Our Obsession with Netflix Documentaries

There is a thing that has me glued to my TV or even my phone, it's the endless stream of crime documentaries on Netflix. I can't help it... I'm addicted! There's just something about the real-life suspense and drama, it pulls me in every single time. It sounds sick, but it's addicting. When I saw Netflix had a new one I carved out 3 hours to binge-watch the three-part series. "American Murder: Laci Peterson" just started streaming and I'm already done with it. I have been obsessed with this crime story since it happened in 2004 and Netflix always does them so well. 

True crime documentaries have a way of pulling us in like nothing else. For me, it's figuring out why people get to that point. Or when people snap and why.

Netflix has a way of unwrapping the stories layer by layer. I find myself playing a detective trying to figure out what happened before the documentary reveals it. But if I know the stories already (a lot of the time I do) and the outcome I still love to watch the journey of how they get there.

The newest addition to my crime documentary obsession is "American Murder: Laci Peterson". I was obsessed with the case when it happened in 2004 and I still am. It has been covered so much over the years by a bunch of different outlets, but Netflix's take on it is an interesting perspective, a deep dive into the events that led to her murder, and also gets a little of both Laci's family and friends side as well as Scott Peterson's family and defense attorneys. 

What I find so interesting about this documentary is how it shows you the ripple effects the murders had on the community, the media, and the justice system. It's a good look into one of those cases that everyone remembers. 

Why do so many others and I find crime docs so addictive? 

Netflix has become the go-to platform for crime documentaries and you can see why. They do it so well. It doesn't matter how much you know about the cases they still bring something new to the docs. 

Netflix is celebrating its 25th anniversary today (August 29). Originally starting out in 1997 as a DVD rental service via mail, offering members unlimited DVD rentals without due dates, late fees, or monthly rental limits.

Ten years later in 2007, Netflix adapted and joined streaming, marking the start of binge-watching. Orange Is the New Black, House of Cards, Arrested Development and Hemlock Grove are the first slate of original series programming in 2013 and since then, the streaming giant has put out some of the best television to date. Check out the company's video, which tells their story.

See our 22 favorite Netflix original series, ranked, below:

Meet the most beloved sitcom horse of the '90s ... 20 years later. Set in an L.A. where humans and anthropomorphic animal-people coexist, BoJack Horseman is about one man (well, horse-man) who peaked too early and must figure out what to do next.

Angsty Syd navigates high school awkwardness, family drama and an unrequited crush on her best friend while trying to rein in her budding superpowers.

After enduring the wildest night of their lives — over and over — Nadia and Alan stumble into another bewildering existential adventure.

A twisted criminal's gruesome videos drive a group of amateur online sleuths to launch a risky manhunt that pulls them into a dark underworld.

The series centers on teens based on Nick Kroll and Andrew Goldberg's upbringing in suburban New York, with Kroll voicing his fictional younger self. Big Mouth explores puberty while embracing a frankness about the human body and sex.

Insecure Otis has all the answers when it comes to sex advice, thanks to his therapist mom. So rebel Maeve proposes a school sex-therapy clinic.

A budding teen psychopath and a rebel hungry for adventure embark on a star-crossed road trip in this darkly comic series based on a graphic novel.

Half witch. Half mortal. On her 16th birthday, Sabrina has to make a choice between the witch world of her family and the human world of her friends. With her aunties, her cat Salem, and her boyfriend Harvey Kinkle, Sabrina will face horrors and new adventures in the mysterious town of Greendale.

A dangerously charming, intensely obsessive young man goes to extreme measures to insert himself into the lives of those he is transfixed by.

Geralt of Rivia, a mutated monster-hunter for hire, journeys toward his destiny in a turbulent world where people often prove more wicked than beasts.

Flashing between past and present, a fractured family confronts haunting memories of their old home and the terrifying events that drove them from it.

One moment links 8 minds in disparate parts of the world, putting 8 strangers in each other's lives, each other's secrets, and in terrible danger. Though the first season was phenomenal, the second season fell short and the series was cancelled.

As Alfred the Great defends his kingdom from Norse invaders, Uhtred -- born a Saxon but raised by Vikings -- seeks to claim his ancestral birthright.

A notorious gang in 1919 Birmingham, England, is led by the fierce Tommy Shelby, a crime boss set on moving up in the world no matter the cost.

Reunited by their father's death, estranged siblings with extraordinary powers uncover shocking family secrets -- and a looming threat to humanity.

In a 1950s orphanage, a young girl reveals an astonishing talent for chess and begins an unlikely journey to stardom while grappling with addiction.

Stranger Things is an American sci-fi television series created by the Duffer Brothers first released in 2016. When Will Byers vanishes, a small town uncovers a mystery involving secret experiments, terrifying supernatural forces and one strange little girl.

Terrifying creatures, wicked surprises and dark comedy converge in this NSFW anthology of animated stories presented by Tim Miller and David Fincher.

Hundreds of cash-strapped players accept a strange invitation to compete in children's games. Inside, a tempting prize awaits — with deadly high stakes.

From Weeds creator Jenji Kohan, Orange is the New Black is a Netflix original series based on Piper Kerman's memoir about her year in a women's prison.

A financial adviser drags his family from Chicago to the Missouri Ozarks, where he must launder $500 million in five years to appease a drug boss.

This sci-fi anthology series explores a twisted, high-tech near-future where humanity's greatest innovations and darkest instincts collide.