Best Crime TV Series

El Chapulín Colorado (1973)

Columbo (1971)

Columbo is a friendly, verbose, disheveled-looking police detective who is consistently underestimated by his suspects. Despite his unprepossessing appearance and apparent absentmindedness, he shrewdl

The Sopranos (1999)

The story of New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he

The X-Files (1993)

The exploits of FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully who investigate X-Files: marginalized, unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena. Mulder believes in the existence of aliens and the p

Agatha Christie's Poirot (1989)

From England to Egypt, accompanied by his elegant and trustworthy sidekicks, the intelligent yet eccentrically-refined Belgian detective Hercule Poirot pits his wits against a collection of first clas

Breaking Bad (2008)

Walter White, a New Mexico chemistry teacher, is diagnosed with Stage III cancer and given a prognosis of only two years left to live. He becomes filled with a sense of fearlessness and an unrelenting

The Wire (2002)

David Simon's HBO masterpiece dissects Baltimore from every angle — cops, dealers, dockers, schools, press — to build the most complete portrait of a failing American city ever televised. Novelistic, patient and uncompromising, it's widely called the greatest TV drama. If its sprawling realism and institutional truth gripped you, seek out ambitious crime sagas and social dramas that treat a whole city as the protagonist.

Peaky Blinders (2013)

This stylish British series follows the Shelby crime family rising through post-WWI Birmingham with razor-capped menace, ambition and trauma. Swaggering, brutal and impeccably mounted, it turns a gangster saga into operatic period drama. If its style, scheming and family power struggles gripped you, seek out crime dynasties and period gangster sagas where loyalty and violence are the family business.

Sherlock (2010)

This modern update drops Arthur Conan Doyle's detective into 21st-century London, where a brilliant, abrasive Sherlock and his steadfast Watson crack crimes with dazzling deduction. Stylish, twisty and electrically performed, it reinvented the sleuth for a new era. If its clever mysteries and crackling chemistry hooked you, seek out detective series and modern whodunits built on genius, banter and ingenious puzzles.

Monster (MONSTER, 2004)

Naoki Urasawa's anime masterpiece follows a brilliant surgeon who saves a child's life, only to learn the boy grows into a monstrous serial killer — and to chase him across Europe in a moral nightmare. Slow, meticulous and deeply unsettling, it's a peerless psychological thriller. If its dread and ethical weight gripped you, seek out cerebral thriller anime and crime dramas about conscience, guilt and the nature of evil.

Chicago P.D. (2014)

A riveting police drama about the men and women of the Chicago Police Department's District 21 who put it all on the line to serve and protect their community. District 21 is made up of two distinctly

The Mentalist (2008)

Patrick Jane, a former celebrity psychic medium, uses his razor sharp skills of observation and expertise at "reading" people to solve serious crimes with the California Bureau of Investigation.

Sons of Anarchy (2008)

The Sons of Anarchy (SOA) are an outlaw motorcycle club with many charters in the United States and overseas. The show focused on the original and founding charter, Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Re

Criminal Minds (2005)

An elite team of FBI profilers analyze the country's most twisted criminal minds, anticipating their next moves before they strike again. The Behavioral Analysis Unit's most experienced agent is David

Hannibal (2013)

Both a gift and a curse, Graham has the extraordinary ability to think like his prey—he sees what they see, feels what they feel. But while Graham is pursuing an especially troubling, cannibalistic mu

Fargo (2014)

A close-knit anthology series dealing with stories involving malice, violence and murder based in and around Minnesota.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013)

A single-camera ensemble comedy following the lives of an eclectic group of detectives in a New York precinct, including one slacker who is forced to shape up when he gets a new boss.

Dexter (2006)

Dexter Morgan, a blood spatter pattern analyst for the Miami Metro Police also leads a secret life as a serial killer, hunting down criminals who have slipped through the cracks of justice.

The Shield (2002)

The story of an inner-city Los Angeles police precinct where some of the cops aren't above breaking the rules or working against their associates to both keep the streets safe and their self-interests

White Collar (2009)

In exchange for his freedom, charming con artist Neal Caffrey provides his expertise to help straight-man FBI agent Peter Burke catch elusive white-collar criminals.

