Netflix crime documentaries include real-life drama so compelling that you forget about everything else for an hour or so. We are unable to do so because of this. Enough is enough. We’re not alone in this.
We never get tired of seeing how horribly twisted up humanity is – the fact that real people have committed some of these crimes is extremely distressing, but in some strange way compelling.
And if you were in any doubt over just how much we’re a nation of true crime lovers (TV only, obvs), just look at all the true crime documentaries that have popped up on the streaming platform over the last few months, like The Tinder Swindler and Bad Vegan. In fact, the true crime stories only seem to be getting more weird as we go along and our appetite only seems to increase.
Here’s Our Top Picks For True Crime Enthusiasts, Available To Stream On Netflix Right Now
1. Bad Vegan
Bad Vegan has received mixed reviews, and it’s hard to sum up exactly what it is about, but, in short, it follows the story of a New York socialite, Sharma Melngailis, who starts up a popular vegan restaurant. Everything seems to be going well until she married a mysterious man who claims he can make her dog immortal, from here, he sets her a series of bizarre and controlling tasks, forcing her life off track and into chaos. This four-part series is intense, bizarre and at times, pretty confusing.
2. Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story
Jimmy Savile was a popular television personality in the United Kingdom. An investigation into his murder in 2011 resulted in over 450 terrible allegations of sexual assault and abuse, with victims as young as five. This two-part true crime series uncovers Savile’s public persona and how the former DJ and children’s charity fundraiser duped an entire country.
3. Tinder Swindler
The Tinder Swindler, perhaps the most talked-about true crime series of 2022, follows an Israeli con-man, Simon Leviev (actual name, Shimon Hayut), who appears as the heir to a diamond corporation and manages to swindle women into paying his extravagant lifestyle.
4. Why Did You Kill Me
The tragedy of Belinda Lane, whose 24-year-old daughter, Crystal Theobold, was murdered by a vicious gang, is told in this film. Lane uses social media to befriend the suspects and learn more about their movements, determined to find her daughters’ killers. The longer the ruse goes on, the more the line between justice and revenge blurs, and Lane’s personal investigations wind up affecting many families in the area – not only her own…
5. Worst Roomate Ever
You might think your sock-stealing, food-eating, sloppy roommate is awful, but wait till you see this docuseries on the worst housemates in history. The show follows four seemingly innocuous roommates, many of whom prey on those seeking financial relief by living with roommates or shared boarding. These four roommate stories include everything from nefarious financial motives to frauds to outright wicked, violent acts against unwitting victims.
6. Night Stalker: The Hunt For A Serial Killer
This documentary is not for the faint of heart, as it follows the victims, police, and investigation surrounding serial killer Richard Ramirez, who terrorised the Los Angeles area in the 1980s. Ramirez was known as the “Night Stalker” for breaking into victims’ houses late at night and committing heinous atrocities.
7. Monsters Inside: The 24 Faces Of Billy Morgan
Billy Morgan was arrested for repeated rape allegations on students at Ohio State University in the 1970s, according to this Netflix documentary. While Morgan was being treated for an illness that caused him to have numerous personalities, there was a controversy about whether he was “guilty” and whether he belonged in jail or a psychiatric clinic. Chilling.
8. I Am A Killer
What goes on in the mind of a murderer is intriguing, albeit horrifying, and that’s exactly what I Am A Killer conveys. In-person interviews with death row inmates who have been convicted of capital murder are featured in the series.
9. American Murder: The Family Next Door
The tragedy of the 2018 Watts family killings in Colorado is told in American Murder: The Family Next Door. It includes social media posts, court hearings, text messages, and home video footage from the real world. It’s CHILLING.
10. Murder Among The Mormons
Murder Among The Mormons covers the 1985 explosions in Salt Lake City, the consequences for the Mormon Church, and the participation of document dealer Mark Hofmann, who begins the series as a victim but is gradually revealed to be the major suspect.
11. The Ripper
Using interviews with investigators and witnesses, this new four-part documentary examines the impact of the Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe, who killed 13 women between 1975 to 1980.
12. How To Fix A Drug Scandal
In Erin Lee Carr’s four-part docuseries, we follow the story of Sonja Farak, a 35-year-old crime drug lab scientist who was jailed in 2013 alongside colleague Annie Dookhan for tampering with evidence – and that’s just the beginning of this incredible narrative.
13. The Innocent Man
The Innocent Man, a documentary adaptation of John Grisham’s only non-fiction work, raises questions about two murder cases in Oklahoma: Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz, who were wrongfully convicted in the 1982 murder of Debbie Sue Carter, and Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot, who were wrongfully convicted in the 1984 murder of Donna Denice Haraway but maintain their innocence to this day.
14. Trial By Media: The Truth Behind The Crimes
This fascinating docu-series examines famous court cases, whose outcomes may have been affected by the extensive media coverage they received.
15. Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness
You will not believe your eyes since this is genuinely incredible. The creators of the controversial Fyre Festival have released a new Netflix true-crime series. Joe Exotic, an eccentric zoo owner who maintains a menagerie of wild cats with his two husbands, is the focus of the series. Joe has an animal rights activist murdered when she begins to agitate for the animals’ release…
16. Don’t F**k With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer
A group of amateur online detectives conduct a highly dangerous manhunt after a sick killer’s grisly recordings that begin with cat murders and progress to gruesome human murders – where victims are lured by internet posts – lead them into the dark underbelly of the internet.
17. Abducted In Plain Sight
Literally everyone is talking about this mind-blowing documentary about an Idaho family whose sociopathic neighbour becomes fixated on their 12-year-old daughter. Very creepy, very gripping.
18. Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel
I cannot stop hearing about this mind-blowing documentary about an Idaho family whose Elisa Lam went missing in the formerly “grand” Cecil Hotel, after being spotted in an elevator thanks to footage. This looks at the hunt to try and find her.
