Tag: murder

Show: Murder Calls

A true crime show that focuses on 911 calls related to murder cases

Murder Calls
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About Murder Calls

Murder Calls revolves around 911 calls made during or after a specific murder, some from the victims, but mostly from those finding the victim after the murder. The show opens with a warning that these calls may be graphic and disturbing, but only some actually are.

No narration between interviews with detectives and victims’ families and friends; instead, the show flashes short descriptions on the screen to fill in information. It includes police interviews and sometimes extended 911 calls, which provide more information on cases that you may have seen on other shows. In addition, episodes often add additional 911 calls.

The Show Elements

Seasons: 3 (2017-2020)

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

More shows like Murder Calls: Hear No Evil, Calls from the Inside

See also this list of true crime shows

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

Latest Posts

Show: Unusual Suspects

Not your usual murder suspects

Unusual Suspects
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About Unusual Suspects

Unusual Suspects looks at murder cases from a different angle than other true crime shows: suspects who are unusual in some way. Avoiding the-spouse-did-it cases emphasized by shows like Dateline, the show focuses on suspects who are unusual in their relationship to the victim, their profession, or some other reason, making them unlikely killers.

The show comes across as a bit salacious at times in its narration, but is interesting and unique in its emphasis on atypical perpetrators. It features detectives, victims’ families and friends, and others involved in the investigations. If you’re looking for an anti-Dateline, this show is for you.

The Show Elements

Seasons: 8 (2010-2016)

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

More shows like Unusual Suspects: Unusual Suspects: Deadly Intent, An Unexpected Killer

See also this list of true crime shows

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

Latest Posts

Show: The FBI Files

FBI agents share their techniques and cases

The FBI Files
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About The FBI Files

The FBI Files offers a wider take on true crime cases, covering murder but also bank robberies, kidnappings, bombings, organized crime, and other crimes investigated by the FBI, sometimes in conjunction with local authorities.

FBI agents, local detectives, and others working on the cases share their experiences and describe investigative and interview techniques, going into detail about them similar to the coverage on The New Detectives and the original Cold Case Files.

FBI agents also discuss the use of profiling on some cases, including cases involving serial killers. The show incorporates re-creations and some historical footage, but few episodes bring on victims’ loved ones.

The Show Elements

Seasons: 7 (1998-2005)

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

More shows like The FBI Files: FBI Criminal Pursuit, FBI: Critical Incident, FBI Takedowns, FBI’s Most Wanted, The New Detectives, Cold Case Files

See also this list of true crime shows

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

Latest Posts

Show: On the Case with Paula Zahn

A long-running true crime show hosted by Paula Zahn

On the Case with Paula Zahn
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About On the Case with Paula Zahn

Hosted by journalist Paula Zahn, this true crime show offers murder cases from across the US. Many cases are from the 1970s to 1990s, including cases not covered on other shows, and most are stranger murders. The show includes re-creations and some police interviews but few trial clips, which are brief when incorporated.

Zahn narrates the show and interviews detectives, victims’ loved ones, and sometimes perpetrators. Her interviews aren’t as hard-hitting or empathetic as those of the Dateline hosts, but if you’re looking for a show with tons of episodes, this one’s for you. With 26 seasons and still going strong, you’ll have your schedule set for the next decade.

The Show Elements

Seasons: 27 (2009-)

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

More shows like On the Case with Paula Zahn: Dateline, Killer Instinct with Chris Hansen

See also this list of true crime shows

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

Latest Posts

Show: Cold Case Files: DNA Speaks

A Cold Case Files spinoff focusing on DNA

About Cold Case Files: DNA Speaks

Cold Case Files: DNA Speaks is a Cold Case Files spinoff that focuses solely on the role of DNA testing in solving murder cases that have gone cold after several years, sometimes decades.

Narrated by Cold Case Files and American Justice host Bill Kurtis, this true crime show has a similar feel to the original: victims’ loved ones join detectives in telling their stories about the homicides and their investigations, and police interviews fill in the details. But instead of detailing cold cases involving all types of forensics, this show focuses on DNA testing. Many of the cases include the use of genetic genealogy to solve the crimes, a fascinating new field of forensics.

True crime shows

The Show Elements

Seasons: 1 (2023-)

Where to stream: Hulu

More shows like Cold Case Files: DNA Speaks: Cold Case Files, Forensic Files, The New Detectives, Unsolved Mysteries, Cold Justice, 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: How I Caught My Killer

Murder victims help solve their own murders from beyond the grave

About How I Caught My Killer

DNA. Fingerprints. Blood spatter. These are all types of evidence that have become standard in solving homicide cases. But the ubiquity of technology has also impacted murder investigations, providing new evidence for detectives. How I Caught My Killer includes cases with clues left by technology, along with other evidence. In a flip of the usual method of investigation, the focus is on evidence from the victim’s life, instead of evidence left by the killer.

This true crime show features murder cases in which the victims “caught” the killer by helping detectives solve the case through text messages, diary entries, social media posts, fitness apps, or documents that provide clues after their murder.

