The Delightful, Guilty Pleasure of Watching True Crime TV
True crime can be an compelling treat for viewers.
Updated March 31, 2026 | Reviewed by Lybi Ma
Given the tremendous interest in programs such as Tiger King, Mindhunter, and Making a Murderer on Netflix, as well as HBO’s unforgettable six-part documentary series The Jinx about eccentric millionaire and possible serial killer Robert Durst, it is clear that true crime television shows are tantalizing to millions of people. This conclusion is supported by the passionate, loyal followers of Investigation Discovery and Oxygen—these are entirely devoted to the true-crime programming genre.
If you spend any amount of time watching true crime TV, you will quickly notice that the shows almost always involve one particular type of crime: murder. Not robbery, assault, or burglary, but murder. Often, too, the focus is on exotic, bizarre, and especially grisly or disturbing incidents of murder. The incredible but true story of Robert Durst is a prime example of this.
In the extreme, the tales of murder depicted in true crime TV shows involve the gruesome and notorious exploits of serial killers such as the late Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy (The Killer Clown), Richard Ramirez (The Night Stalker ), and David Berkowitz (Son of Sam). The morbid stories of these prolific killers have become popular culture legends.
Can we conclude that people are fascinated with death, and this fact alone explains why true crime shows are so popular with the public? I think not. I am a criminologist , college professor, and former network television executive. I spent several years conducting my own research on the allure of true crime. More specifically, I focused on what many people would consider to be the most heinous of all true crimes: serial murder.
My research has determined that the public’s fascination with serial killers on television is multifaceted and complex. Serial killers excite and tantalize people, much like traffic accidents, train wrecks, or natural disasters. The public’s fascination with them can be seen as a specific manifestation of its more general fixation on violence and calamity. In other words, the actions of a serial killer may be horrible to behold, but much of the public simply cannot look away due to the thrill of the spectacle.
People also receive a jolt of adrenaline as a reward for witnessing the terrible deeds of a serial killer. Adrenaline is a hormone that produces a powerful, stimulating, and even compulsive effect on the human brain. If you doubt the power of adrenaline, think of the thrill-seeking child who will ride a roller coaster over and over until he or she becomes physically ill. The euphoric effect of serial killers on human emotions is similar to that of roller coasters or natural disasters.
We are riveted by serial killers, who are extreme in their brutality and seemingly unnatural in their behavior. Many people are morbidly drawn to the violence of serial killers because they cannot comprehend their actions, but feel compelled to. The incomprehensibility of their crimes makes serial killers seem enigmatic in the minds of the public. The fascination with serial killers is based in part on a need to understand why anyone would do such horrible things to other people who are generally strangers to them.
Another important aspect of the public’s obsession with serial killers has to do with the fact that serial killers, such as Ted Bundy, often blend into society very effectively and for long periods of time. In person, killers like Bundy often come across as average guys, even charming, not like predatory monsters. That many serial killers can blend into society so effectively is genuinely horrifying to many people, because it means that most anyone, even a loved one, could be a serial killer.
The public is drawn to serial killers because they trigger the most basic and powerful emotion in all of us, fear . As a source of popular-culture entertainment, serial killers allow us to experience fear and horror in a controlled environment, where the threat is exciting but not real. Serial killers are for adults what monster movies are for children — that is, good, ghoulish fun. Moreover, by following a serial killer investigation on TV, people can play armchair detective and see if they can figure out “whodunit” before law enforcement authorities catch the actual perpetrator.
For many people, including me, watching true crime TV shows offers a guilty pleasure to thrill-seeking adults. Why guilty pleasure? Watching true crime TV is like eating my favorite candy in bed at three o’clock in the morning. Although I may feel a bit guilty about doing it, I cannot stop, because it is such tasty fun.
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Scott Bonn, Ph.D., is a criminologist, TV news commentator, and best-selling author of Why We Love Serial Killers: The Curious Appeal of the World's Savage Murderers.
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This article is part of the Bringwise Psychology Journal — daily insights on human behavior, mental health, and personal growth.