From exaggerated re-enactments to impossibly quick forensic results, true crime shows love their dramatic flair. Join us as we examine the most eye-rolling tropes that keep appearing in these documentaries. Warning: contains excessive slow-motion shots and omniscient detectives!
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00:00Oh, this was probably the most interesting case I've had yet.
00:02Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're opening an investigation into the most overused
00:07true crime TV tropes that deserve to be laid to rest.
00:10No way one person could have done it. It had to be a two-person job.
00:15A small, close-knit town where such crimes never happen.
00:18This is a place where you bake a cake and take it to your neighbor next door.
00:23It was a great place to be a police officer. Murderers and serious assaults for a few and
00:28far between. In real life, crime happens everywhere, from big cities and quiet suburbs to small rural
00:34towns. But going by true crime shows alone, you'd think violent crimes are exclusive to the big
00:39cities. That is because these shows almost always open with some longtime resident describing the
00:43community where the crime occurred as peaceful, tight-knit, and the kind of place where people
00:47didn't even lock their doors. Holcomb was unincorporated, and it was small. Main street
00:54was a dirt street. The front door of the post office never was locked.
00:59Inevitably, the person would also add something along the lines of,
01:02we just couldn't believe it. Crimes like that never happened here.
01:06Except judging by the sheer number of true crime shows set in these supposedly small,
01:10quiet, close-knit towns, it sure seems like it does happen there. A lot.
01:14But then to find four in one house from one family had to be of something that
01:20they probably never had seen and that I had never heard of happening in this community up until that
01:26time. The exaggerated reenactments. We get it. Accurately depicting a crime can be challenging,
01:32especially since most don't happen in full view of a camera. That's why many true crime shows rely
01:38on reenactments. When done right, like in 2018's American Animals, they can be pretty compelling.
01:43Did Mr. Beckman give you any information regarding the provenance of the books?
01:48Only that he inherited them many years ago and wishes to realize their value through a private
01:54sale. However, most true crime shows fall far below that standard. Ideally, these scenes should
02:00bring the story to life, but they frequently come off as cheesy or even unintentionally funny.
02:06The over-the-top performances, slow motion sequences, and ominous music can make serious cases feel
02:11like a low-budget straight-to-DVD thriller. And that feeling of tension, it just got stronger.
02:19So I said, I gotta get out of here. I gotta move. I gotta something. Maybe if I move around,
02:24it'll go away. Worse, these dramatizations sometimes sensationalize events and fill in
02:29gaps with pure speculation. The result is a viewing experience that's not only distracting,
02:34but frankly feels disrespectful to the real victims and their families.
02:38To Nancy the priest, we won't forget you. To me, I found it kind of strange.
02:44Nancy's co-workers quickly informed authorities.
02:48The victim with a smile that could light up a room.
02:50In the world of true crime shows, every victim was an angel on earth before their tragic end.
02:56They are always described as being exceptionally kind, universally beloved, and of course,
03:01having a smile that could light up a room.
03:03And like probably everyone, we just gravitated towards Lacey because she just kind of lit up
03:09the classroom. Now, we don't intend to disrespect victims or their loved ones. It does make sense
03:15that they would remember them fondly. But the predictability of such descriptions has basically
03:19turned them into a cliche. Jan was a wonderful woman, kind, compassionate,
03:24a loving mother, just a great woman, Mike and Jan. I thought, man, this is like Barbie and Ken,
03:32you know, this is like the perfect couple.
03:34Also, was there ever a victim who was just okay? Someone who sometimes forgot to text back,
03:39left dirty dishes in the sink, and wasn't adored by everyone? Or is a case only compelling if the
03:44victim was the type to give you the shirt off their back?
03:46He had a good heart. He just liked doing things for people, and he made a lot of money. So he
03:52shared it. She was truly one of the kindest giving souls I've ever met.
03:59The detective's most disturbing case. It was one of the most brutal scenes that I've been to in 32
04:05years of law enforcement. You could see the rage. Don't touch anything, okay?
04:10Yet another overused cliche in true crime shows is the dramatic moment when the detective claims
04:15that the case in question was the most disturbing one of their career. This one case that a film
04:19crew just so happened to interview them about certainly was the absolute worst they had ever
04:24seen. Of course, this comment helps to keep the audience invested, eager to see just how
04:34unsettling the case truly is. But given how often it comes up, you have to wonder, do these detectives
04:40actually rank their most disturbing cases? Is there a leaderboard somewhere? And do they
04:44update it every time a new documentary crew comes knocking?
04:47Police lie. And they lie a lot. As you've seen on this show, they've lied to get search
04:52warrants to conduct raids, and to get confessions during interrogations, and they even lie under
04:57oath. Putting survivors and loved ones in melodramatic situations. At their core, true crime TV shows
05:04are still TV shows. We're not naive enough to think they wouldn't throw in some overly produced
05:08visuals to heighten the emotional impact. But why drag the survivors and victims' loved ones
05:23into it? These people have already endured enough. We don't need to see them staring directly into the
05:28camera, unblinking while the narrator delivers a gut-punching line.
05:31You can smile. The pain is always there.
05:36It never goes away.
05:37It never goes away.
05:42Or have them gazing over a lake while the soundtrack plays sorrowful music. We understand that these
05:47moments are meant to convey their loss, which is very important, but they often feel contrived.
