Best crime drama TV shows
Gangsters, detectives, cartels and the people caught between them. This list covers scripted crime dramas, with comedies and sci-fi left out so the tone stays grounded. Every pick has a TMDB rating of 7.0 or more from at least 300 votes, and new releases wait until their ratings settle. The order follows the Boxlist quality score, and we checked the list by hand to remove obvious misfits.
- 1
Fargo (2014)
TV8.3
A close-knit anthology series dealing with stories involving malice, violence and murder based in and around Minnesota.
US Hulu, Amazon Prime (buy), UK Amazon Prime, Google Play (buy)
- 2
Sherlock (2010)
TV8.5
A modern update finds the famous sleuth and his doctor partner solving crime in 21st century London.
US Amazon Prime (buy), Google Play (buy), UK BBC, NowTV
- 3
The Wire (2002)
TV8.4
Told from the points of view of both the Baltimore homicide and narcotics detectives and their targets, the series captures a universe in which...
US HBO, Amazon Prime (buy), UK NowTV, Amazon Prime (buy)
- 4
Tulsa King (2022)
TV8.4
Just after he is released from prison after 25 years, New York mafia capo Dwight “The General” Manfredi is unceremoniously exiled by his boss to...
US Paramount+, Amazon Prime (buy), UK Amazon Prime (buy), iTunes (buy)
- 5
Peaky Blinders (2013)
TV8.6
A gangster family epic set in 1919 Birmingham, England and centered on a gang who sew razor blades in the peaks of their caps, and their fierce...
US Netflix, Amazon Prime (buy), UK BBC, Netflix
- 6
The Penguin (2024)
TV8.4
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...
- 7
- 8
Sons of Anarchy (2008)
TV8.4
An adrenalized drama with darkly comedic undertones that explores a notorious outlaw motorcycle club’s (MC) desire to protect its livelihood while...
US Hulu, Amazon Prime (buy), UK Disney, Amazon Prime (buy)
- 9
Dexter (2006)
TV8.2
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...
US Amazon Prime (buy), Google Play (buy), UK Amazon Prime (buy), Google Play (buy)
- 10
The Shield (2002)
TV8.1
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...
US Hulu, Amazon Prime (buy), UK Amazon Prime (buy), Google Play (buy)
- 11
Black Bird (2022)
TV8.1
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...
US Apple TV+, UK Apple TV+
- 12
Justified (2010)
TV8.0
A character drama based on the 2001 Elmore Leonard short story "Fire in the Hole." Leonard's tale centers around U.S.
US Hulu, Amazon Prime (buy), UK Disney, NowTV
- 13
The Mentalist (2008)
TV8.4
Patrick Jane, a former celebrity psychic medium, uses his razor sharp skills of observation and expertise at "reading" people to solve serious...
US HBO, Amazon Prime (buy), UK Amazon Prime, Google Play (buy)
- 14
Boardwalk Empire (2010)
TV7.9
Atlantic City at the dawn of Prohibition is a place where the rules don't apply.
US HBO, Amazon Prime (buy), UK NowTV, Amazon Prime (buy)
- 15
Prison Break (2005)
TV8.1
Due to a political conspiracy, an innocent man is sent to death row and his only hope is his brother, who makes it his mission to deliberately get...
US Hulu, Amazon Prime (buy), UK Disney, Amazon Prime (buy)
- 16
The Americans (2013)
TV7.9
Set during the Cold War period in the 1980s, The Americans is the story of Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, two Soviet KGB officers posing as an...
US Hulu, Amazon Prime (buy), UK Channel 4, Disney
- 17
Killing Eve (2018)
TV8.2
A security consultant hunts for a ruthless assassin.
US Acorn TV, Amazon Prime, UK BBC, Disney
- 18
Banshee (2013)
TV7.9
Banshee is an American drama television series set in a small town in Pennsylvania Amish country and features an enigmatic ex-con posing as a...
US Cinemax, HBO, UK NowTV, Amazon Prime (buy)
- 19
Luther (2010)
TV7.9
A dark psychological crime drama starring Idris Elba as Luther, a man struggling with his own terrible demons, who might be as dangerous as the...
US BritBox, Tubi TV, UK BBC, Amazon Prime (buy)
- 20
Broadchurch (2013)
TV7.9
The murder of a young boy in a small coastal town brings a media frenzy, which threatens to tear the community apart.
US Amazon Prime, PBS, UK ITV, Amazon Prime (buy)
Ratings are TMDB audience scores out of 10. Where to watch shows up to two services each for the UK and US.
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