These 10crime drama showsare nigh-perfect, from start to finish, and number one on the list is arguably the greatest TV show ever. Crime drama TV shows come in all shapes and sizes.It’s a genre that fits every tone, every location, every attitude, because there are so many ways of coming at the genre.
You can be a legal series, or a police show, or perhaps slipping on a criminal’s shoes is more your style. People are fascinated by crime, and it’s not a coincidence that thelist of the best TV shows everis top-heavy with crime dramas. Some series have a down season, but not these.
The joint Danish and Swedish crime drama,The Bridge, is so popular that there have been at least seven remakes of the series, all set along the borders of other countries. The originalThe Bridgebegins its story in the middle of the Øresund Bridge, which crosses from Denmark into Sweden.
A body is found there, so detectives from both countries are brought in to work together to solve this country-spanning case.The Bridgeis quintessential Nordic noir, and an extremely well-crafted crime mystery drama to boot. The interplay between the Danish and Swedish detectives is as good as can be found in any crime drama.
The Italian crime dramaGomorrah, based on the novel of the same name by showrunner Roberto Saviano, is set in Naples in the 2010s. It follows Ciro Di Marzio (Marco D’Amore), a soldier in the Mafia-like Savastano Camorra clan. After the arrest of the clan’s leader, a power struggle ensues between once peaceful factions.
It’s a brutal and grim series, and features a decidedly unglamorous look at the Mafia in Sicily. This is a world only hinted at in movies andTV shows about the American Mafia. After you watchGomorrah, you might be wondering more than ever why anyone would ever want to be pulled into this life.
Maybe it’s because it came out around the same time asThe SopranosandThe Wire, or maybe it’s because it premiered on FX at a time when the network wasn’t making “prestige” dramas, but for whatever reason,The Shieldhas never seemed to receive the respect it deserves. Seven seasons of great TV should earn it something.
The series follows the experimental division of the Los Angeles Police Department called the “Strike Team”, which works to maintain peace in the crime-heavy Farmington district. Led by Detective Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis), the Strike Team becomes more corrupt with each passing day, and the lines between criminals and the law become blurred.
NYPD Blueaired on ABC from 1993 to 2005, and despite it being a network TV show, there was a shocking amount of nudity, drug use, and violence. Of course, it was nothing that matches what can be found on current streaming services, but at the time, it pushed the crime drama into more realistic territory.
Most of the TV shows on this list haveNYPD Blueto thankat least for partial inspiration, and few other series ran as long as this show and remained excellent the entire way. Set in the 15th Precinct of Manhattan,NYPD Bluegave an honest look at crime on both sides of the law.
With two years between each of thethree seasons ofBroadchurch, you may imagine that the British crime drama would lose its way at least once, but it never does. Starring Olivia Colman as DS Ellie Miller and David Tennant as DI Alec Hardy,Broadchurchfollows the odd couple as they solve crimes in the coastal Dorset town.
It’s smart, well-written, and exactly what you think of when you think “solid crime drama”.
The death of a young local boy kicks off the first mystery of the series, but the complicated pasts of Hardy and Miller, as well as the unpleasant secrets hidden throughout the town, make for a show that offers consistent surprises. It’s smart, well-written, and exactly what you think of when you think “solid crime drama”.
While it will always be a shame thatMindhunterwas canceled far too soon, at least it means that it will always be remembered as a show that was perfect all the way through, even if that was just for two seasons. David Fincher’s series is a retelling of the FBI’s efforts to modernize its Behavioral Science Unit.
David Fincher, not Netflix, made the call to cancelMindhunterafter season 2.
Fincher has always had a knack for making boring processes and rigor appear endlessly fascinating, and withMindhunter, he has opportunity after opportunity to showcase why note-taking and poring over behavioral documents are as engrossing as any shootout if you film it right. It’s thrilling, haunting, and just plain interesting.
Who would have guessed that a spinoff of one of the greatest TV shows of all time, based on a secondary character, would be almost as great as the original? Vince Gilligan may have, becauseBetter Call Saulcomes out swinging, setting up a story that announces itself as anepic finale to theBreaking Badsaga.
The series, starring Bob Odenkirk in the career-altering role of Jimmy “Saul Goodman” McGill, tracks the slimy lawyer’s journey from conman to lawyer to conman-lawyer. What’s so brilliant aboutBetter Call Saulis how naturally and effortlessly Jimmy’s devolution comes across, making for an exciting but undeniably sad series.
Breaking Baddid so much for television and crime dramas specifically. It almost feels like there’s a B.C. and A.D. aspect to the show. There’s everything that came before and informed Vince Gilligan’s series about a science teacher who learns to cook meth, and everything that came afterward.
Walter White (Bryan Cranston) is a new sort of anti-hero.
Walter White (Bryan Cranston) is a new sort of anti-hero. He’s mean, petty, overconfident, and worst of all, he constantly wins. On the first watch, you won’t have much of a choice but to root for Walter, but after watching the show again (which you will), you’ll be rooting for his downfall even as you’re in awe of his victories.
The Wireisn’t based on a true story, but it may as well be. No other show has been able to capture all aspects of the crime cycle as well asThe Wire. It’s not stylized, it’s not heroic, villains aren’t always remorseless killers; everyone is just a person, trying to make their way through the world of Baltimore.
The gangs, the police, the politicians, the schools, the unions, and the media are all put under a focused lens.The Wireshows these communities and industries at their worst, but it never feels like it’s judging. Showrunner David Simon is compiling a complex picture of how everything is interconnected.
The Sopranosis one of the greatest crime shows ever, and, as far as I’m concerned, the greatest show ever. Following the dealings of the Soprano crime family in North New Jersey, the series combines incredible characters, crime drama excitement, and a story that’s Shakespearean in scope and meaning.
Nearly 20 years after it ended, thecrime drama TV showremains as relevant as ever, and every season has a reason to be regarded as the best. David Chase and his actors knew exactly what they wanted when they madeThe Sopranos, and what we get is an unbelievably entertaining look at lives poorly lived.
