There was something for everyone on the TV in 2024. We saw documentaries that revealed intimate aspects of the justice system. And there were some that challenged viewers to decide what is fact and what is fiction. But there were also shows that made us laugh…and more than one that made us cry. But which TV shows and documentaries truly stood out? Here are the crime writers; top ten lists for the best TV of 2024.

Lara Bricker:

1. JUSTICE, USA
2. The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping
3. Bad Monkey
4. True Detective: Night County
5. Daughters
6. Say Nothing
7. The Diplomat season 2
8. Only Murders in the Building season 4
9. Ren Faire
10. They Called Him Mostly Harmless

Toby Ball:

1. The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping
2. Say Nothing
3. Ripley
4. Woman of the Hour
5. The Diplomat season 2
6. Baby Reindeer
7. Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist
8. Only Murders in the Building season 4
9. The Stanford Prison Experiment
10. Tell Them You Love Me

Kevin Flynn:

1. Daughters
2. Baby Reindeer
3. Ripley
4. Say Nothing
5. The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping
6. JUSTICE, USA
7. Ren Faire
8. Woman of the Hour
9. The Truth vs. Alex Jones
10. American Nightmare

Rebecca Lavoie:

1. The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping
2. The Jinx: Part Two
3. The Diplomat season 2
4. Say Nothing
5. Baby Reindeer
6. The Perfect Couple
7. Ripley
8. Daughters
9. Only Murders in the Building season 4
10. Woman of the Hour

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This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more.

About the show: Crime Writers On… is the original true‑crime review podcast, covering the best in true‑crime podcasts, documentaries, TV, film, journalism, and storytelling.

From Partners in Crime Media — creators of These Are Their Stories, the Law & Order aftershow and Netflix's You Can't Make This Up.

Keywords: true‑crime review, podcast review, documentary review, TV review, media criticism, pop‑culture commentary, crime documentaries, journalism, storytelling, Partners in Crime Media

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

2024 was an exceptionally strong year for podcasts. There were multiple investigative series, fascinating retrospectives of the history you thought you knew, and even some light-hearted fare that was quirky and entertaining. But which titles truly stood out?  Here are our top ten selections for 2024.

Lara Bricker:

1. In the Dark season 3
2. Stolen: Trouble in Sweetwater
3. Beyond All Repair
4. Hysterical
5. Hush
6. The Runaway Princesses
7. On Our Watch: New Folsom
8. Cover Up: The Anthrax Threat
9. Murder on Music Row
10. Varnamtown

Toby Ball:

1. In the Dark season 3
2. Murder on Music Row
3. On Our Watch: New Folsom
4. Stolen: Trouble in Sweetwater
5. Fallen Angels
6. Slow Burn: Gays against Briggs
7. Radical
8. Hysterical
9. The Vanishing Point
10. The Man Who Calculated Death

Kevin Flynn:

1. Beyond All Repair
2. Hysterical
3. Murder in Boston 
4. In the Dark season 3
5. Murder on Music Row
6. Hush
7. Varnamtown
8. Backfired: The Vaping Wars
9. Fallen Angels
10. Broomgate: A Curling Scandal

Rebecca Lavoie:

1. Beyond All Repair  
2. In the Dark season 3  
3. Hysterical  
4. Murder in Boston
5. Stolen: Trouble in Sweetwater  
6. On Our Watch: New Folsom  
7. Hush  
8. Broomgate: A Curling Scandal  
9. The Man Who Calculated Death  
10. Backfired: The Vaping Wars 

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This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more.

About the show: Crime Writers On… is the original true‑crime review podcast, covering the best in true‑crime podcasts, documentaries, TV, film, journalism, and storytelling.

From Partners in Crime Media — creators of These Are Their Stories, the Law & Order aftershow and Netflix's You Can't Make This Up.

Keywords: true‑crime review, podcast review, documentary review, TV review, media criticism, pop‑culture commentary, crime documentaries, journalism, storytelling, Partners in Crime Media

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Sap farmer Ruth Landry is deeply in debt and faces losing her property to the Quebec Maple Association. Her friend Mike hatches a million dollar scheme with a security guard to rip off the association. They plan on stealing barrels of syrup from the warehouse and selling it themselves. Plans for the heist become more ambitious, but a murder connected to the conspirators threatens to complicate the operation. And if Mike’s mob bosses find out what he’s up to, the trio will have more to worry about than the police. 

Margo Martindale stars in “The Sticky” from Prime. Inspired by the Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist, the comedy-thriller mixes “Ocean's Eleven” with “Fargo.” Can this unlikely trio syphon millions of dollars in syrup and land a sweet deal?

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE STICKY" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

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This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more.

About the show: Crime Writers On… is the original true‑crime review podcast, covering the best in true‑crime podcasts, documentaries, TV, film, journalism, and storytelling.

From Partners in Crime Media — creators of These Are Their Stories, the Law & Order aftershow and Netflix's You Can't Make This Up.

