5 Best True Crime Shows Of 2026 (So Far)

Looking for the best true crime shows released in 2026? Look no further. 

Before we get into the murder, cults, and criminal cover-ups, I know what you’re thinking: Watching true crime sensationalizes and romanticizes criminal activity! The genre is trauma porn! It’s shameful to use stories of anguish as entertainment! I am too good for those kinds of productions!

Perhaps those things are all true, but there is also something comforting about watching the judicial process actually work. And when it doesn’t work, maybe there’s comfort in watching communities come together demanding that it should. Or, maybe we all just want to spiral into a hellish hole of heinous crimes every so often to help us cope with feelings of helplessness as the world seems to be in constant turmoil. Maybe true crime is a form of wallowing, and — no shame — wallow, we will!

In that spirit, we’re rounding up the 5 Best True Crime Shows of 2026 so far. Though it feels like 2026 has only just begun, there have been plenty of true crime releases that are worth bingeing, from the full, multi-episode debuts of “Trust Me: False Prophet” and “The Predator of Seville,” to dramatic updates on “Killing Grounds: The Gilgo Beach Murders” and “The Yogurt Shop Murders.” If you’re a true crime junkie — or even just true crime-curious! — this is the list for you. 

If you watched “Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey,” and found yourself fascinated by the inner-workings of Warren Jeffs’ Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) in Utah, Netflix is serving up a four-part follow-up. “Trust Me: False Prophet” follows cult expert Christine Marie and her documentarian husband Tolga Katas as they try to support the women and families left reeling after the arrest of Jeffs, their supposed prophet. (His rise and fall was the central plot of “Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey.”) 

As they immerse themselves in the community hoping to document the aftermath of Jeffs’ incarceration, Christine and Tolga learn something disturbing that changes the entire trajectory of their project: A man named Samuel Bateman has recently declared himself Jeffs’ successor, and his rise to power reveals similar signs of abuse and manipulation.  

The story, which practically unfolds in real time as Christine and Tolga realize Samuel’s disturbing behavior, is especially poignant because it highlights the powerful women who bravely went against the customs of their community to try to secretly take down this new “prophet.” Led by the quirky but tenacious Christine, “Trust Me: False Prophet” is a dark story of religious abuse and manipulation, but it delivers a hopeful ending detailing justice and new beginnings.

If you’re a true-crime junkie, you’ve probably seen plenty of decent docuseries about serial killers. But “The Gilgo Beach Killer: House of Secrets” is one of the most fascinating true-crime series because it focuses less on serial killer Rex Heuermann himself, and more on the personality of his wife and family. 

The four-part Peacock series follows Asa Ellerup as she learns about her husband’s crimes, vehemently denying them to the documentarians — and the world. In the final, bombshell episode released in April 2026, Asa and her therapist are forced to confront the truth after Rex privately confesses his crimes to his family.

Even after hearing the details, Asa struggles to accept the truth about her husband’s crimes, and she continues to feel pulled toward him — whether by manipulation or pure, unconditional love is up to the viewer. Overall, the series’ final part is a fascinating update on a family who desperately wants to maintain a semblance of normalcy amid a devastating unraveling that is psychologically impossible to wrap their heads around.

“The Yogurt Shop Murders” tells the story of the brutal murder of four young girls in an Austin yogurt shop in 1991, but the five-part HBO docuseries features a sort of meta quality that makes it stand out. 

Documentarian Claire Huie was initially going to make her own documentary about the crime several years prior, but set the project aside after conducting several video interviews with the victims’ families and other people related to the traumatic event. The HBO docuseries helmed by Margaret Brown uses Huie’s archival footage and features her as a talking head.   

Huie’s old footage is raw and emotional, perhaps because, by Huie’s own admission, she was too green to sensitively approach her subjects. Through her direct questioning and low budget set-up, the videos feel deeply vulnerable, like we’re watching homemade video diaries.

The presentation of the series makes viewers feel close to the case, and the victims and their families. That is what widely sets “The Yogurt Shop Murders” apart from other docuseries: It asks viewers to confront the grief and trauma brought on by this horrific case, forcing them to sit and stay inside the horror rather than rubber necking while simply driving by. 

Though “The Yogurt Shop Murders” originally aired its first four-episodes in 2025, the series returned in 2026 with one final 90-minute follow-up after the case had finally been solved, providing a feeling of closure on the decades-long mysterious saga. 

“The Predator of Seville” focuses on Gabrielle Vega, a woman who studied abroad and was assaulted by Manuel Blanco, a travel guide who organized cheap excursions catered to foreign students in Spain. Her story alone is harrowing enough, but across three episodes, docuseries soon reveals that Gabrielle’s assault wasn’t Manuel’s only crime. Years after her attack, Gabrielle slowly starts to encounter other study-abroad students who shared that they too had been assaulted by the travel agent. 

Gabrielle goes on to make it her life’s mission to demand justice for herself and the other victims, and to hold Manuel accountable. Uncovering the depths of the crimes nearly consumes her as she starts operating her own make-shift hotline, fielding calls from women sharing their stories, and logging every attack Manuel leveraged. Much of the docuseries sees Gabrielle and other victims recounting their experiences, but it also documents the final moments of Gabrielle’s fight for justice in a Spanish court, as she and Manuel face off publicly over the details of his crimes. Though a difficult watch, the filmmakers leave viewers on a hopeful note as Gabrielle’s fight for justice finally comes to a satisfying end. 

When most people are asked the question, “Should I Marry a Murderer?” the answer seems obvious. When the Netflix series’ subject Caroline Muirhead poses the query to herself, the answer doesn’t come so easily. 

The three-part docuseries follows Caroline, a woman who learns a surprising fact about her fiancé Alexander “Sandy” McKellar after he shares his deepest darkest secret shortly before their wedding: He once ran over a cyclist and never told police about it; the man’s demise and whereabouts were never known to his family or the public, and he remained a missing person. (If you liked “The Drama,” this one is for you!)

After learning this terrible truth, Caroline wonders if she can correct his behavior — perhaps there’s still time to right this wrong! But as she grapples with how to respond to the news, details about the event slowly start to change, and the truth about what happened to the cyclist only gets worse and worse. Soon, Caroline realizes that the cyclist’s death was no horrible mistake, it was an intentional act of violence. Though Caroline understands what she has to do — she reports Sandy to the police and wears a wire to help authorities build their case — she struggles to escape Sandy’s dynamic pull into their whirlwind romance.

Why should you stream it? The story of a middle-of-the-night murder set against the quaint, rural backdrop of Scotland, combined with Caroline’s unique reaction to her fiancé’s case, all make “Should I Marry a Murderer?” a riveting, must-watch.

Which 2026 true crime series top your list? Head to the comments with all your true crime thoughts!