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


Reacher
2022
country: United States
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 explores the nation he once served.


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.


The Mentalist
2008
country: United States
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.


Criminal Minds
2005
country: United States
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 Rossi, a founding member of the BAU who returns to help the team solve new cases.


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.


NCIS
2003
country: United States
From murder and espionage to terrorism and stolen submarines, a team of special agents investigates any crime that has any connection to Navy and Marine Corps personnel, regardless of rank or position.


Bones
2005
country: United States
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 destroyed that the standard identification methods are useless.


CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
2000
country: United States
A Las Vegas team of forensic investigators are trained to solve criminal cases by scouring the crime scene, collecting irrefutable evidence and finding the missing pieces that solve the mystery.


Tomorrow Is Ours
2017
country: France
The story revolves around the people of Sète, France. Their lives are punctuated by family rivalries, romance and scenes from daily life, but also by plots involving police investigations, secrets and betrayals.


The Rookie
2018
country: United States
Starting over isn't easy, especially for small-town guy John Nolan who, after a life-altering incident, is pursuing his dream of being an LAPD officer. As the force's oldest rookie, he's met with skepticism from some higher-ups who see him as just a walking midlife crisis.


Castle
2009
country: United States
After a serial killer imitates the plots of his novels, successful mystery novelist Richard "Rick" Castle receives permission from the Mayor of New York City to tag along with an NYPD homicide investigation team for research purposes.


Breaking Bad
2008
country: United States
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 desire to secure his family's financial future at any cost as he enters the dangerous world of drugs and crime.


MobLand
2025
country: United Kingdom
Two mob families clash in a war that threatens to topple empires and lives.


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.


Plus belle la vie
2004
country: France
The daily lives of the inhabitants of "le Mistral", an imaginary neighbourhood in the Mediterranean port city of Marseille, where wealthy families cross paths with the less than rich.


Hawaii Five-0
2010
country: United States
Steve McGarrett returns home to Oahu, in order to find his father's killer. The governor offers him the chance to run his own task force (Five-0). Steve's team is joined by Chin Ho Kelly, Danny "Danno" Williams, and Kono Kalakaua.


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.


CSI: Miami
2002
country: United States
The show follows Crime Scene Investigators working for the Miami-Dade Police Department as they use physical evidence, similar to their Las Vegas counterparts, to solve grisly murders. The series mixes deduction, gritty subject matter, and character-driven drama in the same vein as the original series in the CSI franchise, except that the Miami CSIs are cops first, scientists second.


The Blacklist
2013
country: United States
Raymond "Red" Reddington, one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives, surrenders in person at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. He claims that he and the FBI have the same interests: bringing down dangerous criminals and terrorists. In the last two decades, he's made a list of criminals and terrorists that matter the most but the FBI cannot find because it does not know they exist. Reddington calls this "The Blacklist". Reddington will co-operate, but insists that he will speak only to Elizabeth Keen, a rookie FBI profiler.


Alıkara
2026
country: Turkey
A mysterious corpse draws Chief Inspector Deniz and Psychologist Işık into a grueling struggle. As the investigation deepens, long-hidden traumas from the past come to light, and the hunt for an anonymous killer begins…


Columbo
1971
country: United States
Columbo is a friendly, verbose, disheveled-looking police detective who is consistently underestimated by his suspects. Despite his unprepossessing appearance and apparent absentmindedness, he shrewdly solves all of his cases and secures all evidence needed for indictment. His formidable eye for detail and meticulously dedicated approach often become clear to the killer only late in the storyline.


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.


Chicago P.D.
2014
country: United States
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 different groups: the uniformed cops who patrol the beat and go head-to-head with the city's street crimes and the Intelligence Unit that combats the city's major offenses - organized crime, drug trafficking, high profile murders and beyond.


EastEnders
1985
country: United Kingdom
The everyday lives of working-class residents of Albert Square, a traditional Victorian square of terrace houses surrounding a park in the East End of London's Walford borough.


S.W.A.T.
2017
country: United States
A Los Angeles S.W.A.T. sergeant is assigned to lead a highly skilled unit in the community where he grew up. Torn between loyalty to the streets, where the cops are sometimes the enemy, and allegiance to his brothers in blue, he strategically straddles the two worlds.


Neagley
2026
country: United States
Frances Neagley is a private investigator in Chicago and former military colleague of Jack Reacher in the Army's 110th Special Investigations Unit. When she learns that a beloved friend from her past has been killed in a suspicious accident, she becomes hell-bent on justice.


Slow Horses
2022
country: United Kingdom
Follow a dysfunctional team of MI5 agents—and their obnoxious boss, the notorious Jackson Lamb—as they navigate the espionage world's smoke and mirrors to defend England from sinister forces.


FBI
2018
country: United States
The New York office of the FBI brings to bear all their talents, intellect and technical expertise on major cases in order to keep their city and the country safe.


The Gentlemen
2024
country: United Kingdom
When aristocratic Eddie inherits the family estate, he discovers that it's home to an enormous weed empire — and its proprietors aren't going anywhere.


Blue Bloods
2010
country: United States
A drama about a multi-generational family of cops dedicated to New York City law enforcement. Frank Reagan is the New York Police Commissioner and heads both the police force and the Reagan brood. He runs his department as diplomatically as he runs his family, even when dealing with the politics that plagued his unapologetically bold father, Henry, during his stint as Chief.


AIBOU: Tokyo Detective Duo
2002
country: Japan
Detective Ukyo Sugishita confronts crime on the basis of his own convictions. He has a partner that works for him in the Special Task Unit. For the first 7 seasons, Ukyo’s first partner is Kaoru Kameyama. He is a good-natured, hot-tempered, straightforward and somewhat scattered detective. Beginning in Season 8, Takeru Kanbe replaces Kameyama. Contrary to his predecessor, Takeru is a lanky, cool, conceited and confident detective. From Season 11 to Season 13, Ukyo’s partner is a young detective Toru Kai. Toru is a son of Deputy Director-General of The National Police Agency. But he became a detective by his own effort. And starting with Season 14, Ukyo’s current partner is Wataru Kaburagi, an elite bureaucrat who came to the Metropolitan Police Department on temporary assignment. As the first partner without any career of a police officer, he will face challenging cases together with Ukyo.


Dexter
2006
country: United States
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.


24
2001
country: United States
Counterterrorism agent Jack Bauer fights the bad guys of the world, a day at a time. With each week's episode unfolding in real-time, "24" covers a single day in the life of Bauer each season.


Cold Case
2003
country: United States
The Philadelphia homicide squad's lone female detective finds her calling when she is assigned cases that have never been solved. Detective Lilly Rush combines her natural instincts with the updated technology available today to bring about justice for all the victims she can.


Without a Trace
2002
country: United States
The series follows the ventures of a Missing Persons Unit of the FBI in New York City.


Arrow
2012
country: United States
Spoiled billionaire playboy Oliver Queen is missing and presumed dead when his yacht is lost at sea. He returns five years later a changed man, determined to clean up the city as a hooded vigilante armed with a bow.


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.


9-1-1
2018
country: United States
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 try to balance saving those who are at their most vulnerable with solving the problems in their own lives.


NCIS: Los Angeles
2009
country: United States
The exploits of the Los Angeles–based Office of Special Projects (OSP), an elite division of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service that specializes in undercover assignments.


Monk
2002
country: United States
Adrian Monk was once a rising star with the San Francisco Police Department, legendary for using unconventional means to solve the department's most baffling cases. But after the tragic (and still unsolved) murder of his wife Trudy, he developed an extreme case of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Now working as a private consultant, Monk continues to investigate cases in the most unconventional ways.
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.