2023’s Most Chilling True Crime Docuseries, From Natalia Grace to Flight MH370: See Watch Details

2023 introduced several captivating true crime docuseries, including The Curious Case of Natalia Grace, Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street, Death in the Dorms, MH370: The Flight That Disappeared and several more. 

Avid true crime fans have been given quite a number of series to unpack in recent years, such as with 2022’s Casey Anthony: Where the Truth Lies Peacock series. Now, many new and up-and-coming docs are being featured on cable networks and streaming platforms, such as ID, Netflix and Hulu. 

Perhaps one of the most chilling series from this year is Natalia Grace Barnett’s three-part documentary special that aired on ID on May 29. The former orphan was accused by her adoptive parents, Michael and Kristine Barnett, of being a fully grown woman instead of a child at the time they adopted her in 2009, living with a form of dwarfism called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita that caused her to appear smaller. Of course, many horror fans pointed out on social media the many similarities between the docuseries’ story and 2009’s Orphan movie. However, the film came out one year prior to when the Barnett family claimed they adopted Natalia from Ukraine. 

The trailer for the highly anticipated series featured some of the biological Barnett children speaking out against Natalia, whom the family left in a rental apartment in Lafayette, Indiana, in 2013 while they relocated to Canada. 

“We had no idea what we were dealing with,” Michael can be heard saying in the teaser before alleging, “She threatened to stab my sons. … One night, I opened my eyes and Natalia is standing at the foot of the bed with a knife in her hand.” 

Several other true crime series hit streaming services right at the start of the year. Death in the Dorms, which premiered on Hulu on January 5, focuses on various murders surrounding college campuses. Each episode focuses on a different case, from the UCLA campus to the University of Florida. 

Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street premiered on Netflix on January 4 and took viewers inside the dramatic story of Bernie Madoff, who died in 2021 while serving out his prison sentence. He was convicted of various forms of fraud and money laundering in 2009 and was sentenced to 150 years in prison. 

Apart from convicted criminals and stories, streaming services also released speculative docuseries during the year. One of the most impactful was Netflix’s MH370: The Flight That Disappeared. The three-part documentary explored the perspectives of various families of the victims who were on Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, all of whom were pronounced dead in 2014 after the plane suddenly vanished from radar. 

Scroll down to see details on every true crime docuseries from 2023.