Tag: murder shows

Show: Sex, Lies & Murder

Stories of homicide cases related to sex

Sex Lies & Murder
Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com

About Sex, Lies & Murder

The tagline for this true crime series could be “the more salacious the better.” Sex, Lies & Murder concentrates on homicides with a sexual component to the story, sometimes merely sex-adjacent. It plays up the sexual aspect of murder cases even when it has nothing to do with the murder itself, and the stock group of experts dive right in. The show includes many cases covered in other series, but emphasizes the sex-related elements more to give the title its worth.

Cases involve love triangles, strippers, porn stars, child custody, jealousy, affairs, and more, described by the investigators who worked on the cases, along with experts, most notably crime writer and investigative journalist M. William Phelps, who appears in almost all of the episodes. He is joined by local reporters and other crime writers and specialists.

Very few episodes bring in victims’ loved ones, but they often include defense attorneys (unlike many other shows), who provide an alternative perspective.

True crime shows

The Show Elements

Seasons: 1, with 40 episodes (2018-2019)

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

More shows like Sex, Lies & Murder: Sex & Murder

See also this list of true crime shows

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

Latest Posts

Show: Exhumed: Killer Revealed

Exhumations help detectives solve murder cases

About Exhumed: Killer Revealed

Exhumed: Killer Revealed is a fairly typical true crime show that focuses on exhumations as the key to solving murders after lengthy periods of time. These include cold cases, undetermined deaths, and deaths first ruled as suicides that are later ruled as homicides.

Some cases in the series are covered in other shows, but Exhumed: Killer Revealed emphasizes the first murder of the two when two homicide cases are linked and in instances when a case has gone cold and leads to the need for exhumation. One example is the Sharon Reeves case in Episode 7. In other cases detailed elsewhere, the show provides more information on the exhumations than other series.

True crime shows

The Show Elements

Seasons: 2 (2021-)

Where to stream: Hulu, Peacock

More shows like Exhumed Killer Revealed: Secrets of the Morgue, Skeleton Stories, Autopsy,
The Coroner: I Speak for the Dead,
Outback Coroner

See also this list of true crime shows

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

Latest Posts

Show: Poisonous Liaisons

A true crime show focusing on poison as the weapon of murder

About Poisonous Liaisons

Poison is the method of murder in this true crime show. Killers use various substances to murder victims ranging from romantic partners, to co-workers, to family members, and they sometimes elude the authorities until they attack a new victim and investigators get suspicious.

Featuring many historical cases from periods when pathologists didn’t routinely test for poisons, Poisonous Liaisons includes cases from the UK, US, and Australia by both women and men, including many serial poisoners.

Each episode details two cases through the stories of detectives, medical examiners, and other experts, such as historians, criminologists, forensics professors, and retired detectives. Episodes exclude interview or trial clips, keeping the descriptions of cases succinct.

True crime shows

The Show Elements

Seasons: 1 (2019)

Where to stream: Tubi, Peacock, True Crime Network, Amazon Prime Video

More shows like Poisonous Liaisons: Poisoned Passions

See also this list of true crime shows

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

Latest Posts

Show: American Justice

Cases that shine a light on issues in the US criminal justice system

Photo by Sora Shimazaki on Pexels.com

About American Justice

Narrated and hosted by Bill Kurtis of Cold Case Files, American Justice uses specific cases to take deep dives into different issues in the American criminal justice system, such as policing, battered spouse syndrome, crimes of passion, and wrongful conviction. It focuses on murder but includes cases involving fraud, the mafia, school shootings, kidnapping, and other crimes, with an emphasis on trials and high-profile cases, sometimes bringing on jurors (such as a few from the OJ Simpson case).

American Justice also discusses many historical cases, such as the outlaws of the Old West, the history of the mafia, Watergate, and the Lindbergh kidnapping.

A&E re-booted the show in 2023 (and called it Season 15, strangely), narrated by Dennis Haysbert. Both the earlier and newer versions are quality true crime television that not only cover the investigation and prosecution of crimes but relevant issues brought up by these investigations and prosecutions. Highly recommended.

