Month: June 2022

The only thing wilder than the stories that fuel this streaming list is the fact that all of them are based on real-life crimes.

No, really. From religious fanatics committing heinous murders to Silicon Valley upstarts conning the most brilliant minds in tech and medicine, housewives wielding axes, deadly staircases, political scandals, and Columbian kingpins — every great crime drama on TV right now comes with an “inspired by” attached. We’ve rounded up a few of our favorites but here’s your warning: all of these shocking, unbelievable crimes, cons, and conspiracies really happened. That might be hard to wrap your brain around once you watch these shows.

Under The Banner of Heaven

1 season, 7 episodes | IMDb: 7.5/10

Andrew Garfield, Wyatt Russell, and Daisy Edgar-Jones star in this detective neo-noir based on a true crime story that weaves hundreds of years of religious oppression and violent misogyny into a heinous murder that rocks a tight-knit town. Garfield plays Detective Jeb Pyre, a devout member of the Church of Latter-Day Saints who begins to question his own faith when a high-ranking Mormon family is implicated in a disturbing double homicide that has roots in the radical fundamentalist beginnings of the LDS religion. Weighed down with heavy themes and dizzying amounts of exposition, there’s something gripping about this twist-filled drama that’s only made better by some incredible performances from its main cast.

Candy

1 season, 5 episodes | IMDb: 7.2/10

Riding on the coattails of her standout performance in The Sinner, Jessica Biel is back with another disturbing yet engulfing role in Candy. Biel is transformed into Candance Montgomery, a 1980’s wife, mother, churchgoer, and homemaker who is accused of killing Betty Gore, the wife (and fellow mother, churchgoer, and homemaker) of Alan Gore – the man Candy’s been having an affair with. Biel keeps viewers on the edge of their seats as a small-town incident turns into a dark and disturbing scandal, rocking their close-knit community and shocking followers around the world.

The Dropout

1 season, 8 episodes | IMDb: 7.5/10

The story of Elizabeth Holmes is a rise-and-fall saga for the ages. Once referred to as a medical pioneer, girl boss, and the new Steve Jobs, people quickly switched to using titles like con-artist, liar, and fraud when her blood-testing company Theranos didn’t deliver on its promise of revolutionizing the healthcare industry. Amanda Seyfried gives a stunning performance in The Dropout, embodying Holme’s all-black outfits, quirky habits, and baritone voice to a tee as she cheats her way through Silicon Valley.

The Staircase

1 season, 8 episodes | IMDb: 7.2/10

While you may know the story of Michael Peterson and the suspicious death of his wife Kathleen–who died after falling down the stairs in her home–from the docuseries of the same name, this limited series manages to be even more gripping. Flanked by Toni Collette as Kathleen Peterson and Michael Stuhlbarg as David Rudolf (his lawyer), Colin Firth gives an exceptional performance as Michael – a renowned novelist and deeply-embedded family man who finds himself at the center of his wife’s jarring death.

The Girl From Plainville

1 season, 8 episodes | IMDb: 6.4/10

Eerie, perplexing, and downright scary, The Girl From Plainville is an unprecedented crime story unlike any other. Elle Fanning plays Michelle Carter, a teenage girl that’s accused of “murdering” her boyfriend Conrad Roy III by convincing him to kill himself via texts and phone calls. Part tragic love story and part pure insanity, this enthralling miniseries not only touches on this bizarre story and case but also speaks volumes about the downsides of current mental health treatment and practices, from the standpoint of both victim and perpetrator.

When They See Us

1 season, 4 episodes | IMDb: 9/10

The Central Park Five case continues to be a charged (and sadly, still relevant) moment in our shared cultural history which is why Ava DuVernay’s limited series exploring the young men who were wrongfully accused of sexually assaulting a white woman in Central Park in the late 80s is such a vital watch. Not only does this show sport an unfairly talented cast, but DuVernay pushes past the initial instinct to simply focus on the courtroom drama by giving us the full, devastating picture of how quickly a corrupt police force and a racially biased society can destroy the promise of young Black men’s futures.

