Best True Crime Shows
From classic forensics to prestige drama, these are the true crime shows worth your time. For the latest streaming picks, see our Best True Crime on Netflix 2026 guide.
Explore our complete True Crime Documentaries collection →
Scripted True Crime Drama
Mindhunter
David Fincher's series about the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit in the 1970s. Interviews with real serial killers (Ed Kemper scenes are chilling) and the birth of criminal profiling.
- The People v. O.J. Simpson: The trial of the century
- The Assassination of Gianni Versace: Andrew Cunanan's spree
- Impeachment: Clinton-Lewinsky scandal
Under the Banner of Heaven
The Lafferty murders and the history of Mormon fundamentalism. Andrew Garfield as a detective losing his faith.
Documentary Series
Forensic Files
The classic. Short episodes on solved cases, focusing on the science that caught killers. Perfect background watching that's endlessly educational.
Unsolved Mysteries
Rebooted by Netflix, maintaining the original's eerie atmosphere. Viewer tips have helped solve cases for decades.
The First 48
Real homicide detectives working real cases in the crucial first 48 hours. Raw and unscripted.
Cold Justice
Former prosecutor Kelly Siegler helps solve cold cases across America.
Streaming Picks by Platform
- Making a Murderer
- The Staircase
- Don't Fk with Cats
- Conversations with a Killer series
- The Jinx
- I'll Be Gone in the Dark
- The Vow
- The Act
- Candy
- Under the Banner of Heaven
- John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise
- Dr. Death