Alison Foreman writes for Mashable.
“For those unaware of the 2018 scandal's intricacies, the documentary plays like an informative thriller, doling out blame to Facebook, Cambridge Analytica, its parent company Strategic Communication Laboratories, and the many culpable individuals therein, while maintaining a well-researched and tense narrative." * —S.C.
How to watch: The Great Hackis now streaming on Netflix.
Opens in a new windowCredit: NetflixNetflix* denotes that this blurb appeared in a previous Mashable list.
UPDATE: Aug. 28, 2023, 5:55 p.m. EDT This article has been updated to reflect the current selection on Netflix.
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