Scorpion (2014)

Eccentric genius Walter O’Brien and his team of brilliant misfits comprise the last line of defense against complex, high-tech threats of the modern age. As Homeland Security’s new think tank, O’Brien

Bones (2005)

Dr. Temperance Brennan and her colleagues at the Jeffersonian's Medico-Legal Lab assist Special Agent Seeley Booth with murder investigations when the remains are so badly decomposed, burned or destro

Deadwood (2004)

The story of the early days of Deadwood, South Dakota; woven around actual historic events with most of the main characters based on real people. Deadwood starts as a gold mining camp and gradually tu

Brazil Avenue (Avenida Brasil, 2012)

Brazil Avenue is a dynamic, lifelike, and modern telenovela that reveals how unrelenting ambition and inflicted cruelty can change a young girl’s destiny and lead her to seek revenge.

Person of Interest (2011)

John Reese, former CIA paramilitary operative, is presumed dead and teams up with reclusive billionaire Finch to prevent violent crimes in New York City by initiating their own type of justice. With t

The Bridge (Bron/Broen, 2011)

When a body is found on the bridge between Denmark and Sweden, right on the border, Danish inspector Martin Rohde and Swedish Saga Norén have to share jurisdiction and work together to find the killer

Better Call Saul (2015)

The Breaking Bad prequel turns out to be its equal: the slow, painful transformation of well-meaning hustler Jimmy McGill into morally bankrupt lawyer Saul Goodman, shadowed by fixer Mike Ehrmantraut. Patient, beautifully shot and quietly tragic, it's character study as crime saga. If its measured tension and moral erosion gripped you, Breaking Bad is the obvious next step, and Fargo shares its blackly comic, slow-burn descent into crime.

Banana Fish (BANANA FISH, 2018)

This intense anime follows Ash Lynx, a brilliant teenage gang leader in New York, who teams with a young Japanese photojournalist to unravel a deadly conspiracy tied to his abusive past. Dark, propulsive and emotionally raw, it fuses crime thriller with a tender bond. If its gritty stakes and aching connection gripped you, seek out crime and drama anime that pair brutal worlds with deep, fragile relationships.

The Rookie (2018)

This procedural follows John Nolan, who becomes the oldest rookie in the LAPD after a midlife reinvention, navigating the job's dangers and his own fresh start. Warm, brisk and crowd-pleasing, it blends case-of-the-week action with genuine heart. If its feel-good cop drama hooked you, seek out character-driven procedurals about second chances and finding your calling later than expected.

Vincenzo (빈센조, 2021)

This slick K-drama follows a Korean-Italian mafia consigliere who returns home and turns his ruthless cunning against a corrupt conglomerate. Stylish, darkly funny and morally gleeful, it's a revenge fantasy with a charismatic antihero. If its swagger, scheming and crowd-pleasing payback hooked you, seek out stylish crime dramas and Korean thrillers about clever rogues taking down the powerful.

Girl from Nowhere (เด็กใหม่, 2018)

This Thai anthology series follows the mysterious, vengeful Nanno as she transfers between schools, exposing the hypocrisy, cruelty and secrets of those around her. Dark, stylish and morally provocative, it turns each episode into an unsettling fable. If its eerie payback and social bite gripped you, seek out anthology thrillers and dark dramas where a mysterious avenger drags hidden sins into the light.

Dexter: Resurrection (2025)

This 2025 revival wakes serial-killer-with-a-code Dexter Morgan from a coma to search for his missing son, reckoning with a lifetime of damage. Tense and character-driven, it returns one of TV's most morally fraught antiheroes to the hunt. If its dark psychology and cat-and-mouse stakes grip you, seek out serial-killer thrillers and antihero dramas about monsters trying to control the darkness inside.

Bloodhounds (사냥개들, 2023)

Faced with ruthless foes with a violent thirst, two young boxers band together — risking life and limb to bring justice and protect their loved ones.

Only Murders in the Building (2021)

Three strangers share an obsession with true crime and suddenly find themselves wrapped up in one.

Dark (2017)

A missing child sets four families on a frantic hunt for answers as they unearth a mind-bending mystery that spans three generations.

BEASTARS (2019)

In a world where beasts of all kinds coexist, a gentle wolf awakens to his own predatory urges as his school deals with a murder within its midst.

