Thanks in large part to its hugely familiar setting, Homicide New York has been a huge success since it premiered on Netflix. The series follows some of the grisliest crimes that have taken place in America’s largest city.
If you’re looking for more great true crime that’s in a similar vein after you’ve consumed all of Homicide, though, then we’ve got a couple of shows that might fit the bill. These are three great true crime shows you should check out if you liked Homicide New York.
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark (2020)
Telling the story of one woman’s relentless quest to find the man known as the Golden State Killer, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark is one part true crime series and one part tribute to the legacy of someone who did everything she could to advocate for the victims of this killer.
The series has a uniquely tragic bent because Michelle McNamara, the woman at its center, did not live to see the killer brought to justice, even though her research played a role in uncovering the truth. I’ll Be Gone in the Dark is moving in a way many true crime documentaries never manage to be, and that’s because it splits its time between outlandish crimes and more intimate, small-scale drama.
American Nightmare (2024)
A recent true crime entry, American Nightmare tells the story of a couple who live through a kidnapping and are then accused of faking the incident. Following Denise Huskins, who was kidnapped from her home in Vallejo in 2015, the show chronicles both her kidnapping and police suspicions that she had faked the incident.
Her reputation became that of the “real-life Gone Girl” until a similar crime happened nearby. The show is about the horrors of falling victim to a crime but also about the way a story can snowball, whether it’s true or not. Denise Huskins faced allegations of faking a very real crime, making it clear that the nightmare she went through would not end when she escaped her kidnappers.
The Staircase (2004-2022)
An oldie but a goody, The Staircase is remarkable both for how early it was to the true crime phenomenon and for the level of access it gets to its central figures. The show tells the story of author Michael Richardson, a North Carolina novelist whose wife is found dead at the base of the family staircase.
Michael maintains his innocence, but as is the case with all documentaries of this kind, the ultimate question is whether he’s telling the truth. Because the show follows Michael over such an extended period, though, we also get to see how the legal system works for and against him, and it becomes almost impossible not to have some sort of opinion on his ultimate guilt.
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