16 Most Shocking True Crime Docs of 2023: ‘The Devil on Trial,’ ‘Shiny Happy People’ & More
Some of 2023’s most shocking TV came from the deep dives into true crime stories. And in fact, a subject of one of 2023’s most memorable true crime documentaries, Alex Murdaugh, was on trial for his alleged nefarious deeds for the first months of this year.
Looking back on this year in TV, we knew this genre needed to be showcased. Here are TV Insider Magazine’s 16 picks for the most shocking true crime docs of the year, in no particular order. Serial killers, cult leaders, fraudsters, demons and, yes, telemarketers lead this year’s notorious crop of bingeable docs, all available now.
This is an excerptfrom TV Insider’s December issue. For more in-depth, reported coverage devoted to streaming shows from the publishers of TV Guide Magazine, pick up the issue, currently on newsstands, or purchase it online here. You can also subscribe to TV Insider Magazine here now.
1. The Devil on Trial, Netflix
During the 1980 exorcism of 11-year-old David Glatzel (above), his sister’s boyfriend, Arne Cheyenne Johnson, allegedly challenged the devil to leave the boy’s body and enter his own. Months later, Johnson killed his landlord. His is the only murder trial in the history of the U.S. legal system to use demonic possession as an official defense. Highlights include interviews with Johnson and the Glatzel family, plus previously unrevealed audio and photographs taken at the time by paranormal experts the Warrens (of The Conjuring fame).
2. American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing, Netflix
On April 15, 2013, two bombs tore through the world’s oldest annual marathon, killing three and injuring hundreds. Ten years later, victims, police officers, spectators, first responders and journalists who were there are still grappling with that day’s events. American Manhunt covers the immediate chaos after the explosions, the massive search for the two radicalized brothers responsible (above) and the deadly shootout that followed.
3. Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal, Netflix
The wealthy and influential Murdaugh family was well-known in Hampton, South Carolina. Their century-old law firm was a modern dynasty, with connections in politics and law enforcement to match. But it all began to crumble when they wound up tied to a series of suspicious deaths: a body found in a road, a boating accident that claimed the life of one of the Murdaugh children’s friends and the “trip and fall” death of their longtime housekeeper. Then, in 2021, it was Maggie Murdaugh and son Paul who lost their lives. The prime suspect: husband and father Alex Murdaugh (above).
The first season of Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal chron-icled the events leading up to Alex’s trial, from the mysterious fatalities through the investigation into the human cost of his alleged crimes. Just weeks after the series premiered, Alex Murdaugh was found guilty of killing both Paul and Maggie. Season 2 follows the trial, features police bodycam footage from the night of the murders and has interviews with key players: jurors, prosecutors, witnesses and former friends of the Murdaughs. One of the big reveals: Friend Curtis Edward Smith (“Cousin Eddie”) claims Alex tried to convince him to shoot and kill him so he could avoid being implicated in the murders.
4. Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets, Prime Video
Beneath the “shiny happy” surface of their reality TV stardom, the Duggar family (above, in 2011), made famous on TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting, was plagued by abuse and manipulation. Jill Duggar Dillard tells her own story for the first time, detailing sexual abuse by her brother Josh Duggar and the culture of misogyny promoted by her father, Jim Bob Duggar. At the core of the Duggar family’s dysfunction was the controversial, cult-like organization the Institute for Basic Life Principles. The IBLP—a Christian fundamentalist group that promotes patriarchal gender roles—has proven rife with problems and has faced numerous sexual abuse allegations. (Jill and other survivors provide horrifying accounts.) The series also reveals that the Duggar family’s scandals are only the tip of the iceberg as the IBLP attempts to entrench itself in U.S. politics.
5. Stolen Youth: inside The Cult at Sarah Lawrence, Hulu
An excerpt from a psychological examination of Larry Ray, conducted years before he became an abusive cult leader, was already chilling. “He is able to manipulate and control almost any situation in which he finds himself,” it reads. “He is calculating [and] manipulative.” This three-parter, told from the perspectives of many of Ray’s victims (including Felicia Rosario, left, who had an affair with him), follows his crimes from the moment he first moved into his daughter Talia’s dorm at New York’s Sarah Lawrence College in 2010. Ray presented himself as a supportive authority figure, allowing him to earn the trust of Talia’s housemates—but he would soon turn that trust into dependence and, eventually, servitude. Ray’s victims went on to testify against him and help convict him in 2022 on federal charges that included extortion and sex trafficking.
6. Telemarketers, Max
At a shady New Jersey call center in the 2000s, two employees capture some of the truly wild antics they get up to when their bosses aren’t watching. But when these office buddies begin to question just where the charitable contributions they’ve been soliciting are going, their home movies become an engrossing exposé on the whole industry. Many telemarketing companies pull one over on unsuspecting Americans and keep too much of the money. And you thought you couldn’t like telemarketers any less.
