Call it a guilty pleasure or morbid curiosity, but the true-crime genre is riveting, disturbing, and undeniably interesting. What can we say? Sometimes real life can be stranger (and scarier) than fiction. If you always have one of your favorite true-crime podcasts playing throughout the day but you want to wind down in front of the TV at night, here are seven shows we think will supplement some of your favorite podcasts and podcast episodes.
‘The Thing About Pam’ (2022)
If you listened to “The Thing About Pam” podcast by Dateline, we recommend watching the drama miniseries version on Hulu. Both the podcast and the miniseries follow the 2011 murder of Betsy Faria, the outrageous way the case was handled by the justice system, and, of course, the infamous Pamela Hupp. Both formats do an excellent job showcasing Hupp’s intricate schemes and lies — even when they get to be absolutely unbelievable.
‘Dirty John’ (2018 to Present)
For people who enjoy the Netflix series “Dirty John” and want a closer look at the stories the show is based on, we suggest tuning in to two different podcasts by The Los Angeles Times. The first season of the TV show follows the series’ namesake, con artist John Meehan, whose story is covered in the “Dirty John” podcast, and the second season is based on a double-homicide case, further explored in the “It Was Simple: The Better Broderick Murders” podcast.
‘Mindhunter’ (2017 to 2019)
Anyone who knows their true-crime trivia has almost certainly watched Netflix’s “Mindhunter,” a series based on the early days of the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit in the late 1970s. The show’s third season is still on indefinite hold, but audiences were captivated by the series’ attention to true events — especially meeting a number of notorious criminals and serial killers. To catch up on these figures’ individual cases, we suggest listening to:
- “And That’s Why We Drink” for David Berkowitz
- “Dateline NBC” for Charles Manson
- “My Favorite Murder” for Edmund Kemper
- “True Crime All the Time” for Jerome Brudos
- Episodes 85, 87, and 88 of “Morbid” for Dennis Rader
‘The Act’ (2019)
Based on the shocking true story of Gypsy Rose and Dee Dee Blanchard, “The Act” is a dramatic miniseries on Hulu that explores a toxic mother-daughter relationship, deception, a case of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, and murder. The show is intense and doesn’t shy away from the dark and twisted happenings in the case. If you want a podcast that’s a bit more lighthearted, check out Bailey Sarian’s “Murder, Mystery and Makeup.”
‘Under the Banner of Heaven’ (2022)
“Under the Banner of Heaven” is a riveting Hulu drama set in Utah in the 1980s. The show follows the Lafferty brothers, their dangerous fundamentalist cult, and a senseless double homicide, but if you want to learn more about the family, an episode of “Let’s Start a Cult” dives deep into the twisted lives of the Lafferties, their crimes, and the dangerous thinking that led them there.
‘The Dropout’ (2022)
One day, Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes was on top of the world as the first-ever female self-made billionaire. The next, she lost it all. In the Hulu Original series “The Dropout,” the audience watches Holmes chase her dreams of power and fame while weaving a tangled web of lies and deception. Want to take a closer look at the details? Queue up “The Dropout” podcast by ABC News.
‘Candy’ (2022)
In a small Texas town in the ’80s, the vicious murder of Betty Gore shook the nation — both for the brutality of the crime and the main suspect: the seemingly perfect Candy Montgomery. In “Not Another True Crime Podcast,” listeners can learn more about the crime and the bizarre trial that followed. The hosts of the show, Danny and Sarah, also discuss the Hulu series “Candy,” so you may want to watch it before you listen to their episode.