Ryan Murphy’s and Ian Brennan’s second season of the true crime anthology series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story has become Netflix‘s most-watched show with over 12 million views worldwide in the week ending September 22.
Despite being the number one show on the best streaming service, it has been met with criticism. The series has 44% on Rotten Tomatoes from the critics, with The Guardian calling it an “exhausting horror show” in their two star review.
Meanwhile, the first season of the series, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story received a slightly better critical reception of 57% and saw a higher view count in its opening weekend (Deadline reports that Dahmer had around 21 million views, while Menendez received 12 million), but both wouldn’t make it onto our best Netflix shows list.
The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is a true-crime drama that centers on the lives of the Menendez brothers, Lyle (Nichola Alexander Chavez) and Erik (Cooper Koch), who were convicted of killing their parents in 1989. But there are plenty of better crime dramas to watch on Netflix – here are three with over 85% on Rotten Tomatoes to watch instead.
Unbelievable
- RT Score: 98%
- Age rating: TV-MA
- Length: ~48 minute episodes
- Creators: Susannah Grant, Ayelet Waldman, and Michael Chabon
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning article by T. Christian Miller and Ken Armstrong, Unbelievable follows the police investigation into the Washington and Colorado serial rape cases between 2008 and 2011. The hard-hitting series explores the survivors’ perspectives and the injustices they suffer by the American judicial system, including teenage girl Marie (Kaitlyn Dever) whose report of being raped is criticized and dismissed by the cops.
Meanwhile, Toni Collette and Merritt Wever are outstanding as two detectives on a mission to uncover the truth about a spate of similar attacks (their empathetic performances are something I often think about when it comes to gripping crime dramas). Even just watching the trailer is goosebump-inducing as it showcases a spectrum of raw emotions from all the cast.
Mindhunter
- RT Score: 97%
- Age rating: TV-MA
- Length: ~53 minute episodes
- Director: David Fincher
Mindhunter is arguably one of the best Netflix shows ever and is adapted from the 1995 true crime book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Serial Elite Crime Unit written by former FBI agent John E. Douglas. Set in the late 70s and early 80s, Mindhunter focuses on the creation of FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit and the beginning of criminal profiling.
Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany, and Anna Torv star as two FBI agents and a psychology professor who interview serial killers to understand their damaged minds and motives. Fincher’s signature style makes this dark, chilling piece of television well worth a watch as it leaves you haunted by how depraved and complex real-life monsters can be.
Griselda
- RT Score: 86%
- Age rating: TV-MA
- Length: ~55 minute episodes
- Director: Andrés Baiz
Sofia Vergara proves she’s as gifted a dramatic actor as she is a comedian in the titular role of Colombian crime boss, Griselda Blanco. Inspired by her real-life story, the Emmy-nominated series documents Blanco’s journey from fleeing Medellín to protect her children into becoming the notorious drug lord known as the Godmother of Cocaine.
Vergara perfectly captures the complex and multifaceted personality of Blanco, from her ardent maternal instincts to her ruthless and more vulnerable side as her hunger for power and wealth in the Miami drug scene becomes all-consuming.
