The best crime series on TV, past and present
My selection. Includes some miniseries, too. Mostly british and scandinavian, because they're my favourites. Almost impossible to make a ranking, all of them go from excellent to very good. The newest ones and the latest watched are at the top. And ah, the ones I remembered much later...
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- CreatorSteven KnightStarsElisabeth MossYumna MarwanDali BenssalahFollows the relationship between two women playing a deadly game of truth and lies. One woman has a secret, and the other has a mission to reveal it before thousands of lives are lost.
- CreatorPeter A. DowlingStarsRichard ArmitageJing LusiLesley SharpLondon police officer DC Hana Li is escorting Dr Matthew Nolan back to Beijing where he has been accused of a crime. However, on board flight 357, she finds herself embroiled in an escalating conspiracy and a growing number of murders.
- CreatorSarah-Kate LynchStarsMorgana O'ReillyTess HaubrichJarod RawiriIn a quake-torn Kaikoura town, best friends' lives spiral downwards when a surrogacy pact disintegrates, revealing dark secrets and strained loyalties amid a calamitous backdrop.
- CreatorMarcia GardnerJohn RidleyStarsLeah PurcellSara WisemanLinda CropperA detective transferred to Victorian High Country investigates 5 missing persons. She uncovers a complex web of murder, deceit and revenge.
- CreatorToby WhithouseStarsAnjli MohindraJames BamfordLu CorfieldCharacter-driven mystery-thriller, combining a powerful story of a knotty police investigation with chilling, atmospheric folk-horror through the island's eerie past devotion to a pagan God called the Red King and the cult of the True Way.
- StarsKarine VanasseDavid BoutinMadeleine PéloquinFollows the human and social consequences of a tragic and unexpected event that occurs in Lac-Sabin, a small village in the Laurentians, Quebec, Canada.
- CreatorPaul RutmanStarsPeter CapaldiCush JumboAysha KalaFollows two brilliant detectives in a tug of war over a historic murder conviction and the quest to find common ground in a polarized Britain.
- StarsCatherine BérubéThomas Antony OlajideEmmanuelle Gagné NéronFollowing the death of their father, a business heir must go through a series of troubling tests in order to obtain their inheritance.
- CreatorMick FordStarsSophie RundleMatt StokoeNicholas GleavesJoanna finds an unidentified man dead in a lift in a underground car park after a devastating flood, police assumes that he became trapped as the waters rose, but she is obsessed with discovering what happened to him.
- CreatorRon NyswanerStarsMatt BomerJonathan BaileyJelani AlladinFollows the lives and volatile romance of two different men, through purges, wars, protests, and plagues, overcoming obstacles in the world.
- CreatorDavid LeonStarsKara TointonAllen LeechCharlie Hodson-PriorRachel, a single mother and cleaner, is offered a better job by a wealthy businessman. She accepts, but grows suspicious of his motives as she becomes more involved in his affairs.
- StarsDaniel Njo LobéBastien BerniniMarie ColombLéna, 28, has just joined the Communication Department of the Paris Police Headquarters as Community Manager.
- StarsVictoria GrosboisVictor PontecorvoRaphael AcloqueA young married advocate in undergoing the fact that her husband is accused of rape. She returns in her original city to help old friends. She also meets an old friend that she betrayed 15 years ago.
- StarsStephen GrahamAndrew EllisLeanne BestA journalist tries to uncover the plans of a neo-Nazi organization that has been involved in the murder of an MP.
- CreatorMathieu MissoffeStarsVincent ElbazJennifer DeckerKool ShenHe is Franck Sharko, a crabby cop at the end of his rope. She is Lucie Henebelle, a lieutenant on the anti-crime squad obsessed with evil. Sharko and Lucie investigate top-secret scientific experiments and programs.
- CreatorKristine BergArne BerggrenStarsMarie Sandø JondalJesper Hagelskær PaaschBue WandahlNora Sand is a journalist working as a foreign correspondent for a Danish newspaper. At the peak of her career she's accused of having had an affair with one of her sources in a big case. Nora gets suspended, travels home to Denmark.