Keywords: true‑crime review, podcast review, documentary review, TV review, media criticism, pop‑culture commentary, crime documentaries, journalism, storytelling, Partners in Crime Media

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

By day, Kevin Curtis was a janitor at a Mississippi hospital. By night, he was an Elvis impersonator, performing with his brother - who was also an Elvis impersonator. But after seeing something disturbing in the morgue, Kevin became consumed with conspiracies about illegal organ harvesting rings. Fueled by his paranoia, Kevin damaged personal relationships and crossed swords with powerful people in Tupelo. Then in 2013, when ricin-laced letters were sent to Kevin’s enemies - as well as the President - authorities homed in on him. Was the scheme the Elvis impersonator’s attempt to foil the body parts cabal once and for all…or was it a conspiracy to get rid of him?

From the directors of “Wild Wild Country” comes Netflix’s “The Kings of Tupelo.” Filled with its twists and turns, and extensive access to the story’s colorful cast of characters, the series explores how one man’s obsession could leave a whole town - and the White House - all shook up.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE KINGS OF TUPELO" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE

In Crime of the Week: Old love, new love.

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This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more.

About the show: Crime Writers On… is the original true‑crime review podcast, covering the best in true‑crime podcasts, documentaries, TV, film, journalism, and storytelling.

From Partners in Crime Media — creators of These Are Their Stories, the Law & Order aftershow and Netflix's You Can't Make This Up.

Keywords: true‑crime review, podcast review, documentary review, TV review, media criticism, pop‑culture commentary, crime documentaries, journalism, storytelling, Partners in Crime Media

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In 1974, Karen Silkwood wanted to blow the whistle on the nuclear fuel plant she worked at. Armed with documentation about insufficient safety measures, radiation leaks, and unaccounted plutonium, Silkwood drove to meet an investigative reporter. But on her way, she was killed when her car went off the road - an accident some believed was caused by the powerful company hoping to silence her.

Though police said they believed Silkwood fell asleep at the wheel, the mysterious nature of her crash continues to fascinate the public and haunt her family. But now, two reporters who’ve spent decades covering the story believe they’ve discovered newly-revealed evidence that could shed light on what happened on State Highway 47.

In “Radioactive: The Karen Silkwood Mystery” from ABC Audio and Standing Bear Entertainment, hosts Bob Sands and Mike Boettcher break down the story and use modern techniques to analyze the wreck for evidence her car was run off the road. They also reveal long-hidden audiotapes about those who may be responsible for the death of nuclear power’s most famous whistleblower. 

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "RADIOACTIVE" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

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This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more.

About the show: Crime Writers On… is the original true‑crime review podcast, covering the best in true‑crime podcasts, documentaries, TV, film, journalism, and storytelling.

From Partners in Crime Media — creators of These Are Their Stories, the Law & Order aftershow and Netflix's You Can't Make This Up.

Keywords: true‑crime review, podcast review, documentary review, TV review, media criticism, pop‑culture commentary, crime documentaries, journalism, storytelling, Partners in Crime Media

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Thirty years after his involvement in the shooting of a cop, Todd Scott prepares for his sixth parole hearing and a chance to demonstrate his rehabilitation. Convicted at age 14 for killing another teen and a baby, Chad Campbell faces the parole board for the ninth time to argue for his release. But their lawyers fear the board will only ever consider one factor: the heinous nature of their original offenses. Because they can never go back and change the crime, they believe the inmates have no hope of ever receiving parole, despite their exemplary prison records and expressions of remorse.

The HBO Original documentary “Nature of the Crime” takes us into the closed-door interviews with those seeking parole in New York. It explores how, for certain inmates convicted of high profile crimes, the hearings are foregone conclusions because of public pressure and the desires of politically-appointed board members to appear tough on crime. It also highlights a Connecticut program that focuses on the emotional growth of offenders who were juveniles when they committed their crimes.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "NATURE OF THE CRIME" BEGIN IN THE FINAL ELEVEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

In Crime of the Week: Santa's little Elphabas.

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This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more.

About the show: Crime Writers On… is the original true‑crime review podcast, covering the best in true‑crime podcasts, documentaries, TV, film, journalism, and storytelling.

From Partners in Crime Media — creators of These Are Their Stories, the Law & Order aftershow and Netflix's You Can't Make This Up.

Keywords: true‑crime review, podcast review, documentary review, TV review, media criticism, pop‑culture commentary, crime documentaries, journalism, storytelling, Partners in Crime Media

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Her mother’s dying wish was that her daughter complete her memoir about her childhood in Nazi Germany. That’s how reporter Suzanne Rico learned a secret about her grandfather. Years before Robert Lusser was an American rocket designer, he was the German engineer who invented the V-1 flying bombs that rained down on London. 

Suzanne’s grandmother was killed when Allied planes dropped bombs on their secluded farmhouse, a revenge attack her elderly aunts believe was targeting Lusser. Suzanne and her sister headed to Germany to make sense of their family history, investigate the 1945 bombing, and confront the legacy of a grandfather who played such a deadly role in the Third Reich.

