15 Best True Crime Documentaries Of All Time

Looking for a guaranteed great true crime doco? Check out the 15 best true crime documentaries of all time that you should watch immediately!

There are hundreds of true crime documentaries and shows available at your fingers thanks to streaming services like Prime Video, Hulu, and Netflix.

But with so many options, how do you know which ones are worth your time?

Don’t waste hours trying to find the best true crime documentary to watch. Just check out the top true crime documentaries listed below.

1. Making a Murderer

• IMDB Rating: 8.6/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 97%
• Where To Watch: Netflix
• Genres: Documentary, Crime
• Rating: TV-14
• Released: 2015-2018
• Seasons: 2
• Episodes: 20

“Making a Murderer” is one of Netflix’s best crime documentaries.

With two seasons and 20 total episodes of an hour in length, this true-crime documentary will have you glued to the edge of your seat.

Making a Murderer is an unpredictable real-life thriller that follows the life of Steven Avery, whose family owns a salvage yard in Two Rivers, Wisconsin.

In the 1980’s Steven was convicted of the sexual assault and attempted murder of Penny Beerntsen. He was, however, released 18 years later after DNA evidence pointed to another perpetrator.

But then two years later, while Steven was in the middle of exposing corruption in local law enforcement, a photographer named Teresa Halbach goes missing, and guess where she was last seen? Steven’s salvage yard.

Several days after her disappearance, her vehicle and other evidence were found on the Avery property.

Steven Avery was now the primary suspect in the cruel rape and murder of Teresa Halbach.

But did he commit the gruesome crime, or has he been wrongly convicted again?

You can currently stream Making a Murderer on Netflix.

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2. The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst

• IMDB Rating: 8.6/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 96%
• Where To Watch: Prime Video, Apple TV, HBO Max, VUDU
• Genres: Documentary, Biography, Crime
• Rating: TV-14
• Released: 2015
• Seasons: 1
• Episodes: 6

The Jinx: The life and Deaths of Robert Durst is an award-winning HBO original miniseries released in 2015.

The series follows Robert Durst, a New York billionaire that has been accused of three murders in the past 30 years but convicted of none.

He was accused of the murder of his wife Kathie in 1982, the execution of writer Susan Berman in 2000, and the dismemberment of his neighbor Morris Black in 2001.

Robert has not spoken publicly until now.

Directed by Andrew Jarecki and shot by Marc Smerling, this six-part series uses existing media footage, security footage, police footage, and old interviews along with several recent interviews and various re-enactments to expose the long-buried information of a case that has baffled authorities for years.

You can currently stream The Jinx: The life and deaths of Robert Durst on a variety of platforms.

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3. Wild Wild Country

• IMDB Rating: 8.1/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 98%
• Where To Watch: Netflix
• Genres: Documentary, Crime
• Rating: TV-MA
• Released: 2018
• Seasons: 1
• Episodes: 6

Wild Wild Country is an Emmy award-winning Netflix series that explores a utopian cult in the Oregon desert and its controversial leader, who ultimately becomes the center of a national scandal.

Wild Wild Country follows the story of Rajneeshpuram, a community built in the early 1980s by the followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.

As the series records, the Rajneeshees set up a community in rural Oregon that almost immediately wound up in land-use battles with neighbors, more significant conflicts with the county, and even bigger battles with the state and federal governments.

Members were ultimately charged with various crimes, and Rajneesh himself was deported.

The documentary features interviews with former members of the Rajneeshees and their close associates, including the Indian government, who have been involved in investigations into allegations of criminal activity by the group against their neighbors in Oregon.

The story is bizarre and full of many twists and unforgettable characters.

You can currently stream Wild Wild Country on Netflix.

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4. The Keepers

• IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 97%
• Where To Watch: Netflix
• Genres: Documentary, Crime, Mystery
• Rating: TV-MA
• Released: 2017
• Seasons: 1
• Episodes: 7

The Keepers opens with the story of Sister Cathy Cesnik: a cherished nun and Catholic high school teacher in Baltimore who mysteriously vanished in 1969.

Cathy’s body was discovered nearly two months later however her murder remains unsolved to this day.

The case returned to the public eye in the 1990s after victims and witnesses gave testimonies of horrific sexual abuse by the high school’s chaplain.

This documentary goes further than the death of Sister Cathy to encompass ministry abuse, suppressed memories, and the cooperation of government and religious institutions.

If you’re into disturbing true crime documentaries, this is a must-watch!

You can currently stream The Keepers on Netflix.

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5. The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez

• IMDB Rating: 8.1/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 83%
• Where To Watch: Netflix
• Genres: Documentary, Crime
• Rating: TV-MA
• Released: 2020
• Seasons: 1
• Episodes: 6

In 2013, 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez died due to horrendous and prolonged abuse by his mother and her boyfriend.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, a demand for justice and responsibility exploded in Los Angeles County.

This disturbing six-part documentary presents an inside look at the trial as well as an eye-opening investigation into the government systems that despite multiple reports and warning signs failed to protect Gabriel.

