True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines a crime and details the actions of people associated with and affected by criminal events. It is a cultural phenomenon that can refer to the promotion of sensationalized and emotionally charged content around the subject of violent crime, for the general public.
Midsomer Murders is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the Chief Inspector Barnaby book series created by Caroline Graham, and broadcasts on the ITV Network since its premiere on 23 March 1997. The series focuses on various murder cases that take place within small country villages across the fictional English county of Midsomer, and the efforts of the senior police detective and his partner within the fictional Midsomer Constabulary to solve the crime by determining who the culprit is and the motive for their actions. It differs from other detective dramas in featuring a mixture of lighthearted whimsy and dark humour, as well as a notable soundtrack with a title theme that includes a theremin.
Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 is a 2000 American horror film directed and co-written by Joe Berlinger and starring Jeffrey Donovan, Stephen Barker Turner, Kim Director, Erica Leerhsen, and Tristine Skyler. Its plot revolves around a group of people fascinated by the mythology surrounding the film The Blair Witch Project; they go into the Black Hills where the original film was shot and experience supernatural phenomena and psychological unraveling.
Joseph Berlinger is an American documentary filmmaker and producer. Particularly focused on true crime documentaries, Berlinger's films and docu-series draw attention to social justice issues in the US and abroad in such films as Brother's Keeper, Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, Crude, Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger and Intent To Destroy: Death, Denial and Depiction.
Peter Vronsky is a Canadian author, filmmaker, and investigative historian. He holds a PhD in criminal justice history and espionage in international relations from the University of Toronto. He is the author of the bestseller true crime histories Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters (2004), Female Serial Killers: How and Why Women Become Monsters and Sons of Cain: A History of Serial Killers From the Stone Age to the Present (2018), a New York Times Editors' Choice, and most recently American Serial Killers: The Epidemic Years 1950–2000 (2021), a history exploring the epidemic surge of serial killers in the second half of the 20th century. He is the director of several feature films, including Bad Company (1980) and Mondo Moscow (1992). Vronsky is the creator of a body of formal video and electronic artworks and new media. He has also worked professionally in the motion picture and television industry as a producer and cinematographer in the field of documentary production and news broadcasting with CNN, CTV, CBC, RAI and other global television networks in North America and overseas. Vronsky's 2011 book, Ridgeway: The American Fenian Invasion and the 1866 Battle That Made Canada, is the definitive history of Canada's first modern battle – the Battle of Ridgeway fought against Irish American Fenian insurgents who invaded across the border from the United States on the eve of Canadian Confederation shortly after the American Civil War. He currently lectures at Toronto Metropolitan University's History Department in the history of international relations, terrorism, espionage, American Civil War, and the Third Reich. He consults as an investigative criminal historian to a number of law enforcement cold case homicide units including the NYPD, New York State Police, and Bergen County Prosecutor's Office New Jersey.
Mindhunter is an American psychological crime thriller television series created by Joe Penhall, based on the 1995 true-crime book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker. The series debuted in 2017 and ran for two seasons. Executive producers included Penhall, Charlize Theron, and David Fincher, the latter of whom served as the series' most frequent director and de facto showrunner, overseeing many of the scriptwriting and production processes. The series stars Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany, and Anna Torv, and follows the founding of the Behavioral Science Unit in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the late 1970s and the beginning of criminal profiling.
American Vandal is an American mockumentary television series created by Dan Perrault and Tony Yacenda that premiered on September 15, 2017, on Netflix. The series is a parody of true crime documentaries such as Making a Murderer and Serial. On October 26, 2018, it was announced that Netflix had canceled the series after two seasons; however, it was also reported that producers intend to shop the program to other venues.
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile is a 2019 American biographical true crime drama film about the life of serial killer Ted Bundy. Directed by Joe Berlinger with a screenplay from Michael Werwie, the film is based on Bundy's former girlfriend Elizabeth Kendall's memoir, The Phantom Prince: My Life with Ted Bundy. The film stars Zac Efron as Bundy, Lily Collins as Kendall, Kaya Scodelario as Bundy's wife Carole Ann Boone, and John Malkovich as Edward Cowart, the presiding judge at Bundy's trial. The title of the film is a reference to Cowart's remarks on Bundy's murders while sentencing him to death.
Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes is an American documentary that premiered on Netflix on January 24, 2019, the 30th anniversary of Bundy's execution. Created and directed by Joe Berlinger, the four episodes ranging from 51 to 74 minutes long were sourced from over 100 hours of interviews and archival footage of serial killer Ted Bundy, as well as interviews with his friends, surviving victims, and the law enforcement members who worked on his case.
Don't F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer is a 2019 true crime docuseries about an online manhunt. It is written and directed by Mark Lewis and was released on Netflix on December 18, 2019. The series chronicles events following a crowd-sourced amateur investigation into a series of animal cruelty acts committed by Canadian pornographic actor Luka Magnotta, culminating in his murder of Chinese international student Jun Lin. It was one of Netflix's Top 5 most-watched documentaries of 2019.
Tiger King is an American true crime documentary television series about the life of former zookeeper and convicted felon Joe Exotic. The first season was released on Netflix on March 20, 2020. A second season, Tiger King 2, was announced in September 2021 and was released on November 17, 2021, while a third season, Tiger King: The Doc Antle Story, was announced on December 3, 2021, and released one week later on December 12. The series focuses on the small but deeply interconnected society of big cat conservationists such as Carole Baskin, owner of Big Cat Rescue, and collectors such as Exotic, whom Baskin accuses of abusing and exploiting wild animals.
Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is the first season of the American true crime television anthology series, Monster, created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan for Netflix, which was released on September 21, 2022. Murphy also serves as showrunner and is an executive producer along with Brennan. Dahmer is about the life of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Other main characters include Dahmer's father Lionel, his stepmother Shari, suspicious neighbor Glenda, and grandmother Catherine.
The Serpent is a 2021 British crime drama television serial developed by Mammoth Screen and commissioned by the BBC. The eight-part limited series is a co-production between BBC One and Netflix. It is based on the crimes of Indian serial killer Charles "the Serpent" Sobhraj, who murdered young tourists from 1975 to 1976. The series stars Tahar Rahim in the lead role as Sobhraj.
Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel is the first season of the Crime Scene docuseries. Released in 2021 and directed by Joe Berlinger, it chronicles the death of Elisa Lam at the Cecil Hotel. It features Viveca Chow, Judy Ho and Artemis Snow and premiered on February 10, 2021 on Netflix.
Murder Among the Mormons is an American true crime documentary television miniseries following Mark Hofmann, one of the most notable forgers in history, who created forgeries related to the Latter Day Saint movement. Joe Berlinger serves as an executive producer. It consists of three episodes and premiered on Netflix on March 3, 2021.
Confronting a Serial Killer is an American documentary television miniseries directed and produced by Joe Berlinger. It explores Jillian Lauren, as she lures and investigates Sam Little, the most prolific serial killer in American history. It consists of 5-episodes and premiered on April 18, 2021, on Starz.
Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes is a limited docuseries created and directed by Joe Berlinger for Netflix. It is the second installment in the Conversations with a Killer series and succeeds Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes. The series depicts the murder spree of serial killer John Wayne Gacy, who killed at least 33 teenage boys and young men between 1972 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois. The story is depicted through never-before-heard archival audio footage that was recorded during Gacy's incarceration, interviews with participants close to the case and from one of the surviving victims. It was released on April 20, 2022.
Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes is a limited true crime docuseries created and directed by Joe Berlinger for Netflix. It is the third installment in the Conversations with a Killer series and succeeds Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes. The series depicts the murder spree of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, who murdered, dismembered and cannibalized 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991 in Wisconsin. The story is told through archival audio footage recorded during Dahmer's incarceration. It was released on October 7, 2022.
Crime Scene is a docuseries directed by Joe Berlinger and aired on Netflix. There are currently three seasons.
Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields is a 2022 Netflix limited docuseries directed by Jessica Dimmock. It is the third installment in the Crime Scene documentary series, following Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer. The true crime series is centered around the unsolved murders of four women in Texas in the 80s and 90s in an area known as the Texas Killing Fields, located in League City, Texas. It was released on November 29, 2022.
