The best true crime series available to watch right now

This article comes from Den of Geek UK.

We love a good murder. In the last few years true crime telly has absolutely exploded with a raft of mindblowing doc series and TV movies. At the forefront of that is Making A Murderer, which has now got a second series on Netflix.

Addicted to true crime? Love the unravelling of a mystery, or the shocking details of a miscarriage of justice? Check out these amazing series available to watch now.

Making A Murderer

This Netflix series hit the mainstream big time with the frankly incredible story of Steven Avery, a man wrongly accused of sexual assault who is incarcerated for years before DNA evidence comes to the fore proving his innocence. Once released and Avery goes about beginning to sue the local police department. Then a woman named Theresa Halback turns up dead on Avery’s land and Avery’s back in jail… Did he do it? Was he framed? Could both be true? Avery’s case made major headlines and a second season of the show has just landed. If you’ve not seen this yet, get on it, quick!

The Jinx

The movie All Good Things starring Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst was a fictionalised version of the bizarre story of property heir Robert Durst whose wife disappeared and who is later accused of murdering his neighbour in particularly odd circumstances. Director Andrew Jarecki screened the movie and the real Robert Durst saw and it. Things get weirder from there. A certain amount of luck and possibly karma combine to make The Jinx one of the most shocking series out there – the last two episodes will blow your mind.

The Staircase

Five new episodes charting the chase of Michael Peterson landed earlier this year on Netflix adding to the original eight which came out back in 2004. Peterson’s wife Kathleen was found dead at the bottom of the stairs in the family home but her injuries didn’t seem consistent with a fall. The case spans years and focuses on the court case and the evidence for and against. It’s some prime pub argument fodder right there.

The Keepers

A cold case about the horrific murder of young nun brought to the fore by two women who remember being taught by the sister when they were kids, The Keepers rapidly widens into a sprawling story of widespread abuse and corruption within the Catholic church. It’s a bit short on answers but no less shocking for it. Fan of Spotlight should check it out.

Evil Genius

This three part series starts with some very shocking footage of a real crime. Trigger warning: you actually see someone die and it’s pretty horrific. This is the story of a guy called Brian Wells, nicknamed in the press The Pizza Bomber – a pizza delivery guy who arrived to rob a bank with a bomb device strapped around his neck. It goes badly. Was he complicit or just a hostage? Who was behind this bizarre plan and why? An incredible story with a mildly terrifying protagonist.

The Confession Tapes

Six cases over seven episodes this show investigates confessions which could have been false or coerced and offers alternative explanations as to what might have happened. Some are more convincing than others, but it’s a fantastic chance play detective (or jury perhaps) in trying to work out whether the features individuals are lying on not (while always remembering of course that these are actual people’s lives…)

Amanda Knox

Either Amanda Knox is a stone cold sociopath and a murderous liar, or, the documentary posits, she’s basically you. Aged twenty and studying in Italy Knox was accused of murdering her housemate Meredith Kercher as part of a sex game. Knox always maintained her innocence and her Italian conviction has since been overturned but this is Knox’s chance to tell her own story. It’s a story that has a particular fascination after Knox’s trial via the media where she was nicknamed ‘Foxy Knoxy’ and painted as a evil fallen woman. Whether she convinces you is another matter – we were certainly on her side by the end of the film’s feature length runtime.

The Paradise Lost trilogy

Extended documentary series about three young men who became known as the West Memphis Three who were convicted of killing three children as part of an alleged satanic ritual. One of the boys, Damien Echols was actually sentence to death for the crime since he was eighteen – the other two sentence to life in prison. Paradise Lost is one over several docs about this case which became super-high profile and has so many different layers is is probably one of the most famous miscarriages of justice of our era.

Making A Murderer Part 2 is available now on Netflix.

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