The Best True Crime Documentaries to Stream on Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime This July

Netflix's Unsolved Mysteries reboot sits at the top of the streaming platform's top 10 TV shows this July—and the series is already getting audiences excited about helping solve more cold cases. Of the nearly 1,300 cases featured on the original series run, show creators estimate that roughly 260 Unsolved Mysteries cases have been solved, many thanks to tips from viewers. 

Related: 16 Haunting True Crime and Paranormal Books for Fans of Unsolved Mysteries

The Netflix reboot retains the same aura of mystery that made the original series so mesmerizing, covering everything from unsolved murders and cold cases to unexplained phenomena. There are changes, however, including the fact that the individual episodes play out without a host. Six episodes of the new Unsolved Mysteries have been released thus far, with another selection set to hit the streaming platform later this year. If you're in need of a summer chill, Unsolved Mysteries awaits. 

This Netflix true crime docuseries shows the efforts of Dan Schneider, a small-town pharmacist in Pydras, Louisiana, attempting to find his son's killer. His search eventually leads to his gathering evidence against a doctor at a "pill mill" in New Orleans. Frustrated with how police tend to dismiss deaths related to drug addiction, Schneider notices more and more young people around his son's age emerge from this drug store with high-powered opiate prescriptions. This father's investigation into the opioid epidemic is both haunting and powerful.  

Released in April 2020 and sparking a huge discussion online, How to Fix a Drug Scandal shows the effects of crime drug lab chemists Sonja Farak and Annie Dookhan, and the addiction that tampered evidence for tens of thousands of now-dismissed cases. Dookhan was accused of forging reports with desired results, while Farak was accused of tampering with evidence she was supposed to analyze by using it herself. The two acted independently and resulted in the latest mass dismissal of criminal cases in US history, a scandal that was covered up by the former Attorney General of Massachusetts. 

Related: 9 Episodes of Unsolved Mysteries That Still Give Us Nightmares

What motivates our fixation with serial killers? We probably won't ever have a satisfying answer, but we will continue to get haunting exposés into each case. Premiering on Netflix on the 30th anniversary of Ted Bundy's execution, Conversations with a Killer draws on over 100 hours of interviews and archived footage to paint a chronological picture of the killer's life. Showing footage of Bundy himself, as well as interviews with his family, friends, surviving victims, and law enforcement, the series takes steps to examine his point of view to gain a more detailed insight into the life of a serial killer. 

Related: 8 Twisted Confessions from Ted Bundy That Will Make Your Skin Crawl 

Jordan Peele serves as the executive producer of this true crime docuseries that revisits the case of Lorena Bobbit. The domestic abuse Bobbit suffered was often overshadowed by the sensationalized response to her retaliation against her husband, John Bobbit. The trial could have been a chance to discuss domestic and sexual assault in America. Instead, it led to crude headlines and round-the-clock media coverage. This re-investigation not only tries to examine Lorena's experiences before and after the trial, but address the moral issue of salacious tabloid coverage.  

As America reckons with its race relations and the crimes of its past, now's a good time to revisit Ken Burns' documentary on the Central Park Five case of 1989. Thoroughly researched, Burns' work covers everything from the horrific crime at the center of the case to the media's rush to judgment and the five boys of color whose lives were upended by a miscarriage of justice. 

This multi-part docuseries examines our enduring fascination with true crime. Each episode centers on a different topic, from America's most notorious murderers and international killers to the ways in which the media treats victims. 

Related: 46 Gripping True Crime Books from the Last 54 Years 

This six-part true crime series, which originally aired on A&E, reexamines a string of grisly unsolved murders of young women that occurred in and around Galveston County, Texas in the 1970s. When investigators get word that an inmate named Edward Harold Bell has penned a letter confessing to the unsolved slayings, they spring into action. Soon, however, Bell soon denies the written confession. Now investigators must piece together the evidence if they hope to solve the case. 

Of all of America's serial killers, we seem most infatuated with the man who toyed with the very authorities he evaded. To this day, he has never been found. Author Gary L. Stewart, who wrote the book that was adapted into The Most Dangerous Animal of All, has had no contact with his father, Earl Van Best Jr. since Earl left Gary and Gary's young mother. Decades later, Gary believes his father may have been the Zodiac Killer. As much an exploration of Gary's life as it is a reevaluation of the notorious Zodiac killings, the series will make you question your own obsession with serial killers. 

Related: Gary L. Stewart Thinks He Knows Who the Zodiac Killer Is–His Father 

This true crime documentary of love, obsession, murder, and the sensational trial that followed centers on the double slaying of Derek and Nancy Haysom on March 30, 1985 in Bedford County, Virginia.

While Harvey Weinstein is behind bars in New York state after being convicted of rape and criminal sexual assault in the first degree, he still faces a criminal trial in Los Angeles. The British documentary Untouchable focuses on interviews with his many accusers, assessing the case as it stands today. 

Related: 12 True Crime Authors Who Will Hook You on the Genre