- StarsPatrick HivonCatherine BrunetJean-François PichetteDetective André Surprenant investigates the murder of a teenage girl on the Madeleine Islands. He faces hostility from an investigator dispatched from Quebec City as he seeks to unravel the islanders' secrets to solve the crime.
- StarsSheridan SmithCeline BuckensBrendan CowellLori and Erin are on the holiday of a lifetime. But after a huge fight, Erin never boards their final flight and the plane never arrives at its destination. Months later, no wreckage has been found, no survivors discovered. Until now.
- StarsMorgana RobinsonJulie GrahamAnnabel ScholeyBeth's husband Tom, a village doctor, is arrested on suspicion of being a serial killer. His wife investigates with his best friend and more evidence emerges, forcing her to question if she really knows the man she married.
- StarsLuke ArnoldBella HeathcoteJay RyanFollows investigative journalist Martin Scarsden as he has to uncover the truth of the case of killing of five parishioners by a charismatic and dedicated young priest.
- CreatorIvan KavanaghStarsIndia MullenAllen LeechAaron MonaghanCrime/ Mystery Drama series After a series of disappearances of young women, newspaper reporter Lisa Wallace (26), sets out to find the man responsible who she believes is the same man who murdered her mother almost twenty years earlier.
- StarsRobyn MalcolmPeter MullanTara CantonPenny loses everything when she accuses her husband of a sex crime against her daughter's teenage friend and no-one believes her.
- StarsRobert James-CollierJemima RooperGaynor FayeThree siblings are left reeling after the unexpected death of their father. Secrets are exploded, relationships ripped apart, and lives lost as they try desperately to claw back the inheritance that they have lost.
- StarsAmaka OkaforKyle SollerShira HaasFour detectives, living in different eras -1890, 1941, 2023 and 2053 - find the body of the same murder victim in Whitechapel. They soon come to realize their investigations have them central to a conspiracy spanning over 150 years.
- StarsJack DeamKris HitchenLee InglebyA desperate cat and mouse hunt ensues when Yorkshire is being haunted by a serial killer.
- CreatorEmmanuel DaucéFrédéric KrivineStarsAudrey FleurotThierry NeuvicSumaï CardenasThe baby sitter of police captain Max Vernet's son suddenly dies; victim of a new and dreadful synthetic drug. Vernet has the idea to have someone infiltrate the network that operates from Marseille, with the charismatic Jesus at its head. He chooses Aurélie, a chemist and single mother. The lady must offer her services under the pretext of improving the product.
- StarsDarío GrandinettiJosé Luis García-PérezMaría MoralesAfter his son runs over the member of a family from the mafia, an honest and reputed judge does everything in his power to protect him, putting his own professional and moral convictions to the test.
- StarsEmma AppletonColin MorganElliot Barnes-WorrellA barrister defends a man against stalking charges, only for him to turn on her.
- StarsEmily CoxJens AlbinusMarie-Lou SellemThe young lawyer Clara Andersen goes beyond all moral limits to have her father, the famous singer Carsten Andersen, declared innocent of raping her best friend Leonie Novak.
- StarsPernilla AugustAlba AugustErik EhnOne midsummer evening in 1973 two tourists are found murdered in a tent. The unsolved crime casts shadows on the lives of several people.
- StarsKim RiedleNaila SchuberthSammy SchreinA mysterious woman's escape from her harrowing captivity points investigators toward the dark truth behind an unsolved disappearance 13 years earlier.
- DirectorRoman ElpidioStarsDanny DarrenCrispian BelfrageJadey DuffieldHomeless ex- soldiers from around the world are kidnapped and shipped to a mad scientist in London England who has plans to repair, restore and send them on dangerous missions to take vengeance against corruption around the world.
- CreatorRob KinsmanStarsBeth AlsburyMichelle BonnardSean CernowIt follows a woman as she sets off to solve a murder that she witnessed on a rough estate.
- CreatorSuranne JonesAnne-Marie O'ConnorStarsSuranne JonesEve BestStockard ChanningFollows Becca and Rosaline, two sisters that were distanced, but that through tragic events, learn to love and respect each other again.
