The 7 Best New True Crime Movies of 2023

When it premieres: January 5, 2023 on Discovery+

What it's about: On January 6, 2021, the U.S. Capitol was attacked. This documentary explores what exactly happened on that fateful day in our nation's history, as well as provide firsthand accounts from witnesses.

Watch the trailer here

When it premieres: January 10, 2023 on Netflix

What it's about: In 2013, a YouTube video was posted that showed a homeless hitchhiker named Kai (born Caleb McGillvary) using a hatchet to attack the man who gave him a ride. Reportedly, Kai did that because the man allegedly hit a pedestrian with his car and then started choking someone who ran over to help.

Kai's actions and news interview about the incident quickly went viral, but that's not the end of the story.

Months later, Kai was "arrested for allegedly taking the life of a man in New Jersey," a news reporter shares in the documentary's trailer.

With that information in mind, many people begin to wonder if the hatchet incident happened the way Kai said it did.

Watch the trailer here

When it premieres: January 17, 2023 on Peacock

What it's about: You probably know about Amber Alerts when you get them on your phone, but did you know that system was created because of a girl named Amber Hagerman?

Twenty-five years ago, a nine-year-old girl named Amber Hagerman was kidnapped while riding her bike and was found dead four days later. Her murder has never been solved, but this tragedy did end up helping to create the Amber Alert system to help find other missing children. ("AMBER" actually stands for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response.)

Since its creation in 1996, Amber Alerts have helped save over 1100 kids.

This documentary explores new theories and evidence in Amber's abduction and murder.

Watch the trailer here

When it premieres: March 17, 2023 on Hulu

What it's about: In the 1960s, a serial killer and rapist, dubbed 'The Boston Strangler,' killed 11 women across the state of Massachusetts. Albert DeSalvo took credit for the crimes, but it wasn't until 2013 that DNA evidence could prove he was, in fact, the culprit.

DeSalvo was already in prison for another crime when he made the jailhouse confession, but he was never charged for the Boston Strangler murders. He was later mysteriously found dead in his cell in 1973.

This movie will focus on the female reporter, Loretta McLaughlin (Keira Knightley), who was the first journalist to connect the various Massachusetts murders to one perpetrator.

Loretta, along with her colleague, Jean Cole (Carrie Coon), battled sexism of the 1960s, but they didn't let that stop them from reporting on this notorious killing spree targeting women.

Watch the trailer here

When it premieres: April 14, 2023 on Peacock

What it's about: In February 2023, Universal Pictures gave us the magical movie that was Cocaine Bear, a horror-comedy loosely based on a true story about a bear who found smuggled cocaine, ingested a ton of it, and then died from an overdose.

Now, Peacock is examining the drug smuggler behind the epic story. Drew Thornton went from "cop to international drug smuggler, flying planeloads of cocaine into America from South America," according to a press release. "But one day he mysteriously falls to his death in a Knoxville, Tennessee driveway with his own huge bag of cocaine, armed to the teeth and wearing a pair of...Gucci loafers?"

This one-hour documentary will, as the hilarious tagline says, make you see that the "truth lies between the lines."

Watch the trailer here

When it premieres: May 23, 2023 on Netflix

What it's about: Journalist Rae de Leon discovers a horrifying pattern while investigating sexual assault cases. She learns that many of the victims are not believed — and they are later arrested for allegedly filing a false police report.

Watch the trailer here