Netflix knows how to capitalize on what viewers like, and they know we like to watch serial killer stories. The next season of Mindunter is about to launch, but that is not the only way the streaming service helps fill our appetite for shows about violent murderers. Netflix is home to several movies and television shows about killers, giving a sometimes controversial look at murderers who terrorize.
Mindhunter is based on the book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit by John E. Douglas and Maek Olshaker, and was created by Joe Penhall. The first season was set in 1977, during the early days of criminal psychology and profiling. Jonathan Groff and Hold McCallany starr as the FBI agents how develop the FBI’s Behavior Science Unit, with a psychologist played by Anna Torv. They interview imprisoned serial killers to understand unsolved cases.
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In Season 2, Groff’s Holden Ford will investigate the Atlanta Murders of 1978 to 1981. Wayne Williams was convicted for killing two men in 1981, but authorities also credit him with at least 23 of the 30 Atlanta child murders. However, he has claimed he is innocent.
Mindhunter Season 2 will be available on Netflix Friday, Aug. 16. In the meantime, here are eight other serial killer dramas and documentaries you can stream now.
Photo credit: Netflix
Zodiac
Zodiac (2007) was directed by David Fincher, an executive producer on Mindhunter and director on the first episode of Season 2. Based on Robert Graysmith’s 1986 book on the Zodiac Killer manhunt. The case was never solved, but it provided gripping drama for one of the best films of the 21st Century. The main cast includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo.
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Vile and Evil
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Vile and Evil is the controversial Netflix original movie starring Zac Efron as Ted Bundy. The film was criticized for glamorizing Bundy, who confessed to 30 homicides of young girls in seven states between 1974 and 1978. Joe Berlinger used the project as his first narrative film since 2000. Berlinger also made Netflix’s Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes.
Dexter
Dexter originally ran on Showtime from 2006 to 2013 and is now available on Netflix. The show starred Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan, a forensic technician in Miami who also happens to be a serial killer who targets murderers the law fails to convict. The cast also includes Julie Benz, Jennifer Carpenter, Erik King, Lauren Velez, C.S. Lee, James Remar, Desmond Harrington, Geoff Pierson and Aimee Garcia.
Criminal Minds
Twelve seasons of Criminal Minds are available to stream on Netflix. The show will please any serial killer, as it frequently pushes the boundaries of what is acceptable for broadcast television. Criminal Minds will be back for its 15th and final season early next year on CBS.
Nurses Who Kill
The 2016 series Nurses Who Kill takes a look at a very specific category of killer: nurses. Thanks to interviews with criminal and medical experts, audiences get an in-depth look at how someone who vowed to save lives could take them. The show runs 10 episodes.
The Fall
The Fall is a BBC/RTE series set in Belfast, where Paul Spector (Jamie Dornan) is terrorizing young women. Gillian Anderson co-stars as DSI Stella Gibson, a London police superintendent brought to Northern Ireland to investigate the murders. The show’s first two seasons were critically acclaimed, while the third earned a mixed reception. The third season wrapped up Spector’s story, and there is no word on the show’s future.
Lizzie Borden Took an Ax and The Lizzie Borden Chronicles
There have been many projects based on Lizzie Borden, who killed her father and stepmother in 1892. Lifetime began its own Lizzie Borden “franchise” with the 2014 movie Lizzie Borden Took an Ax. It continued in 2015 with The Lizzie Borden Chronicles, with Christina Ricci reprising the title role. Both the movie and eight-episode series are available on Netflix.
Inside the Criminal Mind
Inside the Criminal Mind is a four-episode miniseries about really heinous criminals. Each episode centers on a different criminal, including one dedicated to serial killers. Other episodes center on kidnappers, cult leaders and crime lords. Although in German, it does feature several American criminal stories.
