---
title: 'Top 20 Craziest Docuseries You Need to Binge'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=UL0SK7EvvAM'
video_id: 'UL0SK7EvvAM'
date: 2026-06-30
duration_sec: 1370
---

# Top 20 Craziest Docuseries You Need to Binge

> Source: [Top 20 Craziest Docuseries You Need to Binge](https://youtube.com/watch?v=UL0SK7EvvAM)

## Summary

This video presents a countdown of the top 20 craziest docu-series to binge, covering true crime, history, and other real-life stories. Each entry is described with its key themes and why it stands out.

### Key Points

- **Introduction** [[0:00]] — The video opens with the verdict from the OJ Simpson trial and announces the countdown of the top 20 craziest docu-series.
- **#20 Waco: American Apocalypse** [[0:28]] — Definitive Chronicle of the 1993 Waco Siege, using cinematic visuals and interviews to present multiple perspectives.
- **#19 The Confession Killer** [[1:36]] — Details Henry Lee Lucas's false confessions to hundreds of murders and the resulting damage to the justice system.
- **#18 The Family** [[2:43]] — Exposes the secret conservative Christian group 'The Fellowship' and its influence on American politics.
- **#17 The Devil Next Door** [[3:48]] — Follows the trial of John Demjanjuk, misidentified as Nazi guard Ivan the Terrible, and the twists in his case.
- **#16 Cheer** [[4:53]] — Follows the Navarro College Bulldogs cheer team, showing the intense athleticism and discipline required to compete.
- **#15 The Confession Tapes** [[6:02]] — Explores false confessions, both voluntary and coerced during police interrogations.
- **#14 McMillions** [[7:14]] — Covers the McDonald's Monopoly fraud by Jerry Jacobson, head of security, from 1989-2001.
- **#13 The Pharmacist** [[8:13]] — A pharmacist investigates his son's murder and uncovers a corruption epidemic involving OxyContin and big pharma.
- **#12 Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street** [[9:30]] — Covers Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme and the broader questions about the financial industry and greed.
- **#11 Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes** [[10:35]] — Features archival footage and death row interviews with Bundy, focusing on his mindset and crimes.
- **#10 Making a Murderer** [[11:25]] — Follows Steven Avery, wrongfully convicted of murder after a prior wrongful conviction, examining police work and the legal system.
- **#9 Wormwood** [[12:28]] — Explores the CIA's MKUltra mind control program and the suspicious death of scientist Eric Olson.
- **#8 The Vow** [[13:36]] — Documents the NXIVM cult, its leader Keith Raniere, and the exploitation of members seeking happiness.
- **#7 Don't F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer** [[14:40]] — Follows online sleuths who track down murderer Luka Magnotta after he posts a kitten killing video.
- **#6 Evil Genius** [[15:58]] — Covers the bizarre bank heist of Brian Wells, who was killed by a collar bomb.
- **#5 The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst** [[16:55]] — Explores the suspected murders linked to Robert Durst and includes a surprising conclusion.
- **#4 Wild Wild Country** [[18:00]] — Chronicles the Rajneesh movement in Oregon, including bioterrorism and power struggles.
- **#3 Tiger King** [[19:15]] — Focuses on the feud between Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin, big cat owners with eccentric personalities.
- **#2 OJ: Made in America** [[20:18]] — Eight-hour epic covering OJ Simpson's life, trial, and broader issues of the American dream and systematic racism.
- **#1 The Staircase** [[21:35]] — Follows the trial of Michael Peterson, convicted of killing his wife, with forensic evidence suggesting foul play.

### Conclusion

The countdown ends with 'The Staircase' as the top pick, summarizing the appeal of these docu-series as compelling, twist-filled stories that often explore broader societal issues.

