Making A Murderer took Netflix audiences by storm. It follows the real-life story of two men who may or may not have committed a crime. The docu-series tells the story of these men and what happened, allowing audiences to guess at what the truth may be, or what may have actually happened. The entire series begs the question: are these men guilty or not?
Of course, it’s easy to see why this show became addictive. The mystery draws people in, as well as the fact that this is real life. But when you’re done binging on this thriller and want something else similar to turn to, where do you go next?
Don’t worry — we got you.
10. The Killing Season
Another true crime documentary series available on Netflix is The Killing Season. It follows various serial killers and their cases to try and determine what exactly happened, providing their audience with the facts. You might already be familiar with some of the famous cases, such as the Long Island serial killer or the Eastbound strangler. Some of the series goes over facts, some of the investigations are new — but it has the same appeal as Making A Murderer because a lot of it allows the audience to speculate at what actually happened. Shows like these make viewers bones chilled.
9. American Vandal
Got a sense of humor? Looking for something in the same vein, but also something that might not keep you awake at night quite as much? Click on American Vandal.
It’s a direct parody of Making A Murderer — a hilarious mocking of the true crime genre. Not that it’s by any means saying the true crimes shows it parodies are bad, but it’ll definitely ease the nightmares if you watch it right after a thrilling true crime.
Sadly, this awesome, amusing show was cancelled after two seasons, but the producers are hoping another network will pick it up. Let’s cross our fingers.
8. Mindhunter
Or maybe you don’t want more true crime, or even a parody of it. Maybe you’re looking for something with the same mood, but something that’s fictional. In which case, the fairly new Mindhunter is probably ideal for you.
With big names such a Charlize Theron, this series was a hit. It’s set in the early days of criminal profiling at the FBI, and follows two FBI agents who interview imprisoned serial killers. They try to understand how they think so they can solve current and future cases, and although it’s purely fictional, it’s still a fascinating show to watch and no less addictive than the others.
7. Real Detective
This is an eight-episode documentary series that focuses on the detectives more than the serial killers and dangerous criminals of the world. And it’s honestly surprising that no one else has done this before.
Inspired by True Detective, it provides a fascinating insight into the lives of the people whose job it is to deal with these cases that the rest of us sit at home and speculate about. Real detectives relive cases that haunt them and let you know just how it feels to be in the thick of things, which is presumably a lot different than sitting at home watching shows about cases from behind a screen…
6. The Staircase
This one is a little older, having been made in 2004, but make no mistake — it’s no less compelling. The Staircase is a miniseries that follows one story, and one story only: the case of Michael Peterson, convicted of murdering his wife. He called the authorities to say that his wife had fallen down drunk and killed herself, but was accused of having murdered her himself. Although he was convicted, there was a lot of controversy surrounding this case; not least of all the facts that Peterson’s children stood by him during the trial, even when it later came out that he was having affairs.
5. The Sinner
And back to fiction! The Sinner is a mystery about a detective assigned to a case where an 11-year-old boy has murdered his parents with no apparent motive.
Yep — even from the off, the premise is intriguing.
There are a lot of secrets about this town and nothing normal about the boy who murdered his parents, which makes this a multi-layered story with twists and turns you won’t see coming. One of the best fiction crime dramas on Netflix, this is worth a watch, though be warned — when you start, you will definitely end up binging it, I promise.
4. I Am A Killer
Another documentary series, but this one doesn’t focus on the detectives or the police on the cases at all. Instead, I Am A Killer focuses on murderers who sit on death row, asking them questions about what they did and why they did it in an attempt to better understand their motivations. It also, interestingly, explores how they feel about their actions now. Do they stand by what they did? Claim to be innocent or justified still? Or do they regret it?
This is a fascinating study into the minds that we couldn’t possibly understand. This brings us one step closer.
3. Evil Genius
One of the most fascinating crime stories to ever exist is covered in the documentary Evil Genius.
A man named Brian Wells died when he was forced to commit a bank heist with a bomb strapped to his neck. If that sentence alone doesn’t make you want to learn more… Be warned.
The man who made this series spent years investigating the cold case, contacting people who might know more about this incident after he became obsessed with it and honestly, I can understand why. There are incidents that have happened in the world that I’m just dying to know the truth of, and this stands above the rest.
2. The Keepers
A seven-episode documentary series, The Keepers covers the unsolved murder of a nun. Her former students believe there was a cover-up and that a priest was actually guilty of this (as well as other things). To learn more about this fascinating and horrific story, you’ll have to watch the series.
Like most of the others on this list, some aspects of the story are disturbing and might keep you awake at night, so be warned. But the minds of people we would never act like are fascinating for a reason, which is why this documentary series has ended up as popular as the others.
1. The Confession Tapes
The Confession Tapes is last on the list, but certainly not least. It’s a very unusual true crime series because it focuses on something that no one has before. Seven episodes long, each of them covers a case where there was a possible false confession that led to a murder conviction.
You wouldn’t think this has happened seven times, and yet, here we are.
It presents alternate views on what happened and also gives the opinions of credible experts on each crime. If you love the genre of true crime but want something a little more unusual to get into, this is the series for you.
