Crime Documentaries on Netflix

Detectives and crime lab technicians use the latest and most fascinating procedures to solve crimes in this documentary-style show.

Year: 2000
IMDb: 8.8
Netflix rating: 4.1/5
Netflix ID: 70198116 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

From crippling payday loans to cars that cheat emissions tests, this investigative series exposes brazen acts of corporate greed and corruption.

Year: 2018
IMDb: 8.7
Netflix ID: 80118100 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

When a controversial cult leader builds a utopian city in the Oregon desert, conflict with the locals escalates into a national scandal.

Year: 2018
IMDb: 8.2
Netflix ID: 80145240 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

This series blends documentary style with dramatic re-creations as actors portraying real detectives recall the cases that will haunt them forever.

Year: 2016
IMDb: 8.1
Netflix rating: 3.1/5
Netflix ID: 80096763 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Murder, fraud, drug-dealing and other illegal offenses that have torn apart once-happy families are the subject of this fact-based crime series.

Year: 2016
IMDb: 8
Netflix rating: 3.1/5
Netflix ID: 80162303 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Accident or murder? After the mysterious death of his wife, author Michael Peterson watches his life go under the microscope.

Year: 2018
IMDb: 8
Netflix ID: 80233441 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Allegations of child sexual abuse in Spain's Catholic institutions are examined in interviews with survivors, clergy, journalists and other experts.

Year: 2018
IMDb: 8
Netflix ID: 80991879 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Filmmakers infiltrate the corrupt global network of ivory trafficking, exposing poachers and dealers as African elephants edge closer to extinction.

Year: 2016
IMDb: 7.9
Netflix rating: 3.3/5
Runtime: 01:52:28
Netflix ID: 80117533 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

An American filmmaker and cyclist unwittingly wades into a global scandal when a Russian scientist leaks shocking details of a vast doping conspiracy.

Year: 2017
IMDb: 7.9
Runtime: 02:01:11
Netflix ID: 80168079 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

A woman walks into a New York gallery with a cache of unknown masterworks. Thus begins a story of art world greed, willfulness and a high-stakes con.

Year: 2020
IMDb: 7.9
Runtime: 01:30:13
Netflix ID: 81406333 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Present-day interviews, archival footage and audio recordings made on death row form a searing portrait of notorious serial killer Ted Bundy.

Year: 2019
IMDb: 7.8
Netflix ID: 80226612 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Brazilian TV personality and politician Wallace Souza faces accusations of masterminding the violent crimes he reported on and rallied against.

Year: 2019
IMDb: 7.8
Netflix ID: 80217946 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

After 20 years on Death Row, self-educated inmate Nick petitions the court to be executed, then tells his twisting, turning tale of despair and hope.

Year: 2015
IMDb: 7.7
Netflix rating: 3.2/5
Runtime: 01:35:15
Netflix ID: 80099305 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

This documentary chronicles simmering tension and broken trust between L.A.'s black community and police in the decade before the Rodney King riots.

Year: 2017
IMDb: 7.7
Runtime: 02:23:49
Netflix ID: 80183783 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

This documentary follows one of Australia's most notorious trials involving a former water polo player who was convicted of murdering her newborn baby.

Year: 2018
IMDb: 7.7
Netflix ID: 81147035 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

A gripping documentary on the psychological effects of the violence in Mexico as told by victims and victimizers, whose names and faces are concealed.

Year: 2017
IMDb: 7.7
Runtime: 01:14:08
Netflix ID: 81170693 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

This documentary focuses on the gymnasts who survived USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar's abuse and the reporters who exposed USAG's toxic culture.

Year: 2020
IMDb: 7.7
Runtime: 01:44:04
Netflix ID: 81034185 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Filmed over three years in 10 countries, this documentary gives voice to the women who have become victims of sexual violence as weapons of war.

Year: 2013
IMDb: 7.6
Runtime: 01:01:15
Netflix ID: 81077862 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

In this documentary series on the tangled history of allegations against musician R. Kelly, women give detailed accounts of sexual and mental abuse.

Year: 2019
IMDb: 7.6
Netflix ID: 81069393 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

A Cleveland grandfather is brought to trial in Israel, accused of being the infamous Nazi death camp guard known as Ivan the Terrible.