Inventing Anna

1 season, 9 episodes | IMDb: 6.8/10

Bizarre accents, posh penthouses, and an elaborate grift that takes audiences around the world – in VIP style, of course. There’s a reason this drama, based on a viral expose in New York Magazine, became this year’s binge-watching guilty pleasure. Anna Delvey, played here by Ozark breakout Julia Garner, was a magnetic social climber who forged nearly every detail about her past, her rich parents, and her unlimited financial resources to con some of the wealthiest and most powerful names in New York City. The series gives some attention to the quest to tell her story, taken on by a scrappy journalist played by Anna Chlumsky, but the watchability factor comes from how well Garner translates this unbelievable premise – that this girl was able to dupe influential elites with just a well-timed name drop and some designer duds.

Des

1 season, 3 episodes | IMDb: 7.6/10

David Tennant is terrifying in this three-part series that chronicles the disturbing exploits of one of the UK’s most prolific serial killers. As Dennis Nilsen, Tennant is chilling, somehow making the necrophiliac appear even more unsettling on screen. Nilsen murdered dozens of boys and young men, storing them beneath the floorboards of his London flat and using them to fulfill his sexual fantasies and the show doesn’t shy away from his most gruesome acts. You’ve been warned.

Unbelievable

1 season, 8 episodes | IMDb: 8.4/10

Unbelievable – the inconceivable story of a series of rapes across the American West – explores the true power of suggestion. Kaitlyn Dever plays Marie, an 18-year-old rape victim who, after being interrogated and intimidated by the police, backtracks on her report. However, as comparable rapes continue to occur in different locations, detectives Karen Duvall (Merrit Wever) and Grace Rasmussen (Toni Collette) team up to connect the dots between the starkly similar events. This investigative saga crafts a deeply engaging drama that exposes the gaping holes in the treatment of rape cases in today’s criminal justice system.

American Crime Story

3 seasons, 30 episodes | IMDb: 8.4/10

Ryan Murphy scours the most scandalous true crime stories in history to fuel the action in this anthology series. His first target was the trial of OJ Simpson, which gave audiences a riveting look at the main players in a murder case that divided the country and featured the most memorable high-speed chase to ever be televised. Season two of the series focuses on the shocking murder of designer Gianni Versace by Andrew Cunanan, a crime that weaves in everything from homosexual prejudices of the time to familial legacy. The show’s third season goes to the White House to give Monica Lewinsky a voice in the biggest political scandal of our time, focusing on then-President Bill Clinton’s abuse of power that ruined a young woman and an entire political party.

Dr. Death

1 season, 8 episodes | IMDb: 7.6/10

Based on a popular podcast, this Peacock series turns Joshua Jackson into a narcissistic sociopath armed with a scalpel and protected by a healthcare system that regularly fails its patients. Dr. Christopher Duntsch was one of the top neurosurgeons in the country until more and more people who went under his knife started turning up paralyzed or dead. Christian Slater and Alec Baldwin play two respected surgeons in his field who, alarmed at Duntsch’s treatment of his patients and lack of care for his staff, began investigating his background and discovered the golden boy of medicine was just a pathological liar with an oversized ego and a willingness to risk lives in order to pad his own pockets.

The Investigation

1 season, 6 episodes | IMDb: 7.6/10

This is a Swedish true-crime drama so yes, there will be subtitles. If you allow that to be a barrier of entry, you’re missing out on a truly thrilling murder investigation that manages to highlight the horror of its central crime while not exploiting its victims and giving audiences a sympathetic view of law enforcement’s role in bringing killers to justice. Kim Wall was a young journalist with a promising future whose life was cut short thanks to the subject of her next big story, a man who built his own submarine. You get a good grip on who the murderer is early on in the case, but it’s the job of catching him that will hold your interest until the very end.

Narcos

3 seasons, 30 episodes | IMDb: 8.8/10

The spectacular rise and community-destroying fall of Columbian drug lord Pablo Escobar and his Medellin cartel is documented in this gritty crime drama that would eventually spawn a spin-off series – which is just as good. Wagner Moura plays the charismatic kingpin, a young upstart from a rough neighborhood who schemed his way to the top and gained the support of his people by giving back to those in need. But Escobar’s excess and paranoia would soon threaten his carefully cultivated cocaine-fueled kingdom when DEA Agents Javier Pena (Pedro Pascal) and Steve Murphy (Boyd Holbrook) make it their personal mission to take him down.