You can currently stream the Trials Of Gabriel Fernandez on Netflix.

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6. Don’t F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer

• IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 78%
• Where To Watch: Netflix
• Genres: Documentary, Crime, Mystery
• Rating: TV-MA
• Released: 2019
• Seasons: 1
• Episodes: 3

Netflix is no stranger to true crime documentaries, but this one stands out.

“Don’t F**k With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer” is a dark Netflix documentary released in 2019 about an online manhunt and the twisted killer Luka Magnotta.

It was one of Netflix’s top 5 most watched documentaries in 2019.

The three-part series follows a group of amateur detectives and animal rights activists on the hunt for Luka Magnotta after he posted a video online of him killing two kittens with a vacuum cleaner.

They created a Facebook group of people from around the world, determined to uncover who the animal abuser was.

This hunt quickly became a worldwide manhunt after a new video was uploaded online.

This time the internet killer was not killing kittens. Instead, the clip titled 1 Lunatic 1 Ice Pick showed the gruesome last moments and murder of Lin Jun.

After avoiding authorities for years, Luka was convicted of murdering student Lin Jun in 2014 and sentenced to life in prison.

The documentary looks into not only the gruesome and unimaginable actions of Luka Magnotta but also his thought process behind the murders, which are crazy and disturbing.

You can currently stream Don’t F**k with Cats on Netflix.

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7. The Staircase

• IMDB Rating: 7.8/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 94%
• Where To Watch: Netflix
• Genres: Documentary, Crime, Drama
• Rating: TV-MA
• Released: 2004-2018
• Seasons: 1
• Episodes: 13

“The Staircase” is a classic must-watch for true crime fans, with the truth still unknown today.

The Staircase, initially a BBC Four Storyville production, follows the gripping story of a crime novelist named Michael Peterson who was accused of murdering his wife, Kathleen Peterson.

She was found dead at the bottom of their home’s staircase.

Michael called emergency services to state that his wife Kathleen had fallen down a set of stairs in their Forest Hills mansion and died.

He told authorities his wife had fallen while drunk; however, they did not believe his version of events and concluded that he had beaten her to death.

As the main suspect in his wife’s murder, Michael’s life is exposed to public scrutiny, and he is soon charged with murder, and a 16-year legal battle followed.

The Netflix series released in 2022 features brand new episodes of the true-crime phenomenon, which airs alongside the original 2005 BBC series.

The series follows the case from the point of view of Michael and his legal defense team.

In interviews with Michael across a period of 20 years, he maintains his innocence even as he’s convicted and then allowed a retrial.

The last four episodes track him up to the closure of the case in 2017.

So what really happened to Kathleen Peterson? We will leave you to watch to see what the outcome is.

You can currently stream The Staircase on Netflix.

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8. Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes

• IMDB Rating: 7.7/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 75%
• Where To Watch: Netflix
• Genres: Documentary, Biography, Crime
• Rating: TV-MA
• Released: 2019
• Seasons: 1
• Episodes: 4

As the title implies, the “Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes” documentary brings to light the infamously disturbed mind of one of the world’s most well-known serial killers, Ted Bundy.

The documentary allows us to step inside his cold mind and discover how this serial killer thought.

This is expertly done through exclusive, never-before-heard interviews with Ted Bundy himself.

These interviews invade our minds in a fresh and yet terrifying way.

The unsettling series Conversations with a Killer focuses on Ted Bundy, a man whose good looks, personality, and social graces defied the serial killer stereotype permitting him to hide in plain sight.

Ted Bundy murdered more than thirty women before he was caught in 1978.

While on trial, he received rows of female fans, which made his grisly crimes doubly haunting.

You can currently stream Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes on Netflix.

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9. The Devil Next Door

• IMDB Rating: 7.5/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 91%
• Where To Watch: Netflix
• Genres: Documentary, Crime. History
• Rating: TV-MA
• Released: 2019
• Seasons: 1
• Episodes: 5

The Devil Next Door has joined the long line of Netflix true crime documentaries that has captivated fans and left them shaking at their core.

The Netflix documentary “The Devil Next Door” aims to tell the story of John Demjanjuk as he faces allegations that he was a Nazi known as Ivan the Terrible.

Ivan the Terrible was a nickname for a member of the Nazi party who tortured and murdered people in concentration camps during World War 2.

Infamously sadistic in his tactics, he is believed to have brought more than half a million people to their deaths – mostly Jews.

John Demjanjuk retained his innocence until he died in 2012.

You can currently stream The Devil Next Door on Netflix.

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10. Evil Genius: The True Story of America’s Most Diabolical Bank Heist

• IMDB Rating: 7.5/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 81%
• Where To Watch: Netflix
• Genres: Documentary, Crime
• Rating: TV-MA
• Released: 2018
• Seasons: 1
• Episodes: 4

Evil Genius trails the murder of Brian Wells, a pizza delivery man who was bound to a bomb and forced to rob a bank.

