10 Best True Crime Documentaries to Stream
When you're just hanging out over the holidays, there's nothing like a good old-fashioned scary movie binge to shake things up. However, if you’ve already depleted your queue of slasher flicks and fictional ghost stories, why not venture into the world of the true crime documentary?
After all, true crime has been having a serious moment in pop culture lately with TV shows like American Crime Story, miniseries about JonBenet Ramsey and Laci Peterson, podcasts like Sword and Scale and My Favorite Murder, and cultural phenomenons like Making a Murderer all becoming huge hits. So if you’ve got ample time for digging into some of the genre’s best documentaries and for freaking yourself out, then by all means, peruse our list of some of the best true crime docs streaming now. You just might want to sleep with the light on tonight.
ESPN1/11O.J. Made in America
You think you know the story of O.J. Simpson and the murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson. However, this sprawling, meticulously-researched series delves deeply into O.J.’s career and personal life, and features interviews with everyone from trial jurors to teammates. It’s beyond compelling.
Where To Watch: Hulu, Amazon
Netflix2/11Making a Murderer
If you missed the Making a Murderer boat a few years back, you may find yourself engulfed this fall within the story of Steven Avery, a man who was wrongfully jailed for a crime he didn’t commit, freed, and then imprisoned again for a different crime twenty years after. Was he guilty? Innocent? We’re still not 100% sure, TBH, which is why it’s a good thing that a sequel is coming soon.
Where To Watch: Netflix
Courtesy of HBO3/11Mommy Dead and Dearest
Gypsy Rose Blanchard was a very sick girl. Or so everyone thought. This documentary delves into Gypsy’s world; she was suffering not from cancer or illness but from Munchausen by Proxy thanks to her mother Dee Dee. And as a result, Gypsy and her then-boyfriend killed her mother so she could escape.
Where To Watch: HBO
Courtesy of Amazon Video4/11Lore
If you love true crime podcasts and stories of the supernatural, then the upcoming Lore TV show is for you. It’s based on the popular podcast of the same name and delves into stories from all over the world, whether it’s a tale of witches, werewolves, or haunted dolls. It premieres on — you guessed it — Friday the 13th.
Where To Watch: Amazon Prime
Courtesy of FilmRise Documentaries5/11Aileen: The Life & Death of a Serial Killer
You may remember Charlize Theron winning an Oscar for playing serial murderer Aileen Wuornos, but that’s only one part of the story. Aileen was convicted of killing seven men and put to death for her crimes, but this documentary tells her life story and features interviews with Aileen herself before her execution. It’s equal parts sad and chilling.
Where To Watch: Netflix
HBO6/11Autopsy
Autopsy is from the ‘90s, but don’t let the graininess deter you from watching. There are several episodes of the show, which features medical examiner Dr. Michael Baden, and the topics range from crime scene investigations to real-life tales of the spooky and bizarre. It’s fascinating to see how forensic pathologists like Dr. Baden put the pieces together from a crime scene to a conviction.
Where To Watch: HBO
Lifetime7/11Killer Kids
Children are basically guaranteed to make horror movies scarier, but you know what’s really chilling? Real life killer kids. This series investigates true stories of children and teens who have done the unthinkable. Yes, it is filmed in the cheesy re-enactment style so popular in the ‘90s and early ‘00s, but it’s still worth a binge.
Where To Watch: Netflix
Antidote Films8/11Cropsey
Have you ever really thought about the truth behind the urban legends you grew up with? Of course, most of them are made up, but sometimes there’s a grain of truth hiding there. That’s the whole premise of Cropsey, wherein two documentarians delve into a legend from their childhood in Staten Island — the legend of Cropsey, who turned out to be a real person.
Where To Watch: Netflix
ABC9/11Truth and Lies: The Family Manson
It goes without saying that pop culture is obsessed with Charles Manson and his murderous Family. Even though the Manson murders took place in 1969, they still demand our attention today. This 82-minute documentary from ABC is a brief, but concise and creepy, look at Manson, the Family, and the murders that will definitely make you reach for your nightlight.
Where To Watch: Hulu
Courtesy of Netflix10/11Casting JonBenét
We’ll probably never know for sure what happened to JonBenét Ramsey, the six-year-old girl who was murdered in her home in Colorado in 1996. That open-endedness is the subject of this pseudo-documentary, where real people (some who are residents of Boulder, where the Ramseys lived) audition for the roles of the Ramsey family … and even JonBenét. It’s a totally different vibe than a traditional doc, because while it examines character’s motivations, though it never points a finger at anyone. It also tells how the aftershocks of a case like this can last for decades and affect everyone, not just the immediate family. We're still talking about JonBenét nearly 21 years after her murder, and this documentary sheds a new light on the case we thought we knew.
Where To Watch: Netflix
