Category: Shows

Show: Southern Fried Homicide

Southern murder cases with Southern flair

About Southern Fried Homicide

Take a narrator with a generic Southern accent, add a few Southern turns of phrases, mix in some homicide cases, and you get Southern Fried Homicide.

This charming little true crime show features cases that all took place in the South, and it isn’t as intense as some other shows, even though some of the cases are quite shocking. It includes some serial killers and a lot of cases covered on other series.

The Southern-tinged narration is accompanied by re-creations, commentary by detectives and victims’ loved ones, and some police interviews. From poisonings, to murder-for-hire, to jealousy and greed-based cases, episodes will have you vigorously fanning your face and saying, “Oh my!”

True crime shows

The Show Elements

Seasons: 3 (2013-2016)

Where to stream: Tubi, The Roku Channel, Amazon Prime Video, Max, Discovery+

More shows like Southern Fried Homicide: Sins of the South, Homicide City: Charlotte, Homicide Squad: Atlanta, Murder Nation: Blood on the Bayou, The Real Murders of Atlanta, Serial Killer Capital: Baton Rouge, Southern Gothic

See also this list of true crime shows

✓ Police interviews
✘ Trial clips
✓ Narration
✓ Re-creations
✘ Experts
✓ Victims’ families and friends

Latest Posts

Show: Evil Kin

Murder is all in the family in this true crime show

About Evil Kin

Evil Kin tells creepy tales of murder cases involving relatives who not only commit murder against (or with) each other but perpetrate other evil deeds along with the homicides, such as bank robbery, incest, and sexual and physical abuse.

The stories slant a bit creepier than most other true crime shows, and the re-creations paint a chilling and disturbing portrait of the crimes and families.

Sometimes multiple relatives kill together, other times one relative kills another, and psychologists weigh in on the motivations behind the crimes, as detectives and others tell the stories. The show includes historical cases like the Bloody Benders and the Harpe brothers, the first American serial killers.

True crime shows

The Show Elements

Seasons: 4 (2013-2017)

Where to stream: Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Discovery+

More shows like Evil Kin: Blood Relatives, Evil Stepmothers, Evil-in-Law, Fathers Who Kill, Killer in the Family, Twisted Sisters, Vengeance: Killer Families, Killer Siblings

See also this list of true crime shows

✓ Police interviews
✘ Trial clips
✓ Narration
✓ Re-creations
✘ Experts
✓ Victims’ families and friends

Latest Posts

Show: Accused: Guilty or Innocent?

Defendants present their side of criminal cases

About Accused: Guilty or Innocent?

Unlike most other true crime shows, Accused: Guilty or Innocent? takes the defense perspective. 

It follows the stories of those accused of serious crimes (including murder, but also child abuse, assault, attempted murder, and other offenses), demonstrating how the defense prepares for the trial as the attorneys and defendant go through the evidence, talk to witnesses, and reenact the crime. 

Besides presenting the story from the defense point of view, this true crime show illustrates how criminal cases are complex and how their defendants are not always as obviously guilty as detailed on other shows. 

It will tug at your heartstrings as it shows defendants as ordinary people facing the worst moments of their lives. Episodes follow them with their lawyers, at home, with their families, and going about their daily lives.  But you won’t hear from the victim or their loved ones, and this leaves a gap in truly understanding the case.

Not all shows have trials; sometimes the prosecutors offer a plea deal or drop the charges, demonstrating the behind-the-scenes elements of criminal prosecution. Recommended.

True crime shows

The Show Elements

Seasons: 4 (2020-)

Where to stream: Hulu, The Roku Channel, Discovery+

More shows like Accused: Guilty or Innocent?: Taking the Stand, Trial File, American Justice

See also this list of true crime shows

✓ Police interviews
✓ Trial clips
✘ Narration
✘ Re-creations
✘ Experts
✘ Victims’ families and friends

Latest Posts

Show: Murder Comes Home

Homicide cases featuring home video and crime scene video

Murder Comes Home

About Murder Comes Home

Home. The place where you feel the safest. But Murder Comes Home will make you question that.