Mindhunter

2 seasons, 19 episodes | IMDb: 8.6/10

This series from David Fincher recounts the formation of the FBI’s behavioral science unit, a team of agents whose job it is to study the patterns of serial killers so that law enforcement can catch them. By now, we recognize the importance of predicting the behavior of monsters, but most of this show follows pioneers in the field trying to convince hardboiled detective types that the psychological aspect of killing is just as important as the physical violence associated with the act. Jonathan Groff plays Holden Ford, a character based on the real-life John E. Douglas (the inspiration for Jack Crawford in the Hannibal series) who, along with his partner (played by Holt McCallany) sits down with some of the most notorious psychopaths in history – think David Berkowitz, Ed Kemper, and Charles Manson – in order to understand the drive to kill.

Alias Grace

1 season, 6 episodes | IMDb: 7.9/10

The true story of this 19th-century house servant accused of a double homicide was interesting enough to warrant a literary adaptation by Margaret Atwood, but this limited series gives it new life and audiences a new appreciation for historical crime dramas. Sarah Gadon gives a brilliant turn as Grace Marks, a young woman accused of killing her employers. While Grace is serving her time in a mental asylum, a pseudo-psychologist comes to take her measure, giving her an opportunity to tell her side of the story. The problem? Grace is an unreliable narrator and the show never wants you convinced of the truth, one way or the other.

Following Cassidy Hutchinson‘s explosive testimony at the January 6 hearings, even Fox News‘ legal expert thinks Donald Trump is in serious trouble. During the most recent episode of The Interview podcast, Fox legal analyst Andrew McCarthy explained why he thinks the former president is in danger of being prosecuted and it comes down to the most damaging revelation from Hutchinson: Trump knew the protestors were armed because he allegedly told the Secret Service to stop using metal detectors and wave them through.

“The critical thing he says is ‘they’re not here to hurt me,’ which implies that in his mind, he knows they’re here to hurt someone,” McCarthy said. “And the second thing he says, which I don’t think has gotten enough attention, ‘they can come in, they can hear me, and then they can march to the Capitol.’”

According to McCarthy, just for that matter alone, Trump could be facing “20 years if you’re talking about people using potentially lethal, dangerous weapons.” Via Mediaite:

“So he’s very aware that you have a mob that’s armed to the teeth that he is planning to encourage to march on the Capitol. And then as the testimony ensues, we find out that he not only intended them to do that, he wanted to participate, he actually wanted to lead them down there.”

“That knowledge opens up the possibility that you could prosecute for aiding and abetting the intimidation of federal officials, which is a pretty serious crime,” he added.

McCarthy also said that Trump is looking at charges for obstruction of congressional proceedings, but he cautions that going after the former president for seditious conspiracy might be less successful. McCarthy, who, again, works for Fox News, also feels that Trump should’ve been impeached for January 6 and disqualified from running for president in 2024.

(Via Mediaite)

TMZ reports that New York rapper Lil Tjay, who was shot along with one other person in New Jersey last week, has reached a significant milestone in his recovery. The 21-year-old rapper has regained consciousness and doctors have removed his breathing tube a week after receiving surgery. He’s apparently alert enough to speak and despite being shot in the chest and neck, TMZ reports no apparent damage to his voice. Now that he is awake, the police want to ask him about the shooting.

One man, Mohamed Konate, was arrested for the shooting, which police believe was the result of a robbery gone wrong. Two other individuals were also arrested. Konate has been charged with three counts of first-degree attempted murder, while the other two arrests were apparently of Tjay’s friends. Both were charged with second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon. Meanwhile, no new updates have been given on the status of the second shooting victim, who was apparently also with Lil Tjay at the time.

Before the shooting, the young rapper anticipated a good summer and his year seemed to be going well so far. He’d just released a new single with Kaash Paige, “24 Hrs,” and is set to perform at all three announced Rolling Loud events in Miami, Toronto, and his hometown, New York.

Kevin Durant is the latest Brooklyn Nets star to request a trade out of town, as the turmoil of this summer and the past season has apparently led the future first-ballot Hall of Famer to ask GM Sean Marks to find him a new team.

What makes Durant’s situation more intriguing than that of Kyrie Irving or James Harden is that, for one, Durant is the better player, and most importantly, his max extension signed last offseason kicks in this year and he is under contract for four more years. That means Durant, theoretically, has a bit less sway in pushing himself to a specific team, as there isn’t the threat of him walking in free agency, but it also means the Nets can ask for the world in return as you’re getting one of the best to every play on a long-term deal.

