If there’s one genre, per Psychology Today, that arouses the audience’s attention in both movies and TV, it’s crime. Over the years, crime dramas have become extremely popular, and as viewership has grown, so has their quality. Currently, they take up a large part of any streaming platform’s catalog, so much so that it is often difficult for the audience to choose which one to watch next. The ones that are getting special attention from audiences are the shows based on true crimes, such as HBO Max’s recent production, The Staircase. This miniseries features a star-studded cast led by Colin Firth and Toni Collette, and addresses the story of writer Michael Peterson, who faced a murder conviction after his wife Kathleen was found dead at the bottom of the staircase of the family home. Having been a little over a month since the premiere of the show, The Staircase earned rave reviews from both critics and audiences, scoring a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Similar to The Staircase, there are a great number of high quality true crime series, with a narrative capable of keeping the viewers engaged until the very last episode, deserving a spot on the watchlist of true crime fans. It should be clarified that, if one has enjoyed this HBO Max series, perhaps the most accurate recommendation would be (the other) The Staircase, the 2005 TV documentary miniseries directed by Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, that is available to stream on Netflix. Since it is a documentary that revisits the same crime as the Colin Firth-led show, it hasn’t been added to the list. Yet, it is highly recommended to check out that show, as it provides actual details and footage about Kathleen Peterson’s death. Have a look at some shows like The Staircase to watch next.

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8 I Am the Night

     TNT

This 2019 series is inspired by the book One Day She’ll Darken: The Mysterious Beginnings of Fauna Hodel, and stars Chris Pine and India Eisley. I Am the Night follows the story of Fauna, a young girl who was abandoned at birth by her mother and wants to find out all about her past and biological family. In the midst of her search, Fauna comes across the name of Dr. George Hodel, a controversial gynecologist who was involved in the Black Dahlia murder, one of the worst unsolved murder cases. Along the way, she also crosses paths with Jay Singletary, a journalist who worked on a story about one of her ancestors.

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7 Dirty John

     Netflix

Dirty John is the ultimate demonstration of all the crazy things that can be done in the name of love, for better or worse. This anthology series is inspired by Christopher Goffard’s podcast of the same name and consists of two seasons, each one inspired by a true crime story. The first season revolves around John Meehan (Eric Bana), a woman hustler, and his ill-fated love affair with Debra Newell (Connie Britton), an interior designer who is successful in her field but unfortunate when it comes to romance. The second one, for its part, is entitled The Betty Broderick Story, and it is similar to The Staircase in that it centers on Betty (Amanda Peet), a woman who is accused of murdering her ex-husband and his girlfriend.

6 The Undoing

     Warner Bros. Television Distribution

This miniseries is one of the closest to The Staircase in that it also puts a family man under scrutiny. The Undoing is a suspense-mystery miniseries based on Jean Hanff Korelitz’s novel You Should Have Known and features starring performances by Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant, among other great actors. This 2020 production centers on a married couple with the perfect life: Grace and Jonathan Fraser, two successful professionals and parents of a little boy named Henry (Noah Jupe). Yet their circumstances change completely when Elena (Matilda de Angelis), a mother of one of Henry’s classmates, is found dead in her studio on the same day Jonathan disappears. As the investigation of the case unfolds, Grace discovers some shocking truths about her husband that make her question whether her life is genuine or has been built on lies.

5 American Murder: The Family Next Door

Along the lines of The Staircase and based on true events, American Murder: The Family Next Door is focused on the disappearance of Shanann Watts and her two young daughters. Although the one who initially reports their disappearance is the seemingly concerned husband Chris Watts, further investigation into the case uncovers details that prove he is not as innocent as he pretends to be. This Netflix documentary does a fine job of conveying the essence of a heartbreaking and tragic crime case that left everyone shocked.

4 The Girl From Plainville

     Hulu

Starring a brilliant lead performance by Elle Fanning, The Girl From Plainville is based on the trial of Michelle Carter, the teenager accused of driving her boyfriend Conrad Roy (Colton Ryan) to suicide, in a world-shattering case. This Hulu miniseries earned rave reviews for its careful and sensitive approach to a complicated story involving two minors, providing a human element to an unnerving situation while not sensationalizing it. Besides Fanning and Ryan, the cast features an excellent performance by Chloe Sevigny as Lynn Roy, the victim’s mother.

3 The Keepers

Catherine Cesnik was a nun who taught English and drama at a high school in Baltimore. By 1969, Cesnik is murdered, and in pursuit of solving her crime, several buried secrets related to one of the school’s priests are unearthed. Building on that case, Ryan White directed the documentary series The Keepers, a Netflix production that boasts seven episodes containing testimonials from many of the people involved in the investigation. This documentary was well-received by both critics and audiences alike, garnering a 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes, reviewing it as heartbreaking and disturbing, yet a must-see for audiences.

2 Unbelievable

Toni Collette leads this 2019 production alongside Kaitlyn Dever and Merritt Wever. Unbelievable is an eight-episode Netflix miniseries based on real-life events, depicting in a harsh but true-to-life way what victims of sexual assault have to endure when they try to report their abusers. The show is focused on Marie (Dever), a young woman victim of sexual assault by a nighttime intruder. Upon reporting the event to the police, though, things quickly get twisted, and instead of looking for the perpetrator, the investigators and the people surrounding Marie are busy trying to figure out whether she was telling the truth or not, subjecting her to everyone’s accusatory gaze when she was in fact a victim herself. Over the course of the series, the victim and two women investigators, who seem to be her only allies, must work through this painful incident to finally bring some peace to Marie’s life.

1 American Crime Story

     FX

American Crime Story is probably the best recommendation for any true crime fan. This Ryan Murphy production is similar to The Staircase in the sense that it is also a fictionalized series about a real case, featuring great actors of the industry, without neglecting the crime and providing a very unique point of view that includes the legal process of each case. The anthology consists of three seasons so far, each of which works as an autonomous miniseries focusing on a specific case: the first one portrays the O.J. Simpson murder trial, the second one, the assassination of Gianni Versace, and the third one, the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal. While the actors vary from season to season, some of the cast members of this series are Sarah Paulson, David Schwimmer, John Travolta, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Penélope Cruz, among many others.