It features homicides that occurred in people’s homes, as told by detectives, victims’ loved ones, and others. Their stories and case re-creations are interspersed with home video of the victim and their families before the murder occurred, as well as video of the crime scenes as the detectives survey them upon first entering the home.

Just six episodes, this true crime show doesn’t follow the stereotypical narrative that the murderer is the closest person to the victim. It will have you guessing the identity of the real killer until the end.

True crime shows

The Show Elements

Seasons: 1 (2020-)

Where to stream: Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, The Roku Channel, Tubi, Discovery+

More shows like Murder Comes Home: Home Alone, Home Sweet Homicide, Hometown Homicide, Murder at My Door, A Stranger in My Home

See also this list of true crime shows

✓ Police interviews
✘ Trial clips
✓ Narration
✓ Re-creations
✘ Experts
✓ Victims’ families and friends

Latest Posts

Show: Blood & Money

A true crime show built for Law & Order fans

About Blood & Money

From executive producer Dick Wolf, Blood & Money is a true-crime cousin of his Law & Order franchise, except it details actual murder cases. 

Featuring the classic clunk-clunk and font of Law & Order, the true crime show tells stories of murder cases based on greed. It also copies Law & Order’s split between the investigation and the prosecution, although not all episodes have trial clips (some just summarize the trials).

Some of the cases are well-known, such as the Menendez brothers, Ted Binion, and Robert Durst, and others have been covered elsewhere, such as the murders of Irene Silverman and Ron Rudin.

Fans of Law & Order will feel like the show is a comfy fit, while those looking for more of the money side of the crime might prefer American Greed.

True crime shows

The Show Elements

Seasons: 1 (2023-)

Where to stream: Peacock, Hulu

More shows like Blood & Money: American Greed, Claimed and Shamed, Dirty Money, Rich & Shameless, Serial Swindlers

See also this list of true crime shows

✓ Police interviews
✓ Trial clips
✓ Narration
✘ Re-creations
✘ Experts
✓ Victims’ families and friends

Latest Posts

Show: Taking the Stand

Murder suspects testify in their own defense

About Taking the Stand

Fans of trials will love Taking the Stand. This true crime show’s selling point is its sole focus on trials, particularly the direct and cross-examination of defendants who have decided to testify in their own defense. 

Episodes begin with a brief recap of the case, then jump right in with the defendant’s testimony, interspersed with details from victims’ loved ones, prosecutors, defense attorneys, reporters, and outside experts, who chime in with their opinions on the testimony. Some episodes include other witnesses who testify in the trial.

Even well-known and well-covered cases are worth watching again because of the depth of the testimony included, such as the trials of Jodi Arias, Amber Guyger, and Leon Jacob.

True crime shows

The Show Elements

Seasons: 2 (2022-)

Where to stream: Hulu

More shows like Taking the Stand: Killer Cases, Accused: Guilty or Innocent?, Trial File, American Justice

See also this list of true crime shows

✓ Police interviews
✓ Trial clips
✘ Narration
✘ Re-creations
✘ Experts
✓ Victims’ families and friends

Latest Posts

Show: The Playboy Murders

Playboy-related homicide cases

About The Playboy Murders

You don’t hear much about scandals related to Playboy, much less murders. But The Playboy Murders sheds light on murders of Playboy models and people related to them and delves into how the franchise sometimes directly or indirectly impacted these homicides.

Detectives, victims’ loved ones, writers, and those involved in the Playboy operation detail the cases, along with Playmate and Hugh Hefner’s former girlfriend Holly Madison (an executive producer of the show). She provides commentary and lets viewers in on some of the secrets behind the Playboy franchise. (For more on its secrets, check out Secrets of Playboy.)

Disappointingly, few cases relate to actual Playmates; these include Star Stowe, Dorothy Stratten, and Victoria Vetri. Other cases in the true crime show involve web or international Playboy models like Christina Carlin-Kraft and Kelsey Turner.

