If you’ve burned through the classics like Tiger King: Murder, Madness, and Mayhem (and the dramatized series Joe Vs Carole), Nightstalker, and Making a Murderer on Netflix, HBO Max contains several engrossing true-crime series that are worth the watch. Whether it be con artists, murderers, or Hollywood stars, every kind of criminal under the sun is examined with unflinching detail. Addictive and devastating, these series shine the spotlight on important societal issues and prove why it’s essential to tell these stories. Without further ado, here are the best true crime shows on HBO.

For more recommendations, check out our list of the best movies and shows on HBO, the best documentaries on HBO, and the best true crime series on Netflix.

Disclaimer: These titles are available on US Max.

'Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV' (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes: 100% | IMDb: 7.7/10

Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV is a five-part docuseries that exposes the toxic behind-the-scenes world of children's television programs. Focusing on the late 1990s and early 2000s, the series primarily follows Dan Schneider's time at Nickelodeon as a producer and showrunner, revealing shocking stories of abuse, misogyny, and a hostile work culture. Directed by Mary Robertson and Emma Schwartz, Quiet on Set is loosely based on a 2022 Business Insider article. The show has received near-universal acclaim from audiences and critics. While audience members may be aware that child stars have often been targets of abuse in the industry, Quiet on Set takes that vague awareness and makes it tangible, with concrete facts and real stories. The show approaches its subjects with respect, keeping the focus firmly on those who have previously been silenced to maintain a “kid-friendly” image. The series has had a very real impact, with the online discussions it has sparked leading to Schneider releasing an apology and many of those who wrote letters in support of sex offender Brian Peck during his trial publicly reversing their support.

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'McMillions' (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes: 89% | IMDb: 7.2/10

Who knew that the Mcdonald's Monopoly game had so much true crime behind it all? McMillions looks at the fraud behind the corrupted McDonald's Monopoly game from 1989 to 2001. The con, which totaled $24 million, involved not only the FBI but everything from PR firms to the mob. The true winning ingredient of McMillions is its colorful cast of characters, which sometimes robs the limelight away from the actual victims of this fraud. Directed by James Lee Hernandez and Brian Lazarte, the six-episode documentary follows both the perpetrators of the crime and the law enforcement hunting it down. Chief among its cast of characters is FBI agent Doug Mathews, who at one point quite literally shows up in a golden suit to emulate a golden French fry and nearly destroys an undercover operation. As the series chases after the elusive "Uncle Jerry" it becomes clearer that beneath the surface of this wacky heist there are real victims who have had their lives affected by these people taking advantage of the system set in place by McDonald's. For those who aren't interested in murder in their true crime, McMillions is the perfect dose of weird and intriguing to binge-watch. — Therese Lacson

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'Savior Complex' (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes: 100% | IMDb: 6.8/10

Diving deep into the story of US missionary Renee Bach, Savior Complex pulls no punches in its eyes wide-open discussion of her untrained medical practice that, despite its charitable aim, indirectly led to the deaths of 105 children. A rollercoaster of a tale, Savior Complex is nuanced in its delivery, offering both Bach’s side of the story as well as a look at the devastating effects of her work. Documentary filmmaker Jackie Jesko explores with care the highly complex subject matter, with the miniseries capturing a sense of reality without sacrificing the gripping, tense nature modern true crime series are famous for. - Jake Hodges

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'The Price of Glee' (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes: 14% | IMDb: 5.5/10

The Price of Glee is a three-episode miniseries that details the drama behind the scenes of the hit show Glee and the ways it affected the stars even after the show had ended. Beyond the dive into the media impact of the show, the docuseries primarily focuses on the high-profile deaths of former cast members Cory Monteith, Mark Salling, and Naya Rivera, who each had an air of tragedy surrounding them. One could argue that the documentary sensationalizing their misfortunes is the exact type of coverage that contributed to the poor mental health and ultimate death of Monteith, but viewers will have to make that determination for themselves.

