Online Dating Turns Deadly In Netflix's Top New Documentary

If you thought our collective true crime fascination would have wound down at some point over the past few years, you've probably been pretty surprised at just how enduring our appetite for this stuff really is. We might only be a month and a half into 2024, but this year has already proven the true crime genre continues to captivate audiences worldwide, especially when Netflix is the purveyor.

Earlier this year, there was the "sickening" documentary "Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare," which chronicled the suffering of dozens of teenagers who were kidnapped and taken to a "wilderness therapy camp" which was basically an excuse to abuse them over the course of several months — and all with their parents' blessing. Lovely stuff. After that little appetizer, we all apparently became fascinated with Netflix's "American Nightmare," which told the story of a woman who was blamed for her own kidnapping. Now, the streamer has done it again with director Sam Hobkinson's "Lover, Stalker, Killer," a delightful little tale of deceit, harassment, and ultimately murder.

This latest Netflix doc tells yet another unbelievable story, this time focusing on Omaha, Nebraska resident Dave Kroupa, who had no idea what he was getting himself into when he signed up to an online dating site. Without spoiling too much for those yet to take in this latest horror story, Kroupa found himself at the center of a love triangle that would ultimately have deadly consequences. If that sounds up your alley, you're not the only one...

Look, we all know Netflix productions are hit and miss, and as last year's streaming success of "The Snowman" proved, Netflixers will pretty much watch anything. But that doesn't mean there's nothing good to be found among the deluge of media sitting on Netflix's servers. I'm not sure if "Lover, Stalker, Killer" is an example of that, but if you happen to be single and want to dissuade yourself from ever trying online dating again, "Lover, Stalker, Killer" might be just what you need.

Poor old Dave Kroupa started out going on a few dates before finding himself the victim of intense stalking and harassment. As the documentary goes on, it's revealed the perpetrator of this unhinged behavior went a lot further than harassment, with the story ultimately ending in tragedy for one of the parties involved in this wretched love triangle. All of which, it seems, has Netflix audiences transfixed.

According to streaming data aggregator FlixPatrol, "Lover, Stalker, Killer" has become nothing short of a worldwide hit since hitting Netflix on February 9, 2024. Not only has the documentary been at number one in the U.S. since its debut, it's also repeated that feat in several other markets, including Switzerland, Canada, and Austria. In fact, the Europeans can't get enough of this one either, with the documentary also enjoying a perfect run at the top in Iceland, Luxembourg, Norway, and the Netherlands. But it's not just viewers on the continent that are eagerly devouring this latest twisted tale from Netflix.

If you need any further proof that true crime is still big business, just take a look at where else "Lover, Stalker, Killer" is succeeding. At the time of writing, the documentary is sitting at the top of the Netflix charts in 21 of the 74 countries in which it has charted, giving it an average global ranking of 3.6. Among those 21 countries are Malta, New Zealand, and Uruguay, proving that this latest true crime offering has truly global appeal — and that's just the markets where it's at number one. "Lover, Stalker, Killer" is also climbing the rankings elsewhere, and will likely hit the number one spot in dozens more countries before the week is up.

It's worth bearing in mind that it's still not entirely clear how Netflix calculates its viewing metrics, the Top 10 website was basically created to distract from that fact, and even after the streamer announced this past December that it would be more transparent by opening its books (to a degree) twice a year, there are still serious questions about how useful any of that information is without full context. That said, "Lover, Stalker, Killer" has clearly struck a nerve. Despite the undeniable fact that our collective proclivity for voyeurism will reliably help propel these crime documentaries to success, this latest doc is surely a story worth experiencing, if only to remind ourselves to be cautious when venturing out into the nightmare-scape wrought by our modern internet.

Meanwhile, if you're not looking to become deeply unsettled by your next Netflix session, there's plenty of great Netflix original movies from 2023 that are worth a watch. Or perhaps you like scares of a more fictionalized sort, in which case Netflixers have recently become similarly entranced by an A24 horror film that's definitely worth a look.