## Transcript

we the jury in the involved in title
action find the defendant or orenthal
James Simpson not guilty of a crime of
murder welcome to watch Mojo and today
we're counting down our picks for the
top 20 craziest docu-series you need to
binge come here you sexy beast hi little
man for this list we're looking at the
best episodic TV shows that cover True
Crime history and other real life
stories what did you make of these shows
let us know in the comments below
number 20. Waco American apocalypse when
Christ reveals himself it's going to be
according to the book the whole time we
were listening to David we were living
and doing God's will there's no shortage
of documentaries about the Waco Siege of
1993 but Waco American apocalypse is the
definitive Chronicle of the subject
suspecting the Branch Davidians an
apocalyptic religious Cult of
stockpiling illegal weapons the ATF
rated their compound in Axtell Texas a
fatal gunfight led to a 51-day Siege
which ended in an FBI raid and a fire
that took the lives of 76 cult members
producer says in my ear
it's on fire I turned around and I
looked oh my God the whole compound had
started to catch fire this dock stands
out from others thanks to some cinematic
visuals never before seen news footage
FBI home videos and Stellar interviews
with people involved it doesn't take
sides but presents the story from a
variety of angles and allows viewers to
come to their own conclusions all the
pain that they went through
I can't imagine it but I think about it
every day number 19 the confession
killer one policeman said he makes
Charles Manson sound like Tom Sawyer
Henry Lee Lucas is one of the most
notorious names in True Crime while in
prison for three murders he confessed to
having killed 600 people between 1975
and 1983. you know you have a member of
your family killed
you want to find out the perpetrator
and so many of them slept better because
they felt they had found that besides
leading to the controversial 1986 film
Henry portrait of a serial killer his
confessions persuaded the Texas Rangers
to call it a day on a number of hitherto
Unsolved cases turns out however that
Lucas made them up the confession killer
delves into this awful hoax including
why it was taken so seriously and the
Damage it caused to the reputations of
law officials with an IQ of 87 he was
able to convince a thousand law
enforcement officers that he was guilty
of 200 or whatever always crimes it's a
fascinating look not at the crimes
themselves but at the justice system and
failures within it
number 18 the family it took a long time
before I realized just who the family
was and the influence they have had in
the leap of our country
a secret of Conservative Christian group
the family also known as the fellowship
holds incredible power in American
politics while its members have taken a
vow of silence many journalists
including executive producer Jeff
Charlotte have exposed the
organization's inner workings and how it
influences political legislation in the
United States their headquarters the
seat of their power
there were Congressman Senators world
leaders an invisible organization I've
been hiding in plain sight for over 80
years it's an intriguing story that
dives down some shockingly deep rabbit
holes the truth that it reveals are
quite disturbing and anyone interested
in politics owes it to themselves to
check it out when you look at the mafia
they also use the same type of
organization
everything visible
is transitory everything invisible is
permanent and lasts forever number 17
the devil next door the importance of
the story to me it's so American
everybody came to America for a new life
John dementia came here for a new life
and several years into it it was turned
upside down you never really know who
you're living near this documentary
follows the highly publicized Trials of
John demyonyek an Ohio auto worker
demyaniak's story was everywhere in the
1980s when he was misidentified as a
notorious Nazi guard nicknamed Ivan the
Terrible who'd been stationed at
Treblinka extermination campionuk denies
all charges claiming he is not Ivan the
Terrible and it's all a case of mistaken
identity demyonyek was acquitted but
accused of being a guard at a different
camp sobibor and tried again in the
2000s he was found guilty and sentenced
to prison the devil next door presents
this captivating tale and captures its
Myriad twists and turns in engrossing
fashion people
didn't appreciate how important this
trial was number 16 cheer I can see
you're nervous just take it like second
section by section
because I do I literally like push out
my legs to spin it's like push push spin
winner of an Emmy for Outstanding
unstructured reality program cheer is
basically a real life Bring It On only
it's far more brutal the docu-series
follows the Navarro College Bulldogs
cheer team a highly decorated and
supremely disciplined cheerleading squad
from Texas it is a display of
athleticism it's like the best of
gymnastics with the best of circus with
the best of dance they compete in the
National Cheerleading championship and
share an intense rivalry with Trinity
Valley Community College the series
showcases the intense painful and often
unbelievable lengths that participants
go to to become the greatest