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'House of Hammer' (2022)

Rotten Tomatoes: 70% | IMDb: 6.0/10

House of Hammer is a documentary-style miniseries that sensationalizes the fall of the actor Armie Hammer (Social Network) by spotlighting his abuse and assault in previous relationships and interrogating the legacy of the whole Hammer family. Featuring interviews with Hammer’s former partners who bravely came forward to expose a pattern of behavior, the series showcases the texts, voice memos, and first-hand accounts of the disturbing behavior that Hammer subjected them to. Plus, his aunt Casey Hammer (Leap of Faith) gives context on the dirty dealings of the Hammer family over the course of three generations. – Tauri Miller

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'Rich & Shameless' (2022)

IMDb: 6.4/10

Salacious stories every episode, Rich and Shameless is a docu-series that highlights different scandals involving some of the biggest celebrities. Rich and Shameless approaches each tale of wealth and recklessness with quick and digestible episodes intended to entice audiences to further explore these stories themselves. Many of the episodes of Rich and Shameless explore high-profile crimes that have been featured in longer formats, such as lengthy documentary investigations, like the NXIVM sex cult in The Vow, or through true-crime dramatizations, like the theft of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s sex tape in Hulu’s brilliant Pam & Tommy. – Yael Tygiel

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'Gaming Wall Street' (2022)

IMDb: 7.2/10

Based on the highly publicized story of Gamestop’s stock market adventure, Gaming Wall Street is a two-part true crime docu-series that explains the viral trend brought on by digital vigilantes who caused chaos in the stock market and ultimately revealed widely ignored systemic flaws within Wall Street. Narrated by Succession star Kieran Culkin, Gaming Wall Street provides a fast-paced peek into the financial arena, stuffed with accessible explanations focusing on the groundbreaking Gamestop fiasco. It explores a deeply relatable underdog story that could happen to anyone. – Yael Tygiel

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'Mind Over Murder' (2022)

Rotten Tomatoes: 100% | IMDb: 7.2/10

Mind Over Murder is a true-crime docuseries you have to see to believe. The show dives into a murder case from 1985 where six people were convinced of killing a beloved grandmother in the community. The seemingly straightforward crime quickly turns into anything but, as the group is exonerated by DNA evidence in 2009. The mind behind acclaimed documentaries like Hooligan Sparrow and One Child Nation, Nanfu Wang masterfully presents a commentary on how unreliable memory can be in stressful situations like these and how flawed our judicial system really is. – Taylor Gates

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'Heaven’s Gate: The Cult of Cults' (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes: 88% | IMDb: 7.2/10

If you burned through series like Netflix’s Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey, Scientology and the Aftermath, or one of the several NXIVM-themed documentaries, you’re sure to become invested in Heaven’s Gate: The Cult of Cults. The series explores the UFO religion Heaven’s Gate, which was led by Marshall Applewhite. Featuring never-before-seen footage of the cult, the series explores the organization’s bizarre beliefs and rituals leading up to the tragic mass suicide in 1997. – Taylor Gates

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'The Way Down' (2021 - 2022)

Rotten Tomatoes: 80% | IMDb: 7.0/10

This documentary explores the incredible story of the life and untimely death of the leader of the controversial Remnant Fellowship church in Tennessee, Gwen Shamblin Lara. Former members swear it’s a cult; current members assure you it is anything but. Regardless, it is a fascinating story watching what started as a weight loss program slowly spiral into a devout church with millions of dollars. Interviews with former members detail what it was like on the inside and how they watched Gwen transform into a complicated leader whose way of running things may have gotten a tad out of control. The series was supposed to be three episodes, but with the untimely death of Shamblin, the producers released two more. Funny how people are more willing to talk when the person they’re afraid of is no longer around for retribution. - Jennifer McHugh

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'The Vow' (2020 - 2022)

Rotten Tomatoes: 68% | IMDb: 7.2/10

NXIVM may be confusing to pronounce, but it is one of the most recognizable modern-day cults. Touted as a leadership and personal evolution program, the group quickly devolved into something way more sinister. Keith Reniere, the leader, as well as a few of his devout followers have been sentenced to prison time for their crimes. The documentary follows survivors in their post-NXIVM lives and happens to have incredible footage from the inside as one of the former members, Mark Vicente, was the group’s historian. The access to the behind-the-scenes footage is something that needs to be seen to be believed. You will see firsthand the level of manipulation and degradation used to brainwash followers through tense workshops, seminars, an odd scarf promotion system, and (inexplicably) volleyball. The series was renewed after one season, and season two is expected to drop sometime in the near future as it covers the trials of the leaders and the reactions of the former followers. - Jennifer McHugh

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'I’ll Be Gone in the Dark' (2020 - 2021)

Rotten Tomatoes: 96% | IMDb: 7.4/10

What makes the HBO original documentary series, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, stand out amongst other true-crime series is that it chooses to give a voice to the victims and survivors of the Golden State Killer instead of focusing on the killer himself. Following journalist Michelle McNamara’s remarkable investigation into the unsolved identity of the Golden State Killer, a title she coined, the series accompanies her as she goes about the process of solving the case while writing the best-selling true crime novel, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer.