Still, Durant has his preferred list of destinations and depending on his relationship with the Nets brass (and how much they care about keeping a strong relationship with Rich Kleiman), that still could be taken into consideration. Per Chris Haynes, Jake Fischer, and Adrian Wojnarowski, the Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat sit atop KD’s wishlist, but as Woj notes, the contract situation means the Nets will be fielding offers from everyone in hopes of getting the best possible package for their future.

That package will need to be built around both current players and picks, because a true rebuild isn’t in the cards for the Nets after all their picks they gave up to Houston in the James Harden trade two years ago. As such, a team will need to provide young star talent as well as draft picks to supplant those given up in the Rockets deal.

Phoenix seems to be the likely frontrunner for a KD deal, particularly if the Nets see Deandre Ayton as a star-caliber young player. Ayton as part of a sign-and-trade could be a centerpiece of a deal, with the Nets surely wanting Mikal Bridges and more, with the Suns likely pushing back and trying to keep their talented two-way wing for their title hopes. As for Miami, the best young player they can offer is Bam Adebayo, but because the Nets already traded for Ben Simmons, they can’t acquire the All-Star center from the Heat in a trade, which would seem to make things very difficult for Miami to get involved if it’s not a three-way deal.

The Woj report that they will open up negotiations to anyone feels like the Nets ensuring that Phoenix puts its best package on the table rather than trying to play hardball, because there are plenty of teams that will put up robust offers for the chance to bring Durant to town. Teams with a stocked cupboard of young talent seem the most dangerous, and one such location that might have Durant at least intrigued by the possibilities would be Memphis, where he could join Ja Morant and whomever would be left after a trade coming off a 2-seed in the West.

Rage Against The Machine’s 1992 hit “Killing In The Name” is a good song, widely regarded as one of the most memorable and defining singles of its era. It continues to do well today, as it has over 600 million streams on Spotify, easily the most of any Rage song. If you’re a fan of the song, then yesterday’s broadcast on Vancouver’s KISS-FM 104.9 radio station was heavenly, as they played the track on repeat for hours on end.

Writer Tracey Lindeman, who described KISS-FM as a “soft-rock station,” noticed this and shared some insight about what the experience was like, tweeting, “Whenever someone calls in for a request, they deny it and replay the Rage song again.” She added, “They play it a few times between requests. There are no pauses between when one play ends and the next one begins so it just sounds like one long, long song,” as well as, “Last person to make a request requested ‘Killing In the Name Of.’ The host replied, ‘stick around – i don’t know when we’ll be able to play it but we will play it’ Then immediately launched into ‘Killing In the Name Of.’”

She even tried to get some answers but came up empty, tweeting, “When I called the radio station the host wouldn’t say why they were doing it. […] He refused to confirm whether it’s a stunt or a protest.”

Rolling Stone later noted there was speculation this whole thing was indeed a publicity stunt to usher in a newly announced rock-leaning station. To that point, the KISS-FM website now notes, “Thank you for listening to KiSS RADiO in Vancouver & The Valley. This KiSS is saying goodbye but you can still listen to the KiSS Radio in Edmonton, Ottawa, and Toronto on their websites or on your smart speaker devices. […] If you’d like to try something new, you could listen to SONiC – The New Alternative.”

The Thor: Love and Thunder editing room was not kind to the cast of Game of Thrones.

Lena Headey, who played Cersei Lannister on the HBO series, was cut from the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe film, resulting in a $1.5 million lawsuit by her former-agency, Troika.

Variety reports that “Troika, which re-branded as YMU in 2020, claims Headey owes the agency at least $500,000 — equivalent to 7% of her fee — for her earnings on the Marvel movie,” as well as $300,000 for the film 9 Bullets and another $650,000 for the scrapped Showtime series Rita.

It’s unclear who Headey was going to play in Thor: Love and Thunder, but we know her on-screen Lannister sibling, Peter Dinklage, was going to reprise his Avengers: Infinity War role as Eitri until his part was also axed.

In an interview with Prensaescenario, Christian Bale spilled that “I got to work with Peter Dinklage” on Love and Thunder, but “that’s not in the final film. The Gorr the God Butcher actor also appeared with Jeff Goldblum,” but he’s not in the final film either… A lot of stuff ends up on the cutting room floor even though it is beautiful brilliant stuff.”

It’s about time the Lannisters got a taste of their own Red Wedding medicine with all these cuts.

Thor: Love and Thunder comes out on July 8.