Year: 2019
IMDb: 7.6
Netflix ID: 80201488 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Decades after the assassination of African American leader Malcolm X, an activist embarks on a complex mission seeking truth in the name of justice.

Year: 2020
IMDb: 7.6
Netflix ID: 80217478 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Dramatic reenactments paired with archival sources artfully illustrate how police brought some of Britain's most infamous killers to justice.

Year: 2015
IMDb: 7.5
Netflix rating: 3/5
Netflix ID: 80091689 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Death row inmates convicted of capital murder give a firsthand account of their crimes in this documentary series.

Year: 2018
IMDb: 7.5
Netflix ID: 80202283 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Women who've been sexually brutalized in war-torn Congo begin to heal at City of Joy, a center that helps them regain a sense of self and empowerment.

Year: 2018
IMDb: 7.5
Runtime: 01:16:48
Netflix ID: 80203094 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

This riveting crime doc follows Bill as he confronts America's broken judicial system after his son is falsely sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Year: 2015
IMDb: 7.5
Runtime: 01:49:27
Netflix ID: 80081990 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

This documentary shows the devastating effects of crystal meth on the impoverished rural towns in California's Central Valley.

Year: 2009
IMDb: 7.4
Netflix rating: 4.1/5
Runtime: 00:56:48
Netflix ID: 70266801 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

This series looks at true cases of women and men whose happiness, freedom and even lives have been jeopardized by someone's obsession with them.

Year: 2015
IMDb: 7.4
Netflix rating: 3.1/5
Netflix ID: 80109160 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

When Juan Catalan is arrested for a murder he didn't commit, he builds his case for innocence around raw footage from a popular TV show. A documentary.

Year: 2017
IMDb: 7.4
Runtime: 00:40:02
Netflix ID: 80182115 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

This documentary adaptation of John Grisham's only nonfiction book raises troubling questions about two murder cases in Ada, Oklahoma, in the 1980s.

Year: 2018
IMDb: 7.4
Netflix ID: 80187030 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

When their 4-year-old son is murdered, a young couple fights a twisting and arduous battle trying to identify a frustratingly elusive killer.

Year: 2019
IMDb: 7.4
Netflix ID: 80222157 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Henry Lee Lucas rose to infamy when he confessed to hundreds of unsolved murders. This docuseries examines the truth -- and horrifying consequences.

Year: 2019
IMDb: 7.4
Netflix ID: 80213588 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Via interviews with friends, players and insiders, this docuseries examines how Aaron Hernandez went from an NFL star to a convicted killer.

Year: 2020
IMDb: 7.4
Netflix ID: 81062828 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Real cases of perplexing disappearances, shocking murders and paranormal encounters fuel this gripping revival of the iconic documentary series.

Year: 2020
IMDb: 7.4
Netflix ID: 81026055 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

With never-before seen home video, this film recounts the paranoid downward spiral of John E. du Pont and the murder of Olympic wrestler Dave Schultz.

Year: 2016
IMDb: 7.3
Netflix rating: 3.3/5
Runtime: 01:31:15
Netflix ID: 80044093 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Decades after her release from prison for the shooting death of her jazz musician husband Lee, Helen Morgan reflects on his legacy and their lives.

Year: 2016
IMDb: 7.3
Runtime: 01:31:21
Netflix ID: 80147988 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Historian Suzannah Lipscomb investigates the witch hunts that plagued Britain in the 17th century, examining common myths about their origin.

Year: 2015
IMDb: 7.2
Netflix rating: 3.1/5
Netflix ID: 80118889 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

In this wrenching documentary, two teens are sexually assaulted by boys they considered friends, humiliated online and harassed by their communities.

Year: 2016
IMDb: 7.2
Netflix rating: 3.5/5
Runtime: 01:38:36
Netflix ID: 80097321 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

This documentary excoriates a noted anti-death-penalty activist and his team, whose questionable methods got a convicted killer freed in 1999.

Year: 2014
IMDb: 7.2
Netflix rating: 3.2/5
Runtime: 01:31:19
Netflix ID: 80044562 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

As she fights the tide of violence against trans women, activist Victoria Cruz probes the suspicious 1992 death of her friend Marsha P. Johnson.

