Guardian readers have shared their all-time favourite true-crime television shows, ranging from the outrageous antics of Joe Exotic in Tiger King to the stunning revelation in The Jinx. The list includes documentaries and dramatisations that have captivated audiences with their gripping investigations and human stories.
Unsolved cases and wrongful accusations
AJ from Devon, UK, highlighted the BBC's Unsolved: The Boy Who Disappeared (2016), which investigates the disappearance of Damien Nettles. AJ praised the series for its comprehensive and empathetic approach, noting that it takes a Serial/Making a Murderer-style angle by showing the investigation rather than just presenting facts. "I thought it might turn up new evidence; that level of faith in the work being shown is a testament to how thorough it was," AJ said.
Rose from Wakefield, UK, recalled watching Murder on a Sunday Morning (2001) with her father. The documentary, about a Black teenager wrongly accused of shooting an older white woman, opened her eyes to police corruption and racism. "It is a beautiful piece of sensitive, non-sensationalist film-making with humanity at its heart," she said.
Outrageous characters and family tragedies
Bruce from Florida, US, admitted he is not a fan of true crime TV but found Tiger King (2020) immensely watchable. He described big-cat enthusiast Joe Exotic, jailed for animal abuse and attempted murder for hire, as "the kind of over-the-top character who seems as if he had sprung from a work of fiction."
Judith from Tyne and Wear, UK, found Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke (2025) difficult but engaging to watch, given the severe child abuse committed by the family vlogger. "It's horrific seeing educated people punishing children in a very cruel way," she said, adding that it helped to know the perpetrators were jailed.
Personal connections and psychological depth
Neil Marshall, 43, from Glasgow, UK, praised Hometown: A Killing (2019), which focuses on a murder in journalist Mobeen Azhar's hometown of Huddersfield. Marshall noted that the series evolves into a deep dive into societal and cultural issues, calling it "one of the best explorations of crime in modern Britain."
Issy, 27, from London, UK, said she has watched Confessions With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes (2019) "maybe 100 times" since first seeing it at university. She praised the series for balancing the sensational and truthful, and for allowing Bundy to incriminate himself, emphasising his "monstrous ego and lack of empathy."
John Fitzgerald, 58, from Manchester, UK, described Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008) as devastating. "It destroyed me," he said, recalling how the film, made by Kurt Kuenne, a close friend of murder victim Andrew Bagby, brought him to tears. "Even typing this now, it's making me teary," he added.
Justice system and historical context
Michiel Pauw, 38, from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, praised The Staircase (2022), a dramatisation starring Colin Firth and Toni Collette, for its intimate view into a family in crisis. He said the series ultimately makes the case that the American justice system is the real villain, adding, "I always prefer true crime that helps unjustly convicted people."
An anonymous reader from Australia highlighted OJ: Made in America (2016), which uses OJ Simpson's life and crimes to explain the history of modern civil rights in America. "You feel so captivated by the intertwining themes that you need time to synthesise it all," they said.
Jose Ramirez, 55, from Tewksbury, Massachusetts, US, recommended This is a Robbery: The World's Biggest Art Heist (2021), an in-depth look at the unsolved 1990 Isabella Stewart Gardner museum heist. He noted that because Isabella Gardner's will forbade replacing the paintings, the empty spaces remain on the walls to this day.
Legendary shows and chilling cases
Yvette from Bristol, UK, called The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst (2015) "probably the greatest true crime TV show of the modern era." She praised the storytelling and the jaw-dropping final reveal, saying it demonstrates what wealth does to people and how it leverages the legal system.
Robert Graves, 58, from Los Angeles, US, credited Unsolved Mysteries (1987–2010) as the granddaddy of the genre, with Robert Stack as the perfect host. "I'm sure that series helped inspire many of the armchair internet sleuths that popped up in the decades that followed," he said.
Susan Wilt from New York, US, highlighted The Keepers (2017), which explores the unsolved murder of Sister Catherine Cesnik in 1969. Dane Klingaman, 40, from Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, US, described American Murder: The Family Next Door (2020) as equally enthralling and infuriating, focusing on Chris Watts's attempts to cover up the murder of his pregnant wife and children in 2018.
Tim Powell, 67, from Worcestershire, UK, found himself laughing out loud while watching Last Stop Larrimah (2023), about the disappearance of an elderly Irish immigrant from the tiny Australian outback town of Larrimah. As the series progresses, the tone darkens, and Powell noted that "Larrimah becomes a microcosm of the wider world."
