Top 20 Craziest Docuseries You Need to Binge
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 20 Craziest Docuseries You Need to Binge. For this list, we’ll be looking at the best episodic TV shows that cover true crime, history, and other real life stories. What did you make of these shows? Let us know in the comments below!
#20: “Waco: American Apocalypse” (2023)
There’s no shortage of documentaries about the Waco siege of 1993. But “Waco: American Apocalypse” is the definitive chronicle of the subject. Suspecting the Branch Davidians, an apocalyptic religious cult, of stockpiling illegal weapons, the ATF raided their compound in Axtell, Texas. A fatal gunfight led to a 51 day siege, which ended in an FBI raid and a fire that took the lives of 76 cult members. This doc stands out from others thanks to some cinematic visuals, never-before-seen news footage, FBI home videos, and stellar interviews with people involved. It doesn’t take sides, but presents the story from a variety of angles and allows viewers to come to their own conclusions - which is what every great documentary should do.
#19: “The Confession Killer” (2019)
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Henry Lee Lucas is one of the most notorious names in true crime. While in prison for three murders, he confessed to have killed 600 people between 1975 and 83. Besides leading to the controversial 1986 film “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer”, his confessions persuaded the Texas Rangers to call it a day on a number of hitherto unsolved cases. Turns out, however, that Lucas made them up. “The Confession Killer” delves into this awful hoax - including why it was taken so seriously, and the damage it caused to the reputations of law officials. It’s a fascinating look, not at the crimes themselves, but at the justice system and failures within it.
#18: “The Family” (2019)
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A secretive conservative Christian group, the Family, also known as the Fellowship, holds incredible power in American politics. While its members have taken a vow of silence, many journalists, including executive producer Jeff Sharlet, have exposed the organization’s inner workings and how it influences political legislation in the United States. It’s an intriguing story that dives down some shockingly deep rabbit holes. The truths that it reveals are quite disturbing, and anyone interested in politics owes it to themselves to check it out.
#17: “The Devil Next Door” (2019)
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You never really know who you’re living near. This documentary follows the highly-publicized trials of John Demjanjuk, an Ohio autoworker. Demjanjuk’s story was everywhere in the 1980s, when he was misidentified as a notorious Nazi guard nicknamed ‘Ivan the Terrible’, who’d been stationed at Treblinka extermination camp. Demjanjuk was acquitted, but accused of being a guard at a different camp, Sobibor, and tried again in the 2000s. He was found guilty and sentenced to prison. “The Devil Next Door” presents this captivating tale and captures its myriad twists and turns in engrossing fashion.
#16: “Cheer” (2020-)
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Winner of an Emmy for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program, “Cheer” is basically a real life “Bring It On.” Only, it’s far more brutal. The docuseries follows the Navarro College Bulldogs Cheer Team, a highly decorated and supremely disciplined cheerleading squad from Texas. They compete in the National Cheerleading Championship and share an intense rivalry with Trinity Valley Community College. The series showcases the intense, painful, and often unbelievable lengths that participants go to to become the greatest cheerleaders in the country. While often difficult to watch, it’s ultimately an uplifting story about pushing through difficulty and finding trust and companionship.
#15: “The Confession Tapes” (2017-19)
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False confessions are actually quite common - some of them voluntary, as in the case of Henry Lee Lucas, and some coerced, during police interrogation. “The Confession Tapes” details this unfortunate reality in often excruciating fashion. The series spans two seasons and contains multiple stories. Each episode covers a specific crime and highlights how police techniques led to possible false confessions. The psychology involved in the interrogations and confessions is fascinating. “The Confession Tapes” cleverly mixes true crime drama with expert opinions to craft a docu-series that delves deep into the mind.
#14: “McMillions” (2020)
There are a fair amount of murders and mysterious deaths on this list. “McMillions” is an outlier in this regard; it’s just about some good old-fashioned white collar crime! But as this HBO series proves, blood needn’t be shed to make an insane story. “McMillions” takes an in-depth look at a long-running case of fraud carried between 1989 and 2001 by Jerry Jacobson. As the head of security for the company handling McDonald’s annual monopoly game, he was able to steal the rarest property pieces and pass them along for a portion of the prize. Not only is the premise compelling, but the way it plays out often veers into the realm of the absurd thanks to the odd characters involved.