Riverdale (2017)

Set in the present, the series offers a bold, subversive take on Archie, Betty, Veronica and their friends, exploring the surreality of small-town life, the darkness and weirdness bubbling beneath Riv

The Penguin (2024)

With the city in peril following the seawall's collapse, Oswald "Oz" Cobb seeks to fill the power vacuum left by the death of Carmine Falcone and finally give his mother Francis the life he's always p

Lucifer (2016)

Bored and unhappy as the Lord of Hell, Lucifer Morningstar abandoned his throne and retired to Los Angeles, where he has teamed up with LAPD detective Chloe Decker to take down criminals. But the long

Tokyo Revengers (東京リベンジャーズ, 2021)

Takemichi Hanagaki is a freelancer that’s reached the absolute pits of despair in his life. He finds out that the only girlfriend he ever had, in middle school, Hinata Tachibana, had been killed by th

Snowfall (2017)

Los Angeles. 1983. A storm is coming and its name is crack. Set against the infancy of the crack cocaine epidemic and its ultimate radical impact on the culture as we know it, the story follows numero

Mr. Robot (2015)

A young programmer, Elliot, suffers from a debilitating anti-social disorder and decides that he can only connect to people by hacking them. He wields his skills as a weapon to protect the people that

MobLand (2025)

Two mob families clash in a war that threatens to topple empires and lives.

Redo of Healer (回復術士のやり直し, 2021)

In a world of monsters, adventurers and magic, some of the most gifted healers are subjugated to brute force. Keyaru gains the ability to rewind time and turns the tables on those who’ve exploited him

Tulsa King (2022)

New York mafia capo Dwight "The General" Manfredi is released from prison after 25 years and exiled by his boss to set up shop in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Realizing that his mob family may not have his best i

Money Heist (La casa de papel, 2017)

To carry out the biggest heist in history, a mysterious man called The Professor recruits a band of eight robbers who have a single characteristic: none of them has anything to lose. Five months of se

My Name (마이 네임, 2021)

Following her father's murder, a revenge-driven woman puts her trust in a powerful crime boss — and enters the police force under his direction.

9-1-1 (2018)

Explore the high-pressure experiences of police officers, paramedics and firefighters who are thrust into the most frightening, shocking and heart-stopping situations. These emergency responders must

Ozark (2017)

A financial adviser drags his family from Chicago to the Missouri Ozarks, where he must launder $500 million in five years to appease a drug boss.

Mare of Easttown (2021)

A detective in a small Pennsylvania town investigates a local murder while trying to keep her life from falling apart.

Daredevil: Born Again (2025)

Matt Murdock, a blind lawyer with heightened abilities, is fighting for justice through his bustling law firm, while former mob boss Wilson Fisk pursues his own political endeavors in New York. When t

Marvel's Daredevil (2015)

Lawyer-by-day Matt Murdock uses his heightened senses from being blinded as a young boy to fight crime at night on the streets of Hell’s Kitchen as Daredevil.

Kakegurui (賭ケグルイ, 2017)

Run by a corrupt and sadistic school council, the “system” at Hyakkaou is based on gambling, with losers who cannot cover their debts being demeaned by their peers and forced to serve their debtholder

MINDHUNTER (2017)

An agent in the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit develops profiling techniques as he pursues notorious serial killers and rapists.

Marvel's The Punisher (2017)

A former Marine out to punish the criminals responsible for his family's murder finds himself ensnared in a military conspiracy.

Godfather of Harlem (2019)

Loosely based on infamous crime boss Bumpy Johnson, who in the early 1960s returned from ten years in prison to find the neighborhood he once ruled in shambles. With the streets controlled by the Ital

Reacher (2022)

Jack Reacher, a veteran military police investigator, has just recently entered civilian life. Reacher is a drifter, carrying no phone and the barest of essentials as he travels the country and explor

BAKI (バキ, 2018)

While martial arts champion Baki Hanma trains hard to surpass his legendary father, five violent death row inmates descend upon Tokyo to take him on.

Black Bird (2022)

As Jimmy Keene begins a 10-year prison sentence, he gets an incredible offer: If he can elicit a confession from suspected killer Larry Hall, Jimmy will be freed. Completing this mission becomes the c

Narcos (2015)

A gritty chronicle of the war against Colombia's infamously violent and powerful drug cartels.