I’m a bit of a true crime junkie and Netflix has some of the best selection of true crime docuseries available on a streaming service. Below are the shows that I have enjoyed the most. Warning, as with a lot of true crime, the shows listed below contain sensitive content. I encourage anyone considering viewing these shows to research the content warnings.
- This is a Robbery: The World’s Biggest Art Heist
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Two strange men disguised as cops manage to hustle their way into one of Boston’s elite art museums and leave with thirteen works of art valued at over half a billion dollars. This docuseries details the ins and outs of this still unsolved case.
- The Pharmacist
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This docuseries follows Dan Schneider, the local pharmacist for the small town of Poydras, Louisiana. In 1999, his son Danny was murdered while attempting to purchase crack in New Orleans. Following his son’s tragic death, Schneider began the search to identify his son’s killer, leading him to discover a wealth of damning evidence against a notorious New Orleans “pill mill” doctor.
- Monsters Inside: The Twenty-Four Faces of Billy Milligan
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If you loved M. Night Shyamalan’s Split, why not delve into the unsettling inspiration for the film’s protagonist, Billy Milligan? After committing a series of violent crimes in the late 1970s, Milligan was arrested. Though after his arrest, he claimed he had no memory of the crimes and exhibited strange, varying, and vast differences in personality. Psychiatrists soon diagnosed Milligan with dissociative identity disorder, more commonly known as multiple personality disorder, allowing Milligan to plead insanity during his trial. This docuseries debates the validity of his claims and discusses the psychology behind dissociative identity disorder.
- Don’t F**K With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer
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After an online video shows horrific acts of animal cruelty from an unknown man, amateur internet sleuths put their heads together to track down the perpetrator, uncovering his identity and discovering he is guilty of crimes far more sinister.
- The Staircase
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War novelist Michael Peterson calls emergency services, reporting that his wife Kathleen Peterson had fallen down the stairs of their home and passed away. Authorities do not believe Michael’s story and charge him with the murder of Kathleen. Michael maintains he had no involvement in his wife’s death. This docuseries showcases his defense attorney Daniel Rudolf as he attempts to prove his client’s innocence and offers a fascinating look into the criminal justice process.
If you’re in the market for a new true crime show to watch, the ones listed above are my personal favorites and I highly recommend them all.