Derek Malcolm has been covering the worlds of tech and entertainment for more than two decades.
Before coming to How-To Geek in 2025, Derek was a contributing editor and writer for the A/V and Home Theater section at Digital Trends, where he wrangled and wrote everything from what to watch on Netflix to reviews, explainers, and guides on the latest Bluetooth speakers, turntables, projectors, and other A/V gear.
Based in Toronto, Derek graduated from Humber College's Journalism program in 1999, after which he started covering the worlds of music, movies, TV, and celebrity for publications such as TV Guide, Hello! magazine, and Inside Entertainment. He then got the bug for covering tech and gadgets in 2006, when he served as editor-in-chief of Canadian tech magazine Connected for more than a decade.
An avid skier, when all the snow's gone Derek can be found at home spinning vinyl with his daughter or cheering on his favorite F1 team, McLaren.
Additionally, Paramount+ also has a great catalog of non-fiction docs and docuseries on tap, including a chilling cautionary tale about two women's shared shady ex-husband and an uplifting and fascinating look at some of the world's hardest-working canines.
So many true-crime documentaries put undue focus on the perpetrators behind the often brutal and heinous stories, but Paramount+'s docuseries Don't Date Brandon doesn't—it zeroes in on the victims and their extraordinary story of collaboration, investigation, and recovery.
The victims-no-more leading this charge are Athena Klingerman and Amber Rasmussen, whose popular Ex-Wives Undercover podcast is what this stunning three-part series is based on. It outlines the women's harrowing story of lies, abuse, and manipulation at the hands of their common ex-husband, Brandon Johnson. The one thing Brandon didn't see coming, however, was the women joining forces—sharing information, methodically documenting and logging his threats, lies, and actions going back decades, surfacing other women caught in his web, and starting a podcast that helped bring him to justice.
Don't Date Brandon tells the whole story, driven adeptly by Klingerman and Rasmussen. It's built using candid sit-down interviews, the women's own personal footage, and expert commentary—no reenactments, no true-crime theatrics, and without making a notorious figurehead out of whatshisname. Three episodes run roughly an hour each and are all ready to binge.
Think you know your cold cases from your con artists? Test your knowledge of
Netflix's most gripping true-crime stories.
Which Netflix docuseries follows the story of Steven Avery, a man who was exonerated
after 18 years in prison only to be charged with murder shortly after?
The Netflix documentary The Tinder Swindler focuses on a con man who posed as a
wealthy heir to which real-world business dynasty?
The Keepers, a 2017 Netflix docuseries, investigates the unsolved murder of which
victim?
Which Netflix documentary features Robert Durst, a real estate heir, who made a
stunning apparent confession while wearing a hot mic?
Don't F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer centers on the online manhunt for a
killer who first gained notoriety by posting what kind of videos online?
Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives. tells the story of Sarma Melngailis, a celebrity
restaurateur who was manipulated into committing financial fraud by a man who claimed he could do
what?
Which Netflix true-crime docuseries examines NXIVM, the organization accused of
being a cult that recruited women as 'slaves' and branded them?
The Staircase, one of the earliest true-crime docuseries on Netflix, follows the
trial of Michael Peterson, who was accused of murdering his wife at the bottom of what?
Paramount+ is home to all kinds of great docs and series from the Smithsonian Channel, and while they may not be as flashy as some of the Showtime or Paramount-produced titles, what they do really well is dig up some of life's most interesting worlds, subcultures, and professions. With that, I give you Dogs with Extraordinary Jobs, an awe- (and aww-) inducing five-episode series that profiles more than 25 working canines, spanning the globe from Massachusetts to the British countryside to South Africa and Namibia.
