Ten True Crime Shows You Might Have Missed

Thanks to the explosion of streaming platforms, interest in true crime has soared. Viewers clearly love settling down for the evening and learning about despicable murderers. As many as 35% of us watch true crime content at least once per week.

“Audiences have always liked the more salacious details of penny dreadfuls and real life crime detective novels,” says Christopher Chavez, an associate professor at the University Of Oregon and academic expert in media studies. “As television became more popular, and as streaming platforms have demanded content, it has become a tried and true genre that could be produced under pretty cheap circumstances.”

As the genre has blossomed, shows have become more sophisticated too. The likes of Manhunter, Under the Banner of Heaven, Unbelievable, The Act, and most recently Dahmer have used different vantage points to tell their stories, says Chavez.

“People live in fear of these kinds of stories,” says Chavez. “Watching them is one of the ways that they try to understand or make sense or even control them to some degree.”

While audiences can’t get enough of watching dastardly deeds, plenty of true crime shows have gone under the radar. We’ve compiled a list of shows you might have missed. But be warned: You might never trust your neighbors again.

Inspired by the U.K. murders of William and Patricia Wycherley, Landscapers tells the story of a married couple who murder the wife’s parents, bury them in their back garden — and then get away with it for over a decade. Oscar winner Olivia Colman and renowned actor David Thewlis give superb performances as the mild-mannered, murderous couple. The directing by Will Sharpe is utterly engaging too. Landscapers is available to watch on HBO Max.

In Dr. Death, Joshua Jackson plays Christopher Duntsch, a rising Dallas neurosurgeon whose patients start ending up injured or mutilated, even dead. Featuring Alec Baldwin and Christian Slater as Duntsch’s surgeon colleagues, and AnnaSophia Robb as a district attorney — who are all trying to stop “Dr. Death” — it’s a slow-burner that gets under your skin with each installment. The Peacock crime drama, inspired by a 2018 podcast, has already been renewed for a second season, which will focus on disgraced Italian surgeon Paolo Macchiarini.

The Serpent is easy to get sucked into. Both Tahar Rahim and Jenna Coleman are irresistible as the leading criminals. The Thailand locations and 1970s setting of this Netflix and BBC One series are just as mesmerizing. Then, of course, there’s murder — lots of it. Rahim plays Charles Sobhraj, known as “the Serpent,” a serial killer who drugs, robs and murders tourists.

Dirty John is a true crime anthology series is based on Christopher Goffard’s podcast of the same name. Eric Bana plays John Meehan, a charismatic man who appears to be just looking for love and seemingly finds it with Debra Newell (Connie Britton). But Meehan is a conman with a long history of abuse and manipulation. The stacked cast also includes Juno Temple, Julia Garner, Jean Smart and John Getz, while the second season focuses on Amanda Peet as murderer Betty Broderick. Both thrilling seasons are available on Netflix.