7. Murder in Big Horn, Paramount+
The three-parter shines a light on an epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women that has plagued Big Horn County, Montana, and other Native American communities. Told solely from the perspectives of Native families, the series examines the disappearance of dozens of women and girls from the Crow and Northern Cheyenne Nations in the last decade. With few arrests, and a shocking lack of media coverage, it falls to friends, family and activists to fight for justice.
8. MH370: The Plane that Disappeared, Max
The 2014 disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 with 239 passengers and crew launched a media firestorm that sent conspiracy theories spiraling across the globe. Despite years of searching, the plane’s fate remains one of the great modern unsolved mysteries. This three-parter tracks the family members, scientists and investigative journalists who are still looking for answers, and the clues that may yet reveal what really happened after the flight dropped off the radar over the Andaman Sea off of Indonesia.
9. Jared From Subway: Catching a Monster, Max
In the 2000s, Jared Fogle was everywhere. His story of overcoming obesity on a diet of Subway sandwiches sent customers flocking to the chain for nearly a decade. But his clean-cut image hid a much darker private persona. This three-part ID docuseries about Jared’s fall from beloved pitchman to convicted sex offender includes interviews with some of Fogle’s victims. And secret recordings of his confessions paint a disturbing picture of Jared as a predator hiding in plain sight.
10. Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street, Netflix
The name Bernie Madoff has become synonymous with greed. The Wall Street fraudster cheated tens of thousands of clients out of nearly $65 billion, destroying countless lives in his quest for endless wealth. “He didn’t show any remorse. He wasn’t emotional. He was like a financial serial killer,” says finance journalist Erin Arvedlund.
How did Madoff pull off the biggest Ponzi scheme in history? This four-part series examines his rise to power, his ruthless methods and the eventual collapse of his empire when he was sentenced to 150 years in prison. Interviews with
victims, whistleblowers, journalists, investigators and former employees create a comprehensive narrative of Madoff’s crimes and the failures of the institutions that should have prevented them.
“How most people think about the story is one evil genius,” series director Joe Berlinger said. “The reality…is he got away with it because of a whole cadre of literal coconspirators or people who should have known better.”
11. Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York, Max
In the early 1990s, when the AIDS crisis and a rise in hate crimes already threatened NYC’s gay men, a serial killer made the queer nightlife scene his hunting ground. The slow handling of the case and the coverage of the victims showed the biases of the criminal justice system and the media at the time. This four-part series follows the investigation and the campaign of LGBTQ+ activists to force police to protect their community.
12. The Curious Case of Natalia Grace, Max
Curious is certainly one word to describe this story. Natalia Grace was a 6-year-old Ukrainian orphan adopted by American couple Kristine and Michael Barnett in 2010. At least, that’s what they believed at the time. But they’d come to suspect the young girl was actually an adult with a rare bone growth disorder causing dwarfism. The Barnetts rented an apartment, left Natalia there and moved to Canada with their other children. They were charged with child abandonment, but in their eyes, they were escaping the world’s strangest con. After streaming this six-part series, you’ll be eager to hear Natalia’s side of the story in the in-the-works follow-up: The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks.
13. Psycho: The Lost Tapes of Ed Gein, MGM+
The macabre crimes of serial killer and grave robber Ed Gein inspired tales of terror that include Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Silence of the Lambs. But the true story of the “Mad Butcher” is even more disturbing. This four-part series features chilling, never-before-heard jailhouse recordings of Gein. They help tell the story of Gein’s twisted relationship with his mother, his early grave-robbing, his escalation to murder and the investigation that finally led to the discovery of his Wisconsin house full of horrors.
14. Waco: American Apocalypse, Netflix
Thirty years after the armed standoff between the U.S. government and the Branch Davidian religious sect, this three-part limited series delivers new insights into the 1993 siege outside Waco, Texas, that claimed 86 lives. Fresh interviews include one of leader David Koresh’s spiritual wives and surviving members of the ATF tactical squad. Plus: news footage previously unreleased to the public and newly unearthed video from inside the FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit.
15. The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker, Netflix
This film follows Kai Lawrence, a homeless surfer who hitched a wild ride in 2013 with a stranger. The driver intentionally struck a pedestrian with his car before attacking another person who came over to help. Lawrence then repeatedly hit the driver in the head with a hatchet to protect the victims. His animated retelling of the tale made him a viral sensation, but months later, Lawrence was arrested and eventually convicted for murder in a separate incident.
16. Death in the Dorms, Hulu
This anthology series details six separate murders. The common thread: Each of the victims was a college student whose life was cut tragically short. An apartment on fire full of sorority sisters (above, Leslie and Alexis Delvesco, mother and sister to UCLA student Andrea, whose murder precipitated that fire), a rideshare that never reached home and a student athlete found lifeless are just some of the cases. The investigations unfold with testimony from the family, friends and law enforcement who sought justice.
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