True crime podcasts are nothing more than a testament that sometimes real life is far more interesting than anything someone could write. Some true crime podcasts have already gotten the Hollywood treatment, but there are plenty more just waiting to be adapted to the screen. While there are a plethora of options, these three true crime podcasts are excellent candidates for a movie or television series.
Murder in Miami
Not to be confused with the movie of the same name, Murder in Miami is a true crime podcast hosted by Lauren Bright Pacheo and Phil Stanford. While it starts with a murder, Murder in Miami unfolds into a retelling of the dangerous drug trade that plagued Miami in the 1980s (as it turns out, Miami Vice wasn’t all that fictionalized) and the subsequent crimes it caused.
Told by the men and women who somehow evaded death long enough to make a podcast about it, Pacheo speaks with Stanford, a crime journalist who investigated drug trafficking in Miami, as well as other key players who are both alive and were willing to speak about their experiences. Murder in Miami could take form as either a movie or a miniseries, but either way, the story deserves to be told to a larger audience.
Scamanda
While Scamanda was only recently released, there’s already loads of potential for this podcast. Scamanda tells the story of Amanda Riley, a blogger who swindled family, friends, and strangers on the internet out of over $100,000 total claiming she needed help paying for cancer treatments. The catch? She was never actually diagnosed with cancer.
The podcast interviews people involved with the case while detailing exactly what went down. It’s a lesson in both honesty and healthy skepticism when it comes to, well, everyone. Scamanda would make an enthralling miniseries. Think Inventing Anna, but with a Christian blogger twist.
Chameleon: Dr. Dante
Chameleon is a popular podcast series that uncovers the lives of some of the most sophisticated scammers in history. Its fifth season follows Ronald Pellar, better known as Dr. Dante, a hypnotist who rose to fame in the 1960s, married one of the most famous women in the world at the time, and continued scamming victims for decades after he began.
Not an actual doctor, Dr. Dante was the subject of a documentary in 2010, but his story is too sensational for just a documentary. Chameleon: Dr. Dante has the makings of a spectacular miniseries: unbelievable storylines, glitz and glamor, romance, and a truly intriguing main character.
Each of these true crime podcasts is available wherever you listen to podcasts.