cheerleaders in the country we are very
very very hungry to win
like we have way too much heart and we
have come way too far and worked way too
hard for any of us to give up while
often difficult to watch it's ultimately
an uplifting story about pushing through
difficulty and finding trust and
companionship
number 15 the confession tapes people
looking right now and lie to you and
destroy you and do it on purpose false
confessions are actually quite common
some of them voluntary as in the case of
Henry Lee Lucas and some coerced during
police interrogation the confession
tapes details this unfortunate reality
in often excruciating fashion I have no
idea what kind of pressure and what kind
of questions need to be put upon someone
in order to go from no I really didn't
do it to okay yes I did the series spans
two seasons and contains multiple
stories each episode covers a specific
crime and highlights how police
techniques led to possible false
confessions they told me that I blacked
out they said that's why you can't
remember but the evidence
proves you've done it with we got a hair
that matches you and he kept saying that
I mean this isn't just going for 30
minutes this went on for hours the
psychology involved in the
interrogations and confessions is
fascinating the confession tapes
cleverly mixes true crime drama with
expert opinions to craft a docu-series
that delves deep into the mind
number 14 mcmillions there are a fair
amount of murders and mysterious deaths
on this list macmillions is an outlier
in this regard it's just about some good
old-fashioned white-collar crime and all
I saw was McDonald's Monopoly fraud with
a question mark and I go what is that
but as the HBO series proves blood
needn't to be shed to make an insane
story macmillions takes an in-depth look
at a long-running case of fraud carried
out between 1989 and 2001 by Jerry
Jacobson I do remember clearly uh
feeling like I was in New York and I was
listening to a mobster talking about
running his Mafia Empire some Mafia Dawn
because that's kind of how this guy came
off as the head of security for the
company handling McDonald's annual
Monopoly game he was able to steal the
rarest property pieces and pass them
along for a portion of the prize this is
a happy day not only is the premise
compelling but the way it plays out
often veers into the realm of the Absurd
thanks to the odd care doctors involved
number 13 the pharmacist it's only a
matter of time until this one gets
turned into a biopic it's that good we
were creating addicts all over this
country the dude could have did things
to stop this but they saw the profits in
1999 disappointed by apathetic police
efforts small town pharmacist Dan
Schneider took it upon himself to solve
the murder of his son who was killed
while buying drugs I started noticing a
lot of kids around my son's age
18 19 20 25 year old
healthy people
coming in with high powered opiate
prescriptions this Quest For Justice
soon evolves however into a battle
against the growing Oxycontin epidemic
like something out of a crime Thriller
this mild-mannered pharmacist uncovers a
trail of corruption and profit
maximizing principles that goes all the
way up to the top implicating big Pharma
Dr klinget was putting these people
straight to Oxycontin 40 milligrams she
never started in that reduced Doses and
then worked their way up it's an
incredible story sure but the
docu-series also highlights the
complexities of opioid abuse and the
ways in which it ties into questions of
poverty substance use disorder and the
American Health Care System I'm now an
only child
so different without him around
number 12. Madoff the monster of Wall
Street this God was a demon a devil
Bernie Madoff has been arrested a
prominent figure on Wall Street Bernie
Madoff was at one time the chairman of
the NASDAQ Stock Exchange he was also a
fraudster who ran the largest Ponzi
scheme in history the SEC ignored
warnings for years how could he fooled
so many people for so long
what happened was so avoidable and so
many people enabled it to happen because
of greed then in December 2008 Madoff
confessed to his sons Finance can be a
dry subject but this documentary is more
sprightly than snoozy unpacking the
complex subject matter to tell a
fast-paced thriller it also aims wider
and examines larger questions about the
financial industry and the role of greed
within it the only people who can
deceive you completely are people you
trust completely
in the price of trusting anyone is that
they can betray you like that number 11.
conversations with a killer the Ted
Bundy tapes he insisted that he was
innocent
I wanted him to tell me who was he
Netflix has found great success with
their conversations with a killer series
but the Ted Bundy iteration has to be
the most compelling of them all
featuring archival footage and extensive
interviews the documentary covers the
Wild and wicked story of the infamous
serial killer it highlights Bundy's most
heinous crimes including his murderous
Rampage at Akai Omega sorority house in
1978. the main pull of this dock are the
words of Bundy himself which mostly come
in the form of a death row interview
with Stephen Michaud feeling cheated
wrong insecure
sides upon young attractive women being
is victim number 10 making a murderer
this was arguably Netflix's first mega
