I love a compelling fictional crime show just as much as the next person, especially a good slow-burn thriller with a gripping overarching story. It’s a good way to indulge in something serious without the consequence of coming to terms with real-life atrocities. But that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy throwing on a true-crime documentary and learning about the actual horrors that go on in the world.
I especially enjoy a well-researched documentary because I’ve found that too many nowadays engage in too much sensationalism that borders on cynicism. So I went in search of some overlooked true-crime documentaries that are better than any fictional crime series you could spend your time binge-watching. And thanks to the plethora of streaming services that exist, they were pretty easy to find.
Untold: Crime & Penalties
Watch Untold: Crime & Penalties on Netflix
I honestly had never even heard of this documentary before looking around on Netflix a couple of months ago, but it instantly hooked me. Part of the sports-focused Untold series on Netflix, this particular addition is rooted in crime. I’ll try to avoid the big spoilers here, but Untold: Crime & Penalties is centered around the Danbury Trashers, a hockey team that’s part of the now-defunct United Hockey League.
What makes this particular team so interesting is that it was bought by James Galante, a man who had ties to the mafia. After purchasing the team, he gave it to his 17-year-old son, A.J., who ran it and served as general manager. The team was known for its high level of violence during its existence in the early ’00s, and the story is wilder than anything you’ll find in fiction. Untold: Crime & Penalties is well worth the investment of its hour-and-a-half runtime.
Murder on a Sunday Morning
Watch Murder on a Sunday Morning on Amazon Prime Video
If Untold: Crime & Penalties is more of a bizarre look at crime, Murder on a Sunday Morning is a look at how easy it can be for those who are supposed to uphold the law to jump to conclusions without doing their job. A heartbreaking look at the case of Brenton Butler, who was accused of murder at the age of 15. He was questioned for over 12 hours and coerced into signing a confession to a murder he did not commit.
Murder on a Sunday Morning goes into how this happened, and follows the defense as they uncover one disturbing layer after another in just how this could have happened. It’s a sobering viewing experience, but a necessary one. You could argue that it’s not exactly overlooked, as it won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature back when it was released in 2001. Personally, I think it’s just as relevant as ever, and it never hurts to consider how often history can repeat itself when we don’t learn from it.
Murder on Middle Beach
Watch Murder on Middle Beach on HBO Max
What happens when something horrific happens to someone you love, and you never get any sort of closure? That’s the devastating question at the center of Murder on Middle Beach, a four-part docuseries that aired on HBO back in 2020. Directed by Madison Hamburg, who investigates the murder of his own mother, Barbara Hamburg, I wish I could say that this true-crime series actually leads to some concrete answers. But real life often doesn’t work out that way.
Sure, you can make some assumptions based on the evidence Hamburg collects during his investigation, but there’s a frustrating lack of closure overall. That’s not a criticism of the docuseries, but the system that he’s forced to work within. As far as I know, he is still fighting to figure out what happened, and I hope he gets closure someday. In the meantime, this is still a harrowing experience that’s worth watching.
American Nightmare
Watch American Nightmare on Netflix
Okay, so maybe this one wasn’t overlooked by general audiences, but it was definitely overlooked by me when it released. I only just got around to watching American Nightmare a month ago, and it’s another one of those true-crime docuseries that will make you question the systems meant to protect us. After Denise Huskins is abducted from her home, the police accuse her and her boyfriend, Aaron Quinn, of staging the whole crime after Huskins comes back.
But what actually happened will leave you infuriated at the level of victim-blaming and lack of empathy employed by law enforcement and the FBI. It’s one of those crime documentaries that chilled me to the bone, in equal parts because of the crime committed and the response to it. Still, American Nightmare is an absolutely worthwhile three-part documentary, if only just to get your blood boiling in rage at all the injustices contained within.
True crime documentaries are important when done right
While I understand that true crime has become a bit of a hot-button issue when it comes to sensationalizing content in docuseries and podcasts, I still think they’re important for keeping the public informed. Some of these documentaries highlight cases where the criminal justice system completely failed victims or the falsely accused. Being aware means we can demand better. If you’re still in the market for some true-crime stories, check out these docs that skip the murder but remain just as compelling.
