The 10 Best Dateline Episodes Ranked

What is it about true crime stories that makes them so compelling? Maybe it's the subconscious belief that if we watch enough of them, we'll be able to spot trouble when it comes our way. It's hard to deny the allure of an intriguing mystery that keeps us guessing. Whatever the reason, few do a better job of telling these stories than the gifted correspondents at "Dateline NBC," available to watch on NBC and Peacock. Framed by a straightforward introduction from sober-faced anchor Lester Holt and his scene-stealing vest, each episode explores a single story through interviews with those whose lives were affected by the crimes in question.

From the quiet compassion of correspondents like Andrea Canning and Dennis Murphy to the almost lyrical storytelling style and velvet-soft snark of Keith Morrison, every story explores the unthinkable without glamorizing or sensationalizing it, instead painting a full-color picture of its victims. To fuel your next true crime binge, we took our own deep dive into the Internet's true crime TV rankings. From romantic betrayals to serial killers, these are the top 10 episodes of "Dateline," according to IMDb.

The story of Doomsday Cult Mom Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell is a strange and dark tale. After bonding over shared apocalyptic interests, the pair allegedly plotted and carried out the deaths of numerous family members, including Lori's husband and children and Chad's wife. It speaks volumes about the complexity and depth of the Vallow-Daybell murder spree story that shows like "Dateline" have devoted numerous episodes to unraveling the tale. And yet as deep as they delve into the case, there always seems to be another layer to this onion of delusion, cult beliefs, and greed.

"Mommy Doomsday" focuses primarily on the personality, motives, and spiritual evolution of Lori Vallow as told through archival footage and interviews with those who knew her before her involvement in those murders. Beginning with Vallow's early marriages, Keith Morrison explores Vallow's psychology throughout this strange and twisted narrative. Contrasted against her early image as a loving, devoted mother, the episode paints a vivid picture of Lori as a vindictive manipulator who may have experienced delusions years before her involvement with Chad Daybell. The episode looks closely at Vallow's accusations of child sex abuse against Joe Ryan, the late father of her daughter Tylee, and her efforts to remove Tylee from his life altogether, ultimately suggesting that Ryan's death might also be suspicious.

A cautionary tale for every parent of college students and an indictment of institutional inaction, "Lauren's Promise" is the heartbreaking story of Lauren McCluskey, a University of Utah student who lost her life when campus police ignored her cries for help. As narrator Josh Mankiewicz put it, "It's a story that could so easily have ended differently if just one person had stepped up, if just one more phone call had been made, one dot connected."

When parents send their children off to college, it's a time of big emotions. They're full of hope, anticipation, and worry. But for the parents of college scholar-athlete Lauren McCluskey, those worries were minimized with the belief that their daughter would be attending a school and community known for its safety. When she started dating an older guy named Shawn during her senior year of college, it looked like everything was falling into place for Lauren's future. But as the episode recounts, things aren't always what they seem.

As the relationship progressed, Shawn's control over Lauren rapidly tightened, emboldened in part by the young woman's lack of dating experience. Things deteriorated quickly from there, culminating in a failed breakup attempt after Lauren uncovered he had been concealing his real identity, age, and a former sex offense. The focus of this episode is how, despite numerous calls from Lauren and her loved ones, campus police did nothing to stop the horror that followed.

For "Dateline" viewers with an interest in the Vallow-Daybell case, "Where Are the Children?" is required viewing. Filmed while the case was still under investigation, the Keith Morrison-helmed episode chronicled the story as it unfolded, long before all of the couple's horrors (and buried evidence) had come to light. As Morrison put it, "Buckle up — it's going to be a wild ride."

Working through the evidence in front of him at the time to the best of his ability, Morrison covers the mysterious disappearance of Lori Vallow's children Tylee and J.J., and the curious response of their mother when investigators came knocking. Speaking with J.J.'s grandparents Kay and Larry Woodcock and fellow reporter Nate Eaton, Morrison pulls together the threads, ultimately following Chad and Lori to Hawaii in search of answers. Even if you think you know the Daybell saga in granular detail by now, "Where Are the Children?" is worth watching. Highlighting local reporters like Nate Eaton, this story sheds light on the pivotal role of local news media and social media sleuths played in bringing this couple to justice.

Keith Morrison is the correspondent for this painful cautionary tale that serves as a reminder to be careful who you trust, especially when it comes to money. Not long after announcing to a good friend that she planned to move to Canada and pursue a career in art, Sarah Stern disappeared — a fact that came to light when her abandoned car was discovered on a New Jersey bridge. As detectives looked into her case, her friends shared how loved she was -– friends like an aspiring film producer named Liam and her former prom date Preston. 

Investigators soon learned that Sarah had come into some money that her mother had squirreled away over the years for her. But had she taken off north of the border without so much as a goodbye or thrown her life away on a bridge for reasons unknown? As is often the case with "Dateline," the grim truth eventually surfaced.

Chris Jansing explores the story of a suspicious death on a New Jersey cliff in the baffling "Dateline" episode "Over the Edge." When Stephen Scharf told police that his wife had fallen off of a romantic overlook on their date night, the officers immediately found his behavior and story troubling, despite the medical examiner's conclusion that the death was likely accidental. Investigators quickly learned that Jody had filed for divorce only two weeks prior to her death -– hardly the preamble to a romantic date night at the Palisades. But despite their suspicions, prosecutors failed to gather enough evidence for charges, and Stephen went on to marry again. 

Just as he'd begun to feel the event was behind him, a renewed interest in the mystery and a star forensics expert would reveal that the facts of the case were inconsistent with an accident, and the testimony from the ensuing trial resulted in his conviction. With accusations of sloppy police work and biased testimony, whether Scharf actually did it or not will continue to frustrate viewers long after the episode ends. 