Year: 2017
IMDb: 7.2
Runtime: 01:45:48
Netflix ID: 80189623 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

While Sam Cooke rose to stardom as a soul singer, his outspoken views on civil rights drew attention that may have contributed to his death at age 33.

Year: 2019
IMDb: 7.2
Runtime: 01:14:03
Netflix ID: 80191045 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

The CIA attempts to turn Ted Kaczynski, aka the Unabomber, into a super agent — a plan that backfires. Based on real events.

Year: 2018
IMDb: 7.2
Netflix ID: 81002216 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

In this true crime docuseries, some of the most dramatic trials of all time are examined with an emphasis on how the media may have impacted verdicts.

Year: 2020
IMDb: 7.2
Netflix ID: 80198329 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Stories from survivors fuel this docuseries examining how convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein used his wealth and power to carry out his abuses.

Year: 2020
IMDb: 7.1
Netflix ID: 80224905 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Five Mafia families ruled New York with a bloody fist in the 1970s and '80s, until a group of federal agents tried the unthinkable: taking them down.

Year: 2020
IMDb: 7.1
Netflix ID: 80218338 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

In this genre-bending tale, Errol Morris explores the mysterious death of a U.S. scientist entangled in a secret Cold War program known as MK-Ultra.

Year: 2017
IMDb: 7
Netflix ID: 80059446 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Suspected of heinous crimes, they’ve avoided capture despite massive rewards and global investigations. A docuseries profiling the world’s most wanted.

Year: 2020
IMDb: 7
Netflix ID: 81013210 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Three films chronicle the cocaine trade's sweeping impact on the citizens of Peru, Brazil and Colombia, from poor farmers to powerful drug lords.

Year: 2005
IMDb: 6.9
Netflix rating: 3.1/5
Netflix ID: 80106150 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Mexican superstar actress Kate del Castillo reveals the untold story of her encounter with El Chapo Guzmán, the world’s most-wanted drug lord.

Year: 2017
IMDb: 6.9
Netflix ID: 80184569 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

The Philippine jail known for a viral Michael Jackson dance video comes under the management of an ex-convict, sparking controversy and criticism.

Year: 2019
IMDb: 6.9
Netflix ID: 80223113 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

In this true crime documentary, a family falls prey to the manipulative charms of a neighbor, who abducts their adolescent daughter. Twice.

Year: 2017
IMDb: 6.8
Runtime: 01:30:21
Netflix ID: 81000864 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

The documentary takes a detailed look at the disappearance of 3-year-old Madeleine McCann, who vanished while on holiday with her family.

Year: 2019
IMDb: 6.7
Netflix ID: 80194956 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

This documentary charts the rise and fall of hot yoga founder Bikram Choudhury as his global empire is born and disturbing revelations come to light.

Year: 2019
IMDb: 6.7
Runtime: 01:26:01
Netflix ID: 80221584 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Including interviews with accusers and ex-colleagues, this documentary traces the controversial career of disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein.

Year: 2019
IMDb: 6.7
Runtime: 01:38:52
Netflix ID: 81136783 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Investigative journalist Paul Connolly becomes a voluntary inmate in the world's most volatile prisons, where intimidation and brutality rule.

Year: 2016
IMDb: 6.5
Netflix rating: 3/5
Netflix ID: 80116922 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Nick Wallis presents crimes caught on CCTV, cell phones and other devices and reveals how investigators use the recordings to solve tough cases.

Year: 2015
IMDb: 6.4
Netflix rating: 3.2/5
Netflix ID: 80108985 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

The forces of family, grief and racial injustice converge in this powerful documentary exploring the murder of filmmaker Yance Ford's brother.

Year: 2017
IMDb: 6.4
Runtime: 01:47:54
Netflix ID: 80168230 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

In an attempted heist worthy of a Hollywood film, a cadre of criminals sets out to steal the world's largest perfect diamond from a London landmark.

Year: 2008
IMDb: 6.3
Netflix rating: 3.1/5
Runtime: 00:46:14
Netflix ID: 80109248 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Picking up 40 years after six were convicted for two strange murders in Iceland, this chilling documentary proves confessions can’t always be trusted.

