10 gripping TV shows inspired by true events, ranked 

TV shows based on true events hit differently because they carry weight that fiction can’t fake. These stories come from real people and real consequences, which makes them harder to forget. Some shows follow facts from start to finish, while others use the truth as a starting point and build from there.

The result is a wide range of shows that feel authentic in different ways. A few stick closely to legal records or published reports, while others change timelines and characters to make things move faster.

This list looks at ten true-story shows and ranks them by how accurate they are. Every show here is rooted in something that actually happened, but not all of them treat the facts the same way.

You’ll find crime stories, historical dramas, and major political scandals. They all offer something worth watching, but the level of truth behind each one varies. If you care about how close a show stays to what really happened, then this list breaks down exactly where each series stands.

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TV shows inspired by true events, ranked

1) Chernobyl (2019, Streaming on: Max)

Chernobyl delves into what happened when Reactor Four exploded at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in April 1986 and how the Soviet government tried to hide the truth. The series follows nuclear physicist Valery Legasov as he uncovers what caused the disaster.

Every major detail, from the radiation levels to the evacuation delays, is backed by survivor accounts and declassified reports. The show uses real names and sticks closely to historical records. Only a few scenes are changed to simplify timelines.

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2) Five Days at Memorial (2022, Streaming on: Apple TV+)

Five Days at Memorial follows the staff and patients inside Memorial Hospital during Hurricane Katrina when floodwaters rose and power failed. With no help arriving and conditions getting worse, several patients were euthanized. The show is based on Sheri Fink’s book that used interviews, legal files, and autopsy results to piece together what really happened.

Dr. Anna Pou was arrested but never charged, and that legal gray area is fully shown. The series does not invent characters or twist the facts. Instead, it lets the real choices and aftermath speak for themselves, making the story harder to process.

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3) When They See Us (2019, Streaming on: Netflix)

When They See Us tells the story of five teenagers who were forced into confessions and wrongly convicted after a woman was attacked in Central Park in 1989. The show follows their arrests, trials, and the years they lost. Ava DuVernay worked closely with the five men to make sure the series followed real events as closely as possible.

The dialogue in the interrogation scenes was taken directly from court transcripts. Korey Wise’s time in adult prison is shown in full detail and reflects exactly what he went through. Nothing is softened or invented, which makes the show devastatingly honest.

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4) Dopesick (2021, Streaming on: Hulu)

Dopesick follows how OxyContin was pushed into small-town clinics and changed lives across the country. The story centers on the Sackler family’s company, Purdue Pharma, and how they sold a lie that the drug was safe. Though some characters are fictional, their experiences come directly from lawsuits and investigative reporting.

The show pulls from Beth Macy’s nonfiction book and actual court documents. It also recreates real moments from congressional hearings and internal company meetings. Dopesick shows how regulators failed and how addiction spread without relying on dramatic shortcuts. The facts are presented clearly, and the damage is impossible to ignore.

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5) We Own This City (2022, Streaming on: Max)

We Own This City tells the true story of Baltimore’s Gun Trace Task Force and how it became one of the most corrupt police units in modern history. It focuses on Sgt. Wayne Jenkins and several officers who robbed citizens, planted evidence, and stole overtime.

The show comes from Justin Fenton’s reporting and uses real indictments, wiretaps, and trial records. Every character is based on someone real, and no timeline is altered to create extra drama. The show avoids clichés and gives space to the full scope of the scandal. It presents facts exactly as they happened.

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6) Unbelievable (2019, Streaming on: Netflix)

Unbelievable tells the story of Marie Adler, who reported a r*pe and was later charged with filing a false report. Years later, two detectives linked her case to a serial r*pist who had attacked women across multiple states. The series is based on a Pulitzer-winning article and a ProPublica investigation that uncovered how badly Marie’s case was handled.

Most of the dialogue is taken from police records and interviews. Names were slightly changed, but events were not altered. Every scene follows real timelines and decisions. That level of accuracy gives the show its emotional weight and lasting impact.

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7) Manhunt (2019, Streaming on: Acorn TV)

Manhunt follows Detective Chief Inspector Colin Sutton as he investigates the murder of Amélie Delagrange in southwest London in 2004. The case led to the arrest of serial killer Levi Bellfield and exposed weaknesses in how cases were connected across jurisdictions.

The show is based on Sutton’s official case files and personal notes, and it keeps events in their correct order. Investigative steps shown onscreen are real, including the use of CCTV and witness interviews. Dialogue is sometimes dramatized for flow, but the facts remain intact.

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8) The Dropout (2022, Streaming on: Hulu)

The Dropout tells the story of Elizabeth Holmes, who founded Theranos and promised to revolutionize blood testing with a device that never actually worked. The series follows her rise in Silicon Valley, her partnerships with powerful investors, and the eventual collapse of the company after multiple investigations.

It is based on the ABC podcast of the same name and uses real interviews, court testimony, and media coverage as its foundation. Amanda Seyfried portrays Holmes with close attention to her public image and courtroom behavior. While some conversations are recreated, the overall timeline and key events are shown exactly as documented.

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9) Mindhunter (2017–2019, Streaming on: Netflix)

Mindhunter explores how the FBI created its Behavioral Science Unit by studying the psychology of serial killers. The show is based on the memoirs of FBI agent John Douglas, who helped pioneer criminal profiling. Interviews with killers like Ed Kemper are shown almost word for word using transcripts from real sessions.

The agents in the series are fictional, but their cases are based on documented events. The show adds fictional subplots to create personal stakes and ongoing storylines but never distorts the real cases. Its realism comes from how closely it sticks to actual FBI interview records and profiles.

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10) I Am the Night (2019, Streaming on: Hulu)

I Am the Night follows Fauna Hodel, who was adopted at birth, and sets out to find her biological family only to discover a connection to Dr George Hodel, a man once suspected in the Black Dahlia case. Fauna was a real person, and George Hodel was investigated, though never charged.

The show uses Fauna’s memoir as a base but introduces fictional characters and events, including the role of a reporter who did not exist. Most of the story is speculative and leans into dramatization. While names and background details are real, the central mystery shown onscreen is heavily fictionalized.

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