True crime shows

The Show Elements

Seasons: 2 (2023-)

Where to stream: Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Discovery+

More shows like The Playboy Murders: Secrets of Playboy

See also this list of true crime shows

✘ Police interviews
✘ Trial clips
✘ Narration
✓ Re-creations
✘ Experts
✓ Victims’ families and friends

Latest Posts

Show: Mean Girl Murders

Love the drama of mean girls? Mean Girl Murders takes mean to its ultimate conclusion

About Mean Girl Murders

Those mean girls. We love to hate them. And when they kill, we love to watch the cases. Take the case of Skylar Neese, so shocking that it was covered by a bunch of shows, including Dateline, Snapped, and See No Evil. High school mean girls murdering one of their classmates? Sounds like a compelling premise, but Discovery+’s Mean Girl Murders doesn’t quite deliver on the stereotype.

Some of the episodes in this true crime show take you back to the days of high school, with the complicated drama and catty back-biting, falling squarely into the mean-girl stereotype. Others, however, feel shoved into the mean-girl box, when they don’t really qualify. A rodeo queen who murders her father? Not quite.

The absence of a true mean-girl slant makes Mean Girl Murders a pretty run-of-the-mill true crime show, with the usual elements like re-creations, narration, and stories from detectives and families, using the trope of the mean girl to draw audiences in. Unfortunately for all its promise, it falls a bit short.

True crime shows

The Show Elements

Seasons: 1 (2022-)

Where to stream: Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Discovery+

More shows like Mean Girl Murders: I Killed My BFF, Frenemies: Loyalty Turned Lethal, Murder Among Friends

See also this list of true crime shows

✘ Police interviews
✘ Trial clips
✓ Narration
✓ Re-creations
✓ Experts
✓ Victims’ families and friends

Latest Posts

Show: Black Widow Murders

Women who kill multiple spouses and finally get caught

About Black Widow Murders

Female killers seem to be so much more…fascinating. Maybe it’s their general rarity in comparison to men (women commit about 12 percent of the murders in the US), maybe it’s their methods of murder, or maybe it’s the stereotype that women are the gentler sex, a stereotype that has been proven so very wrong by shows like Black Widow Murders. 

This true crime show delves into homicide cases involving women who have murdered multiple romantic partners, gaining them the “black widow” label.

These women kill using various means, from poison, to murder-for-hire, to guns, and the show includes commentary by psychologists, reporters, and crime writers who covered the cases, as well as testimonials by investigators and victims’ loved ones.

As one of the psychologists from the show notes, these women are serial killers who murder people they know, unlike male serial killers who usually kill strangers. Just as sociopathic, but these women are doing things their own way.

True crime shows

The Show Elements

Seasons: 1 (2022-)

Where to stream: Peacock, Hulu

More shows like Black Widow Murders: Snapped, Deadly Women, Deadly Wives, Wives with Knives

See also this list of true crime shows

✘ Police interviews
✘ Trial clips
✓ Narration
✓ Re-creations
✓ Experts
✓ Victims’ families and friends

Latest Posts

Show: The New Detectives

A forensics-based tour through murders and other crimes

About The New Detectives

Similar to Forensic Files, The New Detectives centers on the forensics behind solving homicide cases (including murders by serial killers) and other crimes like bombings, airplane crashes, sexual assaults, drug trafficking, missing persons, and arson. It showcases a variety of forensic methods, from DNA testing, to tire tracks, to footprints, to bite marks.

Forensic specialists demonstrate techniques related to profiling, forensic photography, forensic entomology and botany, toxicology, facial reconstruction, ballistics, forensic pathology, and forensic anthropology, creating a semi-educational tour through the field through specific cases.

Each episode features 2-3 cases, and the focus is on the forensic techniques involved, rather than a step-by-step account of the investigations. As a result, only some episodes include victims’ loved ones, and not much time is spent on trial aspects, usually just a summary of the verdict.

The true crime show is a bit dated, but still enjoyable for forensics buffs.

True crime shows

The Show Elements

Seasons: 9 (1996-2005)

Where to stream: Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Tubi, The Roku Channel, True Crime Network

More shows like The New Detectives: Forensic Files, Forensic Files II, Forensic Factor

See also this list of true crime shows

✓ Police interviews
✘ Trial clips
✓ Narration
✓ Re-creations
✘ Experts
✓ Victims’ families and friends

Latest Posts