Critics Consensus: Heartbreaking and powerful, Unbelievable transcends familiar true-crime beats by shifting its gaze to survivors of abuse, telling their stories with grace and gravity.

Starring: Kaitlyn Dever, Toni Collette, Merritt Wever, Dale Dickey

Critics Consensus: Dennis Lehane’s penchant for authentic grit is on full display in Blackbird, an absorbing prison drama distinguished by its moral complexity and elevated by an outstanding ensemble.

Starring: Taron Egerton, Ray Liotta, Greg Kinnear, Sepideh Moafi

Critics Consensus: American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson brings top-shelf writing, directing, and acting to bear on a still-topical story while shedding further light on the facts — and provoking passionate responses along the way.

Starring: Cuba Gooding Jr., Sarah Paulson, David Schwimmer, John Travolta

Critics Consensus: Ava DuVernay pulls no punches in When They See Us, laying out the harrowing events endured by the Central Park Five while adding a necessary layer of humanity to their story that challenges viewers to reconsider what it means to find justice in America.

Starring: Michael Kenneth Williams, Vera Farmiga, Felicity Huffman, Niecy Nash

Critics Consensus: Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy offers a compassionate, morally clear reexamination of the infamous killer’s crimes that honors victims and finds fresh purpose in retelling their stories.

Starring: Michael Chernus, Gabriel Luna, James Badge Dale, Michael Angarano

Critics Consensus: The Staircase doesn’t hold many surprises for those already intimate with the original documentary, but this dramatization brings a fresh perspective and texture to the mystery — along with a terrific performance by Colin Firth.

Starring: Colin Firth, Toni Collette, Michael Stuhlbarg, Juliette Binoche

Critics Consensus: Unspooling like a slow-motion nightmare, A Friend of the Family benefits immeasurably from Eliza Hittman’s deft direction and Jake Lacy’s unflinching portrayal of insidious evil.

Starring: Anna Paquin, Jake Lacy, Colin Hanks, Lio Tipton

Critics Consensus: Grounded by a disturbingly powerful performance by Elle Fanning, The Girl from Plainville dramatizes a sordid true story with tasteful restraint.

Starring: Elle Fanning, Chloë Sevigny, Colton Ryan, Cara Buono

Critics Consensus: The Dropout succeeds more as a docudrama than a dark comedy, but Amanda Seyfried’s disquieting portrayal of Elizabeth Holmes brings fresh blood to this retelling of recent history.

Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Naveen Andrews, William H. Macy, Laurie Metcalf

Critics Consensus: Dopesick at times sinks under the weight of its subject matter, but strong performances from Michael Keaton and Kaitlyn Dever and an empathetic approach to the very real people impacted by the opioid crisis make for harrowing drama.

Starring: Michael Keaton, Rosario Dawson, Peter Sarsgaard, Kaitlyn Dever

Critics Consensus: The Assassination of Versace starts with a bang and unfurls slowly, moving backward through an intricate (and occasionally convoluted) murder mystery anchored by a career-defining performance from Darren Criss.

Starring: Edgar Ramírez, Darren Criss, Ricky Martin, Penélope Cruz

Critics Consensus: Disturbingly nuanced performances from Patricia Arquette and Joey King make The Act a convincing case for the ongoing dramatization of true crime stories.

Starring: Patricia Arquette, Joey King, Chloë Sevigny, AnnaSophia Robb

Critics Consensus: Unraveling a brutal mystery with a sensitive touch, Under the Bridge occasionally glosses over its most interesting elements but excels as an exploration of cruelty.

Starring: Lily Gladstone, Chloe Guidry, Javon "Wanna" Walton, Izzy G.

Critics Consensus: Sofía Vergara impressively disappears into the role of Griselda Blanco in this propulsive gangster saga, which plays loose with the facts but achieves genuine grit.

Starring: Sofía Vergara, Alberto Guerra, Christian Tappán, Martín Rodríguez

Critics Consensus: American Sports Story dramatizes the tragic case of Aaron Hernandez with slick efficiency and some debatable insinuations about his motivations, with Josh Rivera’s terrific performance giving the sad saga a compelling core.

Starring: Josh Andrés Rivera, Jaylen Barron, Lindsay Mendez, Ean Castellanos

Critics Consensus: Candy‘s sour aftertaste is counterbalanced by uniformly terrific performances, but it only takes a couple licks before this true crime drama loses its flavor.

Starring: Jessica Biel, Timothy Simons, Melanie Lynskey, Pablo Schreiber

Critics Consensus: The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox borders on sensationalist retread, but Grace van Patten’s central performance makes this harrowing journey worth the watch.

Starring: Grace Van Patten, Sharon Horgan, Francesco Acquaroli, Giuseppe De Domenico

Critics Consensus: Blessed with a twisty true story that needs little embellishment to intrigue, Welcome to Chippendales details the battle over a beefcake empire with stylistic verve.

Starring: Kumail Nanjiani, Murray Bartlett, Annaleigh Ashford, Dan Stevens

Critics Consensus: Impeachment can’t seem to decide whether it’s unearthing the humanity of a presidential scandal or indulging the mythology of its media circus, but Beanie Feldstein and Sarah Paulson’s performances ring true in the midst of all the noise.

Starring: Beanie Feldstein, Sarah Paulson, Annaleigh Ashford, Edie Falco

Critics Consensus: Jason Clarke and Patricia Arquette are a magnetizing pair who make it worthwhile to watch Murdaugh: Death in the Family, a true-crime dramatization that narrows its grizzly focus on this family’s downward spiral and truly delivers.

Starring: Patricia Arquette, Jason Clarke, Patch Darragh, Andrea Powell

Critics Consensus: While Inventing Anna is as tonally wobbly as Julia Garner’s intentionally daffy accent, her committed performance and the salacious story make for juicy entertainment.

Starring: Julia Garner, Anna Chlumsky, Laverne Cox, Katie Lowes

Critics Consensus: A terrific Elizabeth Olsen gives Love & Death some life, but this rote retelling of a grisly murder does little to distinguish itself from other true crime tales.

Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Jesse Plemons, Lily Rabe, Patrick Fugit

Critics Consensus: While Monster is seemingly self-aware of the peril in glorifying Jeffrey Dahmer, creator Ryan Murphy’s salacious style nevertheless tilts this horror story into the realm of queasy exploitation.

Synopsis: Between 1978 and 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer gruesomely took the lives of seventeen innocent victims. The series exposes these unconscionable crimes, centered around the underserved victims… View Full Synopsis

Starring: Evan Peters, Richard Jenkins, Penelope Ann Miller, Molly Ringwald

Critics Consensus: Well-acted but off-puttingly sordid, Monsters leaves viewers feeling guilty without enough pleasure to compensate.

Synopsis: Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story chronicles the case of the real-life brothers who were convicted in 1996 for the murders of their parents,… View Full Synopsis

Starring: Javier Bardem, Cooper Koch, Nicholas Alexander Chavez, Chloë Sevigny

Synopsis: Monster: The Ed Gein Story tells the story of how one simple man in Plainfield, Wisconsin became history’s most singular ghoul. He revealed to the… View Full Synopsis

Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Suzanna Son, Tom Hollander, Laurie Metcalf