05:52It's as if the producers don't trust the real story to be compelling enough, so they dress it
05:57up with unnecessary theatrics. Over the years, I've received many, many, many letters from people,
06:03from women, who are in a similar situation where they didn't know their husband. They thought they
06:08did. The omnipotent detective. We've seen it countless times. The detective recounts a case that
06:14had been unsolved for years, only for them to swoop in, uncover crucial evidence, and bring long-awaited
06:20justice. And I can tell you, there were a lot of murders that ended up being solved 20 years later
06:26because the bulldogs never let go. While some detectives genuinely do remarkable work, solving
06:33cold cases isn't nearly that easy. Many remain unsolved due to insufficient evidence or flaws in
06:40the original investigations. But like we said, true crime TV shows are still TV shows, and a detective
06:45who admits their failure in solving crimes doesn't make for gripping television.
06:50That moment produced the remainder of my career as a supervisor in homicide. All of a sudden,
06:57I wasn't the new supervisor. I was the boss.
07:00These shows also exaggerate the detective's roles, often downplaying the contributions of
07:05forensic scientists, or even sheer luck. In doing so, they create a near-mythical image of
07:10the detective, one who always cracks the case and single-handedly brings closure to grieving
07:15families. Look, I'd consider myself a realist, all right? But in philosophical terms, I'm what's
07:21called a pessimist. The ease of forensic pathology. The perpetrator left little evidence behind.
07:28But a new computer program found clues on a bloody sheet. There's no denying that forensic science has
07:35been pivotal in cracking countless cases. But if you've ever binge-watched a true crime series,
07:40you might be convinced the process is a lot smoother and more conclusive than it actually is.
07:45These shows make it seem like DNA analysis and fingerprint matching deliver results within minutes.
07:50I could tell by her reaction when she rolled a match, she knew.
07:56Troy Graves' fingerprints match the prints from the fifth victim in Colorado.
08:02In reality, however, they can take anywhere from weeks to even years, especially if there's a
08:07backlog. Additionally, they create the illusion that a single smoking-gun forensic discovery is
08:12enough to solve a case, whereas such evidence is usually just one piece of a much larger puzzle.
08:17When confronted with the forensic evidence, Graves confessed. He later pled guilty and was convicted.
08:26So yes, forensic science is vital. But unlike the on-screen depiction, it's often a slow and
08:31painstaking process that doesn't always guarantee justice.
08:35The discovery of the victim's body.
08:37So they came down this very path, at night with their flashlights?
08:40That's right.
08:41They would have crossed this bridge, right?
08:43Somehow, in the dense, muddy woods, they found her body.
08:48Before even starting a true crime show, you can almost always guess how the victim's body was
08:53discovered. It usually goes something like this. The witness, often a jogger, hiker, or someone just
08:58walking their dog, stumbles upon something unusual deep in the woods. At first, they think it's a
09:03discarded mannequin because, of course, mannequins are littered everywhere in remote forests. But upon
09:07closer inspection, they realize it's actually a body.
09:10Walked his way towards the fire. When he got there, at first he thought it was a mannequin or
09:16something of that sort. But as he got closer, he realized it was a human being.
09:19This one is probably not as egregious because the brain isn't exactly expecting to see a dead body,
09:25so it latches onto a more mundane explanation. However, that doesn't make the cliche any less
09:30amusing. And it appears so frequently in true crime shows that it almost feels scripted.
09:35The guy that was standing out there saw the suitcase being dumped, and it appeared that
09:40something was in it.
09:42Curious, the worker opened it and looked inside.
09:47Typing and driving.
09:48Dispatch received an anonymous tip from someone that stated that there's a gentleman
09:52at this house that we're going to as a warrant.
09:56Investigating or reporting on crimes often involves traveling between locations. So naturally,
10:02detectives and journalists spend a lot of their time driving.
10:05However, in the world of true crime shows, simply driving isn't enough. No, the subject
10:10must also be aggressively typing on a device, frantically sending messages, or debating over
10:16a call.
10:16A disturbance between a customer and an employee at one of our local convenience stores. I'm not
10:24really sure what it's about yet.
10:26This trope is meant to convey the urgency of the case, but in reality, it feels performative,
10:31not to mention illegal in most places. Instead of making the subject seem competent and
10:35determined to crack the case, it just ends up making them look reckless.
10:38So we're going to take her over there and make sure she gets checked in and abides by
10:43the rules. And it's an alternative to going to jail.
10:48Do true crime producers realize that simply pulling over is still an option?
11:05The same overexposed photos and generic B-roll footage.
11:12In 1998, Shannon Schieber lived just a few blocks from the square. She was 23 and a graduate
11:20student.
11:20It wouldn't be a true crime show without the same grainy photos of the victim or the
11:25suspect appearing over and over again. To keep things engaging, the pictures are slowly
11:29overexposed, desaturated, or drowned in a heavy red tint. Bonus points if the image zooms
11:35menacingly into their face while the narrator says something like,
11:38but was there something darker lurking beneath the surface?
11:41And everything was perfect.
11:44But everything wasn't perfect.
11:47And because there's never enough actual footage, these shows rely heavily on generic B-roll.
11:52The slow drone shot of the victim's quiet hometown, police tape fluttering in the breeze,
11:56or jail cell doors slamming shut as the suspect is found guilty.
12:00Troy Graves was sentenced to life in prison.
12:03Instead of recycling the same tired visuals, maybe try retooling these shows as podcasts.
12:09It worked for Serial.
12:11Which of these true crime show cliches is your biggest pet peeve?
12:14Let us know in the comments below.
12:15If you've ever smelled the odor of human death, you will never, ever forget it. Ever.
12:22Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.
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12:33We'll see you next time.