15 Docuseries to Watch After Don’t F*** With Cats

The title of the docuseries Don’t F*** With Cats might have you scratching your head at whether it’s funny or serious. But make no mistake: it’s deeply troubling and not for the faint of heart.

The series, released on Netflix on December 18, tells the story of Canadian killer Luka Magnotta, who brutally murdered a young man, filmed and posted the footage online, then sent his dismembered body parts to government officials. But the series also focuses on a group of self-professed Internet nerds who went on a manhunt to discover Magnotta’s identity when he first started posting videos of himself killing cats online. Apparently even in the dark underbelly of the world wide web, there’s one very clear rule: don’t f*** with cats. He broke it, and the Internet went on a rampage trying to find and stop him.

If you managed to make it through the three intensely emotional hour-long episodes, you might need a bit of a break before delving into another true crime series. But once you’re ready to go again, check out these 10 you’ll probably like, too.

Updated on the April 22nd, 2020 by Anastasia Maillot: Roughly four months after the docuseries on the Internet’s most wanted killer came out, true crime enthusiasts have been graced with a bunch of new and some older docuseries. In these times when it’s better to stay in to stay safe, these are the series that create interesting discussions and make for great shows to binge watch.

With that, here are five more docuseries to watch in the time of self-isolation for those who managed to get through Don’t F*** With Cats.

15 The Confession Tapes

For those who found the confession part of Don’t F*** With Cats fascinating, The Confession Tapes will be just as interesting of a watch. This docuseries presents different criminal cases each episode, and explores how a suspect may have been pressured into a confession.

The cool thing about this docuseries is that it offers an alternate perspective on these cases, and engages the viewers to judge for themselves. Moreover, it highlights some of the issues the American justice system has.

14 I Am A Killer

A very provocative and controversial watch, I Am A Killer isn’t for the faint of heart. This series will elicit a lot of emotional reactions, but again, it’s one of those docuseries that will engage the viewer to judge each case for themselves.

Every episode the series focuses on a person convicted of murder or homicide and interviews them, as well as the people around them. The bottom line is that not all cases are the same, and the people involved are very different as well, with diverging motives. It’s one emotional roller coaster, but very engaging.

13 The Confession Killer

The Confession Killer focuses on Henry Lee Lucas, a serial killer who was active from the 1960s to the early 1980s. What makes his case peculiar is that he confessed to over a hundred murders across the United States, however, these confessions were discovered to be false.

The series not only highlights Lucas’ crimes, but also focuses on the impact of false confessions, and why some criminals might be tempted to provide false confessions in the first place. Just like The Confession Tapes, it takes a critical stance towards interrogation techniques.

12 Killer Inside: The Mind Of Aaron Hernandez

For those interested in knowing how humans are driven to perform horrible acts in the first place, the story of Aaron Hernandez is a very compelling one to follow. Known as a professional football player, he was eventually convicted for the murder of Odin Lloyd.

Through various interviews and the story of his past, Killer Inside: The Mind Of Aaron Hernandez goes incredibly deep into his personal life. Although the series is fairly short with only three parts, it’s definitely worth a watch.

11 Who Killed Little Gregory?

While many true crime docuseries focus almost purely on American true crime cases, Who Killed Little Gregory? is a breath of fresh air from Europe. It focuses on the highly mysterious case of Gregory, the little boy of a working class French family who was killed in the mid 1980s.

This case rocked the French society at its time, and is considered one of the country’s major true crime cases. For those wanting to watch something more international, this is a great docuseries to dive head first into.

10 Making a Murderer

This series, available on Netflix, has gotten tons of attention since the first season was released in 2015. Now with two seasons under its belt, it includes footage captured over a period of decade, including interviews with friends, family members, law enforcement, legal representatives, and others about the Steven Avery murder case. After spending almost 20 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, Avery was released, filed a civil suit, then found himself accused of murder one again.

Was he framed? Was his nephew Brendan coerced into giving a false confession that implicated both himself and his uncle? It’s a compelling story and even though some episodes drag on, you’ll want to binge it all the way through.

9 The Keepers

In 1969, Sister Cathy Cesnik went missing under suspicious circumstances. The students she taught believed that there was a cover-up. Cesnik had apparently discovered that a priest was abusing children at the school and she was about to speak up about it.