Year: 2017
IMDb: 6.3
Runtime: 01:24:31
Netflix ID: 80119349 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

An urban legend about a duffel bag of cocaine buried in the Caribbean leads a misfit band to hatch a nutball plan to find it in this comic documentary.

Year: 2019
IMDb: 6.3
Runtime: 01:27:03
Netflix ID: 80999977 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

This docuseries investigates the 1991 killing of politician Detlev Rohwedder, an unsolved mystery at the heart of Germany's tumultuous reunification.

Year: 2020
IMDb: 6.3
Netflix ID: 81022994 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Local actors from JonBenet Ramsey's hometown offer multiple perspectives on her 1996 murder as they vie to play roles in a dramatization of the case.

Year: 2017
IMDb: 6.1
Runtime: 01:20:42
Netflix ID: 80142316 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

In this jailhouse interview, Arthur Shawcross, the Genesee River Killer, shares candid details of his crimes and his surprising family bonds.

Year: 2008
IMDb: 6
Netflix rating: 3/5
Runtime: 00:44:32
Netflix ID: 80108996 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Top medical, criminal and psychological experts analyze the motives and methods of nurses who use their positions to kill rather than heal.

Year: 2016
IMDb: 5.8
Netflix ID: 80185622 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Two priests -- one from Dunblane, Scotland, the other from Newtown, Connecticut -- bond over school tragedies that occurred 16 years apart.

Year: 2018
IMDb: 5.8
Runtime: 00:23:33
Netflix ID: 81001809 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

This show sheds new light on the decades-old case of Carole Packman, whose husband was convicted of her murder, even though her body was never found.

Year: 2016
IMDb: 5.7
Netflix rating: 3.1/5
Netflix ID: 80144146 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Explore the psychological machinations and immoral behavior that define the most nefarious types of criminals.

Year: 2018
IMDb: 5.3
Netflix ID: 80185065 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

This compelling documentary follows the 2012 Steubenville, Ohio rape case, putting social media and high school football culture in the spotlight.

Year: 2018
IMDb: 5.3
Runtime: 01:20:04
Netflix ID: 81087761 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

In this crime docuseries spinoff, a convict is paroled 30 years after being sentenced to death for murder. Then he makes a stunning confession.

Year: 2020
IMDb: 5.3
Netflix ID: 81227743 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Through a thick glass barrier, the journalist interviews Paris Bennett, who, at 13, killed his four-year-old sister, and is soon eligible for parole.

Year: 2019
IMDb: 4.8
Runtime: 00:45:47
Netflix ID: 81320736 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Through intense prison interviews, Piers Morgan revisits the crimes of three convicted serial killers and learns more about their motives.

Year: 2018
IMDb: 3.7
Netflix ID: 80241003 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Piers Morgan travels to Florida to sit down with Bernard Giles, who is serving a life sentence for killing five women over three months in 1973.

Year: 2019
IMDb: 3.6
Runtime: 00:44:43
Netflix ID: 81320735 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

A journalist investigates a principled clothing manufacturer in Palermo who takes a public stand against the payment of protection money to the Mafia.

Year: 2016
IMDb: 2.1
Runtime: 01:32:49
Netflix ID: 81411138 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Seasoned journalist Chris Hansen dives into America's most haunting murder cases, exposing the methods and motivations of frightfully cunning killers.

Year: 2015
Netflix rating: 3.1/5
Netflix ID: 80109477 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Run-DMC DJ Jam Master Jay made a huge impact in music and his community. But friends and family still seek closure years after his unsolved murder.

Year: 2018
Runtime: 00:58:51
Netflix ID: 80191044 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

The shocking murder of singer Victor Jara in 1973 turned him into a powerful symbol of Chile's struggle. Decades later, a quest for justice unfolds.

Year: 2019
Runtime: 01:04:30
Netflix ID: 80191048 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Archival video and new interviews examine Mexican politics in 1994, a year marked by the rise of the EZLN and the assassination of Luis Donaldo Colosio.

Year: 2019
Netflix ID: 80991872 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

This documentary follows the controversy surrounding the 2010 murders of two students, who were framed as criminals and killed by the Mexican military.

Year: 2018
Runtime: 01:49:28
Netflix ID: 81123826 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

This true-crime documentary exposes new facts about alleged teen drug lord 'White Boy Rick' and his lesser-known role as an FBI informant.