True crime shows

The Show Elements

Seasons: 29 (1996-2008, 2023-)

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

More shows like American Justice: Cold Case Files, The Jury Speaks, Trial by Media, Trial File, What Lies Beneath

See also this list of true crime shows

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

Latest Posts

Show: Skeleton Stories

A true crime show highlighting the work of forensic anthropologists

About Skeleton Stories

Some true crime shows include a case here or there that involves a forensic anthropologist, but Skeleton Stories devotes an entire show to the work of these bone specialists, who provide an expert eye for medical examiners in cases where bodies are unidentified or exhumed, or bones are found long after murders occurred.

This show details specific techniques used to solve murders and other mysteries through episodes featuring one to two cases, which are described by several forensic anthropologists who worked on them. They demonstrate the science behind decomposition, the identification of a body or cause of death, or how forensic anthropologists look for trauma from a weapon, really getting into the weeds of forensic examination. 

Like some of the other shows from the same era, Skeleton Stories omits or changes some names, even those of killers. Be prepared to learn a lot from this show, especially about bones and anatomy. It’s a great watch for forensics enthusiasts and science buffs.

True crime shows

The Show Elements

Seasons: 2 (2005-2007)

Where to stream: Peacock, Tubi, The Roku Channel, Amazon Prime Video

More shows like Skeleton Stories: The New Detectives, Secrets of the Morgue, Exhumed: Killer Revealed

See also this list of true crime shows

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

Latest Posts

Show: Making a Serial Killer

A look inside the motivations behind serial killers and their murders

About Making a Serial Killer

How does someone become a serial killer? That’s the question that Making a Serial Killer asks, detailing the background, childhood, and family elements that influenced a person’s transformation into a serial killer.

This true crime show includes lesser-known serial killers, and murderers that may not really qualify, and describes their homicidal careers and eventual capture.

Investigators involved in the cases are joined by experts like psychologists, retired homicide detectives, and sociologists (Brian Frederick, Judy Ho, Carolyn Canville, Brian Harris, and Jooyoung Lee), who offer their opinions on the motivations and psychology behind the killers’ exploits.

The show profiles American and Canadian serial killers Don Miller, Jesse Matthew, Donna Perry, Sheila LaBarre, William Devin Howell, Todd Kohlhepp, Bruce McArthur, Willie Inmon, Anthony Shore, and Ronald Dominique.

True crime shows

The Show Elements

Seasons: 1 (2021)

Where to stream: Peacock, Tubi, The Roku Channel, Amazon Prime Video

More shows like Making a Serial Killer: American Serial Killers: Portraits in Evil,
Becoming Evil: Serial Killers, Invisible Monsters: Serial Killers in America, Made for Murder, Mark of a Serial Killer, Murderous Minds: Inside Serial Killers

See also this list of true crime shows

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

Latest Posts

Show: Exhibit A: Secrets of Forensic Science

A showcase for forensics and Canadian true crime cases

About Exhibit A: Secrets of Forensic Science

Hosted and narrated by actor Graham Greene, this forensics-based true crime show emphasizes one item or mistake the killer made in a homicide case: exhibit A.

Not to be confused with Netflix’s Exhibit A, this series focuses on cases in Canada—murder, sexual assault, bombings, and otherwise. Its use of the Dutch angle camera technique and noir-ish saxophone music lends a ’90s style that dates the show, but some of the cases will draw you in, such as those that detail exonerations from DNA testing and an art forgery case.

Exhibit A includes re-creations (which tend to be on the cheesy side) and discussion of investigations by the detectives and forensic scientists involved in the cases, but it excludes archival footage. Very few episodes incorporate surviving victims or their family members and friends, and they change the victims’ names. Most episodes are about 22 minutes in length.

