Though true-crime has always been a fixture in film and television, the advent of the streaming renaissance, especially in regards to Netflix's blockbuster binge model, has created something of a modern boom in true-crime docuseries. Even old series such as The Staircase are being given updated content.
Plain and simple, the world still loves a good real-life mystery, and Netflix seems as poised as ever to continue feeding that desire. Many popular and lesser-known true-crime cases have been given the Netflix adaptation treatment. However, as any armchair sleuth will insist, there is still an innumerable amount of fascinating crimes and cases that need a second big-budget, docuseries-sized look.
Israel Keyes
One of the modern world's scariest—and least-known—serial killers is Israel Keyes. Numerous podcasts and ID Discovery-type programming series have tackled the strange reign of terror Keyes brought to the American Midwest in the mid-to-late 2000s.
Keyes would make a perfect focal point for the Netflix docuseries model due to the amount of footage publicly available of his famous kidnapping of a young girl working a coffee truck. Additionally, Keyes was known to bury buckets of murder supplies across the country so he would always be prepared. Keyes could be the next streaming boogeyman.
The Murder of Susan Powell
Many of the most recent true-crime hits (Tiger King, Don't F**K With Cats) began with a podcast series. Cold is a podcast delving deeply into the case of Susan Powell's disappearance, and later the murder of her two sons by the hand of her ex-husband, Josh Powell. Josh is a frightening figure that could fill the shoes of Luka Magnotta with ease.
The tragic and dense story of Susan's disappearance and the events that followed would be perfect fodder for Netflix, and it would give Susan the chance to finally be heard on a national stage.
Rodney Reed
Look to series like The Jinx or even Making a Murderer to see proof that true-crime series can, and have, achieved real-world results. The tragic case of Rodney Reed is a story that begs to be heard by our current tumultuous society.
Currently sitting on death row in Texas, Reed is an African-American man convicted, many say falsely, of rape and murder in 1996. Since then, Reed has maintained his innocence and held he was unfairly convicted on flimsy evidence and prejudices of his community. Sure to rally the world in these trying times, people need to remember Rodney Reed and victims like him.
"Pee-Wee" Gaskins
"Pee Wee" Gaskins was a criminal and overall lowlife that committed a litany of violent crimes in the mid-part of the twentieth century. What elevates Gaskins' story beyond the ordinary story of the career criminal is a murder he committed while behind bars on death row.
Nicknamed "The Meanest Man in America" for the incident, Gaskins designed an explosive device in a small radio he gifted to the inmate. From the confines of his cell, Gaskins detonated the device, killing the man. A fascinating figure worthy of multi-episodes exploring the depths of his depravity, Gaskins needs a series ASAP.
The Savopoulos Family
Truly an American tragedy from every conceivable angle, the 2015 murder of almost an entire family and their housekeeper is as heartwrenching as it is fascinating. Though one man, Daren Wint, was convicted of the murders on substantial physical and circumstantial evidence, a wealth of loose ends and mystery still swirl around the case.
Wint's motives remain up for debate, and the events of the crime itself still remain obfuscated by an array of complicating factors. The amount of evidence and oddities in the narrative of the case make it a perfect choice for a Netflix-budgeted deep dive.
The Strange Trials of Curtis Flowers
Curtis Flowers is a Mississippi man who has been tried for the same crime, by the same District Attorney, a whopping six times as of 2020. The story of Curtis Flowers begins with a multiple-homicide in 1996 at a local furniture store. Flowers was arrested for the crime, and the subsequent decades-long legal battles have resulted in the case being brought to the U.S. Supreme Court, who ruled in Flowers' favor. A story of the fundamental flaws present in our justice system, the six trials of Curtis Flowers is a story the world truly needs to hear right now.
Edmund Kemper
Edmund Kemper is a serial killer currently incarcerated on multiple murder convictions at the California Medical Facility. Notable for his extremely high intelligence and turning himself in for the murder of his own mother, Kemper is one of true crime's scariest figures.
Kemper appears as a character in the Netflix hit Mindhunter as one of the original killers willing to speak to the FBI about the behavior of serial killers, but his role on the show barely scratches the dark surface of his life story. Similar to Netflix's recent shows on Ted Bundy, Kemper could be the next long-form expose on an infamous murderer that the service needs.
The Delphi Murders
Another crime recently profiled across the podcast landscape, the story of the murder of two young girls in Delphi, Indiana is still a hot topic on internet crime forums and roundtables of armchair detectives.
Part of the allure of the case's enigma is the existence of a Snapchat video/audio file of the presumed killer taken by one of the girls just before the crime took place. The video, a genuinely eerie piece of evidence, alone could be the subject of a series. However, there is much more to the story that requires time and careful attention.
Dean Corll, "The Candy Man"
Before John Wayne Gacy, there was Dean Corll. A figure straight out of the world's blackest pit, Corll was a candy proprietor who used his confectionary endeavors to prey upon teenage boys around his community. The part of Corll's story that is so singularly strange and fascinating is the way he recruited a pair of local teens to help lure their peers into his clutches.
When Corll turned on the recruited boys, one of them managed to escape and kill Corll. A twisted story that is instantly engaging and unsettling, Netflix seems like the perfect fit for a modern docuseries on Corll's evil.
The 3x Killer
Quite possibly the most purely enthralling forgotten true crime story is the spree of the "3x killer," an unidentified murderer who operated in the early 1930s. His M.O. was similar to the forthcoming Zodiac Killer in how the victims were shot in their cars in secluded spots, and cryptic code-laden notes were sent to the press and authorities.
One of the twentieth century's earliest examples of a crime spree capturing the nation's attention, the sheer amount of theories on the case makes it the best candidate for the Netflix treatment; the potential to be the next "water cooler show" is immense.