15 Best True Crime Shows to Watch on HBO Max (June 2026): ‘Bring Me the Beauties: A Model Cult’ and More

You’ve probably heard of strange, vaguely sinister cults, but have you heard of the one that recruited and exploited male models? That’s the intriguingly real-life premise behind Bring Me the Beauties: A Model Cult, which puts the spotlight on Frederick von Mierers, a former model who convinced New York City’s elite that his body is a healing vessel for the cosmic star Arcturus that could offer them peace of mind – for a price.

One of his devout followers was Hoyt Richards, a male model who rose to prominence in the late 1980s. He bought what von Mierers was selling, and the result was a toxic relationship that didn’t end well for both of them. The three-episode series was one of HBO Max’s highlights in June, and it’s bound to be talked about as a feature film adaptation starring He-Man actor Nicholas Galitzine and directed by Gus Van Sant will be released sometime in 2027.

In March 1997, the world was rocked with the revelation that Heaven’s Gate, a doomsday cult located in Rancho Santa Fe, California, had committed mass suicide. Led by founder Marshall Applewhite, the cult believed the incoming Hale-Bopp Comet was a sign to depart Earth and ascend to a “level of existence above human.” 39 people died, including Applewhite and Thomas Nicholas, brother of original Star Trek actress Nichelle Nichols.

How Heaven’s Gate came to be, and the grisly way it ended, is recounted in vivid detail in Heaven’s Gate: The Cult of Cults, a four-episode 2020 docuseries produced by CNN Original Studios. Director Clay Tweel looks at how Applewhite’s bizarre blend of New Age beliefs, old-school Catholicism and obsession with Star Trek resulted in a religion that attracted all sorts of lost people looking for a place to belong – and a charismatic figure to lead them. The last episode is a must-watch, as Tweel focuses on the days leading up to the mass suicide, how it was pulled off and how it and the cult were endlessly parodied in pop culture soon afterwards. 

Executive produced by NSYNC’s Joey Fatone, Boy Band Confidential turns back the clock by thirty years and gives viewers a lesser-seen look at the boy band fad that took the world by storm during the ’90s. The docuseries features interviews with members of NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, Boys II Men, 98 Degrees and more to reveal a startling dark portrait of the abuse, addiction and manipulation that played a hand in creating the hottest bands in the world. Interviewees include Nick Lachey, Lance Bass, AJ McLean, Wanya Morris and Shawn Stockman.

Boy Band Confidential is a difficult but necessary exploration of the exploitative boy band industry of the 1990s; what was sacrificed in the process of bringing the world hits like “Bye Bye Bye” and “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back).” Using testimony from the boy band members themselves, Boy Band Confidential exposes the toxic industry practices of music mogul Lou Pearlman, in particular, that led to lasting trauma for many band members.

This illuminating documentary series features first-hand accounts of former members of the infamous Jehovah’s Witnesses religious group, exposing the secrets that the church has managed to keep hidden for years and the questionable tactics they employ when attempting to recruit new members. Surviving the Jehovah’s Witnesses also follows the legal battle of a group of former members whose journey to escaping the church has been anything but easy.

Surviving the Jehovah’s Witnesses has received ample praise for capturing the sheer emotional weight of leaving a manipulative religious organization and the struggle that former members have faced in seeking justice, with many other ex-members lauding the series for validating their own experiences in leaving the church. While some discussions of the church’s abuses can be difficult to stomach, Surviving the Jehovah’s Witnesses is ultimately a necessary and moving watch.

When graphic images are uncovered from an SD card delivered to the Alaska police, they lead to the arrest of a man named Brian Steve Smith, a serial killer who targets Native American women. Lost Women of Alaska centers on the stories of victims Kathleen Jo Henry and Veronica Abouchuk and their families, as well as the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People crisis and the systemic failure of law enforcement that leads to justice regularly going unserved for Native people.

Lost Women of Alaska is a riveting and heartbreaking examination of the way Native American women are failed by the American systems meant to protect them, ones that frequently play a hand in the very violence inflicted against them. The documentary boasts a refreshing victim-first perspective, allowing the stories of the women and their families to come first. Lost Women of Alaska is a non-sensationalized yet unflinching look at this terrible crime, and the women who shouldn’t be forgotten.

In 1991, a nondescript yogurt shop in Austin, Texas, became the focus of a brutal crime in which four teenage girls were murdered by serial killer Robert Eugene Brashers, whose DNA was just recently matched to the scene of the crime last year. (Brashers committed suicide in 1999.) The Yogurt Shop Murders takes a look at the lives of the victims and includes interviews with family members, focusing heavily on the trauma that’s been left in the wake of this horrific crime.

Devastating and poignant, The Yogurt Shop Murders has an impressive perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes that is well deserved. The series does a fantastic job of covering the 1991 crime with necessary sensitivity, giving ample consideration and time to the families and community affected by the unthinkable tragedy. While delivering a compelling narrative, The Yogurt Shop Murders also subverts a number of true crime tropes.

In 2009, police were called to the Louisville, Kentucky, residence of a couple, Joseph Banis and Jeffrey Mundt, over a domestic dispute that ended with the discovery of a body in their basement. Both Banis and Mundt fessed up to the body’s existence, but both also pointed the finger at one another over who killed local drag performer Jamie Carroll. Murder in Glitterball City explores this bizarre ambiguity and how either man could have committed the heinous crime. 