True crime shows

The Show Elements

Seasons: 5 (1997-2001)

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

More shows like Exhibit A: Secrets of Forensic Science: Forensic Factor, Forensic Files, Forensic Investigators, Forensic Justice, Forensics, The New Detectives, Solved: Extreme Forensics

See also this list of true crime shows

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

Latest Posts

Show: Secrets of the Morgue

Medical examiners take the lead in this true crime show

About Secrets of the Morgue

Secrets of the Morgue puts medical examiners, forensic pathologists, and forensic anthropologists at the center of each episode of the series, which emphasizes autopsy reports more than most true crime shows, while still relating the subsequent murder investigations.

In each episode, medical examiners describe the specific details of autopsies in all types of murder cases, their technical elements, and how this information helps them identify a body, find the cause of death, or figure out the weapon used in a homicide.

The show includes detectives and others involved in the cases, along with a stock group of experts specializing in sociology, violent crime, forensic pathology, and homicide investigation (Mark Mendelson, Jooyoung Lee, and Jane Turner), who weigh in on the psychology and investigative aspects of each case.

The show also includes interviews with victims’ loved ones, re-creations, and police interviews in select cases, but no trial clips.

True crime shows

The Show Elements

Seasons: 1 (2018-2019)

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

More shows like Secrets of the Morgue: Skeleton Stories, Autopsy,
The Coroner: I Speak for the Dead,
Exhumed: Killer Revealed,
Outback Coroner

See also this list of true crime shows

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

Latest Posts

Show: Someone You Thought You Knew

What if someone you love turns out to be a murderer?

About Someone You Thought You Knew

We all wonder if we truly know the people close to us—our partner, family members, friends. But what if we don’t really know someone at all, and they are, instead, a murderer? That’s the scary premise of Someone You Thought You Knew.

This true crime show consists of the usual elements—narration, re-creations, excerpts from police interviews, and testimonials from victims’ families and friends, who share their stories and reveal their surprise at finding out who their loved ones really are.

About half of the cases appear on other shows, such as Dateline, and the presentation is pretty typical of most true crime shows, so if you’re looking for something new and different, skip this one.

True crime shows

The Show Elements

Seasons: 2 (2018-2019)

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

More shows like Someone You Thought You Knew: Dateline, Meet Marry Murder, Snapped, 20/20

See also this list of true crime shows

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

Latest Posts

Show: Homicide Hunter

Retired homicide detective Joe Kenda shares stories from his 23-year career

(Note: This site contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)

About Homicide Hunter

A memoir of sorts, Homicide Hunter with Joe Kenda focuses on the murder cases and other investigations of one detective throughout his 23-year career: Joe Kenda of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Kenda boasts a 92% solve rate and provides a master class in investigation at a time before DNA testing. He recounts many of the hundreds of cases he has worked, solving murders of all types, during his career in Colorado Springs, like an uncle sharing war stories. Colleagues involved in the cases, and local reporters, also appear in the series.

Not every detective could carry an entire true crime series; Kenda succeeds. He often throws in what has become his catchphrase, “Well my, my, my,” upon an eye-opening discovery. Standout episodes include cases from his early career detailing what he learned and how he became a detective (see Season 4, Episode 14, “My First Case”), and he sometimes brings in the perspective of his wife and family, who show up in Season 8, Episode 19 (“Married to the Job”) and Season 9, Episode 20 (“The End”).

The show is a rare look into a lengthy investigative career, the stress of the job, the psychology behind interrogation, and personal aspects of being a detective, such as Kenda’s feelings at crime scenes and the toll his work took on his family.

Kenda also hosts two specials, Homicide Hunter: Never Give Up and Homicide Hunter: Devil in the Mountains, as well as American Detective with Joe Kenda, which brings in other detectives to share their cases.

True crime shows

The Show Elements

Seasons: 9 (2011-2020)

Where to stream: Hulu, Discovery+

More shows like Homicide Hunter: American Detective with Lt. Joe Kenda, The Case That Haunts Me, Detective, Detective Diaries, The Detectives Club: New Orleans, The Detectives: Murder on the Streets, Detectives: My Killer Case, Homicide Hunter: Devil in the Mountains, Homicide Hunter: Never Give Up, I Am Homicide, The Killer Closer, Murder Chose Me, Real Detective

See also this list of true crime shows

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

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