The 40 most popular 1990s crime TV shows, ranked. Click any show for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.


Law & Order
1990
country: United States
In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to convict the perpetrator by proving the person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Working together, these expert teams navigate all sides of the complex criminal justice system to make New York a safer place.


Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
1999
country: United States
In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.


C.I.D.
1998
country: India
A team of dedicated men and women in the Crime Investigation Department will risk everything to solve Mumbai's toughest, most complicated crimes.


JAG
1995
country: United States
Harmon "Harm" Rabb Jr. is a former pilot turned lawyer working for the military's JAG (Judge Advocate General) division, the elite legal wing of officers that prosecutes and defends those accused of military-related crimes. He works closely with Lt. Col. Sarah Mackenzie, and together they do what needs to be done to find the truth.


Midsomer Murders
1997
country: United Kingdom
The peacefulness of the Midsomer community is shattered by violent crimes, suspects are placed under suspicion, and it is up to a veteran DCI and his young sergeant to calmly and diligently eliminate the innocent and ruthlessly pursue the guilty.


The Sopranos
1999
country: United States
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 heads. Those difficulties are often highlighted through his ongoing professional relationship with psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi. The show features Tony's family members and Mafia associates in prominent roles and story arcs, most notably his wife Carmela and his cousin and protégé Christopher Moltisanti.


Detective Conan
1996
country: Japan
The son of a world famous mystery writer, Jimmy Kudo, has achieved his own notoriety by assisting the local police as a student detective. He has always been able to solve the most difficult of criminal cases using his wits and power of reason.


The X-Files
1993
country: United States
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 paranormal while Scully, a skeptic, is assigned to make scientific analyses of Mulder's discoveries that debunk Mulder's work and thus return him to mainstream cases.


Diagnosis: Murder
1993
country: United States
Dr. Mark Sloan is a good-natured, offbeat physician who is called upon to solve murders.


Third Watch
1999
country: United States
The exploits of a group of men and women who serve the City of New York as police officers, firemen, and paramedics, all working the same fictional 55th precinct during the 3pm to 11pm shift - the 'Third Watch'.


Silent Witness
1996
country: United Kingdom
A team of exceptional forensic pathologists and scientists investigate heinous crimes and use their skills to catch the people responsible.


V.I.P.
1998
country: United States
While attending a Hollywood premiere with a famous action star, a crazed fan pulls a gun—but her movie hunk turns into a coward, and it's Vallery who becomes the hero. Suddenly, she's thrown into a world of action and danger as owner of a Hollywood protection agency, Vallery Irons Protection (V.I.P.), taking risks to protect others at a price few are willing to pay.


Judge Judy
1996
country: United States
Judge Judy is an American arbitration-based reality court show presided over by retired Manhattan Family Court Judge Judith Sheindlin. The show features Sheindlin adjudicating real-life small claims disputes within a simulated courtroom set. All parties involved must sign contracts, agreeing to arbitration under Sheindlin. The series is in first-run syndication and distributed by CBS Television Distribution. Judge Judy, which premiered on September 16, 1996, reportedly revitalized the court show genre. Only two other arbitration-based reality court shows preceded it, The People's Court and Jones and Jury. Sheindlin has been credited with introducing the "tough" adjudicating approach into the judicial genre, which has led to several imitators. The two court shows that outnumber Judge Judy's seasons, The People's Court and Divorce Court, have both lasted via multiple lives of production and shifting arbiters, making Sheindlin's span as a television arbiter the longest.


Due South
1994
country: Canada
Constable Benton Fraser, an officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, is attached to the Canadian consulate but works with Chicago Police Department to solve crimes.


Homicide: Life on the Street
1993
country: United States
An American police procedural chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Police Department's Homicide Unit.


Oz
1997
country: United States
The daily lives of prisoners in Emerald City, an experimental unit of the Oswald Maximum Security Prison where ingroups - Muslims, Latinos, Italians, Aryans - stick close to their mutual friends and terrorize their mutual enemies.


