9 documentaries to watch after you’ve finished “Making a Murderer”

For most of us, the Making a Murderer binge-watch is now complete. With the almost constant stream of brand new theories, questions, and details about questionable evidence, it’s clear that true-crime is on our minds. It’s also clear that season 2 won’t be coming out anytime soon (if at all) so perhaps it’s time to dive in to some more real-life mysteries.

So what documentaries should be next in your queue? We have a few suggestions.

1. Murder on a Sunday Morning

One of the criticisms of Making a Murder, or rather the media’s outcry at the injustices served to Avery, was that this kind of story happens every day in the African-American community and is rarely covered. Murder on a Sunday Morning, focuses on one black man’s efforts for acquittal. After being accused of murdering a 65-year-old woman before the very eyes of her husband, a trial began that relied mostly on the husband’s testimony, and a confession from the accused, Brenton Butler — a confession that he later claimed he was coerced into.

Watch it on: iTunes

2. The Jinx

If you’ve seen the movie All Good Things, then you’ll know roughly where this documentary is going. The Jinx is an HBO docu-series oft compared to Making a Murderer. The miniseries focuses on the previously unsolved disappearances of Kathie Durst, Susan Berman, and Morris Black; who were all allegedly murdered by real estate heir Robert Durst. As the years and the investigations rolled by, the bodies piled up, and there was more than enough evidence to convict the elusive Durst — including a suspicious letter, and one damning quote that I won’t spoil for you.

Watch it on: HBO GO

3. Tales Of The Grim Sleeper

Another HBO instant classic, and one that doesn’t just focus on the courts and the killer, but the victims. The Grim Sleeper was a serial killer who trailed the streets of L.A in the ’00s, murdering more women than you could probably meet in a lifetime. Hundreds of women were said to have gone missing while the Grim Sleeper was on his rampage, and this documentary takes a look at the attitudes towards these victims, and the African-American community that was directly victimized by the killer and the police.

Watch it on: HBO GO

4. These Streets Are Watching

These Streets Are Watching goes elbows deep into the corrupt underbelly of the police force, and it certainly does not hold back. Thanks to how easy it is nowadays to film incidents these days, the filmmakers were able to catch the excessive physical force police use on innocent civilians and petty criminals. The footage is hard to watch, but the documentary is an important window into what happens all-too-frequently.

Watch it on: YouTube

5. Kids For Cash

The premise of this scandal is exactly what the title of the documentary implies. The HBO documentary focuses on two judges that sent hundreds of juvenile law breakers to detention centers. Most of the kids in question had minimal charges with punishments that vastly outweighed the crimes. This documentary not only highlights the corrupt justice system, but also highlights how minors are treated within it.

Rent it from: Netflix

6. This Is The Zodiac Speaking

The Zodiac Killer is one of the most well-known and prolific killers of all time, also one of the most written about. If you’re a fan of David Fincher’s film Zodiac, then dig even deeper and watch this documentary all about the real crimes on which Fincher based his film.

Watch it on: YouTube

7. Crime After Crime

Debbie Peagler is a domestic abuse survivor convicted of murdering the person who abused her. Two full decades after her initial incarceration, filmed over the course of five years, the documentary follows Peagler’s case, focusing on how her two underdog lawyers worked their hands to the bone to gather new evidence and witnesses in order to take back her freedom.

Rent it on: Netflix

8. The Seven Five

One of the largest police corruption stories in American history is covered in this film. Two of the main players in this horrible tale, officers Mike Dowd and Ken Eurell, sell their souls to The Diaz Organization, a gang of drug dealers and murderers who have their city in its grasp. We won’t tell you what happens next.

Rent it on: Netflix

9. A Murder in the Park

A Murder in the Park gives us the other side of a story — a guilty person, whose family and friends stick up for them. Having narrowly missed being sentenced to death for murdering a couple in the park, the accused Anthony Porter, is released from charges due to the confession of another suspect.

Rent it on: Netflix

[Images via Netflix, HBO, YouTube]