“The Man Who Calculated Death” from Discount Sushi and Novel is part family memoir, part historical puzzle. We follow Suzanne’s journey to uncover the mystery of her grandmother’s death. And as she unearths more of her grandfather’s story, she ponders what responsibly her family bears today for the horror of Lusser’s flying bomb.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE MAN WHO CALCULATED DEATH" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

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Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more.

About the show: Crime Writers On… is the original true‑crime review podcast, covering the best in true‑crime podcasts, documentaries, TV, film, journalism, and storytelling.

From Partners in Crime Media — creators of These Are Their Stories, the Law & Order aftershow and Netflix's You Can't Make This Up.

Keywords: true‑crime review, podcast review, documentary review, TV review, media criticism, pop‑culture commentary, crime documentaries, journalism, storytelling, Partners in Crime Media

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

San Diego’s McKamey Manor drew fame as a boundary breaking, interactive haunted house - not one filled with ghosts and goblins - but one where visitors are tied up, waterboarded, or buried alive. Now located in Tennessee, attraction goers are saying the manor is going too far with its physical and mental abuse. 

Owner Russ McKamey disagrees, pointing to its rabid online following for his no charge, “extreme haunt” experience. But its murky waiver forms, military-grade stress techniques, and intimidation of visitors who want to leave the haunted house now have the authorities wondering if McKamey Manor is actually a torture chamber.

In the podcast “Inside McKamey Manor” from Always True Crime, host Elizabeth McCafferty explores the controversial scare attraction, why people are drawn to it, and why it’s still in operation. She also talks to a variety of experts with insight into various aspects of the horror experience.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "INSIDE McKAMEY MANOR" BEGIN IN THE FINAL ELEVEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

In Crime of the Week: O brother, where art thou?

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Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more.

About the show: Crime Writers On… is the original true‑crime review podcast, covering the best in true‑crime podcasts, documentaries, TV, film, journalism, and storytelling.

From Partners in Crime Media — creators of These Are Their Stories, the Law & Order aftershow and Netflix's You Can't Make This Up.

Keywords: true‑crime review, podcast review, documentary review, TV review, media criticism, pop‑culture commentary, crime documentaries, journalism, storytelling, Partners in Crime Media

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Karen Falasca was the last person to see her sister Denise alive before she was murdered in 1969. Haunted by the tragedy, Karen spoke to podcaster Anthony Scalia about her five decade search for Denise’s unidentified killer. Scalia retraced Karen’s investigation into likely suspects. But the sister remained skeptical of the police’s findings. And as a terminal illness threatened to take her life, Karen made one request of Scalia: finish her work and learn the truth behind Denise’s murder.

In the podcast “Denise Didn’t Come Home” from truth.media and Sony Music Entertainment, Scalia repeats Karen’s investigation and questions the person the cops say strangled the 15-year-old all those years ago. He also recounts Karen’s life story, their blossoming friendship, and explores whether her memories of that day hold up.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "DENISE DIDN'T COME HOME" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

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Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more.

About the show: Crime Writers On… is the original true‑crime review podcast, covering the best in true‑crime podcasts, documentaries, TV, film, journalism, and storytelling.

From Partners in Crime Media — creators of These Are Their Stories, the Law & Order aftershow and Netflix's You Can't Make This Up.

Keywords: true‑crime review, podcast review, documentary review, TV review, media criticism, pop‑culture commentary, crime documentaries, journalism, storytelling, Partners in Crime Media

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In 1971, Stanford psychologist Philip Zimbardo conducted an experiment with college students to evaluate behavior in a mock prison. Within days, the guards were abusing their power and mistreating the prisoners so badly the study was shut down early. The “Stanford Prison Experiment” was heralded in academia and in pop culture as a landmark study into the corrupting power of authority. But a re-examination of Zimbardo’s methods questions whether he manipulated the subjects into those behaviors, challenging whether its shocking results - and its legacy - should be discredited.

The three-part series “The Stanford Prison Experiment: Unlocking the Truth,” is produced by Nat Geo and is available on several streaming services. It unearths Zimbardo’s scientifically dubious methods that steered the study toward its violent conclusion. It also reunites the former guards and prisoners - some for the first time - to explain what was really driving their actions.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT" BEGIN IN THE FINAL TEN MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

In Crime of the Week: If the shoe splits...

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Sign up for our newsletter at crimewriterson.com.

This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more.

About the show: Crime Writers On… is the original true‑crime review podcast, covering the best in true‑crime podcasts, documentaries, TV, film, journalism, and storytelling.

From Partners in Crime Media — creators of These Are Their Stories, the Law & Order aftershow and Netflix's You Can't Make This Up.

Keywords: true‑crime review, podcast review, documentary review, TV review, media criticism, pop‑culture commentary, crime documentaries, journalism, storytelling, Partners in Crime Media

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.