Serial-ously Addictive Crime Dramas To Watch
Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, is a harrowing autobiographical crime drama series on Netflix. The show gives viewers a glimpse into Jeffrey Dahmer’s psyche and recounts the horrible crimes he carried out between 1978 and 1991. When Jeffrey was interrogated, the authorities found craniums, men’s pelvises, and other bits of his victims’ carcasses that Jeff had kept after killing a total of 17 men.
If you’ve just finished watching Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and are unsure of what to watch next, don’t fret —we’ve got you covered. We’ve selected the 10 best crime thriller dramas that feature compelling serial killers.
Ted Bundy: Falling for a Killer
Typically, when someone mentions the word serial killer, Ted Bundy comes to mind. There is no doubt that the majority of serial killers are extremely intelligent, as killing several people and getting away with it is not a simple task. For good reason, Ted Bundy is among the most intelligent, notorious, ruthless serial killers. To put it mildly, his cunning, murderous methods and deceitful techniques make him fascinating – and dangerous.
Available on Amazon Prime, “Ted Bundy: Falling for a Killer”, examines the crimes committed by the notorious serial killer from the viewpoint of the survivors.
The show includes a number of first-person accounts from the victims, which enables the viewers to psychoanalyze the serial killer’s actions. Additionally, the show sheds light on specific details that are frequently overlooked in other Ted Bundy endeavors. The most striking element of the show is that it also features Elizabeth Kendall, Bundy’s ex-girlfriend, and her child Molly, who reveal shocking and lesser-known facts about him.
Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes
Rob Piest abruptly vanished at the age of 15 in December 1978, and John Wayne Gacy was ultimately found guilty of his murder. The investigators discovered a number of human remains hidden in the basement of his house in the process, which was a startling revelation. He is among the nation’s most prolific mass murderers as he was later found guilty of murdering 33 young men.
“Conversations With a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes” sheds light on the crimes perpetrated by the Killer Clown as well as the trial that followed his arrest.
In Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, we catch a peek at John Wayne Gacy and his terrible murderous streak. We witness Dahmer equating himself to Gacy and assuring the pastor that Gacy was worse than him since he subjected his victims to a torturous death and showed no remorse even after he was arrested, as opposed to Dahmer who spared them from suffering and who confessed and repented for his crimes.
This series is a must-watch if you want to learn more about John Wayne Gacy and his barbaric killing spree.
Dexter
Although countless documentaries provide an accurate glimpse into the world of genuine serial killers, sometimes all we need is a well-crafted story with terrific actors and a grim tone to stir our thoughts.
The psyche of a serial killer is a fascinating subject, and the series ‘Dexter’ capitalizes on this fascination. Dexter is a fictional crime drama series created by James Manos Jr and it is primarily based on Jeff Lindsay’s “Darkly Dreaming Dexter”. Dexter is debatably one of the most loved and brilliant serial killer-themed shows available today. The show’s writers toy with our empathy and disgust for the murderous central Protagonist. While we despise the heinous things he commits, we are immersed in his life, making us somewhat attached to him.
The show centers on Dexter Morgan who is a bloodstain pattern analyst with the Miami Metro Police Department. But as the sun sets, Dexter transforms into a vengeful psychopath who hunts down people who evade the law because of the broken judicial system.
Dexter seems to be a self-aware psychopath and a serial killer who employs a set of guidelines that his adoptive father Harry instilled in him to restrain his murderous impulses and aim them at those he feels are worthy of them. He must follow these instructions to stay undetected and make sure his possible victim is a killer. Dexter’s adventures lasted for eight seasons during which it entangles itself around the audience’s psyche, messing with it and fostering compassion for the monster!
Hannibal
Hannibal Lecter was imagined by author Thomas Harris in his book “Red Dragon” and he is certainly the rawest psychopath created. He is an incredibly intelligent person but also a monster. He is a vicious man who is a highly educated.
The character is allegedly based on a real-life doctor who was charged in the 1960s for killing and dismembering numerous victims. Numerous people have been fascinated by Hannibal Lecter over the years. He is known as an evil person who has little regard for human life, yet he is drawn to those who have similar vulnerabilities. Whether it’s Clarice Sterling or investigator Will Graham, it’s clear that he is compassionate towards the distressed.
NBC’s psychological thriller show “Hannibal”, which is inspired by the figures, conceptual frameworks, themes, and motifs of Thomas Harris’ Hannibal novels details the peculiar friendship that develops between Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a forensic psychologist, and Will Graham, a young FBI detective.
In his capacity as Will’s psychiatrist, Hannibal assists him as he struggles with his unusual capacity for empathy with serial killers, but he quickly proves to be his most destructive adversary. The protagonist in “Hannibal” not only murders his targets but also exhibits cannibalistic inclinations, just like Dahmer in “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.”
Mindhunter
People have always been intrigued by the complexities they can’t fully comprehend. The human psyche is a riddle that is closest to us while still out of our grasp, particularly the mind that doesn’t function normally like the others. The element of complicated minds is brilliantly showcased in the series Mindhunter.