(Via Variety)

Boslen returns to UPROXX Sessions with another performance after showcasing the “Levels” to his flows. This time, he displays his range with a lilting performance of his emo-rock-influenced trap-pop ballad, “Gone.” The inspiration the Vancouver artist gets from Kid Cudi and Travis Scott is even more evident here, as he full-on croons for much of the single, even throwing a little falsetto into the second verse.

“Gone,” like “Levels,” appears on the 24-year-old’s newly released EP Gonzo, which dropped last Friday, June 24 on UMG Recordings. In “Gone,” Boslen contemplates a toxic relationship and how hard it can be to leave, even when you know it’s not good for you. “I don’t wanna wait for you to say you’re sorry,” he tells his poisonous paramour. “I’m not gonna lay here just for anybody / I’m gone, long gone.”

Watch Boslen perform “Gone” for UPROXX Sessions above and check out Gonzo here.

UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.

The Kevin Durant era with the Brooklyn Nets appears to be on the verge of coming to an end. According to a report by Shams Charania of The Athletic, Durant went to the franchise and requested a trade.

The report was confirmed by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who says that Durant and Rich Kleiman are in the midst of working with Nets executive Sean Marks on a trade. The two sides apparently met on Thursday ahead of the start of free agency to start looking for a new team for Durant.

Durant joined the Nets alongside Kyrie Irving during the 2019 offseason, and after sitting out the 2019-20 campaign while he worked to rehabilitate an achilles injury, showed that he is still one of the best players on earth over the last two years. His future in Brooklyn came into question this offseason while the Nets tried to figure out what they were going to do with Irving, who flirted with leaving the team before opting into the final year of his contract.

There is no word on how this will impact Irving’s future in Brooklyn, but despite the fact that he is slated to suit up for the Nets next season, it appears things are going look much different with Durant playing for someone else.

As The Wire hits its 20th anniversary, creator David Simon is opening up about how Stringer Bell’s death in the third season not only shocked viewers, but also actor Idris Elba who was not exactly thrilled about being written off of the groundbreaking show. At the time, Elba wasn’t the major star is he today, but Simon could tell “what a leading man he was” and assured him that his onscreen death would be a good thing for his career. However, Simon was sympathetic to Elba’s concerns because he fully understood that, outside of The Wire, there wasn’t a whole lot of work for Black actors.

Via The Wrap:

“When he read the script … he was like, ‘Man, I can’t believe I’m leaving the show.’ Like, he was not happy. And I remember talking with him over the script and saying, ‘Idris, you’re going to have movie roles. You’re going to be an A-lister. People are going to get a load of this death, they’re going to acquire this story arc in retrospect — this is your calling card, man. You’re going to do fine.’”

Obviously, things worked out, and Simon was correct. Thanks to his command performance on The Wire, Elba is now an A-list star with a cavalcade of roles under his belt. (Not to mention, the near-constant calls to make him the next James Bond.) That said, it is an interesting look back at how far the industry has come, and still needs to go, that Elba had very justifiable concerns that being killed off of The Wire could’ve tanked his career despite delivering one of the most memorable TV roles of the past 20 years.

(Via Associated Press on Twitter)

While most of the NBA world is fretting over free agency and trade rumors, Anthony Edwards is back home in Atlanta with not a worry in the world after further establishing himself as a cornerstone of the Wolves franchise last season and helping them back to the playoffs.

As the Wolves front office looks to bolster their roster around Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns, with D’Angelo Russell as the most likely player on the move from the Minnesota roster, Edwards is returning to his first true love — football. Edwards has shed the questions of whether he’s committed to basketball that persisted in the lead-up to the 2020 Draft after he proclaimed happily that his favorite sport was football, but when it’s time to step away from the court in the summer, it’s straight to the gridiron for Edwards, who posted a video of him dropping dimes at the Georgia Tech facility in Atlanta with some friends — and claiming he’s coming for the Falcons starting QB job.

That video went viral and caught the eye of none other than Tom Brady, who couldn’t help but think that Edwards, despite his success in the NBA, chose the wrong sport to pursue a career in.

Edwards responded that, while QB is his preferred position, he’s not against stepping in at tight end to fill the void left by Gronk’s latest retirement.

The former No. 1 overall pick has lived up to the billing through two years on the basketball court and seems destined for a long, lucrative, and successful hoops career, but it’s nice to have career options and getting an endorsement from Tom Brady for your football skills is a pretty good reference.