By: Camille Samilton
September 23, 2026
Actors dance, positioning themselves as murderers or victims, to entertain the people staring at the glass screen.
Today, true crime is at its peak form of entertainment with 84 percent of the U.S. population consuming True Crime media. This genre accounts for about 14 percent of podcast revenue and is expected to grow in 2026 as its popularity increases worldwide.
For example, My Favorite Murder earned $15 million in one year. More specifically, Netflix is the top platform for consuming true crime with a 65 percent engagement rate.
According to SSRS, people who consume true crime prioritize their safety, invest in home security, feel more fearful of their surroundings, feel more anxious, and take self-defense classes. Others are just interested in the intricate minds and thoughts of killers. One-in-three people who have been unfortunate victims of a crime have reported that watching true crime has better prepared them for the incident that fell upon them.
While seen as entertainment, the true crime industry has a legal loophole many people don’t know about. In the U.S., companies do not have to ask permission from the victims to profit from the trauma that they have experienced.
For example, when Netflix released Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, The Hollywood Reporter interviewed Rita Isbel, receiving her perspective on the situation.
“I feel like Netflix should’ve asked if we mind or how we felt about making it. They didn’t ask me anything. They just did it,” Isbel stated.
Sadly, she had to watch the actors play out how her brother was brutally murdered, bringing up all of the emotions from that unfortunate day decades ago.
While millions of people have the appetite to go on their streaming platform to consume true crime media, the real-world victims choke.
