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.
# The 21 Best True Crime TV Shows

Tired of true crime podcasts? Check out our picks for the best ripped-from-the-headlines shows.

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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:

1

## Under the Bridge

under the bridgeHulu

2

## The Dropout

the dropoutHulu

The Dropout dramatizes the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes, played by Amanda Seyfried, who founded Theranos, a biotech company that failed spectacularly.

3

## Under the Banner of Heaven

under the banner of heavenFX/Hulu

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 .

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4

## Love & Death

love and deathCourtesy HBO Max

Love & Death stars Elizabeth Olsen as Candy Montgomery, a Texas housewife accused of murdering her lover's wife.

5

## Unbelievable

unbelievablenetflix

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.

6

## Mindhunter

mindhunternetflix

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.

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7

## True Detective: Night Country

true detective night countryCourtesy HBO Max

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.

8

## Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story

dahmernetflix

Dahmer is based on the true story of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer (played by Evan Peters). Dahmer killed seventeen people btween 1978 and 1991.

9

## Inventing Anna

inventing annanetflix

Julia Garner stars as Anna Delvey in Inventing Anna, which chronicles the scams of the fake heiress.

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10

## Baby Reindeer

baby reindeernetflix

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).

11

## The Staircase

the staircaseCourtesy HBO Max

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.

12

## Candy

candyHulu

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.

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13

## The Girl From Plainville

the girl from plainvilleHulu

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.

14

## When They See Us

when they see usnetflix

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.

15

## Dopesick

dopesickHulu

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16

## Narcos

narcosnetflix

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.

17

## A Friend of the Family

friend of the familyPeacock

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.

18

## Five Days at Memorial

five days at memorialApple TV+

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.

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19

## The Watcher

the watchernetflix

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."

20

## The Thing About Pam

best true crime tv showsPeacock

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.

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Senior News Editor

Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals, and a range of other subjects. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.

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