The Netflix true-crime documentary Murder Among the Mormons isn't quite like many others of the same genre. While it does discuss a story that involves murder, lies, and deception, the focus is actually on religion and, more prominently, forgeries that resulted in huge sums of money exchanging hands.
It's safe to assume that anyone who loves the true crime genre will appreciate this series. But for those who were intrigued by the story in Murder Among the Mormons, particularly the religious Latter-day Saint movement and Mark Hofmann's uncanny ability to create totally believable document forgeries, there are other series and movies that are worth looking at next.
Naturally, they all fall into the crime genre. But each has its own intriguing element.
I'll Be Gone In The Dark
It's the story of Michelle McNamara's obsession with the Golden State Killer and her vigilante work as an author to try and uncover more about the story. Indeed, while McNamara sadly passed away before the book was finished and published, she is crediting with helping revive interest in the case. And in fact, it was arguably her focus on the case that led to it finally being solved in the summer of 2020 when DNA helped identify Joseph DeAngelo Jr. as the notorious serial killer from the '70s and '80s.
I'll Be Gone In The Dark, which provides really great takeaways about the decades-long case, follows McNamara as she focuses on writing her book and investigating every nuance of the case through online chat rooms and crime blogs.
Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich
While the stories revealed in this docuseries are very different from the ones in Murder Among the Mormons, there's some common ground in a man at the center of the story who was able to fool many people about who he really was. Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich is based on the James Patterson book of the same name and discusses Epstein's lavish and abundant life leading up to and after his arrest.
Many survivors are interviewed along with others who worked for him, combined with archival footage and details of the police investigations.
The Keepers
With a common theme of religion, The Keepers – which ranks as one of the best true-crime series on Netflix right now - is about a nun who was murdered after it was believed that she discovered that a priest was abusing young students at the school where she worked. She was, her friends believe, going to go public with the accusation before she disappeared.
With rumblings of a potential cover-up and two long-time friends who continue to investigate the case more than 50 years later, it's a story from decades ago with similarly sinister undertones.
Making A Murderer
In one of Netflix's first true-crime docuseries, people were fascinated with the story about Stephen Avery, a man who was wrongfully convicted, released years later, then arrested again for the murder of a young photographer. Was he innocent and targeted by the local police department that wanted to rebuild their reputation and avoid a wrongful conviction lawsuit? Or did he really turn to murder after spending so much time in jail for a crime he didn't commit?
The story, now told through two seasons of Making A Murderer thus far, takes place in a small town and has so many twists and turns like Murder Among the Mormons that it keeps viewers hooked.
Fear City: New York Vs. The Mafia
Also taking place in the '80s, this docuseries centers around shocking events in New York City at a time when five mafia crime families ruled the roost and arguably ran the Big Apple. That is until an FBI investigation worked to take them all down at once.
It took a lot of clever work to bring the families to justice and end, or at least put a halt to their empires. Fear City: New York Vs. The Mafia highlights these moves, which also took a lot of patience, as was the situation with the Hofmann case as well.
Conversations With A Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes
Ted Bundy and Mark Hofmann shared similarities in their personalities in that that they both thought very highly of themselves. Indeed, they were both talented and fiercely smart individuals, though they were also both convicted killers.
Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes is about the same length as Murder Among the Mormons at just four episodes (Murder Among the Mormons is only three) so it will fit for those who just want a quick binge. Its focus is on the more than 100 hours of interviews and archival footage of the serial killer as well as interviews with others, including victims who survived, law enforcement, and his family members and friends.
John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise
One of Peacock's original series, John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise reveals interesting facts about the infamous serial killer but, more interestingly, raises questions about whether other people might have been involved, or at least knew more than they were letting on, about his murders.
Fascinating interview footage with Gacy is shown, portraying him as a charming and talkative man who easily wormed his way into the lives of many. Just like Hofmann, he came across as just a regular guy who had big ambitions.
Scientology And The Aftermath
Focusing on another church-centric group, actor Leah Remini aimed to blow the lid off Scientology and raise questions about its practices, behaviors, and status as a church with this docuseries. The show, which features fascinating, emotional, and revealing interviews with many people who were once part of the church, earned several Emmy nominations and wins.
It's far more heart-wrenching and in-depth than Murder Among the Mormons. But it's an interesting watch, nonetheless, for those looking for a story that digs much deeper into stories that deal with both crime and religion.
The Forger
Dating back to 2014, this thriller crime drama starred John Travolta as Raymond J. Cutter, a criminal who partners with an underworld art dealer. The latter is a master at forging paintings and is tasked with creating a believable copy of Monet's Woman with a Parasol – Madame Monet and Her Son. He must then also swap the fake painting with the real one.
Hofmann's story wasn't quite as Hollywood as this one, but the theme of forgery might be worth drawing viewers in. With that said, the movie received pretty terrible reviews. But with the star-studded cast that also includes the late Christopher Plummer and Abigail Spencer, it might be worth checking out to further learn about the dark world of forgeries.
Beltracchi: The Art Of Forgery
It's another story about a massive art forgery, this one in Germany and about German art forger Wolfgang Beltracchi. The man born Wolfgang Fischer has admitted to forging hundreds of fake paintings alongside his mentor M Feider. Their international art scam ended up earning the pair millions of Euros.
Beltracchi served his six years in a German prison and recalls how he did what he did in fascinating detail.