Credit: Netflix

After a brief pause, Netflix is back with another shocking true-crime documentary, The Widower: ‘Til Death Do Us Part, tracing the dark trail of Thomas Randolph’s multiple marriages, insurance payouts, and suspicious deaths.

Directed by Chris Smith, the film follows Dateline senior investigative producer and journalist Dan Slepian, who covered the case for two straight decades and detective Dean O’Kelley as they try to piece together Randolph’s history of manipulation, deception, and charm.

While the true-crime story heavily spotlights secret double lives, unsuspecting manipulators, and dangerous domestic deception, if you want your post-viewing marathon to encompass all that, we’ve got you covered.

So, for those scratching their heads over what to watch next on Netflix, here are five documentaries to follow up with after The Widower: ‘Til Death Do Us Part.

Five Netflix documentaries to stream after The Widower: ‘Til Death Do Us Part

American Murder: The Family Next Door (Jenny Popplewell, 2020)

At the centre of American Murder: The Family Next Door is the rapid unravelling of a seemingly perfect marriage, making it one of the quintessential follow-ups to The Widower: ‘Til Death Do Us Part. The 2020 true-crime documentary opens with the mysterious disappearance of Shanann Watts, who was heavily pregnant when she went missing with her two young daughters, Bella and Celeste.

After a missed doctor’s appointment, Shanann’s friend Nickole Atkinson grows concerned as Shanann repeatedly fails to respond to her texts and messages, ultimately leading to a welfare check and police intervention. Although her husband, Chris Watts, appears on local news, desperately urging for his family’s safe return, American Murder: The Family Next Door dives deep into the contrasts of his public appeal and private reality, marked by deception and an extramarital affair.

Girl in the Picture (Skye Borgman, 2022)

The Widower: ‘Til Death Do Us Part tries to uncover decades-long secrets involving Thomas Randolph, and Girl in the Picture shares the same thread of darkness. The true-crime docufilm follows the terrifying true story of a 20-year-old woman named Tonya Hughes, who’s found dead on an Oklahoma roadside after a brutal hit-and-run accident. She leaves behind a young son and a much older man claiming to be her husband, Clarence.

But when the police contacted the woman’s supposed mother to inform her of her death, what the mother reveals turns everything upside down. According to the mother, her daughter died decades ago as a toddler, which puts the investigators in a race against time to dig up the true identity of the woman. Girl in the Picture follows the case of this young woman who lived under an assumed name and died under mysterious circumstances, uncovering a web of kidnapping, abuse, and murder.

The Staircase (Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, 2018)

The Widower: ‘Til Death Do Us Part investigates the mysteries surrounding spousal deaths and conflicting evidence, and The Staircase simply follows in its footsteps, spotlighting an enigmatic husband. The Netflix limited series follows the true story of novelist Michael Peterson, who reported to 911 that his wife, Kathleen, fell down the stairs in their Durham home in North Carolina, eventually succumbing to injuries in December 2001.

As police and medical examiners investigated the case, Michael ended up becoming the prime suspect when Kathleen’s severe head injuries suggested otherwise. The Staircase centres on the intense probe that followed Michael, uncovering details about his private life, a seemingly similar past accident, and the drawn-out legal battle in the aftermath, packed with courtroom arguments.

Worst Ex Ever (Cynthia Childs, 2024-Present)

Since The Widower: ‘Til Death Do Us Part explores a case where the threat is too close to home, Worst Ex Ever becomes the perfect post-viewing candidate to go for. From the creators of Worst Roommate Ever, the Netflix true-crime docuseries focuses on multiple cases of real-life romantic relationships gone terribly wrong, turning into tales of horrifying betrayal, violence, abuse, deception, and murder.

Worst Ex Ever details toxic romantic partnerships where, underneath seemingly perfect relationships, hide manipulative personalities with criminal traits. Since each episode covers a separate true-crime case, it allows viewers to experience the multitudes of violence and exploitation – from bitter child custody battles, forging identities, controlling marriages, to relentless harassment, dark sides of online dating, and grisly murder plots that will force you to think twice before showing up on your next date.

Lover, Stalker, Killer (Sam Hobkinson, 2024)

To wrap up the post-viewing marathon on The Widower: ‘Til Death Do Us Part, we recommend Lover, Stalker, Killer, which captures a twisted love triangle and a murder plot in Omaha, Nebraska. The true-crime story follows Dave Kroupa, a newly single auto mechanic who tries his hand at online dating and soon starts casually dating Liz Goylar on non-exclusive terms.

After a short while, Kroupa connects with Cari Farver, who also begins dating Dave. While Liz and Cari briefly cross paths outside his apartment in a chance encounter, what follows next is that Cari goes mysteriously off the radar. Shortly after, Liz and Dave start receiving threatening messages and emails, seemingly coming from Cari. Lover, Stalker, Killer chronicles four years of harassment that concluded with the wildest revelation, defying every assumption and logic.