In 2018, it seems everyone is a true crime junkie. From books to movies to podcasts, real-life tales of murder most foul have millions of us under their sinister spell.
But with a thriving true crime industry churning out hundreds of true documentary movies and TV series to choose from, how to pick the gems from the dross? Here are the best crime documentaries ready to stream today:
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From the title of this documentary, you would be forgiven for assuming it was a relatively straightforward tale of kidnapping. What actually unfolds is a tale so bizarre that at times it seems impossible to believe.
In autumn 1974, 12-year-old Jan Broberg was abducted by Robert Berchtold, a close family friend who had become obsessed with her.
After a weeks-long ordeal, she was rescued and returned to her family - who not only continued to see Berchtold, but also turned a blind eye to almost every red flag imaginable until, two years later, he snatched her again.
“Think of the wildest story you’ve ever heard. Now square it, multiply it by 50, and maybe you’ll have a sense of how nutso Abducted in Plain Sight is,” was Vulture’s verdict.
Each scene unveils new twists, as the film deftly explores how the canny predator was able to groom not only a pre-teen girl but also her entire family.
One scene in particular - in which the extent of Berchtold’s manipulative powers over Broberg’s father is revealed - astonished many viewers, who swiftly turned it into an early contender for the meme of 2019.
Available on Netflix
The Staircase
In 2001, Kathleen Peterson was found dead in a pool of blood at the bottom of the stairs in the home she shared with her author husband, Michael. But getting to the bottom of the events of the evening would prove far from simple.
Rather than relying on expert talking heads, this acclaimed documentary follows Michael Peterson himself, his lawyers and his family throughout the subsequent trial, a premise which gives the mini-series “a sense of real intimacy that distinguishes it as a docuseries landmark”, says Vulture.
You’ll find yourself analysing every glance trying to figure out whether Peterson is an affable artist struggling to clear his name or a glib and remorseless killer. And be warned - if you’re watching in a group, you’ll almost certainly disagree.
Available on Netflix
Casting Jonbenet
Any true crime junkie worth their salt knows the case of Jonbenet Ramsey, the six-year-old beauty queen found dead in her family’s home in Boulder, Colorado, in mysterious circumstances in 1996.
That’s what makes this innovative “documentary” such a thrilling watch. Rather than recount the tale, the film casts dozens of amateur actors from the community where the murder took place as members of the Ramsey family and lets each group play out their own version of the night of the little girl’s death.
Available on Netflix
The Jinx
New York real estate mogul Robert Durst has been a suspect in three deaths but has never been convicted - even when he admitted killing his neighbour and chopping his body into pieces.
Even more remarkably, he agreed to sit down with documentary-makers Andrew Jarecki and Marc Smerling and discuss the cases. The interviews make for riveting viewing - Rolling Stone called Durst “one of the most fascinatingly brazen liars in TV history” - and end with an explosive twist that will knock you off your feet.
Available on Amazon Prime
The Keepers
This unsettling mini-series follows the efforts of two women whose attempts to solve the mystery of how their popular schoolteacher came to be murdered in 1969 lead them to a web of evil that goes well beyond the missing woman.
The results are “terrific but heartbreaking”, says HuffPost. Shining a shocking light on the horrors of Catholic institutional sex abuse and the culture of silence which ensured abusers were safer than their victims, The Keepers could hardly be any timelier.
Available on Netflix
Forensic Files
Artistic, award-winning documentaries are all well and good, but sometimes you just need true crime - and lots of it. Step forward, Forensic Files.
Yes, the production values aren’t always slick, and the reenactments are as cheesy as they come, but the long-running US TV docudrama into real-life murders and the DNA breakthroughs that solved them remains as addictive as ever.
Now in its 14th season, Forensic Files is ideal for binging when you fancy a down and dirty true crime fix.
Available on Amazon Prime
-
Zimbabwe’s driving crisisUnder the Radar Southern African nation is experiencing a ‘public health disaster’ with one of the highest road fatality rates in the world
-
The Mint’s 250th anniversary coins face a whitewashing controversyThe Explainer The designs omitted several notable moments for civil rights and women’s rights
-
‘If regulators nix the rail merger, supply chain inefficiency will persist’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
The 8 best comedy movies of 2025the week recommends Filmmakers find laughs in both familiar set-ups and hopeless places
-
The best drama TV series of 2025the week recommends From the horrors of death to the hive-mind apocalypse, TV is far from out of great ideas
-
The 8 best drama movies of 2025the week recommends Nuclear war, dictatorship and the summer of 2020 highlight the most important and memorable films of 2025
-
The 8 best comedy series of 2025the week recommends From quarterlife crises to Hollywood satires, these were the funniest shows of 2025
-
A postapocalyptic trip to Sin City, a peek inside Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras’ tour, and an explicit hockey romance in December TVthe week recommends This month’s new television releases include ‘Fallout,’ ‘Taylor Swift: The End Of An Era’ and ‘Heated Rivalry’
-
The 8 best sci-fi series of all timethe week recommends Imagining — and fearing — the future continues to give us compelling and thoughtful television
-
The 8 best action movies of the 21st centurythe week recommends Thrills come in many forms, from assassins and spies to regular people fighting for justice
-
The 5 best narco movies of all timethe week recommends Cartels from hell and the greasy underside of the international drug trade