When someone dies while they're having relationship problems, their significant other is often the first target of the investigation. But when the actual killer is someone so unexpected no one even thought to consider them, the significant other can turn out to be a red herring, as it was in the case of Private First Class Kelli Bordeaux, a young army medic stationed at Fort Bragg. When Bordeaux went missing with her boyfriend and soon-to-be ex-husband both out of state, investigators had few leads and no sign of her body.

But after eyeing a questionable TV interview from someone in Kelli's periphery, bounty hunter and private investigator David Marshburn couldn't get her case out of his head. Narrated by "Dateline" correspondent Andrea Canning, "Deep In the Woods" delves into the investigator's obsession with the case, which led him to befriend the man he believed was responsible and eventually talk him into a full confession.

Hypnosis might be a controversial investigation tool, but for the woman at the center of "The Match," it was a Hail Mary that paid off. Narrated by Andrea Canning, this "Dateline" episode follows the story of Albuquerque teen Brittani Marcell and her desperate efforts to find an attacker she can't remember.

The fifth of six siblings, Brittani was a vibrant teen whose life revolved around her family, school, and job at the local mall. But everything changed one frightening afternoon that left her with a hole in her memory and lifelong trauma. It was a sunny September afternoon when Brittani's mom came home for lunch only to find her home in disarray, her daughter lying on the floor covered in blood, and an unknown attacker still in her home. Investigators soon realized Brittani had been brutally attacked with a shovel by an unknown male who had seemingly vanished into thin air. With no DNA match or good leads, the family found themselves under siege from an invisible threat as they waited for Brittani's likely impending death.

A testament to the strength of this young woman's spirit, Brittani eventually recovered from a near-infantile state to be able to walk and talk again. When every scientific effort failed, investigators tried hypnosis as a last-ditch effort. What makes this episode so compelling is its exploration of the place where science and intuition meet.

In its 30 years on the air, "Dateline" has seen plenty of strange, surreal, and convoluted cases. But the one that takes the cake is the tale of Lori Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell, the pair of alleged serial killers whose story is so complex, expansive, bizarre, and horrific that even the multiple "Dateline NBC" episodes dedicated to it serve as little more than a CliffsNotes version. 

Keith Morrison is the only logical choice for the piñata of absurdities that is the Daybell-Vallow story – a tale that begins with the doomed meet-cute of a former beauty queen and a former grave digger. When suburban mom Lori went down the rabbit hole of fringe beliefs, her journey took her to Chad Daybell, the author of an End Times-themed Christian fiction series. Whether what happened next was manipulation for sex, a blossoming cult, or a folie à deux is something the world may never fully understand, but the pair quickly began conspiring to rid the world of the demons around them — starting with their own families.

Most people who witness a crime would want to do anything they can to help pursue justice for the innocent. But there's a reason many true crime experts and attorneys warn against talking to the police without an attorney — a reason that comes up in "Dateline" far too often. "The Man Who Knew Too Much" explores this frightening but all-too-possible scenario: The reality that police can and do prosecute innocent suspects based on circumstantial evidence.

Keith Morrison narrates this story about a security guard who witnessed details about a crime only to find himself in investigators' crosshairs. The episode recounts how, eager to be helpful, Jennings opened up to police at every opportunity, even serving up accurate forensic observations based on his own firearms experience. Despite lacking any solid physical evidence supporting a conviction, police pursued one based on Jennings' interviews and civil case depositions — and succeeded on their third trial.

Fortunately for Jennings, a self-proclaimed "autodidactic polymath" named Clint Ehrlich took up an interest in the case after watching the story on the "Dateline" episode "The Girl With the Blue Mustang." The son of an insurance attorney, Ehrlich felt compelled to dig into the case, bringing his dad along for the ride. This episode recounts their journey — a journey that would ultimately lead to Jennings' exoneration.

For most people, the idea that they could be going about their lives one moment and then be arrested for a murder they didn't commit seems impossible. But that's exactly what happened to Pete Coones, the subject of the "Dateline NBC" episode "The Phone Call." Narrated by Natalie Morales, the episode is a heartbreaking warning against the dangers of prosecutorial tunnel vision and a reminder that not everyone in prison belongs there. As Coones' elderly father became more dependent on his housekeeper Kathleen Scholl, he became gradually more isolated from his own family, eventually changing her to his only insurance beneficiary after his death. When Scholl and her husband died in an apparent murder-suicide, the investigation quickly turned into a homicide charge after Scholl's family revealed she'd called them moments before her death claiming that Pete Coones was trying to kill them.

Despite an alibi, a complete lack of evidence, and health issues that would have made killing both Scholl and her husband physically difficult if not impossible, Coones was convicted of Kathleen's murder twice. When a new Kansas City D.A. began to look into wrongful convictions, however, new forensic evidence and testimony from the M.E. would lead to Coones' exoneration after nearly 13 years in prison. Tragically, Coones -– whose wife and children never gave up on him –- died of cancer only 108 days after his release.

With so many compelling "Dateline" episodes through the decades, deciding which are the best in the lot is no small feat. From the empathetic storytelling of Andrea Canning to the gently sarcastic interrogations of Keith Morrison, each correspondent brings something special to the narration, and many of the stories left us shocked, surprised, or downright stumped.

We turned to IMDb to see which episodes viewers were ranking as their top picks. Wanting to focus only on the true crime mysteries, we eliminated all the special "Dateline" episodes including the "To Catch a Predator" series and other episodes that depart from the standard format. The resulting list represents a broad range in terms of storytelling with plenty of twists, turns, and unexpected revelations. The correspondents were also varied, suggesting that viewers are far more interested in the mystery of the case than who is telling each story.