Ever since Jack the Ripper terrified London and became the first serial killer to spark a global frenzy, people have loved consuming content about crime. From the penny dreadfuls of old to the true crime podcasts of now, there’s a whole cottage industry in wading through the gory details to better serve the armchair investigators of the world.
Some of these crime shows on Hulu are fictional, best enjoyed by those who like a good drama or comedy about committing or solving crimes. Two of them, however, are the best true crime docuseries Hulu has to offer.
Here are the 10 best crime shows on Hulu.
1. Law and Order: SVU
Credit: Virginia Sherwood / NBC
Hulu has the delightful distinction of hosting the entirety of the longest-running edition of Dick Wolf’s Law and Order franchise, Special Victims Unit. Mariska Hargitay has held down the fort as Detective Olivia Benson with or without Detective Stabler (Christopher Meloni) by her side for 22 seasons, and between that length of catalogue and the show’s frequently ripped-from-the-headlines plots, SVU is an iconic and likely eternal part of the crime show canon.
How to watch: Law and Order: SVU is streaming on Hulu.
2. Good Girls
Credit: Evans Vestal Ward / NBC
Three suburban moms have more problems than money, so they decide to turn to a life of crime. What starts out as a simple robbery quickly snowballs into a hilarious swan dive into the criminal underworld, complete with a menacing money launderer, kidnapping, eliminating witnesses, and so much more. Christina Hendricks, Mae Whitman, and Retta play the three women at the heart of this show, which ran for four seasons on NBC.
How to watch: Good Girls is streaming on Hulu.
3. Fargo
Credit: Matthias Clamer / FX
In 1996, the Coen brothers released the movie Fargo, which starred Frances McDormand as a Minnesota cop investigating a strong of homicides. Decades later the Coens returned to the theme of Midwestern crime as executive producers of the series Fargo, which tells new stories that take place in the same universe as the movie. Each season, the anthology starts over to greater expand the world and explore all manner of crimes in Missouri, North Dakota, and Minnesota.
How to watch: Fargo is streaming on Hulu.
4. Twin Peaks
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Twin Peaks has always been more than a crime show. It’s a dramatic supernatural mystery that begins with the murder of homecoming queen Laura Palmer and the arrival of Detective Dale Cooper, then quickly becomes a walk on the dark side of every element of humanity. What’s real, not real, or surreal means little and less in the town of Twin Peaks, and this show’s 30-year reign as a television cult classic proves it sticks in the mind long after the final episode.
How to watch: Twin Peaks is streaming on Hulu.
5. Hannibal
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If your sole perception of Hannibal Lecter is Anthony Hopkins pretending to slurp up human livers with fava beans and a nice chianti, Hannibal will absolutely change your mind about this hungry serial killer’s image. Mads Mikkelsen plays a younger, suaver Hannibal whose culinary skills are equaled only by his powers of psychological manipulation. FBI profiler Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) enters Hannibal’s life when they are assigned to solve a murder, but the killer they hunt is nowhere near as interesting as the one hiding inside Hannibal…and maybe Will as well.
How to watch: Hannibal is streaming on Hulu.
6. Stumptown
Credit: Eric McCandless / ABC / Kobal / Shutterstock
Based on the comic of the same name, Stumptown tells the story of Dex Parios (Cobie Smulders), a veteran who becomes a private investigator in her hometown of Portland, Oregon after leaving the military. Dex’s PTSD and personal life might cause her problems, but with the help of a police detective who refers work to her and her quick wits, she becomes a problem solver for others.
How to watch: Stumptown is streaming on Hulu.
7. Top of the Lake
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Elisabeth Moss stars in Top of the Lake as Robin Griffin, a Sydney-based detective who comes across the heinous case of a missing and pregnant 12-year-old girl. Even though Griffin’s specialty is investigating crimes involving children, it’s clear that this case hits a particular nerve that threatens to derail Griffin’s career and hard-earned stability. In Season 2, Gwendoline Christie joins Moss in the role of Miranda Hilmarson, Robin’s new partner as they investigate a Jane Doe murder.
How to watch: Top of the Lake is streaming on Hulu.
8. I Am the Night
Credit: Clay Enos
I Am the Night is a fictional miniseries based on the memoir of Fauna Hodel, a woman who went searching for her roots and wound up discovering a dark secret in her family’s past. In this interpretation, Chris Pine plays Jay Singletary, a down-on-his-luck journalist who crosses path with Founa (India Eisley) when they realize the men they’re looking for might be the same terrifying person.
How to watch: I Am the Night is streaming on Hulu.
9. Sasquatch
Credit: Hulu
Whether or not one believes in Bigfoot is irrelevant in Sasquatch, a docuseries that begins with an urban legend about three men torn limb from limb by the cryptid in question and morphs into an examination of the dark, seedy, and dangerous world of marijuana farming in the Pacific northwest. Investigative journalist David Holthouse is the man far removed from the dangerous world of pot farming (and Sasquatch hunting), and the one who delves into the creepiest and horrifying aspects of both industries.
How to watch: Sasquatch is streaming on Hulu.
10. The Most Dangerous Animal of All
Credit: FX
In 2014 the book The Most Dangerous Animal of All came out and was a bestseller. Co-written by journalist Susan Mustafa and the subject of the sort-of memoir, Gary L. Stewart, the book outlines Stewart’s search for his long-lost father and the cataclysmic discovery that his father, Earl Van Best, may have been the infamous Zodiac Killer. The series The Most Dangerous Animal of All is an attempt to follow Mustafa and Stewart’s investigation in a new format, but what the documentary uncovers is possibly more surprising than anything the authors came up with.
How to watch: The Most Dangerous Animal of All is streaming on Hulu.
