These True Crime TV Shows That Will Keep You Up All Night
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True crime remains an extremely popular genre, with a growing number of podcasts and movies. On TV, too, streamers have begun to invest heavily in creating true crime shows—often adapted from popular books, podcasts, or documentaries.
"People are interested in true crime in general because they love to see a mystery unfold from beginning to end. We all have the curiosity," Dateline correspondent Andrea Canning told T&C. "So many families look perfect from the outside, but there’s so many secrets behind those walls. Like, what is your neighbor really doing? Because so many of these stories just seem like normal people, right? And everyone always says the same thing: 'This does not happen around here.' It’s always the same story. No one’s ever like, 'Oh yeah, we just had a murder down the street.'"
True crime has taken over the streaming landscape. As Matthew Jacobs wrote in T&C, "Much of true crime's ubiquity can be explained in simple business terms. Sometime in the mid-2010s, as the streaming boom crystallized, TV executives realized that transgressions—true and otherwise (see: True Detective, Ozark)—were a surefire way to keep customers engaged. A few hits begat many, many more." Here, the 20 best true crime shows to watch in 2024:
Under the Bridge
Starring Lily Gladstone and Riley Keough, Under the Bridge—based on the book of the same name by Rebecca Godfrey—tells the story of the murder of 14-year-old Reena Virk, who was killed in 1997.
The Dropout
The Dropout dramatizes the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes, played by Amanda Seyfried, who founded Theranos, a biotech company that failed spectacularly.
Under the Banner of Heaven
In Under the Banner of Heaven, based on the 2003 book by Jon Krauker, detectives (played by Andrew Garfield and Gil Birmingham) investigate the brutal murder of a Mormon woman, Brenda Lafferty, and her baby daughter.
Love & Death
Love & Death stars Elizabeth Olsen as Candy Montgomery, a Texas housewife accused of murdering her lover's wife.
Read more: Haven't We Seen This Murder Before?
Unbelievable
In Unbelievable, Marie (Kaitlyn Dever), a rape survivor, was charged with a crime for reporting her assault. It's based on the true story of the Washington and Colorado serial rape cases (2008-2011). Notably, Toni Collette and Merritt Wever play the detectives in this retelling.
Mindhunter
In the late 1970s, two FBI agents (Jonathan Groff and Holt McCallany) start to interview imprisoned serial killers to understand the psychology of murder. The second season is based on the Atlanta murders of 1979 to 1981, allegedly committed by serial killer Wayne Williams.
True Detective: Night Country
The fourth installment of the popular True Detective series is set in the fictional Ennis, Alaska, but is based on two true stories: the case of Mary Celeste, an American ship that went missing in 1872, and the Dyatlov Pass incident of 1959, when nine hikers died in the Ural Mountains under suspicious circumstances.
Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
Dahmer is based on the true story of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer (played by Evan Peters). Dahmer killed seventeen people btween 1978 and 1991.
Inventing Anna
Julia Garner stars as Anna Delvey in Inventing Anna, which chronicles the scams of the fake heiress.
Baby Reindeer
One of the surprise hits of 2024 was Baby Reindeer, which centers around Richard Gadd's real life experiences of being stalked by a woman named Martha (played by Jessica Gunning).
The Staircase
In The Staircase, adapted from a 2004 documentary of the same name, novelist Michael Peterson (Colin Firth) is charged with the murder of his wife, Kathleen (Toni Collette). The show follows the trial.
Read more: A Complete Timeline of The Staircase's Michael Peterson Murder Case
Candy
Candy is another true crime series that details the case of Candy Montgomery, accused of murdering her lover's wife. This version aired on Hulu and stars Jessica Biel as Candy.
The Girl From Plainville
The Girl From Plainville dramatizes the 2014 death of Conrad Roy by suicide and the 2017 conviction of his girlfriend, Michelle Carter, for involuntary manslaughter. In the series, Elle Fanning plays Michelle, and Colton Ryan plays Conrad.
When They See Us
Ava DuVernay's When They See Us tells the story of the 1989 Central Park jogger case, where five young Black and Latino teens were falsely accused of assaulting a white woman in Central Park.
Dopesick
Dopesick is based on Beth Macy's nonfiction book, Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America, and explores the American opioid crisis and the involvement of the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma.
Narcos
Yes, Narcos counts as a true crime series: Seasons one and two follow drug lord Pablo Escobar and the Medellín Cartel, and season three tracks the Cali Cartel.
A Friend of the Family
A Friend of the Family is the true story of Robert Berchtold (played by Jake Lacy) who abused and kidnapped his neighbor, Jan Brobert, twice: in 1974, when she was 12, and again in 1976, when she was 14. The show is based on Jan's mother Mary Ann Broberg's memoir, Stolen Innocence.
Five Days at Memorial
When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in August 2005, the doctors and nurses at Memorial Medical Center were trapped with their patients without power for five days. It was later alleged that some of the medical professionals decided to euthanasia patients while they waited to get evacuated, as reported by Sheri Fink in Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital. The show—more disaster than true crime, but still harrowing—is based on this book, and stars Vera Farminga, Cherry Jones, and Cornelius Smith Jr.
The Watcher
In this Netflix series, Bobby Cannavale and Naomi Watts star as Dean and Ellie Brannock, a couple who move into their dream home—only to be harassed by creepy letters signed by the titular "Watcher."
The Thing About Pam
Renée Zellweger stars as Pam Hupp in this true crime miniseries about the murder of Betsy Faria in Missouri in December 2011. When the case is covered on Dateline, new details are revealed about Betsy's murder–making Pam, one of Betsy's friends, a suspect.
Griselda
Griselda stars Sofia Vergara as Colombian drug trafficker Griselda Blanco, documenting her rise to power in the 1970s and 80s.
Read more: The True Story Behind Griselda
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