Part of what makes Murder in Glitterball City such an exceptional documentary is its refusal to offer easy answers for its audience, instead allowing the story to flourish in the murky gray areas. Mundt and Banis are portrayed in vivid (and disturbing) detail, and both men are depicted as equally capable of committing the crime — even Carroll is shown to have been a flawed person. Featuring interviews with experts, testimonials from neighbors and community members, local history and trial footage, Murder in Glitterball City excels as a captivating and well-made documentary.

Based on Michelle McNamara‘s non-fiction book of the same name, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark chronicles the author’s obsessive search for the Golden State Killer and his eventual identification and arrest in 2018. It details McNamara’s investigation she pursued at night while her family slept, writing a book that would eventually become the basis for this documentary. While diving deep into the world of true crime chat rooms and blogs, McNamara hid a devastating addiction to opioids that would ultimately take her life in 2016, before she finished her book.

While McNamara’s investigative work did not directly influence the efforts that went into finally capturing the Golden State Killer, AKA Joseph James DeAngelo, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark still stands as a fascinating exploration of online sleuth obsession as well as a memoir of McNamara’s life. It also provides a comprehensive look at the history of the Golden State Killer and how DeAngelo walked free of accountability for far too long.

This three-part documentary series investigates one of the most notorious crimes in American history: the 2001 drowning of five children at the hands of their mother, Andrea Yates. Through medical histories, court records and interviews, The Cult Behind the Killer: The Andrea Yates Story reexamines the heinous murders. Yates’ defense was that she fell under the spell of extremist street preacher Michael Woroniecki, leading to her brainwashing and a deterioration of her mental health.

Ultimately, The Cult Behind the Killer: The Andrea Yates Story is an equal parts fascinating and tragic look at mental illness, religious extremism and indoctrination, in this documentary that interviews other former disciples of Woroniecki and offers new information and perspectives on a well-worn story.

From the sobriety and guardianship of skateboarder and former Jackass member Bam Margera, to funeral owners accused of corpse abuse, to a “doomsday cat cult,” The Curious Case Of… takes a look at one shocking criminal case each episode and features new information and insights from people involved. The first episode of the ongoing second season involves a wellness healer whose teachings are anything but mindful.

Hosted by TruTv senior reporter Beth Karas, the gripping true crime series’ mileage may vary per episode, but on the whole it is a riveting look at some mind-bending criminal cases that instantly hooks you. True crime fans will absolutely enjoy the way you get a full season’s worth of different, startling stories, told by the people who were directly affected by them.

In Los Angeles in the early 1980s, a man named David Sconce took over the Lamb Funeral Home. Sconce subsequently made the funeral an infamous establishment when his morally questionable business practices were revealed, employed in order to maximise profits. But greed isn’t the half of it: Sconce was convicted for mutilating corpses, mass cremating bodies and going so far as to hire assassins to deal with rival morticians.

The three-part documentary series features interviews with Sconce himself, along with journalists, victims of the Lamb Funeral Home and others involved in Sconce’s chilling story. The engrossing and disturbing show is a fascinating portrait of greed, narcissism and an unsettling criminal mind.

This episodic documentary series showcases real-life instances of mothers and sons who share close bonds that are ultimately twisted and manipulated into conspiracy and even murder. Mother, May I Murder? features stories of greed, adultery and revenge unfolding across the show’s two seasons, with crimes ranging from staged suicides to patricide and a carjacking that turns into something much darker.

Featuring compelling cases, gripping testimonies and a unique angle, Mother, May I Murder? is a must-watch for any true-crime fanatic. The show highlights patterns of abuse and control that can lead families to do the unthinkable.

The authorities believe wealthy real estate heir Robert Durst is involved in three separate crimes: the disappearance of his wife in 1982, the death of his friend in 2000 and the murder of his neighbor in 2001. While he was acquitted of the more recent killing, Durst’s involvement in The Jinx and the evidence that it presented ultimately led to renewed interest in his case, and he was convicted for both murdering his wife and his friend.

The Jinx is comprised of over 20 hours of interview recordings between director Andrew Jarecki and Durst, an intimate conversation which Durst had never granted before to any other journalist, in addition to archival documents, police evidence and security footage. The received received widespread acclaim, and a second season in 2024 covered the eight years of Durst’s life since the first season and his conviction.

In 1999, 18-year-old Hae Min disappeared and ultimately turned up dead. Authorities immediately arrest her ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, who is convicted of killing her, though he’s always maintained his innocence. The Case Against Adnan Syed reexamines this case that was initially picked over by the true crime podcast Serial and creates an empathetic portrait of Min in addition to considering other possible suspects and the purported innocence of Syed.

A fifth episode of the series was released last month to showcase new developments in the case, including an original suspect caught assaulting a woman, and Syed being released in 2022 for time served. The Case Against Adnan Syed was praised for its presentation of facts and its depiction of Min.

Self-improvement, multi-level marketing group NXIVM is led by charismatic leader Keith Raniere, whose shady operations and recruitment techniques make NXIVM a bona fide cult. 20 years after the group’s founding, Raniere has criminal charges brought against him and is ultimately convicted in 2019 for sex trafficking, racketeering and other charges. The Vow takes a look at the cult and Raniere through the eyes of his former disciples, while the second season chronicles Raniere’s trial.

The Vow combines interviews with former members as well as extensive archival footage and was praised by critics for succeeding as an intimate exploration of its subject material. The series is a dark, compelling portrait of female manipulation, and it made numerous year-end “best documentary” lists in 2020.