It’s a fascinating story that touches on murder and sexual abuse and digs up this 50-year-old case that still remains unsolved. It was released on Netflix in 2017 and consists of seven episodes, each about an hour long.

8 Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes

Magnotta had similar qualities to notorious serial killer Ted Bundy. He was a relatively charming, good-looking young man who was also incredibly narcissistic and obsessed with his outward appearance. Watching clips of Bundy talking along with clips of Magnotta from the docuseries make you feel as though Magnotta may have seen Bundy as someone he could look up to.

This docuseries, released in January 2019 and featuring four 60-minute episodes, is jam-packed with content about Bundy’s life and excerpts of interviews with him, his family, surviving victims, and law enforcement. Thankfully, Magnotta was caught before he could go on to commit more murders like Bundy.

7 The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst

Consisting of six episodes, this docuseries, released by HBO in 2015, tells the story of Robert Durst and accusations of his involvement in several murders. Coincidentally, Durst was arrested on charges of first-degree murder in the death of his friend Susan Berman the day before the series’ finale aired.

It’s a compelling piece of television that includes interviews with Durst himself. In one of the most talked-about parts of the docuseries, while Durst reportedly thought his microphone was off, he rambled to himself off-camera, “What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.”

6 Evil Genius: The True Story of America’s Most Diabolical Bank Heist

This true-crime docuseries is about the 2003 murder of Brian Wells that is often referred to as the “collar bomb” or “pizza bomber” case. Wells, a pizza delivery man, was believed to have been forced to commit a bank robbery with a bomb strapped to his neck.

Released in 2018 on Netflix, it has four parts, each running 45 minutes to an hour long.  It includes interviews with people in the area where the incident occurred, Erie, PA, as well as with the troubled woman who went to prison and was suspected of having orchestrated the plot, Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong.

5 Surviving R. Kelly

There’s no talk of murder in this docuseries, but if you were able to stomach the Magnotta docuseries, you’ll be able to stomach this very emotional one, too. It’s just as disturbing but in a very different way. It discusses the singer Robert “R” Kelly and the allegations of sexual abuse against him by many women, including ones that involve underage girls.

It includes interviews with several people, footage of R. Kelly and his girlfriends, coverage of the trials, and more. There are just six episodes, but it’s a lot to take in. It debuted in January 2019 on Lifetime and a second season will premiere in January 2020.

4 The Staircase

One of the oldest docuseries on the list, this 2004 French series looked at the trial of Michael Peterson, who was convicted of murdering his wife Kathleen. A novelist, Peterson reported that his wife had fallen down the stairs while drunk, but authorities thought the whole thing was suspicious and believed she had been bludgeoned to death.

The Netflix series, which includes 13 episodes, looks at the trial from Peterson and his defense team’s perspective, and includes interviews with several others, including the extended family.

3 It Was Him: The Many Murders of Ed Edwards

If you follow serial killers, you know who Ed Edwards is. He was convicted of five murders from the 1970s but likely was responsible for many more. This series sees his biological grandson, Wayne Wolfe, tour across the U.S. to try and discover what other murders his grandfather might have been responsible for.

He is aided by John Cameron, a retired detective who initially worked on the case and became obsessed with it, continuing to look into murders and Edwards long after he was no longer employed. He believes Edwards could have been responsible for other high-profile murders, including Laci Peterson, and thinks he might even be the Zodiac Killer. It aired on Paramount Network in April-May 2018.

2 Leaving Neverland

Another docuseries that doesn’t involve murder, this one will still have you wincing and cringing as much as you did while watching Don’t F*** With Cats. It features Wade Robson and James Safechuck telling their stories about the music icon Michael Jackson and recounting their allegations of sexual abuse at his hands.

Airing on HBO, it was released earlier this year in two parts with a total runtime of 236 minutes. It raised a lot of questions and controversy. Nonetheless, it’s a compelling watch if you have the stomach to listen to the graphic stories.

1 The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann

Madeleine McCann was a three-year-old girl who disappeared from her bed at a resort in Portugal one evening back in 2007. She has still not been found. The case gained international attention, especially as the parents, who were eating at a restaurant with friends about a hundred feet away at the time of the abduction, were accused at one time of covering up a murder.

More than 12 years later, the search continues. The docuseries debuted on Netflix in March 2019 with eight episodes of 45-65 minutes each.

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