The story only gets weirder from there.

As the police surrounded him, unsure if he was telling the truth, the bomb exploded in front of them, killing him on camera.

Exposing what happened behind the robbery attempt reveals a web of lies and deception encompassing the town of Erie, Pennsylvania, with Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong and William Rothstein coming up with the plan themselves.

What’s more, there is a chance that Brian may have even been an accomplice in the plan but unaware his co-conspirators would kill him off.

You can currently stream Evil Genius on Netflix.

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11. Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer

• IMDB Rating: 7.5/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 82%
• Where To Watch: Netflix
• Genres: Documentary, Crime, Mystery
• Rating: TV-MA
• Released: 2021
• Seasons: 1
• Episodes: 4

“Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer” is a new four-part true crime documentary Netflix miniseries about the serial killer Richard Ramirez.

Using sinister footage and interviews with people involved, the series tells the story of one of the cruelest and most feared killers in LA history, the Richard Ramirez investigation.

Beneath the sunlit glamour of 1985 LA, the killer known as The Night Stalker committed shocking crimes and avoided capture for a long time before two detectives became obsessed with stopping him.

The series, which is absolutely terrifying and thrilling at the same time, highlights Richard Ramirez, the community he terrorized, and the people affected by his crimes, along with the two men who will stop at nothing to uncover his identity.

You can currently stream Night Stalker on Netflix.

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12. Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness

• IMDB Rating: 7.5/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 57%
• Where To Watch: Netflix
• Genres: Documentary, Biography, Crime
• Rating: TV-MA
• Released: 2020-2021
• Seasons: 2
• Episodes: 13

Tiger King is a famous American true crime documentary with over 34.3 million people watching it over its first ten days of release, ranking as one of Netflix’s most successful releases to date.

The documentary follows the life of former zookeeper and convicted felon Joe Exotic.

There is nothing worse than really enjoying a series, and then all of a sudden, it just ends, and you are left waiting months to years for the next season.

However, this isn’t an issue with the Tiger King documentary, as, since its first release on Netflix on March 20, 2020, two additional seasons have also been released, making it the perfect series to binge.

The series concentrates on the small but deeply connected organization of big cat conservationists such as Carole Baskin, owner of Big Cat Rescue, and collectors such as Joe, whom Carole accuses of abusing and exploiting wild animals.

The series also highlights the events that lead to Joe Exotic’s conviction.

Why was Joe Exotic convicted? What did he do? I’ll leave that for you to find out.

You can currently stream Tiger King on Netflix.

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13. I’ll Be Gone in the Dark

• IMDB Rating: 7.4/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 96%
• Where To Watch: Prime Video, Hulu, Apple TV, HBO Max, VUDU, Binge
• Genres: Documentary, Crime, Mystery
• Rating: TV-MA
• Released: 2020-2021
• Seasons: 1
• Episodes: 7

I’ll be gone in the Dark is another true crime documentary that will have your jaw-dropping.

This addictive six-part series is based on the book I’ll Be Gone in the Dark written by Michelle McNamara.

It follows the investigation into the dark world of the vicious predator known as “the Golden State Killer,” who frightened California between 1970 and 1980 and is responsible for 50 home-invasion rapes and 13 murders.

The story is told through exclusive original recordings and excerpts from Michelle’s book.

Drawing on extensive archival footage and police files as well as exclusive new interviews with survivors, detectives, and family members of the killer.

The documentary weaves together a picture of a complicated and flawed investigation that questioned the police for decades.

You can currently stream I’ll Be Gone in the Dark on a variety of platforms.

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14. Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes

• IMDB Rating: 7.1/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 90%
• Where To Watch: Netflix
• Genres: Documentary, Biography, Crime
• Rating: TV-MA
• Released: 2022
• Seasons: 1
• Episodes: 3

The Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes is a stand-out true crime documentary that operates on the same wavelength as the 2019 “Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes”.

The series dives deep into the details of the 33 murders of teenage boys and young men that John committed between 1972 and 1978 near Chicago.

This new series released in April 2022 tells the story of John Gacy through never-before-heard archival audio footage recorded during his time on death row, with participants close to the case and interviews with one of the surviving victims.

You can currently stream Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes on Netflix.

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15. The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann

• IMDB Rating: 6.6/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 40%
• Where To Watch: Netflix
• Genres: Documentary, Crime, Mystery
• Rating: TV-14
• Released: 2019
• Seasons: 1
• Episodes: 8

The Madeline McCann case is widely known as the most significant missing person case in modern history.

This 8-part series, available for streaming on Netflix, takes a deep look into the case, which saw a 4-year-old British girl mysteriously disappear from her bed while on holiday with her family in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007.

The series looks into the unsolved case covering everything, including the media frenzy and potential mistakes investigators made, as it answers the long-time question, “what happened to Maddie?”

This case has captured the world for many years.

It will have you hooked and left wondering who would commit such a heartbreaking crime and why?

You can currently stream The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann on Netflix.

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