hit of a true crime docu-series
inspiring countless imitators and I mean
knowing her I mean what are your
feelings for her parents and
they must be going through hell making a
murderer follows the story of Steven
Avery a man who was wrongfully convicted
of attempted murder and sexual assault
it appears that an attempt
was made
to dispose of a body he served 18 years
for a crime he didn't commit then just
two years after his release with his
civil case pending against the county to
the tune of 36 million dollars Avery
once again found himself under arrest
this time for murder
across the first season of the series
we're presented with a riveting tale of
questionable police work and an alleged
frame-up the second season doesn't pack
quite the same punch but is a worthy
investigation of the U.S legal system
they got our family all torrent apart
it's not right number nine wormwood the
CIA ran a covert mind control operation
called project MK Ultra I ran into a
couple of guys one who just left the CIA
who said if you think Watergate
something he's in effect he said find
out what we've been doing that sentence
might sound like something from a
conspiracy theory Reddit thread comic
book or sci-fi flick but it is now a
matter of public record it confirms
there was domestic spying on American
civilians unlawful wiretaps the opening
of private mail even a drug testing
program involving the use of LSD against
unsuspecting Persons Of course before it
came to the attention of the masses the
vast majority of the documentation was
destroyed by order of then CIA director
Richard Helms and so decades later even
armed with the surviving Declassified
documents we are still putting together
the pieces you are in Fort Dietrich
where some 600 military and civilian
scientists worked together in research
at the Army biological Laboratories
to protect this country against a
biological attack in this six-part
mini-series documentary filmmaker Errol
Morris explores the cia's use of LSD the
suspicious death of scientist Eric Olson
and the enduring mystery of MK Ultra
number eight the vowel ESP Nexium
is a methodology
that allows people to optimize their
experience and behavior this tantalizing
HBO documentary covers one of the
scariest Revelations of the 2010s Nexium
was supposedly a corporation that hosted
self-help seminars in reality it was a
vicious cult led by an abuser and human
trafficker named Keith Ranieri The Vow
covers the barbarous story of Nexium and
features dramatic interviews with past
members everything was designed to
protect him I got played and I helped
this guy build whatever he was building
around him and I was a part of that they
delve into the cult's inner workings and
how people were drawn in it also details
how Smallville Star Allison Mack joined
Nexium and became a powerful and
sadistic subordinate of renaries The Vow
is equal parts harrowing and gripping
but it's also a sad story about people
who were searching for happiness and
instead were exploited by the cult
number seven don't f with cats hunting
an internet killer murder meet the
internet age there's no mystery in this
three-part Netflix original but that
doesn't make it any less compelling
bingeable or disturbing and so I was on
Facebook one day and I found a post
a lot of people have been feverishly
posting about a video Don't with cats
follows the rise to infamy of convicted
murderer Luca magnata from the
perspective of a community of online
sleuths now it doesn't necessarily mean
that the person didn't buy a pack of
cigarettes and then hop on a plane to
Paris or you know Berlin but I knew they
were North American cigarettes magnata
filmed himself killing a university
student named Jin Lin and posted it
online subsequently becoming one of the
most Wanted men in the world hi my name
is Luca make nod is my last name
m-a-g-n-o-t-t-a before that however he's
thought to have been behind a video
involving the torture and killing of two
kittens that's the video that rallied an
internet community and this documentary
is the story of how they tried to bring
him to Justice before he could kill
again that looks exactly like the Petro
Canada gas station that I see in the
photo of Luca and guess what
that large gray cement apartment
building is directly behind it number
six Evil Genius the true story of
America's most diabolical bank heist
watch this document series at your own
risk you may never be able to enjoy
Pizza quite like you did before or feel
comfortable going to the bank this
deadly robbery has to be one of the
strangest crimes in American history
Evil Genius tells the convoluted story
of Brian Wells a man who after
completing a bank heist was killed when
the explosive device on the collar
around his neck went off we are hopeful
that by showing a picture of the device
someone may have Wrecking or may
recognize
the instrument it's
like a comic book or the saw franchise
though the nature of Well's death is
indeed morbid it's just one small piece
of a complicated puzzle that will have
you on the edge of your seat the
Marjorie steel
d-i-e-h-l okay and Mark your deal is at
that residence now yes who is she to you
sir
uh I'll give you guys my story later on
number five the Jinx the life and depths
of Robert Durst the True Crime genre is