The series follows two FBI agents, Holden Ford and Bill Tench as they strive to uncover the underlying motivations of a serial killer. The show provides viewers with a thorough investigation into the mechanisms used by serial killers and the establishment of the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit to follow such individuals.
The show is modelled on the novel of the same title which is written by Mark Olshaker and retired FBI agent John Douglas. The David Fincher-directed series gives an almost exact representation of the events in the book. For admirers of crime fiction and serial killers, this unsettling television show is a blessing in disguise.
The fact that Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story thoroughly discusses Jeff’s childhood and how certain facets of it were among the key factors in explaining why he ended up becoming a serial killer is one of its most fascinating aspects. The “why” aspect is covered in great detail in this show as well along with the techniques employed by various serial killers. So, if the underlying causes in Dahmer’s show fascinated you, you must watch this show.
Confronting a Serial Killer
In the gripping and disturbing docuseries “Confronting a Serial Killer,” novelist and journalist Jillian Lauren interviews Samuel Little, regarded as “America’s most prolific serial killer” and responsible for the murder of 93 women.
Joe Berlinger, widely recognized for directing shows like “Paradise Lost: The Child Murders At Robin Hood Hills” as well as “Conversations With A Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes,” is behind the direction of this brilliant documentary series.
The show follows Jillian Lauren’s relentless efforts to persuade Samuel Little to confess and confirm his murders and victims. According to reports, the murderer confessed to his crimes just before his death in 2020. He admitted to killing 93 people, all of them were oppressed women. However, he has been formally connected to more than 60 homicides by the officials.
Similar to Dahmer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, the protagonist in this series has also been linked to targeting a certain group of people, in this case, oppressed women, and is therefore associated with having committed a hate crime. The killer in this series has confirmed that it was a hate crime, whereas, in Dahmer, it had been hypothesized that the killer had targeted a particular section of society. However, Dahmer has stated that this is not true and that he only killed men who he thought were beautiful.
Perfume
The German suspense drama show “Perfume” was devised by Eva Kranenburg, Philipp Kadelbach, and Oliver Berben and it is based on Patrick Süskind’s eponymous book and Tom Tykwer’s 2006 fictional crime drama movie “Perfume: The Story of a Murderer”.
The police examine a bunch of classmates who attended boarding school with a redhead woman whose body is discovered void of all of her body hair in this contemporary drama. The detectives are certain that a mass murderer is on the loose when a number of identical deaths appear soon after.
Because a serial killer with a distinct pattern in his killings is present in the show, comparisons to “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” can be drawn.
Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector
Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector is an NBC investigative drama series that is created by Mark Bianculli and VJ Boyd. The show is premised on Jeffery Deaver’s 1997 novella titled “The Bone Collector”.
The crime series centers on the collaboration of a rookie NYPD police officer named Amelia Sachs and a former forensic expert suffering tetraplegia named Lincoln Rhyme to apprehend the Bone Collector, who is indeed one of the most notorious and ruthless serial killers.
Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector, the same as “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story”, recounts the tale of a serial killer from the viewpoint of other characters rather than the murderer himself.
Black Bird
A crime thriller show made by Dennis Lehane for Apple TV+, “Black Bird” is based on the 2010 autobiographical novella “In with the Devil: a Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption” which is written by James Keene and Hillel Levin.
In exchange for a risky agreement with the FBI, James Keene, who is addressed as “Jimmy”, befriends Larry Hall, a man who is suspected of being a serial murderer. From Jimmy’s perspective, we see the deadly serial killer’s thoughts and motivations, just as Dahmer’s dark psyche is revealed to us in Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
You
Created by Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble for Netflix, “You” is a psychological horror show based on the novels “You”, “Hidden Bodies” and “You Love Me” by Caroline Kepnes.
When one first comes across You, one can’t help but conclude that there’s a fine line separating love and obsession. The story focuses on Joe Goldberg, a disturbing, seductive, and obsessive character who has a propensity for falling in love quickly and becoming dangerously fixated on the target female.
The crime drama series offers a plethora of information on a sociopath’s way of thinking while also enticing viewers with its opulent plot. What makes this quite a compelling watch are those peculiar instances where you’re torn between rooting for a blatantly insane adversary while also wishing that he gets caught. The central character of the plot is Joe Goldberg, a likable bookstore manager during the day and, well, a psycho serial killer by night. His dark humorous approach to his obsession with love makes for a puzzling but fascinating insight into his psyche.
Despite initially appearing to have little in common with Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story other than the fact that both shows are based on serial killers, the two shows share a crucial element which is, they both engage the viewer’s mind. You’ll find yourself simultaneously rooting for and detesting the protagonist, who also serves as the antagonist.
So there we have it, our 10 TV show alternatives to watch when you’re finished with Dahmer on Netflix.
What do you think of our picks? Do you agree? Are there any notable omissions? Let us know in the comments below!