Americans are obsessed with the true crime genre, fueled by new docuseries being released constantly, but this might not be a bad thing.
I have a confession: I’m a huge true crime fan. But I’m not alone. Americans love finding out juicy details about a notorious serial killer, charming conman, or skilled group of thieves who pulled off the biggest heist in history. Luckily, there seems to be a new true crime show being released every week to fuel that desire.
Adweek observed last year that there has been a “dramatic increase” in interest in the true crime genre, with shows like Crime Scene: The Vanishing at Cecil Hotel, Murder Among the Mormons, and The World’s Biggest Art Heist ranking among the top 10 shows on Netflix at the time, back in April 2021. Why does the dark and disturbing entertain us? With the true crime genre more popular than ever, it has us wondering: Why are we so taken with such a dark and disturbing genre? The answer leans to part escapism, part morbid curiosity. Ironically, while true crime is rooted in fact, watching these terrible tales about events that took place decades or even just a few years ago offers a strange sense of satisfaction that maybe things are and will be OK, because, well, they could be worse.
That these stories are rooted in fact can be an alarming realization. But psychotherapist Kathleen Check, who spoke with Barth for her article, posits that watching true crime shows, particularly those about killers, provides viewers with a sense of being able to see inside the mind of a killer, “thus creating a psychological protective barrier.” In other words, understanding how evil people think and operate provides a better chance of knowing how to protect yourself. Or so viewers think.
Maintaining a balance Whatever the motivation for watching true crime shows, realized or subconscious, schadenfreude or simply curiosity, balance is important. Thankfully, many take that advice to heart. We devour episodes of heartwarming shows like Ted Lasso with the same ferocity as Making a Murderer, The Staircase, Night Stalker, and The Confession Killer.
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