Hey, y’all. As the sky lights up with the annual burst of July fireworks, marking yet another summer of barbecues, watermelon, and good times, we’ve got a spectacular lineup of new true crime documentaries. Just like those fireworks, these stories will light up your screen and go off with a bang. We’re talking real stories, real mystery, real drama. So, grab a cool drink, find a comfy spot, and get ready to dive into all the true crime that July 2023 has to offer. Trust us, this summer is gonna be a blast!
July 4, 2023
The King Who Never Was on Netflix
Synopsis
This docuseries sheds light on the killing of a German teenager in ’78 through the accounts of his sister and the royal family involved in the case.
Netflix
July 5, 2023
The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch, Season 2 on Netflix
Synopsis
For decades, a Utah ranch has been a hotspot of strange, unexplained phenomena. A new owner brings in investigators to unlock the property’s mysteries.
Netflix
July 7, 2023
The Ashley Madison Affair on Hulu
Synopsis
The rise, fall, and improbable resurgence of Ashley Madison, the dating website aimed at marriage cheats. Pioneers in outrageous viral advertising, the company stops at nothing to gain publicity and by 2015 it appears to be on the brink of world domination. Then a team of hackers expose the intimate sexual secrets of millions of members, with devastating consequences. But in the aftermath of the data breach, are the site’s adulterous users the only ones with dirty secrets?
Hulu
July 9, 2023
Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York on Max
Synopsis
In the 1990s, as hate crimes were on the rise and the AIDS crisis escalated, a serial killer preyed upon New York City’s gay men. The HBO Original, four-part documentary series Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York dives into the deep-rooted biases of the criminal justice system and illuminates how the LGBTQ+ community fought to solve the murders and demand fair treatment of queer crime victims.
HBO Documentary Films presents Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York a Story Syndicate Production in association with Little Punk, a Series by Anthony Caronna & Howard Gertler. Directed by Anthony Caronna; executive produced by Howard Gertler, Liz Garbus, Dan Cogan, Jon Bardin, Kate Barry, Anthony Caronna, Elon Green, Charlize Theron, Beth Kono, AJ Dix, and Matt Maher. Producers Yusef Alsuhaimi and Grace Fardella. For HBO: executive producers, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, and Tina Nguyen.
HBO
Forensic Files II, Season 4 on Investigation Discovery
Synopsis
Experts piece together clues to solve the most puzzling criminal cases.
Discovery+
July 10, 2023
Unknown: Killer Robots on Netflix
Synopsis
What happens when a machine makes life-or-death decisions? This documentary explores the dangers of artificial intelligence in military application.
Netflix
People Magazine Investigates, Season 7 on Investigation Discovery
Synopsis
PEOPLE MAGAZINE INVESTIGATES’ shines a spotlight on some of the most horrifying crimes that have gripped the nation in recent memory. From a mass murder at a yogurt shop in Austin, Texas, that shook the city to its core to exclusive, new revelations in a disturbing missing persons case in the High Sierras that has been a fixation of internet sleuths for years to insight into the hunt to track down the Times Square Killer – each episode continues to offer exclusive interviews with those closest to these crimes, incredible archival footage and emotional, firsthand accounts from victims’ loved ones and survivors.
The Futon Critic
July 11, 2023
Betrayal: The Perfect Husband on Hulu
Synopsis
Based on the hit podcast “Betrayal,” “Betrayal: The Perfect Husband” is a love story gone terribly wrong. Jen Faison says she thought she had found her happy ending with her college sweetheart, a beloved high school teacher named Spencer Herron. However, their seemingly perfect life implodes one spring afternoon when Faison discovers that behind her fairytale romance was a web of lies, affairs and criminal sexual assault. The program features emotional interviews with multiple women who say they were involved with Herron and the one student who put an end to the twisted teacher’s reign of sexual improprieties. This three-part series is a tale of earth-shattering discoveries, a victim’s bravery, and a woman’s quest to reclaim her life against all odds.
“Betrayal: The Perfect Husband” is produced by Glass Entertainment and ABC News Studios. Nancy Glass and Jon Hirsch are executive producers for Glass Entertainment. For ABC News Studios, David Sloan is the senior executive producer, Wendy Krantz is senior producer, and Eileen Murphy is senior editorial producer. “Betrayal,” the podcast, is produced by Glass Podcasts in partnership with iHeartPodcasts.
The Futon Critic
Myth of the Zodiac Killer on Peacock
Synopsis
Sheds light on America’s most famous cold case by asking a question that no one else has ever dared ask: What if the reason the Zodiac has never been caught is because he never existed in the first place?
