Movies like Mary Kay Letourneau: Notes on a Scandal (2022)
The best movies like Mary Kay Letourneau: Notes on a Scandal (2022) are Deliver Us from Evil (2006), Long Shot (2017) and Out of Thin Air (2017). If Mary Kay Letourneau: Notes on a Scandal hooked you with its crime and documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMommy Dead and Dearest (2017)7.4/10 from 263 votes
- NewestA Toxic Love Story (2026)Released 2026
Deliver Us from Evil (2006)
Documentary filmmaker Amy Berg investigates the life of 30-year pedophile Father Oliver O'Grady and exposes the corruption inside the Catholic Church that allowed him to abuse countless children. Victims' stories and a disturbing interview with O'Grady offer a view into the troubled mind of the spiritual leader who moved from parish to parish gaining trust ... all the while betraying so many.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLong Shot (2017)
When Juan Catalan is arrested for a murder he insists he didn't commit, he builds his case for innocence around unexpected raw footage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOut of Thin Air (2017)
Set within the stark Icelandic landscape, OUT OF THIN AIR examines the 1976 police investigation into the disappearance of two men in the early 1970s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisMommy Dead and Dearest (2017)
Child abuse, mental illness, and forbidden love converge in this mystery involving a mother and daughter who were thought to be living a fairy tale life that turned out to be a living nightmare.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTed Bundy: Mind of a Monster (2019)
New exclusive access and never before heard testimony gives a unique insight into the mind of America's most notorious serial killer, Ted Bundy. Breathtaking archive from the time and the voice of Bundy himself, reveals the monster inside the man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMaternal Instinct (2026)
Police pull over a woman who claims she just gave birth. But the baby — and the blood — aren't hers. Twisted lies unravel in this true-crime documentary.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisVoyeur (2017)
Legendary journalist Gay Talese unmasks a motel owner who spied on his guests for decades. But his bombshell story soon becomes a scandal of its own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisDirty John: The Dirty Truth (2019)
John Meehan created a terrifying trap of seduction, deceit and betrayal for countless victims. The illuminating revelations into his backstory showcase a series of events that flipped switches to create a monster wired for psychopathy. Goffard exposes John’s troubled background that built the foundation for his ominous fantasy world of lies and manipulation. In addition to hearing the Newell family’s terrifying tale, John’s first wife Tonia Bales and her daughters Emily and Abigail Meehan speak out, along with other women from his past who were caught in his web of lies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisAileen: Queen of the Serial Killers (2025)
Aileen Wuornos remains a rarity: a female serial killer. From childhood abuse to death-row revelations, this documentary revisits her life and crimes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTales of the Grim Sleeper (2014)
When Lonnie Franklin Jr. was arrested in South Central Los Angeles in 2010 as the suspected murderer of a string of young black women, police hailed it as the culmination of 20 years of investigations. Four years later documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield took his camera to the alleged killer’s neighborhood for another view.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger (2014)
A documentary that captures the sensational trial of infamous gangster James 'Whitey' Bulger, using the legal proceedings as a springboard to explore allegations of corruption within the highest levels of law enforcement. Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger examines Bulger's relationship with the FBI and Department of Justice that allowed him to reign over a criminal empire in Boston for decades.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCapturing the Friedmans (2003)
An Oscar nominated documentary about a middle-class American family who is torn apart when the father Arnold and son Jesse are accused of sexually abusing numerous children. Director Jarecki interviews people from different sides of this tragic story and raises the question of whether they were rightfully tried when they claim they were innocent and there was never any evidence against them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Mystery of D.B. Cooper (2020)
This documentary brings to life the stories of four people believed by their family and friends to be “DB Cooper,” a man who hijacked a 727 flying out of Seattle and jumped from the plane over the wilds of Washington State with a parachute and $200,000, never to be heard from again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbducted in Plain Sight (2017)
A family falls prey to the manipulative charms of a neighbor, who abducts their adolescent daughter. Twice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Mom Jayne (2025)
