At this point, everyone in America is more or less all in the same boat: We’ve been home for a week or so, and we’re all starting to go just a weeeee bit stir crazy. Sure, you could scroll through your social media feeds or Google your would-be coronavirus symptoms for the bajillionith time. OR, you can give your brain a break and veg out in front of the TV with something that will allow you to forget all the craziness swirling around us in favor of something even more insane: a true crime series.
Granted, it’s not the jolliest of genres: Some of you may be looking at this list of Making a Murderer-style selections and thinking, “Who the f*ck wants to watch the darkest, gloomiest sh*t on the web in the midst of a global pandemic, you f*cking psycho?” (Which, fair enough — you couldn’t pay me to watch Contagion or Outbreak right now.) But, if you, like me, have a morbid fascination with all things macabre and social justice, trust me when I say these shows will definitely be riveting enough to divert your panicked thoughts elsewhere.
Below, I give you seven stories so bizarre, so despicable, and so utterly and completely batsh*t that you won’t believe they really happened — but they DID.
Here’s to hoping a good binge-watching session will help to keep your brain occupied through these crazy, crazy times!
1. Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness
In full disclosure, we’re only three episodes into this, but I’ll be damned if they haven’t been the best three episodes of a true crime doc I’ve ever SEEN. This series, which examines the truly peculiar lives of a group of exotic animal shelter and zoo owners (who knew people that keep tigers for pets would be such characters?), takes a shocking turn when a twisted murder plot is revealed. It’s got wildlife. It’s got mystery. Intrigue. Feuds among zookeeper owners. Death. Drugs. Polygamy. Cults. And to top it all off, the central figure is a godd*mn Joe Dirt lookalike. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT, PEOPLE?!
2. The Confession Killer
This is like the ultimate case of whodunit. Following the curious case of Henry Lee Lucas, an American serial killer who rose to prominence in the 1980s when he confessed to more than 100 murders across the US, these episodes had me marveling over the level of corruption seen in our justice system. While it admittedly could have been condensed, there’s never been a better time to waste a few hours in suspense as you try to piece together which victims — if any — Lucas was actually responsible for and how a man with an IQ level of 84 managed to pull the wool over the eyes of the entire world.
3. The Legend of Cocaine Island
For a lighter take on true crime, check out this tale of a seemingly normal man named Rodney Hyden who became involved in a treasure hunt-turned-drug deal after learning of the long-ago discovery of an enormous amount of cocaine — enough to be monetarily life-changing — by an acquaintance who claimed to have buried it somewhere in Puerto Rico. Were the stories of the beach find true? Was the cocaine still there? And was Hyden able get his hands on it some 15 odd years later? The answers are both amusing and wildly entertaining.
4. The Pharmacist
Just when you think you know what this show is about — a Louisiana pharmacist who is fearlessly driven to solve the murder of his own son in lieu of any police leads — it takes a turn midway through, going in another direction entirely as he goes on to tackle the opioid crisis at large that ultimately contributed to his boy’s untimely death. Though he eventually makes some heartening headway, it comes at a great personal cost, unearthing some scandalous corruption at varying levels of government along the way.
5. Evil Genius
Evil Genius is one of the more disturbing true crime series I’ve seen. Not only does it explore the sick and twisted minds of four conspirators who dreamed up one of the most insane bank heist attempts in history — one of whom just so happened to be a serial-killing woman — it shows real-life, hard-to-stomach footage from the horrifying tragedy that ensued as a result of their seriously unhinged actions. Add in the bumbled police work that ultimately cost pizza deliveryman Brian Wells his life in an all-too-ghastly fashion, and you’ve got all the makings of a truly gruesome murd.
6. Abducted in Plain Sight
A fair word of warning: This one is just straight f*cked. There are details in this sordid tale about a little girl who is subjected to sexual abuse at the hands of a close family friend that more or less scarred me for life. It will leave you shocked. It will leave you enraged. You won’t want to believe that anyone could ever be so naïve — or evil. And yet, it was real life for Jan Broberg Felt — the now-grown subject of this perverse series, who not only survived, but went on to become a seasoned actress and activist.
7. Murder Mountain
An especially relevant title here following Chicago’s own legalization of recreational weed, Murder Mountain explores a series of unexplained disappearances that occurred in the mountains of California’s Humboldt County — the most in the entire state. The one chillingly common link among victims? Their connection to the marijuana industry.
What true crime series am I missing? Fill me in the comments below!
Xo, Nicole
