Into Shows About Murder, Underworlds, And More? 10 True Crime Shows On Peacock You'll Love

Birds of a feather flock together -- which is why Peacock has become a prime destination for fans of true crime.

Among the many viewing options on NBCUniversal’s new streaming service is a rich array of series and specials devoted to murder, mystery, shady underworlds, and real-life characters who’ll haunt your dreams. These slices of life are so unsettling you can’t believe they actually happened. But they did.

You can subscribe to Peacock at PeacockTV.com or download the app supported across a variety of devices including Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS, Xbox One, Vizio SmartCast TVs, LG Smart TV and PlayStation 4. A free option that allows access to much of Peacock’s expansive catalog, a $4.99-a-month option that gives you access to the entire library, and a $9.99-a-month option that lets you watch the entire library minus advertising.

Here are 10 shows to watch Peacock to satisfy your true crime cravings.

Joel Rifkin’s killing spree of women in New York City, many of them sex workers, began in 1989. By the time he was caught four years later, he’d killed 17 people. 

Subtitled “Private Confessions of a Serial Killer,” this Oxygen special featuring taped conversations with an old friend while Rifkin was at the Attica Correctional Facility provides a deep and revealing look into a mass murderer’s inner thoughts. “I wanted to be normal,” he says in one chat. “To have the normal picket fence and three kids and a dog and a cat and get on with life.” 

"The First 48"

The long-running documentary series gives audiences an inside look at homicide investigators at work.

Every case is unique, but they have something in common: Closing a murder investigation often depends on what happens in the 48 hours after the crime. This unfolds in an episode following an Alabama man who turned his life around only to be shot in cold blood, as well as one about a 28-year-old father who was brutally stabbed to death while at work. Another show covers a 14-year-old girl who is shot dead at her birthday party. 

There are more than 200,000 unsolved murders in the United States. Resolving them is what this series is about.

In one episode, detectives try to get to the bottom of the 1995 rape and murder of a teenage girl. In another, a letter opener ties a priest to the slaying of a nun. What does it take to crack a stalled case? The show that keeps you wondering “then what happened?” reveals that it can come down to everything from an ATM card to game-changing advances in DNA technology to telltale larvae growth in a dead body. 

In this original Peacock series, investigators who worked the case of convicted sexual predator and serial killer John Wayne Gacy, who became known as “The Killer Clown,” recount the chilling experience in detail.

Gacy knew how to take advantage of people and before long “he had them in handcuffs,” recalls a member of the police team that surveilled Gacy before his arrest. “He thought he was above it all. He never thought he’d be convicted, much less arrested.” 

This documentary explores illegal gambling in the state of New York, an “industry run by criminals” that one person interviewed describes as one in which “you’re always looking over your shoulder.” Another points out that “the more money you make, the more trouble you get into.” (Another episode covers “Black Market Marijuana.”)

It’s no wonder why filmmakers are regularly drawn to tales of the Mafia. Simply saying the word “mafia” conjures the very scary -- and very real -- image of organized crime. 

The series explores the Mafia in various cultural and historical contexts. One episode pulls back the curtain on the Japanese crime syndicates that are infamous for their ruthlessness, while another reveals how Italian crime bosses supply New York gangsters with heroin. One episode explores a very scary place: the murderous mind of Mafia hitmen. 

What happens online doesn’t always stay online. Instead, it bleeds into real life and has dangerous and deadly consequences. That’s what this series is all about. An unsuspecting girl who fails to heed the warning signs of blithely accepting a friend request is the subject of one episode. In another installment, an “unfriending” is linked to a Tennessee couple’s death and life sentences for the pair behind the brutal homicides. 

One of the most notorious serial killers of all time, Ted Bundy committed murders across multiple states during the 1970s. Authorities believe that he killed more than 30 women total. In this Oxygen show, a lawyer for Bundy speaks openly about his infamous client. One shocking revelation: Bundy acknowledged that he’d killed a boy when he was around 12 years old. (Another episode covers the experiences of lawyers for Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.)

What’s it like to be sent behind bars for grand larceny, tax fraud, and Ponzi schemes? This doc promises “to capture the raw experience of crooked CEOs, inside traders and other convicted corporate swindlers who are serving their time.” One comment is often repeated: It’s not like being in “Club Fed.”

Photo: Getty Images

You can only imagine what your first day of work is like when your job is leading a high-profile special operations team. Detective Joe Schillaci has been there and experienced that. This doc details his day-to-day life.