There are some winners in a global pandemic and streaming sites have to be one of them. My Netflix account is seeing extra daily usage accompanied by Amazon Prime (Hunters on there is very good btw!) and my new shiny Disney+ subscription.
I’m trying to stay proactive during the day which is luckily accompanied by the fact I’m working from home two days a week and still have two days of university classes alongside my coursework so I do try and keep off Netflix until the evening.
I’m self isolating alone so the silence can get a bit deafening and I’ve always turned to podcasts in my hour of need so now is no different. My Apple podcasts app is another app which is getting continuous usage! I also have a true crime podcast bank on the blog if you’re looking for something new to listen to and it is something I go back to regularly to update with new finds.
Now as if my true crime addiction through my phone wasn’t enough, lockdown also provides the perfect time to catch up on all those true crime documentaries gracing Netflix that Twitter talk about so much. I’ve tried and tested all of these if you’re looking for something to sink your teeth into as coronavirus ruins everything.
I really enjoyed this serial with each episode covering a different cold case in depth. It was super interesting and I hadn’t heard of a lot of the cold cases that were covered, making it a really interesting watch for me. They also have an older version of this show with different cold cases on Netflix as well called Cold Case Files Classic which is also worth a watch.
The Confession Killer really made me think when I came away from it. Covering convicted serial killer Henry Lee Lucas who then confessed to dozens more murders whilst in prison, it totally flipped my perspective on this case. It brings the questionable doubt into Lucas’ confessions and has input from all the different individuals involved in his case and confessions.
This is a classic example of a Netflix documentary which could have been a few episodes long being stretched out into eight or ten hours worth of watching. After the first episode I initially gave up as the Madeleine McCann case is one I know so much about due to the years worth of new coverage and theories. I went back to it however and did find it an interesting watch but as expected, not much new information or perspective.
I was a tiny bit traumatised after first watching this documentary and did have a couple of nightmares after it. My true crime nightmares always come in the form of Ted Bundy and after I have one of those I know it is time to take a step back for a bit. This was a fascinating documentary and at only four episodes long, it won’t take up as much of your time as some of the others.
Now this series had everyone talking. It was shocking and filled with twists and turns that no one saw coming. It is horrific to think that this is a true story due to the horrendous abuse of a child who was failed by pretty much every adult figure in her life. A really grim story but not the unhappiest of endings!
This is my favourite Netflix true crime documentary. It was only three episodes long, featured a lot of different insights, was told in a really interesting way and featured a case not that well known or talked about.
I don’t really follow American football so I hadn’t really heard of Aaron Hernandez before this documentary – I’m unsure if this a shocking thing to say. Whilst I did really enjoy, I feel it didn’t really go that in-depth into the case and the narrative felt quite messy. It is probably very insightful for NFL fans though!
Another Netflix drama which could have been done in fewer episodes but definitely one of the most heartbreaking and traumatising. Gabriel Fernandez was failed by pretty much everyone and this documentary deep dives into the abuse of a child throughout his lifetime until his death and how those supposed to protect him failed.
This Netflix drama is exactly what I like! A more unusual or less well-known case – in this instance a pharmacist whose son is killed in a drug conflict and he subsequently uncovers the organised misuse of prescription drugs in the US whilst trying to get justice for his son. It is only a few episodes and really thoroughly researched and insightful.
The Unabomber case fascinates me and there is a really good fictionalised account of this case also on Netflix called Unabomber: Manhunt which follows the FBI agent using forensic linguistics to track the killer. I found the this series really interesting as it had a lot of input from the Unabomber’s family and it is four episodes long making it a perfect watch length.
I knew the plot line of Tell Me Who I Am as I have an awful habit of looking up something for what happens immediately after being told to watch it. Two twins who have lived a life together have their lives changed forever when one has an accident and wakes up with no memory except that he has a twin. The remaining twin has a choice: to tell the truth about their life or tell him something different. This is a mind-blowing watch and is one of the best true crime documentaries on Netflix.
This documentary is really important, especially as Bikram yoga is still practiced all over the world and people still train with him. A deep dive into the influential figure Bikram and his practices before uncovering the predatory truth at the heart of his behaviour. It features victims speaking openly and honestly about their abuse from such a well-known individual.
The presentation of this documentary reminded me a lot of Tell Me Who I am with the interview style presentation of telling the story and archival footage and photographs. Three Identical Strangers tells the story of three triplets who were separated and adopted by three different families at six months old with none of the families knowing about the other children.
They met by chance when they were nineteen, having all grown up with in a 100 mile radius of each other. Three Perfect Strangers tells the story of their reunion, the subsequent impact this had on their life and the more sinister reasonings for their separation.
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Hope this helps shift some of the lockdown boredom. There are plenty of good crime dramas on Netflix as well so I’ll be sharing one of those soon to keep us ticking over during this pandemic and staying at home.
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash
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