New month, new list. This is going to be a regular thing here on the first of every month: every crime, thriller and true crime title landing on Netflix, with a quick note on which ones we’ll be covering. Bookmark it, because I’ll keep it updated as dates shift.
The big true crime drops
- Taken: Natalee Holloway (4 Nov). The 2005 disappearance of an 18-year-old American on a school trip to Aruba, and her mother Beth’s twenty-year fight for answers. Joran van der Sloot finally confessed in 2023 as part of a plea deal in a separate extortion case, so this doc arrives with an ending the earlier ones never had. We’ll cover the real case the day it drops.
- Unprotected: Murder in Galicia (6 Nov). A Spanish documentary about a woman murdered in her hospital bed after repeated warnings were ignored. Netflix is pairing it with a drama series, Murder in Galicia, on the 13th, which is a new trick for them.
- The Trials of Karen Read (23 Nov). The Boston case that split the internet: a police officer found dead in the snow, his girlfriend charged with killing him, two trials, and a very loud “Free Karen Read” movement. If you followed this one on TikTok, this is the one to clear your evening for.
- Primetime Preacher$ (20 Nov). Not murder, but the 1980s televangelist scandals (Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart) are a kind of crime story too. Expect big hair and bigger fraud.
- The First 48, Season 16 (12 Nov). The reliable one. Real homicide detectives, real first two days.
Crime dramas based on real events
- The Altruists (19 Nov). A limited series about the collapse of FTX, told through Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison. Fraud, crypto, and a courtroom. Very much our thing.
- Toos: The Van der Valk Kidnapping (26 Nov). A Dutch series about the 1982 kidnapping of a hotel matriarch and her family’s scramble to get her back.
- Richard Jewell (1 Nov). The Clint Eastwood film about the security guard who found the 1996 Atlanta Olympics bomb and was then treated as the bomber. A quiet, angry movie about what the press and the FBI did to one man.
Thrillers worth a look
- Kidnapped in Her Own Home: The Martha Carelli Story (2 Nov). A woman forced to drive for an escaped convict hiding in her basement. The title tells you everything; the question is whether it’s any good.
- Black Doves, Season 2 (5 Nov). Spies in London, Keira Knightley, a Christmas setting again. Fun, not deep.
- ChiaroScuro (11 Nov). An Italian series about a serial killer staging murders after famous paintings in Rome. Pretentious? Probably. Watching anyway.
- Gentle Monster (18 Nov). A concert pianist’s husband turns out to have a secret when the police arrive with a warrant. Could be a sleeper.
- The Hunting Wives, Season 2 (26 Nov). Texas socialites, murder, bad decisions. You know whether you want this.
Also landing on the 1st
A pile of older crime films and series: Public Enemies, Looper, Rectify (a slow, beautiful series about a man released after 19 years on death row), and Will Trent on the 3rd if you like your detectives quirky.
What we’re covering this month
Natalee Holloway on the 4th, Karen Read around the 23rd, and The Altruists once it’s out. Everything else we’ll pick up if you ask for it, so tell me in the comments which of these you want unravelled first.
Dates from Netflix’s announced November slate; some titles shift, and I’ll update this post if they do.
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