Year: 2017
Runtime: 01:22:38
Netflix ID: 81244037 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Two drug lab chemists' shocking crimes cripple a state's judicial system and blur the lines of justice for lawyers, officials and thousands of inmates.

Year: 2020
Netflix ID: 80233339 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

The Innocence Project unravels missteps and deceit in a series of wrongful convictions, exposing the injustice inflicted on victims and the accused.

Year: 2020
Netflix ID: 80214563 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Using raw, firsthand footage, this documentary examines the disappearance of Shanann Watts and her children, and the terrible events that followed.

Year: 2020
Runtime: 01:23:50
Netflix ID: 81130130 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

This documentary examines a mother's tireless crusade to jail her daughter's murderer after Mexico's justice system failed to do so.

Year: 2020
Runtime: 01:49:58
Netflix ID: 81002192 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

A woman is found dead in her bathtub, with a puddle of blood nearby. Her husband theorizes she had an accident. But an autopsy tells a different story.

Year: 2020
Netflix ID: 81017110 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Charged as a teen in the 1993 killing of a Boston cop, Sean K. Ellis fights to prove his innocence while exposing police corruption and systemic racism.

Year: 2020
Netflix ID: 80202347 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Beneath the sunlit glamour of 1985 LA lurks a relentlessly evil serial killer. In this true-crime story, two detectives won't rest until they catch him.

Year: 2021
Netflix ID: 81025701 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Through scholarly and scientific examination of six relics, this series explores the historical Jesus and the complex world in which he lived.

Year: 2015
Netflix rating: 3.1/5
Netflix ID: 80030183 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

In 2000, U.K. detectives spent months tracking a criminal known only as Sally, who was targeting a supermarket chain with extortion and letter bombs.

Year: 2010
Netflix rating: 3/5
Runtime: 00:46:00
Netflix ID: 80108998 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Journalist Piers Morgan goes behind prison walls to speak with women convicted of shocking crimes, shedding light on what drove them to murder.

Year: 2016
Netflix rating: 2.9/5
Netflix ID: 80116762 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Explore the stories of the citizens who seek to deter police brutality by observing and videotaping arrests made by the New York Police Department.

Year: 2016
Runtime: 00:45:12
Netflix ID: 80185723 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Witnesses and public figures respond to controversial claims about Pablo Escobar made by the Medellín Cartel's sole survivor, John Jairo Velásquez.

Year: 2017
Runtime: 00:53:59
Netflix ID: 80203742 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

This true crime documentary series investigates cases where people convicted of murder claim their confessions were coerced, involuntary or false.

Year: 2017
Netflix ID: 80161702 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Witness the stories of history's most notorious kingpins, their terrifying enforcers, and the men and women who've sworn to bring them down.

Year: 2018
Netflix ID: 80177803 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Through rare interviews, images and wiretap audio, this documentary reconstructs the last nine years of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar's life.

Year: 2017
Runtime: 01:08:34
Netflix ID: 80175405 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

This baffling true crime story starts with the grisly death of a pizza man who robs a bank with a bomb around his neck -- and gets weirder from there.

Year: 2018
Netflix ID: 80158319 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Brazil's high-profile crimes of passion are re-created as psychologists, investigators and the family of the deceased reveal details of each case.

Year: 2015
Netflix ID: 80995715 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Exposing a rarely seen perspective on the drug wars, ex-Special Forces commando Jason Fox interviews dangerous traffickers and cartel members.

Year: 2018
Netflix ID: 80240817 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

In Humboldt County, California, the big business of legal marijuana brings in visitors from around the world. Some are never seen again.

Year: 2018
Netflix ID: 80217475 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

This docuseries disputes the Mexican government's account of how and why 43 students from Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers' College vanished in Iguala in 2014.

Year: 2019
Netflix ID: 81045551 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

This series explores the eerie cases of people who have disappeared, often without leaving a trace, as their loved ones cling to hopes of finding them.

Year: 2015
Netflix ID: 81044172 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb

Filmmaker Louis Theroux immerses himself in a community stricken with heroin abuse and investigates the issues fueling users' addictions.

Year: 2017
Runtime: 00:59:19
Netflix ID: 80993237 · Watch on Netflix · IMDb