Will One of These New Fall Shows Become Your Next True Crime TV Obsession?

From Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders to Netflix's latest miniseries, here's you guide to all the true crime TV shows and movies premiering this fall

By Tierney Bricker Sep 26, 2017 2:00 PMTags
Watch: Edie Falco Talks "Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders"

Are you ready for true crime all the time? 

Since The Jinx premiered in February 2015 and delivered arguably one of the most satisfying endings ever—its subject Robert Durst being arrested the day the finale aired after the filmmakers unearthed key evidence—TV viewers' craving for true crime stories has only grown larger and larger. And the networks are more than happy to try and satisfy their hunger, hoping their show could become the next Making a Murderer or The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.

This fall season, we've got new series focusing on highly publicized cases, such as the Menendez brothers' murder trial and Elizabeth Smart's abduction, along with shows on lesser-known-yet-equally-as-obsessive mysteries and a few new Netflix binges sure to keep you up at night. 

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How Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders Stars Compare to Real-Life Players
Lifetime; NBC; Getty Images

The Disappearance of Maura Murray
Airs: Saturdays at 8 p.m. on Oxygen
While it's a lesser known unsolved missing persons case, Tim Pilleri and Lance Reenstierna's podcast, Missing Maura Murray, became a hit in the true crime genre in 2015. They take part in Oxygen's search to find answers as to what happened when Maura disappeared in 2004, with journalist Maggie Freleng leading the investigation.

NBC

Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders
Premieres: Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 10 p.m.
Chung-chung! One of the most infamous trials in US history is getting the L&O treatment, thanks to Dick Wolf & co., and who better than Emmy winner Edie Falco to don a truly 90s wig and play defense attorney Leslie Abramson. The eight-episode series will delve into the murder trial of Lyle and Erik Menendez, shining a light on the alleged sexual and emotional abuse they suffered by their father for years before killing their parents in 1989. 

Long Shot
Premieres: Friday, Sept. 29 on on Netflix
The streaming juggernaut's latest true crime offering centers on a man who is arrested for a crime he did not commit. His alibi? Turns out to be an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Criminal Confessions
Premieres: Sunday, Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. on Oxygen
This new series comes from Dick Wolf, and delves into the psychological showdown that takes place inside police interrogation rooms, looking at the process that results in confessions. Each episode will introduce viewers to a new case.

Mindhunter
Premieres: Friday, Oct. 19 on Netflix
Another TV season, another crime binge-watch from Netflix! This one, a 10-episode thriller from famed director David Fincher, technically isn't true crime, but will still satisfy your itch for all things mysterious and murder-y. Jonathan Groff and Holt McCallany star as FBI agents who develop new techniques that allow them to track serial killers and rapists, and the series is based on real-life FBI agents Mark Olshaker and John Douglas' book Mind Hunter: Inside FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit.

Alias Grace
Premieres: Nov. 3 on Netflix
After the success of The Handmaid's Tale on Hulu, Netflix is offering up another adaptation of a Margaret Atwood book, which is a six-episode miniseries inspired by the true story of a double murder in 1843. Anna Paquin, Sarah Gadon, Kerr Logan, Zachary Levi and David Cronenberg star.

The Lost Wife of Robert Durst
Premieres: Saturday, Nov. 4 at 8 p.m. on Lifetime
After the success of HBO's The Jinx, the small screen is once again bringing Robert Durst (played by The Originals' Daniel Gillies) back into the spotlight. The Lifetime movie focuses on the 1982 still-unsolved disappearance of his first wife, Kathie (Katharine McPhee).  If you want to prep prior to the premiere, read Matt Birkbeck's book, A Deadly Secret: The Bizarre and Chilling Story of Robert Durst.

Taylor Hill/Getty Images; Instagram

I Am Elizabeth Smart
Premieres: Saturday, Nov. 18 at 8 p.m. on Lifetime
Produced and narrated by Elizabeth Smart, the Lifetime movie will give an accurate account of what happened when Smart was abducted in 2002, with Nickelodeon's Alana Boden set to play the titular role. Riverdale's Skeet Ulrich and The Blacklist's Deirdre Lovejoy are set to play Brian David Mitchell, Elizabeth's kidnapper, and Wanda Barzee, his co-conspirator.

Cold Blooded: The Clutter Family Murders  
Premieres: Saturday, Nov. 18 at 9 p.m. on Sundance
The 1959 murders that were the subject of Truman Capote's infamous novel In Cold Blood are re-examined in this two-night docu-series from Joe Berlinger.

(E!, NBC and Oxygen are all part of the NBCUniversal family.)