The 10 best true crime documentaries on Hulu, ranked

The worst thing about true crime is the real part. It actually happened. In the real world True DetectiveA lot of crazy things happen every day. Like car crashes! And like car crashes, you just can't look away from the best true crime documentaries on Hulu.

How I caught my murderer

As much as I wish How I caught my murderer was the story of restless spirits solving their murders from beyond the grave, the reality of the show is still pretty cool. This docuseries is about the clues murder victims leave behind before they die and how those clues can help law enforcement find killers and bring them to justice. Unfortunately, justice is not always served, as many of the victims in this series come from communities that are virtually invisible in the eyes of the state, resulting in murders going unsolved for years or forever.

1990s: The deadliest decade

Anyone who lived through the 90s remembers it wrongly. It was not an idyllic age of nostalgia, not the last gasp of a 20th century world that was slowly becoming digital. That last gasp came because the decade was strangled! At least that is 1990s: The deadliest decade would have you believe. This docuseries delves into all the gruesome details of the decade, revealing that it was one of the bloodiest and most crime-ridden eras in recent history.

God forbid

God forbid is the story of Jerry Falwell Jr., a longtime Trump supporter whose family is a pillar of the evangelical Christian community. To the far-right scene, he has the perfect family… almost. As it turns out, his wife happened to sleep with a pool boy for seven years… and he had a penchant for watching. Watch as a supposedly perfect family has their God-fearing mask violently ripped off their heads and it turns out that beneath the surface, they're just as horny and crazy as everyone else.

County killing

There are many places in America with corrupt governments. Baltimore, New Orleans, Washington DC, but how is it that the small county of Bakersfield, California, has one of the most screwed up local governments in the entire nation? County killing will tell you. Named after a nickname for Bakersfield, County killing delves into how the town got its nickname. This series is full of police shootings and cover-ups, and paints a picture of a district that has been repeatedly tainted by the justice system.

The lesson is murder

Have you ever wanted to look into the mind of a murderer? How do you do that without either a) studying criminal psychology or b) breaking open a murderer and looking for yourself? Both of these highly impractical options are made redundant by The lesson is murdera docuseries about psychological criminologist and former FBI agent Bryanna Fox and the lessons she teaches students about the minds of murderers. Why pay tuition when you can get the same education with a Hulu subscription?

The hunt for the Zodiac Killer

The Zodiac Killer is one of the most notorious murderers in American history. He murdered at least five people in the San Francisco area (and is suspected of being connected to dozens more) while also having newspapers publish a complex cipher that supposedly gave police his intended victims. Although he was never caught, The hunt for the Zodiac Killer shows the process by which some of the best minds in criminology were able to put a face to a killer who had been faceless for decades. It was a long time ago.

The Secrets of Hillsong

Hillsong Church wanted to make Christianity cool again. They had all kinds of celebrities in their proverbial pews. But The Secrets of Hillsong proves that this church had some skeletons in its closet, and I don't mean the relics of saints, but some really dirty secrets. Hillsong Church is – you guessed it – a real cult. This documentary series will show you why.

The Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini

Sherri Papini had it all. She had a loving husband. She had a lovely little house. She had friends and family who loved her. It was the perfect little life… and then she disappeared. After weeks of unsuccessful police searches, Sherri finally showed up miles from home and claimed she had been kidnapped. Investigators began looking for the perpetrator, but something about Sherri's story seemed off. The details played a kind of musical chairs in her mind, shifting back and forth and leaving out. Eventually, investigators began to believe that she might have been kidnapped by none other than… itself.

I love you, now die

I love you, now die is the story of Michelle Carter, a young woman who was able to convince her boyfriend to commit suicide through a series of text messages. It's a gruesome two-parter, with the first episode detailing how the teens (who only met five times in real life) fell in love and began exchanging text messages that became increasingly sinister. After Michelle's boyfriend was found dead in his car from carbon monoxide poisoning, she was arrested and charged with murder. The second half of the documentary details the unsuccessful battle she and her lawyers wage to prove that she was not responsible for the boy's death. What makes this series so compelling? It shows that murder weapons aren't always sharp or loaded, but are sometimes mundane, everyday objects… like a cell phone.

1. Mom is dead and my love

Mom is dead and my love is the docuseries that details the now infamous case of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, a young woman convicted of conspiring with her boyfriend to murder her mother after suffering decades of abuse. Dee Dee Blanchard convinced her daughter that she suffered from a series of fictitious illnesses and kept the girl trapped under medication, gaslighting, and her “care.” It's a deeply disturbing story of torture and the lengths a victim would go to in order to escape.