A true crime show similar to a crime drama
About Betrayed
If you’re looking for a true crime show that is more drama than documentary, check out Betrayed. Betrayed relies heavily on dramatizations of murder cases, with each episode telling these stories through fictionalized re-creations that follow the events before the crime, to the murder and investigation. Interspersed between these dramatizations are interviews with detectives and victims’ family and friends, but the focus of the show is on the re-creations, which parallel crime dramas by following the story in a linear fashion, complete with narrative techniques like tension, conflict, and foreshadowing.
The show focuses on murders perpetrated by someone the victim knew, who ultimately betrayed them by killing them. Episodes begin with a roundup of all the possible suspects, then detail events before the crime that may have contributed to the killer’s motive, then follow the murder and its investigation.
Adding to that crime drama feel are voice-over narrations by the actors playing the victims, who describe each event leading up to and after the murder from their point of view.
The Show Elements
Seasons: 4 (2016-2020)
Where to stream: Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Discovery+
More shows like Betrayed: Blood Relatives, A Crime to Remember, Love, Honor, Betray
See also this list of true crime shows
✓ Police interviews
✘ Trial clips
✓ Narration
✓ Re-creations
✘ Experts
✓ Victims’ families and friends
True Crime Docket 