23 best crime dramas on Netflix: great detective series to watch
It’d be criminal to miss the best crime dramas on Netflix.
There's something cathartic about watching the best crime dramas. Given true crime dramas have gripped the world in the past few years, the genre as a whole can be pretty exhausting.
When you’re done debating your Adnans and Averys in Serial and Making a Murderer, it can be almost relaxing to settle down with a cuppa and some a fictional Netflix detective series.
Here’s a round up of the best crime dramas on Netflix that you can watch right now.
No need to wait on tenterhooks for the next episode to appear, because seriously, what kind of a person just watches one episode of a TV series anymore? Certainly not the ones going through our best Netflix TV shows article.
Few genres lend themselves so readily to binge-watching as crime, by virtue of the fact that there’s a mystery to be solved and therefore a reason that you have to get to the end right now...
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23. Hinterland
This noir detective drama has actually been made twice - one with Welsh dialogue and once with English. The latter is on Netflix, and it follows the story of a troubled detective on the run from his London past. With murders and small town secrets a-plenty, it’s an incredibly gripping show that doesn’t lose its human element.
22. Undercover
Undercover follows stellar British lawyer Maya Cobbina (Sophie Okonedo) as she fights to save the life of a man on death row in the States. But the real drama is about to explode back home when something about her husband’s past is revealed. Come for the gripping plot, stay for Okonedo’s out-of-this-world performance.
21. Orange Is The New Black
The US doesn’t need John Oliver to dictate the failings of its penal system for comedic effect – no, it already has Orange Is The New Black, the pitch black comedy based on the experiences of Piper Kerman and her memoir about living for a year in a women’s prison. The episodes just get better and better and with season six now added there’s no excuse for missing out on this show.
20. Don't F*Ck With Cats
You don't want to miss this. It is one of the strangest tales to ever hit Netflix and is the true story of a cat killer and how trying to figure out who this person is, another huge revelation is revealed. We don't want to spoil this one, but if you want a compelling watch then this is for you.
19. Criminal: UK
It may not have been out long but this Netflix Original is an instant hit. Set in within the four walls of an interrogation room, London investigators go after three suspects, each accused of some pretty horrific crimes. It’s packed full of Britain’s best including David Tennant, Hayley Atwell, Lee Ingleby (Luther, Line of Duty), Rochenda Sandall (Line of Duty, Bandersnatch) and playing the big boss Katherine Kelly. If three episodes isn’t enough for you, there are nine more episodes set across France, Germany and Spain - each with different casts and storylines.
18. Whitechapel
What better subject matter for a crime series than the greatest unsolved murder case of all time – Jack the Ripper? This time though, detectives pursue a Ripper copycat killer in modern-day London. It’s gritty, gripping stuff, and likely to make you a mini Ripper expert as you watch. The second series focuses on a copycat of the Krays’ grisly crimes, while the third series recreates the Ratcliff highway murders. It’s nice to get a bit of a history lesson with your crime.
17. Sons Of Anarchy
A series that follows an outlaw biker gang as they run guns, drugs and shoot their way through rival gangs like there’s no tomorrow and Scarface never existed. The whole thing is based around Shakespeare’s Hamlet, which, let’s face, it is a bona fide classic. Throw in motorbikes and more Mexican stand-off situations than you could throw a sombrero at and you’ve got some seriously addictive telly. We’re even set to get a spinoff soon, in the form of Mayans MC.
16. Unbelievable
Based on true events, the series follows a young woman (Kaitlyn Dever) accused of lying to the police about a rape, and two detectives (Toni Collette and Merritt Wever) who begin to find the truth as they investigate a spate of similar attacks. It's not the easiest watch and it will almost certainly make you cry and shout with frustration, but it's compelling storytelling of the treatment of sexual assault victims, with all twists and turns you expect from a true crime drama. There are eight episodes in total, each lasting approx. 50 minutes.