Netflix subscribers have an almost insatiable appetite for true crime, and some of Netflix's most popular documentaries in 2025 had one thing in common: director Skye Borgman.
Her latest, "Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story," is holding strong at the top of Netflix's top 10 most-watched list after it arrived shortly before the new year. It's the kind of depraved, only-in-America scandal we're obsessed with gaping over, a story of two women behind a parenting YouTube channel exposed for horrifying acts of abuse after one of their children escapes to find help. Like many true crime series, it's generated plenty of social media chatter.
'Abducted in Plain Sight'
Before Borgman became a staple of Netflix's true crime doc catalog, she made a name with 2017's "Abducted in Plain Sight" about the case of Jan Broberg and how abusers often lurk closer to home than you'd think.
When then-12-year-old Jan was abducted in 1974 by close family friend Robert Berchtold, her family and wider community breathed a collective sigh of relief after she was eventually returned safely. Then, Berchtold kidnapped her a second time! How could people have let it happen again? How did everyone miss what was happening right in front of them? Pulling my hair out over these kinds of questions is what kept me glued to the screen watching "Abducted in Plain Sight."
Watch it on Netflix now
'Unknown Number: The High School Catfish'
2025 was a banner year for Netflix documentaries, and "Unknown Number: The High School Catfish" is one of the more bizarre. Cyberbullying really only blew up after I was in high school (back when you still needed a college email address to get a Facebook account), but even the worst horror stories I've heard pale in comparison to what happened to Michigan teenagers Lauryn Licari and Owen McKenny,
After they began dating, the couple was bombarded with unsettling texts from an anonymous sender, a cyberbullying campaign that didn't stop for more than a year. Authorities began investigating, but nobody could have been prepared for the shocking revelation of who was actually behind such a vicious campaign.
Watch it on Netflix now
'My Father, the BTK Killer'
Serial killer documentaries are a dime a dozen, but with "My Father, the BTK Killer," Borgman shares a perspective you don't often get to see. This true crime documentary dives into one of America's most infamous serial killer cases through the lens of his daughter. In 2005, Kerri Rawson's life was shattered when authorities came to arrest her father, Dennis Rader, on his lunch break.
The seemingly unassuming man was unmasked as the BTK Killer and ultimately found responsible for at least 10 murders. The film not only revisits the murders that terrorized Wichita, Kansas, but unpacks Rawson's perspective on how the shadow of her father's crimes still hangs over her to this day.
Watch it on Netflix now
Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds.
More from Tom's Guide
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