TV Insider
July 13, 2023
The Jewel Thief on Hulu
Synopsis
The Jewel Thief is Gerald Blanchard’s surprising, first-hand account as a calculating and accomplished criminal mastermind. Two unlikely detectives track him worldwide as he commits increasingly elaborate heists in a quest for fame.
Hulu
July 19, 2023
A Body in the Basement on Investigation Discovery/Max
Synopsis
These chilling stories of murder hit terrifyingly close to home — each a real-life tale about the last thing anyone wants to find in their basement, a dead body. Every episode will make one think twice before ever stepping foot in the basement again.
Investigation Discovery
July 20, 2023
Glitch: The Rise and Fall of HQ Trivia on Max
Synopsis
Emmy® Award-winning director Salima Koroma (Dreamland: The Burning of Black Wall Street) documents the tech-fueled rise and Fyre-style fall of HQ Trivia, the revolutionary “game show on your phone” app that went viral, swept the nation, then crashed and burned. The global live-play game sensation drew millions of daily users to its frenetically fun trivia challenges and cash prizes, attracting celebrity fans including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Neil Patrick Harris, Jimmy Kimmel, and Kelly Clarkson. But its success was undone by corporate clashes, cast changes, and a tragic death. This is the story of a startup sh*tshow. Glitch: The Rise & Fall of HQ Trivia is produced by Left/Right.
CNN
July 22, 2023
Famously Haunted: Amityville on Tubi
Synopsis
This 2-hour special goes deep into of one of the most exploited true crimes in history, the mass family murder of the DeFeo family in Amityville, NY.
Tubi
July 24, 2023
The Golden Boy on Max
Synopsis
By the age of 19, Oscar De La Hoya was an Olympic boxing gold medalist, a multi-world title-winning professional boxer, a hometown hero and a role model to his Mexican-American community in East Los Angeles. Nicknamed “The Golden Boy,” De La Hoya – with his good looks, electric charisma, and heartfelt story of winning Olympic gold for his dying mother — rocketed to national prominence as a superstar both in and outside the ring. But all was not what it appeared to be behind that polished facade.
Told in De La Hoya’s own words through a series of candid interviews with him and those closest to him, and featuring rare archival footage, The Golden Boy peels back the layers of this celebrated yet complicated figure, exploring his triumphs and turmoil to reveal a man struggling to come to terms with lifelong demons and the impossible burden of a nickname he couldn’t live up to.
HBO
July 26, 2023
Missing: The Lucie Blackman Case on Netflix
Synopsis
A tragic case that involved the failures of the police and the judiciary system, Lucie Blackman was a British national who had been working as a hostess at a bar in Tokyo, Japan, before mysteriously disappearing in July 2000.
It was thanks to the efforts of her family, who after leading an intense high-profile media campaign, led them to Joji Obara, the man who had kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and murdered their daughter.
However, despite Obara’s arrest leading the police to an overwhelming amount of evidence of his shocking crimes, the judicial system of Japan almost failed Blackman and the many hundreds of victims of Obara’s crimes.
What’s on Netflix
July 27, 2023
The Lady of Silence: The Mataviejitas Murders on Netflix
Synopsis
The year 2000 marks the start of a new decade in Mexico City. A number of murders has the capital police at a stalemate: older ladies are being strangled in their own homes. The victims’ profiles are causing never-before-seen social outrage and media coverage. The Attorney General’s Office is employing all its resources and efforts to capture Mexico’s first serial killer. Witnesses describe the suspect as tall, robust, and strong, passing off as a nurse to earn the victims’ trust. In January 2006, after more than 40 murders, several failed arrests, and multiple contradictions, a woman is detained in broad daylight. Her name: Juana Barraza. Known in the world of lucha libre as “The Lady of Silence” and baptized by the media as “The Old-Lady Killer”, a nickname that is to become part of Mexico’s dark history as well as its incomparable pop culture.
Netflix
Mother Undercover on Hulu
Synopsis
The gripping new four-part docu-series “Mother Undercover” tells the tales of four courageous mothers on a mission to save or get justice for their children. Across four captivating episodes, audiences will witness the extraordinary lengths mothers will go to protect their children. In incidents of murder, international kidnapping, mass suicide and judicial corruption, these four mothers transform into undercover detectives, mounting covert operations and taking matters into their own hands. “Mother Undercover” (working title) showcases the strength and resilience of these women who give new meaning to the saying “a mother’s love knows no bounds.”
The Futon Critic
July 28, 2023
How to Become a Cult Leader on Netflix
Synopsis
A tongue-in-cheek documentary presented as a guide for how viewers can gain their own sycophantic following, and in the process explores the rise (and demise) of six prominent cult leaders.
TV Insider