Each episode has a different narrator to reflect the identity of the victim. Another unique aspect of the true crime show is the music, which uses pop songs with lyrics instead of instrumental background music, making the show seem more trendy and modern.

True crime shows

The Show Elements

Seasons: 2 (2023-)

Where to stream: Hulu

More shows like How I Caught My Killer: Before I Die, If I Should Die

See also this list of true crime shows

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

Latest Posts

Show: Handsome Devils

Men who murder and steal from the women in their lives

About Handsome Devils

The title of Handsome Devils is a bit of a misnomer. Not all of the killers in the show are actually handsome, but they’re all devils in some way. These men have romantic relationships with their victims and either murder or embezzle money from them, or both.

In this fairly typical true crime show, surviving victims tell their harrowing stories, along with detectives and other victims’ family and friends. Add re-creations and police interviews, and it makes for the usual format.

The show is only 10 episodes, but many more of these types of cases exist. Find them on shows like Dateline, 20/20, or Casanova Killers.

True crime shows

The Show Elements

Seasons: 1 (2014-2015)

Where to stream: Discovery+, Amazon Prime Video

More shows like Handsome Devils: Casanova Killers, Dateline NBC, 20/20, American Greed

See also this list of true crime shows

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

Latest Posts

Show: Web of Lies

Technology leads to lies and a slew of terrifying crimes

About Web of Lies

A teen is bullied online to the point of suicide. Adopted children are placed inadvertently with child predators. A man is catfished by a woman for his money, then murdered. These are some of the cases in Web of Lies.

Web of Lies features disturbing stories of crimes connected to online deceit. It’s a different kind of true crime show, describing stories that revolve around the horrible things people do to each other when they can mask their true identity, pose as someone else on the internet or in text messages, or lie to cover up a crime. Not all of the crimes are murder; some of the most shocking episodes are cases related to sextortion, cyberbullying, trafficking, and online predators. They will make you afraid to ever use your computer or phone again.

Web of Lies centers on the mystery, sometimes the mystery of who the perpetrator is, but usually the mystery of what terrible thing befell the victim for going online and meeting someone who lied to them. Often the cases involve teens too naïve to know about the dark side of the internet, who then fall victim to online predators.

In addition to cases in the US, the show includes some Canadian and Australian cases. Recommended.

True crime shows

The Show Elements

Seasons: 7 (2014-2021)

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

More shows like Web of Lies: Deadly Influence: The Social Media Murders, #killerpost, Deadly Dates, Devil in the Web, Murder on the Internet, Web of Death, Web of Make Believe: Death, Lies and the Internet

See also this list of true crime shows

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

Latest Posts

Show: The Perfect Murder

Murder cases where the killer almost gets away with the crime

The Perfect Murder

About The Perfect Murder

The Perfect Murder advertises itself as a true crime show about homicide cases that are almost perfect. It seems like an interesting premise, but episodes merely describe murders where one piece of evidence helps detectives crack the case. Since many murders are solved this way, the title and premise are a bit of a stretch and serve only to draw viewers to a show that is mediocre at best.

In addition to a flimsy premise, the show also has terrible re-creations with bad acting and even worse dialogue. They include re-created “theories” by fictional detectives who speculate what might have happened to the victim, imagined as they consider various suspects and their motives, and these theories are often laughable.

A few episodes in the show qualify as “almost perfect,” such as a case where a man was wrongly convicted and spent more than a decade in prison until the real killer was caught, or cases that have gone cold for several years. Others are the usual types of cases solved through standard investigation techniques and key evidence, and many have been covered on other shows.

The verdict: Not worth the watch. Skip it.

True crime shows

The Show Elements

Seasons: 5 (2014-2019)

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

More shows like The Perfect Murder: Cold Case Files

See also this list of true crime shows

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

Latest Posts

Show: The Wonderland Murders

Murder cases in Portland, Oregon

About The Wonderland Murders

Portland isn’t all wacky characters, hipsters, and vegans. Some Portlanders are killers, and The Wonderland Murders shares this shadowy side of the city.

The true crime show tells the stories of these killers and their victims, delving into homicide cases in Portland, Oregon, and surrounding areas. It has re-creations that cast the city in a dark gloom to match its rainy weather, and some episodes feature the same detectives talking about the different cases they have solved, often showing their deft interrogations. 

The Wonderland Murders illustrates how, like other cities and towns across the US, Portland is not immune to murder either. 

True crime shows

The Show Elements

Seasons: 2 (2018-2020)

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

More shows like The Wonderland Murders: Atlanta Justice, City Confidential, City of Angels: City of Death, Dark Nights in the City, Homicide City: Charlotte, Homicide Squad: Atlanta, The Lake Erie Murders, Las Vegas Law, Lone Star Justice, Murder in the Wicked West, Murder Nation: Blood on the Bayou, Murder Nation: Jersey Gore, New York Homicide, The Real Murders of Atlanta, The Real Murders of Orange County, Sin City Justice, Valley of the Damned

See also this list of true crime shows

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

Latest Posts