Küstenwache
1997
country: Germany
Küstenwache is a German television series that tells the fictionalized adventures of a unit of Federal Coast Guard officers off the German coast of the Baltic Sea.


Heartbeat
1992
country: United Kingdom
Set during the 1960s in the fictional North Yorkshire village of Aidensfield, this enduringly popular series interweaves crime and medical storylines.


Renegade
1992
country: United States
Framed for murder, Detective Reno Raines becomes a fugitive bounty hunter who fights crime while trying to clear his name. His troubles began after he testified about police corruption, leading Lt. Donald Dixon to set him up.


Dateline
1992
country: United States
Dateline NBC, or simply Dateline, is a weekly American television newsmagazine series. It was previously the network's flagship newsmagazine, but now focuses mainly on true crime stories with only occasional editions that focus on other topics.


KochiKame
1996
country: Japan
Ryotsu Kankichi, or Ryo-san for short, is an unconventional cop working at the local police station who loves money. Together with famous celebrities like Nakagawa and Reiko, his strict boss Police Chief Ohara, and other wildly unique characters, he gets everyone caught up in all sorts of hijinks!


The Peppercorns
1999
country: Germany
Die Pfefferkörner is a German television series produced by Der Kinderkanal. The peppercorns are five friends from Hamburg: Jana Holstein Coutre, Natasha "Tascha" Jaonzäns, Philip "Fiete" Overbeck, Cem Gülec and Vivien "Vivi" Overbeck, Fiete's eight year old sister. After school, the young detectives meet at a high level of a spice warehouse of the company Overbeck & Associates, which belongs to Fiete and Vivi's parents in the first part, but is later given to Fiete and Vivi to look after. Here, in the historic warehouse district, the five friends have their headquarters. With smarts, combined delivery and support of the Internet, they find their cases here. The detectives convict polluters, animal dealers and drug smugglers. They also help each other with personal problems they encounter. Cem has lost his parents in a car accident and sometimes feels sad and lonely. Jana lives with her divorcee mother, a lawyer who is rarely at home. Natasha comes from Latvia. Her parents initially have very strict rules in terms of her education, that make Natasha unhappy. Fiete has problems showing his feelings and hides them behind grumpiness and hostility towards girls, until he falls in love with Natasha. Vivi is suffering from her role of the youngest member of the group. She believes that she must constantly struggle for recognition.


A Touch of Frost
1992
country: United Kingdom
Jack Frost is a gritty, dogged and unconventional detective with sympathy for the underdog and an instinct for moral justice who attracts trouble like a magnet. Despite some animosity with his superintendent, Norman “Horn-rimmed Harry” Mullett, Frost and his ever-changing roster of assistants manage to solve cases via his clever mind, good heart, and cool touch.


Family Law
1999
country: United States
Family attorney and mom, Lynn Holt, has had to scramble to keep her family and her law firm together, since her husband left her and took most of their joint law practice with him. Although the attorneys are carting plenty of life's baggage, they're all determined to make the most of this unexpected second chance—and make each month's mortgage payment.


New York Undercover
1994
country: United States
New York Undercover is an American police drama The series stars Detective J.C. Williams and Detective Eddie Torres, two undercover detectives in New York City's Fourth Precinct who were assigned to investigate various crimes and gang-related cases.


Detective Investigation Files
1995
country: Hong Kong
"Detective Investigation Files" revolves around the professional and meticulous investigations carried out by a group of dedicated police officers. As they delve into mysterious deaths with unclear causes, they tirelessly work towards maintaining peace and security for the people. However, their demanding job often comes at the expense of personal happiness. Cheung Dai Yong, a brilliant and astute police officer, has a track record of solving crucial cases. His trusted colleague, Lee Chung Yee, stands by his side, and together they tackle challenging and complex cases. Amidst their work, Dai Yong encounters Ko Jit, a tenacious journalist. Despite their initial conflicts, a deepening connection blossoms between them. However, Ko Jit already has a romantic partner.


