Netflix Users Are About To Get 2 Great HBO Crime Series (& Both Have Masterpiece Performances)

It’s a good day for Netflix subscribers who don’t also have HBO Max. Two crime-based limited series are coming to the streamer, both jam-packed with incredible casts and phenomenal performances sure to leave viewers wanting more. It hasn’t been a total shock when HBO Max Originals pop up on Netflix, though the mega-streamer never licenses its titles to other platforms. But this time it is a bit of a shock—in the best way, as each series will be available to stream on both apps, and one is the serialization of an older Netflix docuseries. 

Love & Death and The Staircase are set to hit Netflix on December 1st. Love & Death centers around a woman named Candy Montgomery who finds herself living in Wylie, Texas in the late 1970s. This seemingly pious housewife seems to have everything going for her, but the cracks over top of the veneer of her perfect life widen as she finds herself bored and unsatisfied, falling into a sordid affair with her neighbor and eventually a brutal murder plot. It stars Elizabeth Olsen, Jesse Plemons, and Lily Rabe.

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You Won’t Want To Miss Either Series

The Staircase, not to be confused with the Netflix original docuseries of the same name, is actually a dramatization of the events covered in said docuseries. It stars Toni Collette, Sophie Turner, and Colin Firth, and dives further into the insanity that is the story of Michael Peterson, a crime novelist and journalist who was accused of the brutal murder of his wife, Kathleen, in their North Caroline home after she was found dead at the bottom of their staircase. It also gets into the nitty-gritty of the making of the documentary and the legal battles that plagued Michael Peterson in the aftermath of his wife’s death.

Viewers loved both shows, with Love & Death landing an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter and The Staircase getting a 92% on the Tomatometer. Of Love & Death, one viewer gave it five stars, saying, “Love & Death is absolutely captivating. Elizabeth Olsen is stunning in her role, bringing so much depth and emotion to a story that’s both heartbreaking and intense. The series pulls you in, not just because of the crime at its center, but because it makes you feel the weight of every choice and consequence. It’s not just about what happened, but why—and how it affects everyone involved. I couldn’t stop watching.”

Critics raved about The Staircase. Peg Aloi of Arts Fuse said, “The result is a great deal of suspense, despite the fact that the outcome of the story is so well established. Viewers of the Netflix series may find their assumptions challenged as the narrative unfolds.” And Joyce Slaten of Common Sense Media states, “Startling and compelling, this true crime miniseries wrings new juice from a well-worn criminal case with deft and involving characterizations from a powerhouse cast.”

Will you be watching these new additions to Netflix? Let us know in the comments before you head over to the ComicBook forums to see what other true crime fans are saying.