While Law & Order and NCIS are the better-known crime shows, there are tons of other quality crime TV shows out there just begging to be binge-watched. So, lock your doors, grab a glass of wine and get ready to watch obsessively—these are the 30 best crime shows on TV. Oh, and if you need some sillier crime-solving, tune into FOX’s new investigative cooking competition, Crime Scene Kitchen.
30 Best Crime Shows
Law & Order
Law & Order still manages to gain new viewers and new spinoffs every year. The police procedural-slash-legal drama was created by Dick Wolf and first premiered in 1990. With over 20 seasons, it finally ended after two decades in May 2010. Still, eight of the 20 seasons are available to binge-watch via Peacock.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order spinoff, Law & Order: SVU came nine years after the original premiered.SVU is the longest-running live-action scripted American primetime series for good reason. Whilethe OG Law & Order focused on all crimes, particularly murders, SVU pays special attention to the elite squad of detectives who investigate sex-related crimes. Thankfully, you’ll find all 22 seasons on Hulu.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Another one of the most famous and popular crime procedurals of all time is CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. It first premiered in 2000, kind of on the heels of Law & Order. Not for the faint of heart, CSI focuses on the forensic investigators at the Las Vegas Crime Lab. And it’s why a lot of us understand DNA (no, not because of science class)—how it’s left behind, collected and tested—as well as what forensics really is. More blood, gore and bizarre crimes tend to play out on this show, but it’s a fan-favorite, beloved series that finally came to an end in 2015 after 15 gruesome but fascinating seasons. But, there’s good news! A CSI revival is set to premiere this fall!
Criminal Minds
Criminal Minds is another long-running crime procedural. With 15 seasons available to binge on Paramount+, there’s a whole lot to relive or catch up on. Criminal Minds follows an elite squad of FBI profilers as they dive into the minds of some of the most twisted criminals imaginable.
NCIS
NCISalso premiered in the early 2000s when primetime crime procedurals were all the rage. The show follows a department called the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. This civilian federal law enforcement agency investigates felony crimes, is responsible for preventing terrorism, and protects the Navy and Marine Corp. and their secrets. With 18 seasons to binge on various streaming platforms, NCIS is still on TV, making it the second longest-running scripted primetime TV series behind Law & Order: SVU.
NYPD Blue
From 1993 to 2005, NYPD Blue ran 12 exciting seasons about the day-to-day lives of officers in New York’s 15th Precint. NYPD Blue features as much personal drama as it does legal. It’s one of the more real-feeling crime procedurals; it really lets the viewer in—whether that’s into the courtroom or into an officer’s living room.
Chicago PD
Chicago PD is a relatively newer crime procedural, having first debuted in 2014, but still, it’s a popular one. This crime drama follows the Chicago Police Department’s Intelligence Unit as investigators solve the city’s most unsolvable crimes.
Broadchurch
Broadchurch should not be ignored, nor underestimated. There are actually two versions of this British crime series—the original U.K. version, which is streaming on Netflix, and then the 2014 American mini-series adaptation called Gracepoint. Both are worth watching (particularly because Gracepoint’s ending differs with one main, stunning plot twist), but Broadchurch has more seasons and ultimately, more dimension. And as an added bonus, David Tennant stars in both.
Hawaii Five-0
Because crime can even happen in the most beautiful of places, there’s Hawaii Five-0. A remake of the original 1968 crime procedural of the same name, the new version of Hawaii Five-0 debuted in 2010 and ran for a decade. The show follows an elite investigative task force in Hawaii as they solve crimes that occur on the beaches of what most other people consider “paradise.”
Blue Bloods
Because Tom Selleck is so much more than his Friends character, there’s BlueBloods—a police drama that delves into a family with generations in the business of policing in New York City. Blue Bloods has been around since 2010 and is currently on its 11th season.
Bones
OK, so take everything you know about crime procedurals and how forensic scientists divulge information from physical evidence and then narrow it down to bones. Just bones, as in, the bones of victims. That’s the premise of Bones—another beloved crime procedural that aired from 2005 to 2017. It follows Dr. Temperance Brennan, a forensic anthropologist, who has the incredible ability to get what she needs to solve a crime simply by the clues left on victims’ bones.
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Did you think we were done with Law and Order?! We still have so many spinoffs to go through! Law and Order: Criminal Intent premiered in 2001 and was a fast success, largely in part to Vincent D’Onofrio, who played main character Robert Goren. His unconventional methods to solve crimes were always impressive, though sometimes frustratingly spot-on without much rhyme or reason. Though Criminal Intent ended in 2011 after 10 seasons, it’s still available to watch on streaming platforms like Peacock.
Mindhunter
Mindhunter sort of breaks traditional rules and lines about what’s a crime procedural and what’s a true crime series, but we think it works here. There are only two seasons on Netflix right now—though the ending of Season 2 really left more to be examined in the way of the BTK Killer plot, so we’re hoping for a third. A little less procedural and a bit more genre-bending, Mindhunter follows two FBI investigators who ultimately coin the phrase “serial killer” as they begin interviewing criminals convicted of multiple murders. It’s pretty explicit and kind of terrifying but it’s hard to look away.
Monk
Never, ever forget about Monk! Certainly a crime procedural, but with a bit more humor, Monk is about a detective of the same name who has an uncanny ability to solve the most unsolvable crimes. Of course, Detective Adrian Monk’s own issues—he’s a bit of a germaphobe and is still grieving his late wife—sometimes get in his way while in the field.
CSI: Miami
Won’t get fooled again! That’s the theme song, of course, to this beloved CSI spinoff, CSI: Miami. Definitely one of the better CSIs (sorry not sorry, CSI: New York, which is on this list), CSI: Miami is the perfect combination of cutting-edge forensics meets old-fashioned police techniques. Somehow, the crimes seem all the more dramatic set against the tropical backdrop of Miami.