#13: “The Pharmacist” (2020)
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It’s only a matter of time until this one gets turned into a biopic. It’s that good. In 1999, disappointed by apathetic police efforts, small town pharmacist Dan Schneider took it upon himself to solve the murder of his son, who was killed while buying drugs. This quest for justice soon evolves, however, into a battle against the growing OxyContin epidemic. Like something out of a crime thriller, this mild-mannered pharmacist uncovers a trail of corruption and profit maximizing principles that goes all the way up to the top, implicating big pharma. It’s an incredible story, sure, but the docuseries also highlights the complexities of opioid abuse, and the ways in which it ties into questions of poverty, addiction and the American healthcare system.
#12: “Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street” (2023)
A prominent figure on Wall Street, Bernie Madoff was at one time the chairman of the NASDAQ stock exchange. He was also a fraudster who ran the largest Ponzi scheme in history. The SEC ignored warnings for years. Then in December 2008, Madoff confessed to his sons … Finance can be a dry subject, but this documentary is more sprightly than snoozy, unpacking the complex subject matter to tell a fast-paced thriller. It also aims wider and examines larger questions about the financial industry and the role of greed within it.
#11: “Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes” (2019)
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Netflix has found great success with their “Conversations with a Killer” series, but the Ted Bundy iteration has to be the most compelling of them all. Featuring archival footage and extensive interviews, the documentary covers the wild and wicked story of the infamous serial killer. It highlights Bundy’s most heinous crimes, including his murderous rampage at a Chi Omega sorority house in 1978. The main pull of this doc are the words of Bundy himself, which mostly come in the form of a death row interview with Stephen Michaud.
#10: “Making a Murderer” (2015-18)
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This was arguably Netflix’s first megahit of a true crime docuseries, inspiring countless imitators.“Making a Murderer” follows the story of Steven Avery, a man who was wrongfully convicted of attempted murder and sexual assault. He served 18 years for a crime he didn’t commit. Then, just two years after his release, with his civil case pending against the county to the tune of $36 million, Avery once again found himself under arrest - this time for murder. Across the first season of the series, we’re presented with a riveting tale of questionable police work and an alleged frameup. The second season doesn’t pack quite the same punch, but is a worthy investigation of the US legal system.
#9: “Wormwood” (2017)
From 1953 to 1973, the CIA ran a covert mind control operation called Project MKUltra. That sentence might sound like something from a conspiracy theory reddit thread, comic book or sci-fi flick… but it’s now a matter of public record. Of course, before it came to the attention of the masses, the vast majority of the documentation was destroyed by order of then-CIA Director Richard Helms. And so decades later, even armed with the surviving declassified documents, we’re still putting together the pieces. In this six part miniseries, documentary filmmaker Errol Morris explores the CIA’s use of LSD, the suspicious death of scientist Eric Olson, and the enduring mystery of MKUltra.
#8: “The Vow” (2020-22)
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This tantalizing HBO documentary covers one of the scariest revelations of the 2010s. NXIVM was supposedly a corporation that hosted self-help seminars. In reality, it was a vicious cult led by an abuser and human trafficker named Keith Raniere. “The Vow” covers the barbarous story of NXIVM and features dramatic interviews with past members. They delve into the cult’s inner workings and how people were drawn in. It also details how “Smallville” star Allison Mack joined NXIVM and became a powerful and sadistic subordinate of Raniere’s. “The Vow” is equal parts harrowing and gripping, but it’s also a sad story about people who were searching for happiness, and instead were exploited by the cult.