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisA Toxic Love Story (2026)
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (2012)
Alex Gibney explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all way to the Vatican.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEvil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story (2025)
Unravel the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMurder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story (2020)
After 16-year-old Cyntoia Brown is sentenced to life in prison, questions about her past, physiology and the law itself call her guilt into question.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnknown Number: The High School Catfish (2025)
Vulgar, taunting texts blow up the phones of a teen and her boyfriend. Who's sending them — and why? This twisty documentary reveals the shocking answer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAccused: The Hampstead Paedophile Hoax (2024)
Two children accused parents and teachers of leading a paedophilic satanic cult, supposedly headquartered in secret rooms on the school premises. The story was not true. But once the fire was lit, it was hard to put out. Emily Turner’s film considers the real-world impact of an outrageous online conspiracy theory, exploring the importance of truth and the cost of lies.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & crime
Mary Kay Letourneau: Autobiography (2018)
The story of former teacher Mary Kay Letourneau, a Seattle grade school teacher, who stunned the world when she fell in love with her 13-year-old former sixth grade student Vili Fualaau. Their subsequent relationship ultimately sent her to prison for more than seven years, isolating her from her children and altering the course of her life forever.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & crime
The Words to Tell You (2025)
Mariam, Asiya, and Anissa were 11, 7, and 5 years old when they were raped. The attackers were their paternal uncle, a neighborhood youth, and the nanny's son. They have no memory of the event. To protect them, their bodies developed traumatic amnesia. Years later, the memories returned, and they decided to file a complaint.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Boys of St. Vincent (1994)
The true story of boys being sexually abused at their orphanage, run by a religious community in Newfoundland.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTraumatized (1993)
An upstanding doctor is transformed into a cold-blooded serial killer after being attacked by terrorists in Vietnam.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Leaving Neverland: The Aftermath (2019)
An investigation into the allegations made in Leaving Neverland (2019).
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
A Teacher's Crime (2008)
Carrie is an attractive high school history teacher who one day decides to help a troubled student, taking an special interest for him, unaware of the ruthless and perverse scheme masterminded for her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Cruel Train (1995)
In wartime England, railway official Ruben Roberts discovers that his wife was sexually abused as a child by the Chairman of the Line, also her godfather. With her assistance, Ruben plots murder on the Brighton Express.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Amazon Garden: Uniform Lesbians (1992)
A lesbian teacher (Kanako Kishi) comes to Tokyo in search of her student (Ichiko Kamata), who has dropped out of high school and started living with a bomb-making terrorist (Takeshi Ito).
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Resonance (2019)
The film follows three renowned vocal coaches and their students during private lessons. As the pupils prepare for their upcoming final evaluations, perfect technique is expected to produce impeccable results. Listening primarily to their voices, we feel intensity and intimacy arise between teachers and students – an atmosphere in which transcendence is being built.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Mary Kay Letourneau: Notes on a Scandal?
The closest matches to Mary Kay Letourneau: Notes on a Scandal are Deliver Us from Evil (2006), Long Shot (2017) and Out of Thin Air (2017). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Mary Kay Letourneau: Notes on a Scandal?
Start with Deliver Us from Evil (2006), the closest match to Mary Kay Letourneau: Notes on a Scandal.
What is the highest-rated movie like Mary Kay Letourneau: Notes on a Scandal?
Mommy Dead and Dearest (2017), rated 7.4/10 by 263 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Mary Kay Letourneau: Notes on a Scandal?
A Toxic Love Story (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Mary Kay Letourneau: Notes on a Scandal?
Yes: Deliver Us from Evil (2006), Long Shot (2017) and Out of Thin Air (2017).
How are movies similar to Mary Kay Letourneau: Notes on a Scandal chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Mary Kay Letourneau: Notes on a Scandal, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.