NCIS: Los Angeles
NCIS was a bit more successful in taking their tried-and-true formula to the streets of LA with NCIS: Los Angeles (see Law and Order: LA below for reference) and thus, churned out 277 episodes of the spinoff. In fact, it’s still on the air! A total of 12 seasons are available to stream and it’s already been picked up for lucky No. 13.
Manhunt: Unabomber
Based on the true crime case of the Unabomber, Manhunt: Unabomber is a limited series streaming on Netflix that follows the story of domestic terrorist Ted Kaczynski and the forensic linguistic FBI profiler who nailed him. But though it may be based on the real events of the Unabomber Bombings, which rocked the West Coast between 1975 and 1995, it really hits most of the markers of a crime procedural. On the one hand you have the plot of FBI profiler Jim Fitzgerald trying to figure out the Unabomber’s identity and on the other you have Kaczynski apprehended in “real time” getting ready for his trial.
9-1-1
9-1-1 follows the work lives and personal lives of emergency responders. From creator Ryan Murphy, the series offers a deep dive into what it means to be the first responder at a scene of a crime or at the most vulnerable point in a victim’s life.
Bloodline
A Netflix original, this three-season drama is most often described as a thriller or slow burn-type series, but because—spoiler alert!—Season 3 mostly takes place in a courtroom and the main character John Rayburn is a cop investigating the crimes of his own brother, we feel confident it classifies as a crime procedural. It’s undoubtedly worth a quick binge-watch, if not for Sissy Spacek alone.
Law & Order: True Crime
Again blending the genre of true crime and crime procedural is Law & Order: True Crime. While the eight-episode limited series focuses on the Menendez brothers, who killed their parents, it focuses more heavily on the defense and subsequent court proceedings, rather than the gruesome crime itself.
NCIS: New Orleans
In NCIS: New Orleans, we head to the Big Easy to investigate crimes in the NOLA NCIS division, crimes that affect military personnel. The third installment in the NCIS franchise, NCIS: New Orleans is still on the air but not for long. The series final airs May 23, 2021. If you need to catch up before it ends for good, there are seven seasons to tear through on Paramount+.
Shades of Blue
Thankfully, New York City is big enough for just about every crime procedural there is, including 2014’s Shades of Blue, starring Jennifer Lopez. Lopez stars as New York detective Harlee Santos, a single mom and crooked cop who does what she has to, takes a cut of what she can and never turns down a bribe in order to give her daughter a better life. A far cry from the usually straight-laced nature of other crime procedurals, Shades of Blue has three must-watch seasons.
Big Sky
Another hot hit right now is Big Sky, a new, twisted series that starsRyan Phillipe. It’s an unpredictable drama about two badass female investigators on the hunt for a predator—actually, two predators—who kidnap and traffic girls for a living. It’s based on the book series by C.J. Box.
The Rookie
After being held hostage during a bank robbery, John Nolan takes a new lease on life and decides to pursue his dream of becoming an LAPD officer. Of course, not many of his fellow new LAPD recruits are his age, so he becomes known as the department’s oldest rookie. But being a rookie at his age might just be the best tool he has in his belt. Right now there are three seasons on Hulu and it’s been picked up for a fourth.
Ozark
TBH, Ozarkis one of the best original shows on Netflix right now and we’re devastated it’s coming to an end soon. Ozark is all about the Byrd family, the patriarch and matriarch of which moved the family to the Missouri Ozarks to wash money for a dangerous drug cartel. With the cartel and their neighbors-turned-business partners always a threat, things get all the more complicated for the Byrds when the FBI gets involved, too.
CSI: Cyber
As the internet got more complicated, so too did the crime procedural shows that often made out all chat-room participants to be murderers. Enter CSI: Cyber, the 2014 CSI spinoff solely dedicated to the FBI Cyber Crime Divison, a unit with the intent to solve illegal activities online and in the real world. What makes it even cooler is that this spinoff apparently takes inspiration from the real-life technological career of cyberpsychologist, Mary Aiken.
CSI: NY
Most great crime procedurals take place in New York, but we have to admit, CSI: NY is not our favorite CSI. Sure, it’s still a CSI, but it can at times feel a bit cornier than the others. Even still, it lasted for nine glorious seasons, spanning from 2004 to 2013 and if you’ve already exhausted all other CSI options because you’re that obsessed, you won’t be too disappointed if you turn this spinoff on.
Law & Order: Los Angeles
Crimes…on the west coast?! That’s the premise of Law & Order: Los Angeles, the short-lived series that debuted in 2010 and ended a year later. If you really love crime procedurals, you’ll be able to look past the 59 percent Rotten Tomatoes rating and focus on the 22 episodes that are available for streaming.
Law & Order: Trial by Jury
Also short-lived was Law & Order: Trial by Jury. After only one season, the fourth installment in the Law & Order franchise was cut short, but it’s still worth revisiting. Each episode is based around a criminal arraignment, then takes a behind-the-scenes look into the legal aspect of things—jury selection, jury room deliberations, research and mock trials prepared by the defense. It’s perfect if you’re thinking about going to law school, but for the average viewer, it’s a little slow.
Mare of Easttown
One of the newest crime procedurals to hit TV is 2021’s Mare of Easttown starring Kate Winslet. Police investigator Mare Sheehan is investigating a brutal murder, and kidnappings, in a small town in Pennsylvania, all while trying to keep up with her personal life. Now streaming on HBO Max, Mare of Easttown just so happens to be the talk of the town at the moment. Next up, the 30 best true crime shows—ranked!
