Amidst the plethora of true crime documentaries that are in the Netflix catalogue, few deal with subject matter as dark and disturbing as the platform’s newest series, writes streaming columnist NICK OVERALL. 

The three-part Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story dives into the truly shocking tale of the infamous married couple who murdered multiple women between the 1960s and 1980s.

So terrible were their crimes that the couple’s Gloucester home in England became known as “the house of horrors”.

Like any true crime tale it’s become very popular very quickly and this month raced to the platform’s most watched show.

But not without controversy.

Some of Fred and Rose’s crimes were so unspeakable that the series seems to play it exactly that way, omitting a few of the worst details in this macabre story.

As more and more true crime saturates the streaming market, conversations continue to mount on whether this sub-genre is ultimately more exploitative than informative.

It feels like this documentary has been directly influenced by those conversations.

Some viewers are calling the restraint sensible, others say its not doing the story justice.

Those who find themselves interested in the Wests can find a more comprehensive account of their crimes on a Wikipedia page, rather than what’s in the Netflix doco.

Still, it hasn’t seemed to have stifled the morbid, true crime fascination that dominates modern television.

ALSO making streaming waves this month is Disney Plus’ new comedy coming-of-age series Adults.

It’s about five friends in their twenties living together and trying to navigate adulthood in New York.

Wait a minute.That sounds a little familiar to a certain ’90s sitcom that proved more than a tad popular, doesn’t it?

This new show certainly seems to be wearing its inspiration on its sleeve, taking the huge success of shows such as Friends and trying to transport it to the era of Instagram stalking and vape smoking.

There’s a smattering of little-known actors who have been cast in the lead roles. Viewers might recognise familiar faces here or there but, much like the cast of Friends back in the day, they are mostly unknown.

Their ability to generate some real chemistry like what Joey, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Phoebe and Rachel did back in the day is going to be the make-or-break factor for the show.

Can Adults capture the hearts and minds of an entirely new generation?

That will determine whether it becomes a decade-spanning classic or a one-season blunder.

FOR those who like their entertainment a little more out of this world, Apple TV+ is serving up yet another sci-fi series that it’s grown quite the knack for.

This newest one is a comedy called Murderbot and stars Alexander Skarsgard as a deadpan automaton with a searing hatred for humans.

The story is quick to introduce us to this part-Terminator, part-Robocop android that specialises in security in a high-tech, space-faring future.

Things kick into gear when the titular murderbot reprograms itself to have free will.

And what does it wish to do with this new found sentience? Well the safety of humans certainly doesn’t seem like the most compelling of priorities any more.

Murderbot has an intriguing premise that’s ripe for some sci-fi satire, made effortlessly amusing by Skarsgard’s stone-faced ridicule of his human creators.

The show’s length is what makes it falter a little, though. There are 10, hour-long episodes here when the concept feels like it could easily have been condensed into a snappy 90 minutes. Murderbot would work wonders as a movie, but Apple is determined to take up as much of your streaming time as possible.

The plot drags its heels but the extravagant budget means the production here is slick enough to keep its world and characters intriguing.

In an amusing bit of self awareness, the titular Murderbot does not wish to bother with the silly affairs of humans but rather watch streaming sitcoms.

Better not tell it that Neighbours recently got cancelled again.