There’s something endlessly compelling about true crime and con artist tales—whether it’s the thrill of watching real-life masterminds pull off the unthinkable, or the catharsis of seeing justice finally catch up to them. If you’re someone who can’t resist a wild scam, an audacious heist, or a story so bizarre it sounds made up, these films and series are must-sees. Here are 13 of the wildest, most intriguing, and most memorable true crime tales that came to life on television.
1. Inventing Anna
Meet Anna Delvey—the imposter German heiress who swindled New York’s elite into financing her life of luxury. Conceived by Shonda Rhimes, the series tracks a reporter untangling Delvey’s glossy, deceitful web. Was she an astute social climber or globe-trotting con artist? Whatever, her tale is binge gold.
2. The Tinder Swindler
Simon Leviev didn’t ghost date on purpose. He left them up to their necks in debt. Impersonating the scion of a diamond empire, he spun a fantasy of luxury that conned women out of millions. This addictive documentary reveals just how far a con artist will go when love and deception meet.
3. Dirty John
Swipe right at your own risk. From the hit podcast, Dirty John is the shocking true story of Debra Newell and her too-good-to-be-true relationship with John Meehan—a man whose charm is a cover for a very dark past. Love becomes a psychological battleground in this cautionary tale.
4. FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened
Billy McFarland sold the world a dream: an island luxury music festival with villas, models, and musical legends. What guests received was disaster relief tents, and no bands to be found. This documentary is darkly comedic and jaw-dropping as it documents the rise and fall of influencer-fueled fantasy.
5. Lords of Scam
In this French documentary, an assortment of con men take advantage of the European carbon tax system for several hundred million dollars. Greed turns inward as allegiances fall apart and betrayal takes center stage. It’s a high-stakes swindle with all the drama of a crime thriller—except it’s all true.
6. The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman
Robert Hendy-Freegard feigned being an MI5 agent for years, conning and isolating victims and draining them financially. This gripping series documents his lengthy regime of deception and the desperate search to capture him before another life is destroyed.
7. Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal
When it was exposed that celebrities and rich elites were paying their children’s way into prestigious universities, America was fixated. Narrated through recreations and actual transcripts, this docudrama dissects the outrageous plot behind the largest education scandal in American history.
8. This Is a Robbery: The World’s Biggest Art Heist
Two burglars dressed as Boston police officers executed the biggest art heist in contemporary history, stealing masterworks worth half a billion dollars. The case has never been solved, decades later. This four-part documentary series explores the mystery and the world of art’s most puzzling cold case.
9. Woman of the Hour
Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut recounts the chilling tale of serial killer Rodney Alcala, who wooed his way onto The Dating Game in the 70s—during the middle of his murder spree. The movie plays the juxtaposition of Alcala’s atrocities against the creepy sameness of TV’s prime-time nicely.
10. Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
Zac Efron loses his clean-cut image to portray Ted Bundy, whose charm kept him suspicion-free for years. Focused through the eyes of his longtime girlfriend, the movie examines how easily evil may masquerade as friendly—and how denial can be its partner in crime.
11. The Good Nurse
Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne give riveting performances in this dramatization of nurse Charles Cullen’s actual killing spree. When colleagues suspect something is amiss, the tale is a gripping one of moral courage and institutional failure.
12. Lost Girls
Amy Ryan plays Mari Gilbert, a mother whose tenacious search for her missing daughter highlights a series of unsolved murders and institutional callousness. It’s a powerful, haunting story about grief, justice, and the voices too often ignored.
13. Sins of Our Mother
When Lori Vallow’s kids vanished, the tale quickly turned into a tabloid-happy drama about doomsday cults, sinister deaths, and eerie beliefs. This docu-series unwraps the layers of a contemporary tragedy that still leaves viewers in shock.
If you enjoy tales that teeter on the edge of unbelievable and too real, these true crime movies and TV shows are full of tension, tragedy, and reality. Each is a gripping examination of how lies, greed, and desperation can transform lives—and sometimes systems. Just be cautioned: once you begin, it’s difficult to avert your eyes.