AFTER THE WORLDWIDE success of Making A Murderer back in 2015, the true crime genre has become one of the most popular on Netflix and other streaming services.
In the more than three years since, we’ve found ourselves drawn into the stories shared in titles like Abducted in Plain Sight, The Keepers and American Crime Stories.
Whether in the form of a docu-series, scripted drama or a feature-length documentary, we’ve quickly burned through them all.
With the recent release of Dirty John on Netflix, and me nearing the end of yet another true crime series, I’m looking ahead at what shows I can expect to binge on over the coming months.
While not all of them will be immediately available on Netflix, here’s hoping that similarly to Dirty John, the streaming service will pick them up and release them worldwide for audiences here at home to enjoy.
Otherwise, you know there’ll be versions of them knocking around bootleg streaming sites.
So, what can we look forward to? Well, here are five true crime series that are soon to be released.
1. Leaving Neverland
This two-part documentary is based on the testimonies of two men who accused Michael Jackson of grooming and molesting them when they were children.
The documentary has been the source of a lot of controversy, with the Jackson family calling it a ‘public lynching’. However, critics who’ve seen it at the Sundance premiere said it was ‘more disturbing than you can imagine’.
The two-part series will air on March 3 and 4 on HBO.
2. Interrogation
This ten-episode series is based on a true story that spanned over 30 years in which a man was charged and convicted of brutally murdering his own mother.
Each episode will be structured like the interrogations and will be taken directly from the real police case files, in an attempt to turn the viewer into a detective.
Interestingly, the first nine episodes of the series will be released together but there will be no order in which the viewer should watch them. The final episode will be released at a later date.
The show, which stars Peter Sarsgaard, is to air on CBS All Access, however, is still in production so no word yet on an air date.
3. The Act
The Act is a seasonal anthology series that will focus on a new startling true crime story each season – similarly to American Crime Stories.
The first season tells the story of Gypsy Blanchard, a girl trying to escape the toxic relationship she has with her overprotective mother, Dee Dee. In 2015, Dee Dee’s body was found with multiple stab wounds and her Gypsy was missing.
The TV series stars Joey King as Gypsy and Patricia Arquette as Dee Dee and is to be released on March 20 on Hulu.
4. The Central Park Five
This upcoming mini-series was created by Ava DeVernay (the woman behind Selma, 13th and A Wrinkle In Time) and tells the story of the five men who were convicted of the attack and rape of a female jogger in Central Park in 1989.
In 2014, the five men were cleared of all charges and found not guilty of the crimes. This show will tell their stories and will star names like Vera Farmiga, Joshua Jackson, Michael K Williams, William Sadler, Chris Chalk and Felicity Huffman.
It is expected that the show will consist of five episodes, and will follow the hugely successful 2012 documentary on the same case (which you can watch the trailer of above).
It is due to be released on Netflix at some point this year.
5. Unsolved Mysteries
Netflix have announced that it is reviving the long-running true crime series which ran from 1987 to 2010 and will get a refresh from Stranger Things executive producer, Shawn Levy.
The 12-part series will focus on a different case each episode and will include re-enactments in a documentary format to tell the stories.
The show only got the greenlight earlier this year, so it’s likely we’ll be waiting till the end of 2019 before we see this appear on the Netflix.
6. Lorena
Bit of a cheat here as this four-part series has just been released on Amazon Prime.
The docu-series tells the story of one of the most talking about cases of the 90s. It focuses on the assault and court case involving John and Lorena Bobbitt after years of domestic abuse and sexual assault.
The series features contributions from John and Lorena themselves on what went on back in 1993.
All four episodes are now available on Amazon Prime to binge.