A serial rapist and serial killer who wreaked havoc upon both couples and women in California during the 70s and 80s, police were never able to catch the culprit despite the frequency of his attacks. The series is interspersed with interviews of McNamara and countless survivors as they tell their stories, but McNamara tragically died before she was able to finish writing her book or find out the killer’s identity. As the investigation spanned over several decades, Joseph James DeAngelo was eventually arrested in 2018 and officially deemed to be the Golden State Killer. Thanks to McNamara's colleagues and widower, Patton Oswalt, the group was able to put together the last portion of the book with her extensive notes, and the result is an all-consuming deep dive into one of the biggest and most elusive cold cases that lasted for far too long.

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'The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst' (2015 - 2024)

Rotten Tomatoes: 96% | IMDb: 8.6/10

The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst needs no introduction, as it’s one of the most lauded and shocking true-crime series ever made. Following New York real estate heir Robert Durst, director Andrew Jarecki sat down with Durst for a series of extensive interviews beginning in 2010 pertaining to his suspected involvement in three murder cases. Durst was suspected of causing the 1982 disappearance of his first wife, Kathleen McCormack, in addition to killing his friend, Susan Berman, in 2000 and his neighbor, Morris Black, in 2001.

Though he was tried and acquitted of murdering Black in 2003, It's dumbfounding that Durst was able to walk free for so many years when there was so much evidence racked up against him. The ending will leave your jaw on the floor as everything concludes in the infamously shocking finale, and It's safe to say The Jinx is unlike any other true-crime documentary out there.

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'Lady and the Dale' (2021)

Rotten Tomatoes: 100% | IMDb: 6.9/10

A fascinating tale of a talented grifter, Lady and the Dale uncovers the wild crimes and cons of Elizabeth “Liz” Carmichael. Amidst the gas crisis during the 1970s, Carmichael started the Twentieth Century Motor Car Company, which included a three-wheeled, gas efficient car called the Dale, and she soon found herself in some hot water with both the law and media. Uncovering a crime-filled past, this was not Elizabeth’s first rodeo, and she’d practically been on the lam for her entire life before getting thrust into the spotlight while advertising the Dale. A four-part limited series, Lady and the Dale is a masterfully told journey about the creative rise and demise of one woman, and it will have you guessing till the very end.

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'The Case Against Adnan Syed' (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes: 82% | IMDb: 6.7/10

By now, almost everyone has listened to at least one true-crime podcast or watched one true-crime series. It’s all thanks to the now-famous case surrounding convicted murderer, Adnan Syed, a high school student who was found guilty of murdering his 18-year-old ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, in 1999. After journalist Sarah Koenig released the 2014 podcast, Serial, which details the crime and goes on to find glaring inconsistencies in the case built against Syed, the podcast quickly became a phenomenon and was downloaded over 100 million times.

Throughout the past two decades, Syed has continued to insist upon his innocence despite his life sentence, and many people, including his family, believe him. The HBO documentary series, The Case Against Adnan Syed, continues to delve further into the murder case while following Syed’s family in 2016 as they work on obtaining a re-trial based upon newfound evidence.

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'Allen v. Farrow' (2021)

Rotten Tomatoes: 82% | IMDb: 6.6/10

It took over 30 years for Hollywood to reckon with the fact that they continued to celebrate Woody Allen well after he was accused of sexual assault in 1992 by his 7-year-old daughter, Dylan Farrow. Turning into an all-out war between Allen and his longtime partner and Dylan’s mother, actress Mia Farrow, she never backed down in advocating that her daughter was telling the truth despite much of the media and the law siding with the then, all-powerful Allen.

Looking back on the crime, Allen v. Farrow contains a surplus of home video footage while also interspersing audio recordings from Allen’s 2020 memoir, Apropos of Nothing, and it paints a dark family portrait of pain and deception. Also providing a searing look into a flawed system that too often protects the abuser and not the victim, it conducts several interviews with Dylan and Mia Farrow as they dive into their past with a modern lens in the wake of the #MeToo and Times Up movements.

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