#7: “Don't F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer” (2019)
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Murder… meet the internet age. There’s no mystery in this three-part Netflix original, but that doesn’t make it any less compelling, bingeable or disturbing. “Don't F**k With Cats” follows the rise to infamy of convicted murderer Luka Magnotta from the perspective of a community of online sleuths. Magnotta filmed himself killing a university student named Jun Lin and posted it online, subsequently becoming one of the most wanted men in the world. Before that, however, he’s thought to have been behind a video involving the torture and killing of two kittens. That’s the video that rallied an internet community, and this documentary is the story of how they tried to bring him to justice before he could kill again.
#6: “Evil Genius: The True Story of America's Most Diabolical Bank Heist” (2018)
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Watch this docuseries at your own risk; you may never be able to enjoy pizza quite like you did before - or feel comfortable going to the bank. This deadly robbery has to be one of the strangest crimes in American history. “Evil Genius” tells the convoluted story of Brian Wells, a man who, after completing a bank heist, was killed when the explosive device on the collar around his neck went off. It’s like something out of a comic book (or the Saw franchise). Though the nature of Wells’ death is indeed morbid, it’s just one small piece of a complicated puzzle that will have you on the edge of your seat.
#5: “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst” (2015)
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The true crime genre is full of stories about people who went to jail for crimes they allegedly did not commit. Less common, however, are tales of suspected murderers who walk free despite being linked to the death of multiple people. But getting such an individual to agree to be interviewed for a docuseries? That’s almost unheard of. “The Jinx” explores the disappearance of Robert Durst’s wife Kathie, as well as the murders of his friend Susan Berman and neighbor Morris Black. Durst was considered a suspect in all three. We won’t give away the ending, but unlike so many docuseries of its kinds, this story actually has a relatively satisfying conclusion, with no shortage of twists along the way.
#4: “Wild Wild Country” (2018)
Who’s ready to take a trip down the rabbit hole? American history is made up of all manner of odd characters and strange chapters, but few can hold a candle to that of the Rajneeshpuram community. This controversial group, led by guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, left India in the 1980s and settled in Wasco County, Oregon. Though the community seemed to center around sexual liberation, meditation and dancing, Rajneesh was equally known for his love of material wealth. As the story progresses, the dream soon begins to unravel as tensions rise between Rajneeshpuram and the locals of Wasco County. Bioterrorism, a Rolls Royce collection, power struggles and questions of constitutional freedom - this documentary has got it all!
#3: “Tiger King” (2020-21)
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“Wild Wild Country” might have the word “wild” in its title twice… but when it comes to docuseries, it simply doesn't get any wilder than “Tiger King”. This explosively popular Netflix original series broke the internet in March of 2020, becoming a true cultural phenomenon. It’s about big cat collectors, breeders and conservationists. Specifically, it focuses on the bitter feud between Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin, two figures on opposing sides of the big cat debate. Both are wildly eccentric individuals, and as filmmakers Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin unravel this complex narrative, the twists and shocking reveals come fast and heavy. But honestly… no plot summary can prepare you for the insanity of “Tiger King”; you just have to watch it for yourself.
#2: “O.J.: Made in America” (2016)
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One of the finest documentaries of the 2010s, “O.J.: Made in America” received a Peabody and the Academy Award for Best Documentary. It’s a five-part epic spanning nearly eight hours in length, detailing in highly specific fashion the life of O.J. Simpson. It covers all there is to cover, from Simpson’s early life to his record-breaking football career to his infamous murder trial and Las Vegas robbery. But it’s not just a true crime series about one of the most famous cases in modern history. As the title “Made in America” suggests, the documentary also examines the American Dream and systematic issues in American society.
#1: “The Staircase” (2004; 2013; 2018)
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Though perhaps best known today as a Netflix original, the first season of this docuseries was released way back in 2004 under the french title “Soupçons”, meaning “suspicion”. As fans of the true crime genre know all too well, these cases often span decades, and so subsequent episodes were released in 2013 and 2018 respectively. “The Staircase” follows the trial of Michael Peterson, an American novelist convicted of killing his wife Kathleen. The name of the series is taken from a staircase which Peterson claims took his wife’s life. The forensic evidence however, suggests a different cause of death. The end result is a true crime thriller that’s inspired countless theories and which people are still revisiting years later.