Profiler
1996
country: United States
Rachel Burke is a criminal profiler, one of the best, actually. She, along with a sophisticated team of specialists on the FBI's Violent Crimes Task Force in Atlanta, investigates crimes throughout the country. Together, they solve the toughest of cases while trying to live their lives as best they can.


Silk Stalkings
1991
country: United States
Silk Stalkings is a crime drama television series. The series portrays the daily lives of two detectives who solve sexually-based crimes of passion among the ultra-rich of Palm Beach, Florida.


Pacific Blue
1996
country: United States
Filmed on location at Santa Monica and Venice Beach, this series focuses on an elite bike cop unit of the LAPD.


Walker, Texas Ranger
1993
country: United States
Modern-day Texas Ranger, Cordell Walker's independent crime-solving methods have their roots in the rugged traditions of the Old West. Walker's closest friend is former Ranger, C.D. Parker, who retired after a knee injury, and now owns "C.D.'s," a Country/Western saloon/restaurant. Rookie Ranger, James "Jimmy" Trivette is an ex-football player who bases his crime-solving methods on reason and uses computers and cellular phones. Alex Cahill is the Assistant DA who shares a mutual attraction with Walker, but often disagrees with his unorthodox approach to law enforcement.
Die Wache
Die Wache
1994
country: Germany
No overview available


Forensic Files
1996
country: United States
Real crimes, disease outbreaks and accidents around the world are solved by experts using scientific laboratory analysis which helps them find previously undetectable evidence. Brilliant scientific work helps convict the guilty and free the innocent.


The Sentinel
1996
country: Canada
The Sentinel is a Canadian-produced television series. In the jungles of peru, the fight for survival heightened his senses. Now, Detective Jim Ellison is a sentinel in the fight for justice. Anthropologist Blair Sandburg works side by side with Jim, helping him develop these senses.


Water Rats
1996
country: Australia
Water Rats is an Australian TV police procedural broadcast on the Nine Network from 1996 to 2001.


Ein starkes Team
1994
country: Germany
The unlikely police pair Verena Berthold and Otto Garber are part of a special task force investigating organized crime in Berlin. He comes from the east, she from the west of Berlin. He's a redneck, she's from a better background. This causes conflict. Over time, things start to sizzle between the two. Their team includes the agile German-Turkish Yücsel and the sluggish Georg, who, like Verena and Otto, are constantly bickering. The department manager is Lothar Reddemann. Sputnik is a former colleague of Otto's from the People's Police and is constantly coming up with new business ideas for stores and pubs where the team meets.


Wolffs Revier
1992
country: Germany
Wolffs Revier is a German television series.
Im Namen des Gesetzes
Im Namen des Gesetzes
1994
country: Germany
No overview available


Martial Law
1998
country: United States
Sammo Law spins, kicks, and chops his way through crime as a one-man police force in Los Angeles. He's a tough law enforcer who comes to the U.S. in search of a former friend and protegée — and gets drafted as part of the LAPD.


The New Batman Adventures
1997
country: United States
After a long hiatus -- The Caped Crusader is back and cooler then ever, in the animated action-packed series -- The New Batman Adventures. Picking up years after Batman: The Animated Series, the series highlights Batman and his crimefighting cadre of Nightwing, Robin and Batgirl, as they join forces to battle Gotham City's classic super-villains.


Armed Reaction
1998
country: Hong Kong
Armed Reaction is a 1998 Hong Kong modern cop drama produced by TVB. The drama stars Bobby Au-yeung and Esther Kwan as the main leads with Joyce Tang, Marco Ngai, Mimi Chu and Joe Ma in main supporting roles. The drama takes place before 1997 Handover of Hong Kong and Royal Hong Kong Police revolves around the lives of two police woman, one who works leisurely behind desk duty but has to take her job more seriously once her husband leaves her and a new rookie cop who is deemed too ambitious and rash by her superior.
1990s television was the last era of true mass audiences, when a network sitcom or a season finale could be a shared national event.
Crime is arguably television's defining genre, spanning the weekly procedural, the single-case anthology, and the sprawling organized-crime epic. The serialized form suits investigation better than film ever has.