20 TV shows you may not know were inspired by real-life events

First, a real story, then a podcast, then an Apple TV+ original series. The Shrink Next Door is the bizarre story of Marty Markowitz and his former therapist. It won’t scratch your itch if you’re into shows about violent crimes, but it will make you a bit leery of therapists. 

If this story fascinates you at all, there’s plenty of content to consume it. Author Michael Peterson was accused of murdering his wife and went to great lengths to prove himself not guilty of the crime (though, spoiler alert, he was found guilty). The wild true story was a documentary and then an original HBO miniseries. 

The story of Candy Montgomery is so wild it’s inspired two television series and a made-for-TV movie. Candy, Love & Death, and 1990’s A Killing in a Small Town all portray the chilling axe murder that Montgomery was accused of committing in 1980 after her husband had an affair with her friend, the victim, Betty Gore. 

Mindhunter is one of the few television series inspired by real events that we’re grateful happened. No, we’re not grateful for the serial killers John E. Douglas, the man who inspired the show, worked with, but Douglas’ work led to improved methods by which serial killers and mass murderers are brought to justice. 

A Friend of the Family was released to Peacock in 2022, and it told the true story of a girl who was abused and kidnapped by — you guessed it — a friend of the family. The show’s creator was inspired to make the series after reading two separate books written about the horrifying events. 

Alias Grace is based on a novel of the same name that tells a fictionalized account of the murders of Thomas Kinnear and Nancy Montgomery. The novel was written by Margaret Atwood, the same woman who wrote The Handmaid’s Tale, which was later adapted to the Emmy-winning series of the same name. 

Considered by many to be one of the best television shows of all time, many of the characters on The Wire were inspired by real people. One such character was Avon Barksdale, a criminal inspired by Nathan Barksdale, who was also arrested for drug crimes. 

Though it seems like miniseries are a new addition to television possibilities because streaming services release original content, they’ve been part of television for a while. Band of Brothers is a miniseries released in 2001, and it tells the tale of the 506th Infantry Regiment during World War II.

Unorthodox, a series that came to Netflix in 2020, was inspired by the autobiography Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots. It follows Etsy Shapiro as she leaves the United States in rejection of the Jewish beliefs she was raised to have. 

The Netflix original GLOW might seem like a completely made-up show, and while it is a fictionalized account, it was inspired by the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, founded in the late ‘80s. The organization is so intriguing it even inspired a documentary before the television series. 

There are television shows that take place in prison that are completely fictionalized, but Orange is the New Black is not one of them. Based on the memoir of the same name, the Netflix original series tells a dramatized account of Piper Kerman’s (Piper Chapman in the show) 13 months in a federal prison. 

The rise of true crime podcasts has made it easier than ever for television producers to find real-life stories to inspire silver-screen series. After the podcast of the same name was released, Dr. Death was brought to life on Peacock. Fortunately for the viewers, but unfortunately for his patients, there’s enough material that Dr. Death was picked up for a second season. 

Lots of television series are based on a singular story, book, or podcast, but Unspeakable drew inspiration from two books: Bad Blood and The Gift of Death. Both detail the horrible realities of the beginning of the HIV/AIDs epidemic. Specifically, Unspeakable stories of the people who contracted HIV and Hepatitis C via infected blood from Canadian Red Cross blood banks. 

Some television series you wish were completely fictional, like Devil in Ohio. The Netflix show is based on the book of the same name, and the book was inspired by real events. The series’ creators made up significant parts of the show, but unfortunately, the idea for the book and the show was based on real events. 

File The Thing About Pam next to Devil in Ohio under Shows You Wish Weren’t Based On True Events. The story of Pam Hupp has been so intriguing to audiences that it’s also been documented by Dateline and a podcast of the same name. 

HBO loves to air a television series based on real people. Boardwalk Empire, a show about the Prohibition era in the 20th century, was inspired by Enoch L. Johnson, a corrupt man with political power and lots of money. You can imagine how well things worked out for him. 

In the streaming era, it’s easy for shows to slip under our noses, even if highly publicized events inspired them. In the mid-2010s, the United States was rapt by the case of Michelle Carter, a young woman who went to prison after encouraging her boyfriend to take his own life. The twisted story is portrayed in The Girl from Plainville.

Not all television series inspired by reality are dark and hopeless. Special is a comedy series about Ryan Hayes, played by and based on the show’s creator Ryan O’Connell, who navigates life in Los Angeles as a gay man with cerebral palsy. The diagnosis isn’t especially positive, but the show's overall tone certainly is. 

The Serpent is based on the crimes of Charles “The Serpent” Sobhraj. (You know a criminal is dangerous when they’re awarded a nickname.) Sobhraj was a prolific serial killer for two decades, and if you’re wondering why his name sounds so familiar, and you haven’t seen the show, it’s because he was released from prison in 2022.  

Netflix’s Seven Seconds is a crime-drama miniseries about police brutality and racism. While most true crime shows inspired by real life are based on just one case, Seven Seconds draws inspiration from several different instances of horrific violent racism among police forces.