Netflix viewer's 'perfect' list of essential shows based on true stories to watch

If you managed to binge watch all your favourite shows during the Easter weekend, you might be looking for something else to get stuck into.

Well, you're in luck.

Posting on the Netflix Bangers Facebook group, one viewer shared a list of TV shows that are all based on true events.

1.Society of the Snow

Society of the Snow covers the real life story of the Andes flight disaster where a plane carrying 45 people crashed into mountains.

The plane was carrying five crew members and 40 passengers, including members of the Old Christians Club rugby union team, along with friends, family and supporters.

Poor weather conditions contributed to the pilot of the plane mistakenly believing he had become lost and overshot his flight path.

The gritty film has been praised by critics and viewers alike, though their verdicts make it clear that it's not an easy watch.

2. Pihu

Pihu centres around a two-year-old girl who is left in an apartment alone.

While her dad is away on business, her mum has died, leaving the child alone with the body of her mother.

Based on a real-life story, the 2019 movie won the Grand Prize for Best Feature Film at the Fajr International Film Festival.

3.Bad Surgeon: Love Under the Knife

For this doc, Netflix delved into the work of Swiss surgeon Paolo Macchiarini, as well as all the details of his personal life - including his tumultuous relationship with his former fiancée, Benita Alexander.

He's described as 'the biggest conman in medical history', so as you can imagine, it's a pretty extraordinary story.

"Dr Paolo Macchiarini is world famous for his revolutionary stem cell-infused windpipe transplants," says Netflix.

"There's just one problem: His patients keep dying."

4.Lover, Stalker, Killer

The doc follows the story of Dave Kroupa, who had just come out of a long-term relationship and decided to try online dating.

Pretty soon he was in touch with Liz Golyar and Cari Farver, kicking off a 'twisted, tragic love triangle that put Dave and everyone he cared about at risk'.

The true crime documentary uses interviews with those involved as well as dramatic re-enactments to tell the story.

Instagram / @huskins.denise

5.American Nightmare

The doc follows the stories of Aaron Quinn and his girlfriend Denise Huskins after she was kidnapped in 2015.

In March 2015, police received a call from a man in Vallejo, California to report that his girlfriend had been kidnapped the night before.

30-year-old Aaron soon became the prime suspect in the disappearance of his 29-year-old girlfriend, Denise.

But when she then showed up in her hometown 400 miles away from Vallejo, suspicion moved onto Denise as authorities wondered whether they'd instead been dealing with a hoax.

The couple were finally vindicated when three months later, police were investigating a similar case and found Aaron's stolen laptop in the possession of a man named Matthew Muller.

6.Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story

The drama tells the terrifying case of one of America's most prolific serial killers, Jeffrey Dahmer, who murdered 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991.

The notorious serial killer and sex offender took the lives of his victims over a period of 15 years throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s.

The 10-part series - produced by American Horror Story's Ryan Murphy - is based on the true events that saw Dahmer, also known as the Milwaukee Monster, be convicted of 16 murders.

7. The Tinder Swindler

The hugely popular show follows Cecilie, a Norwegian student living in London, on a whirlwind romance with Simon Leviev, a billionaire playboy and self-proclaimed 'Prince of Diamonds'.

As their relationship progresses, things start to take a turn for the worse, with Cecilie's new beau begging her for money to avoid being tracked down by people apparently out to kill him.

Leviev was in fact Shimon Hayut, who had made a career out of embedding himself into the lives of unsuspecting women and convincing them to part with millions.

He spent years travelling around the world on the run from the authorities, wanted for a series of crimes, including forgery and theft.

Simon Leviev/Instagram

8.Worst Roommate Ever

The series tells the stories of four roommates who seemed harmless at first, but whose true, terrifying colours eventually became clear to their unsuspecting housemates.

Over the course of five episodes, viewers meet the fraudulent and murderous actions of Dorothea Puente, KC Joy, Youssef Khater and Jamison Bachman, whose crimes have devastating consequences for their roommates.

9.Memories of a Murderer: The Nilsen Tapes

Memories of a Murderer: The Nilsen Tapes follows the true story of Dennis Nilsen, who brutally murdered 12 young men and boys in the 1970s and 80s.

Directed by Michael Harte, the 90-minute film offers a deeper insight into the inner workings of Nilsen's mind, from growing up in a quiet Scottish village to bringing death and destruction to the streets of London.

10.American Murder: The Family Next Door

The documentary, which was released in September 2020, focuses on the murder of Shanann Watts, who was 15 weeks pregnant at the time of her death. Shannan, along with her two daughters, four-year-old Bella and three-year-old Celeste, were tragically killed on 13 August, 2018 at the hands of husband and father, Chris Watts.

The doc follows the case after Watts initially denied all involvement.

11.The Good Nurse

The film tells the story of Charles Cullen, played by Eddie Redmayne, a nurse turned serial killer. Cullen confessed to murdering up to 40 patients over his career, in horrifying circumstances.

The source material for the show is Graeber’s book, called The Good Nurse: A True Story Of Medicine, Madness and Murder.

The film is a dramatisation, but the facts are all there.