full of stories about people who went to
jail for crimes they allegedly did not
commit less common however are Tales of
suspected murderers who walk free
despite being linked to the deaths of
multiple people the guy looks like a
librarian
he doesn't look like a a person that
would dismember a human being but
getting such an individual to agree to
be interviewed for a docu-series that's
almost unheard of why would a guy with
520 in his pocket and thirty seven
thousand dollars in the trunk walk into
a Wegmans and steal a sandwich the guy
is crying out to be arrested isn't he
the Jinx explores The Disappearance of
Robert durst's wife Kathy as well as the
murders of his friend Susan Berman and
neighbor Morris black Durst was
considered a suspect in all three I am
complicit and Kathy's not being here we
won't give away the ending but unlike so
many docu-series of its kind this story
actually has a relatively satisfying
conclusion with no shortage of twists
along the way number four Wild Wild
Country who's ready to take a trip down
the rabbit hole American history is made
up of all manner of odd characters and
strange chapters but few can hold a
candle to that of the rajnish param
community now there are two ways
either repress sex as it has been done
by all the so-called religious
traditions of the world are
transformative this controversial group
led by Guru bhagwan Shri rajnish left
India in the 1980s and settled in Wasco
County Oregon though the community
seemed to center around sexual
Liberation meditation and dancing
rajnish was equally known for his love
of material wealth beautiful city
example for the universe as the story
progresses the dream soon begins to
unravel as tensions rise between
rajneeshpuram and the locals of Wasco
County Sheila former Secretary of the
bhagwan rajneesh faces charges of Fraud
and attempted murder in Oregon
bioterrorism a Rolls-Royce collection
power struggles and questions of
constitutional Freedom this documentary
has got it all when you have a basically
unstable personality coupled with
tremendous power over enormous numbers
of people you have a potentially lethal
Situation Number Three Tiger King Wild
Wild Country might have the word wild in
its title twice but when it comes to
docu-series it simply doesn't get any
more wild than Tiger King gummy you sexy
beast hi little man this explosively
popular Netflix original series broke
the internet in March of 2020 becoming a
true cultural phenomenon it's about big
cat collectors breeders and
conservationists specifically it focuses
on the bitter feud between Joe Exotic
and Carol Baskin two figures on opposing
sides of the big cat debate Carol
baskin's third husband and they can't
find his body okay we believe that she
fed him to the Tigers both are wildly
eccentric individuals and as filmmakers
Eric good and Rebecca chaklin unravel
this complex narrative the twists and
shocking reveals come fast and heavy but
honestly no plot summary can prepare you
for the insanity of Tiger King you just
have to watch it for yourself about an
hour ago we had an incident where one of
the employees stuck their arm through
the cage and the tiger tore her arm off
I can give you your money back or I can
give you a rain check number two OJ
America we have jury in the above and
title action
pendant or
orenthal James Simpson not guilty of a
crime of murder in violation of penal
Colt section 187 a a felony upon Nicole
Brown Simpson one of the finest
documentaries of the 2010s OJ made in
America received a Peabody and the
Academy Award for best documentary it is
a five-part epic spanning nearly eight
hours in length detailing in highly
specific fashion the life of O.J Simpson
it covers all there is to cover from
Simpson's early life to his
record-breaking football career to his
Infamous murder trial and Las Vegas
robbery if you woke up and heard that
O.J Simpson is back in the news and
under arrest rest assured it's not
Groundhog Day this time though he's in a
jail cell in Las Vegas after a
confrontation apparently caught on tape
but it's not just a true crime series
about one of the most famous cases in
modern history as the title made in
America suggests the documentary also
examines the American dream and
systematic issues in American society
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number one the staircase though perhaps
best known today as a Netflix original
the first season of this docu-series was
released way back in 2004 under the
French title Soup song meaning suspicion
she's still breathing what kind of
accidents as fans of the True Crime
genre know all too well these cases
often span decades and so subsequent
episodes were released in 2013 and 2018
respectively the staircase follows the
trial of Michael Peterson an American
novelist convicted of killing his wife
Kathleen the name of the series is taken
from a staircase which Peterson claims
took his wife's life the forensic
evidence however suggests a different
cause of death it just never occurred to
Michael Peterson that people wouldn't
believe him when he said she fell down
the stairs
that's really what this is all about the
end result is a true crime Thriller
that's inspired countless theories and
which people are still revisiting years
later
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