Crime Scene: the Best Crime TV Shows Ever Made

David Simon's Baltimore epic follows the drug trade, police, docks, schools, and media across five masterful seasons. The Wire treats crime not as individual moral failure but as systemic dysfunction — a portrait of institutions that grind people down regardless of their intentions. The greatest crime drama ever made. Rating: 9.3/10.

Harold Finch's all-seeing Machine spits out Social Security numbers of people about to be involved in violent crimes — victims or perpetrators — and it's up to his operatives to intervene. What started as procedural crime drama became, across five seasons, a profound meditation on surveillance and artificial intelligence. Rating: 8.8/10.

The Shelby family's criminal empire expands from Birmingham's backstreets to Parliament itself across six seasons of stylish, operatic gangster drama. Steven Knight combines vivid period detail with contemporary sensibility and anchors everything in Cillian Murphy's extraordinary physical performance as Tommy. Rating: 8.5/10.

Olivia Colman and David Tennant as the detectives investigating a child murder in a small Dorset town — a case that devastates the community even as it is being solved. Broadchurch is the rare crime drama that foregrounds grief over procedure, asking what justice actually costs the people left behind. Rating: 8.4/10.

Yorkshire police sergeant Catherine Cawood pursues a local crime family while raising her grandson — the son of the rapist who drove her daughter to suicide. Sally Wainwright's BBC crime drama is extraordinary in its portrayal of ordinary resilience against extraordinary evil. Rating: 8.0/10.

James St. Patrick runs a legitimate New York nightclub while also maintaining his identity as a major drug distributor. Courtney Kemp's Starz crime drama is a sleek, propulsive portrait of a man who believes he can operate in two worlds simultaneously — and is wrong. Rating: 7.9/10.

Detective Grace Travis goes undercover to infiltrate the criminal organisation she believes murdered her son, only to find the truth is more complicated than any simple revenge plot. An underrated gem of the crime genre: taut, emotionally intelligent, and anchored by strong performances throughout. Rating: 7.6/10.

Ricky, Julian, and Bubbles scheme and stumble through increasingly elaborate criminal plans in a Nova Scotia trailer park. The mockumentary crime-comedy is beloved for its warm characterisation as much as its absurdist humour — a show that treats its characters' delusions with remarkable affection. Rating: 7.6/10.

A Metropolitan Police commander runs a cold case unit staffed by three retired detectives — each an eccentric, each with a colourful past. The BBC series ran for twelve seasons and found enormous audiences through its combination of warm character comedy and solid procedural crime. Rating: 7.8/10.

David Simon's Baltimore epic follows the drug trade, police, docks, schools, and media across five masterful seasons. The Wire treats crime not as individual moral failure but as systemic dysfunction — a portrait of institutions that grind people down regardless of their intentions. The greatest crime drama ever made. Rating: 9.3/10.

Harold Finch's all-seeing Machine spits out Social Security numbers of people about to be involved in violent crimes — victims or perpetrators — and it's up to his operatives to intervene. What started as procedural crime drama became, across five seasons, a profound meditation on surveillance and artificial intelligence. Rating: 8.8/10.

The Shelby family's criminal empire expands from Birmingham's backstreets to Parliament itself across six seasons of stylish, operatic gangster drama. Steven Knight combines vivid period detail with contemporary sensibility and anchors everything in Cillian Murphy's extraordinary physical performance as Tommy. Rating: 8.5/10.

Olivia Colman and David Tennant as the detectives investigating a child murder in a small Dorset town — a case that devastates the community even as it is being solved. Broadchurch is the rare crime drama that foregrounds grief over procedure, asking what justice actually costs the people left behind. Rating: 8.4/10.

Yorkshire police sergeant Catherine Cawood pursues a local crime family while raising her grandson — the son of the rapist who drove her daughter to suicide. Sally Wainwright's BBC crime drama is extraordinary in its portrayal of ordinary resilience against extraordinary evil. Rating: 8.0/10.

James St. Patrick runs a legitimate New York nightclub while also maintaining his identity as a major drug distributor. Courtney Kemp's Starz crime drama is a sleek, propulsive portrait of a man who believes he can operate in two worlds simultaneously — and is wrong. Rating: 7.9/10.

Detective Grace Travis goes undercover to infiltrate the criminal organisation she believes murdered her son, only to find the truth is more complicated than any simple revenge plot. An underrated gem of the crime genre: taut, emotionally intelligent, and anchored by strong performances throughout. Rating: 7.6/10.

Ricky, Julian, and Bubbles scheme and stumble through increasingly elaborate criminal plans in a Nova Scotia trailer park. The mockumentary crime-comedy is beloved for its warm characterisation as much as its absurdist humour — a show that treats its characters' delusions with remarkable affection. Rating: 7.6/10.

A Metropolitan Police commander runs a cold case unit staffed by three retired detectives — each an eccentric, each with a colourful past. The BBC series ran for twelve seasons and found enormous audiences through its combination of warm character comedy and solid procedural crime. Rating: 7.8/10.