- CreatorGrace Ofori-AttahStarsNiamh AlgarHelen BehanJordan KouaméWhen the respected Dr. Lucinda Edwards loses an opioid overdose patient, she faces an investigation probing into her conduct that night.
- StarsScott ArthurSion Alun DaviesKeith AllenThree murders - unsolved but never forgotten. Thirty years on, can DCI Bethall find the serial killer who terrorised 1970s Port Talbot?
- CreatorDeclan LawnAdam PattersonLouise GallagherStarsNathan BraniffSian BrookeKatherine DevlinFollows rookie police officers working in Belfast, a city in which being a frontline response cop comes with unique pressures and dangers.
- CreatorGary TiecheStarsCharlene McKennaBarry WardAidan McCannA detective from the west of Ireland is looking for a murderer, not suspecting that someone close to him may be the culprit.
- CreatorSanne NuyensBert Van DaelStarsSam NeillBrooke SatchwellKate MulvanyBehind the facade of their anonymity of jury duty twelve ordinary people bring with them their own histories. Lives that are as complex as the trial, full of fractured dreams, shameful secrets, hope, fears, personal trauma and prejudice.
- CreatorMike BullenStarsJohn BradleyJoanne FroggattKirsty SturgessWhen British and Australian detectives team up to solve a murder mystery, they uncover a conspiracy with international political consequences as well as a clash of cultures.
- CreatorBartosz ProkopowiczJakub KorolczukStarsVanessa AleksanderJedrzej HycnarJakub SasakAn astronaut's return after a 30-year disappearance rekindles a lost love and sparks interest from a corporation determined to learn why he hasn't aged.
- StarsVinette RobinsonKevin McKiddNalini ChettyFollows police detective Chris and his wife, former undercover officer Michelle, whose teenage daughter goes missing.
- CreatorDang Thai DuongCorinne GarfinStarsNicolas DuvauchelleMarie DompnierTewfik JallabThe lives of men and women who are part of a commando group deployed in Iraq to fight ISIS.
- CreatorHoward GordonJimmy McGovernStarsFarrah AvivaAbigail BreslinMalcolm-Jamal WarnerChronicles ordinary people getting caught up in extraordinary situations, where one wrong turn leads to another, until it's too late to turn back.
- CreatorCamille CouasseSarah FarkasStarsTomer SisleyCamille ClarisZineb TrikiAfter reconnecting with his dead wife through a glitch in virtual reality, a police officer tries to negate the mysterious accident that cost her life.
- CreatorFrances PolettiStarsVicky McClureJohnny HarrisDorothy AtkinsonA grieving mother develops a relationship with the man she believes murdered her daughter.
- StarsAlfred MolinaRossif SutherlandElle-Máijá TailfeathersFollowing Chief Inspector Armand Gamache as he investigates cases beneath the idyllic surface of the Quebec village, Three Pines, finding long-buried secrets and facing a few ghosts of his own.
- CreatorRamón CamposGema R. NeiraTeresa Fernández-ValdésStarsMarina de TaviraMaribel VerdúJosé María YazpikA multi-layered thriller that explores the differences between youthful aspirations and the reality of adulthood, when the lives of a group of college friends are forever changed after a celebratory weekend ends up with one of them dead.
- StarsLauren LyleBarrie HunterAriyon BakareAfter the promotion to Police Scotland's Historic Cases Unit, Karen Pirie reopens the cold case of a murdered barmaid. Her investigation unearths flaws in the original 1995 inquiry.
- StarsKeeley HawesLee InglebyNoah LeggottAfter a shooting, Jo's family vacations turns into turmoil.
- StarsDavid TennantStanley TucciDolly WellsA prisoner on death row in the US and a woman trapped in a cellar under an English vicarage, cross paths in the most unexpected way.
- StarsAidan TurnerShaun ParkesCamilla BeeputDoctor Joseph O'Loughlin a man who appears to have the perfect life and a successful career as a clinical psychologist. But nothing can be taken for granted. Even the most flawless existence is only a loose thread away from unravelling.
- StarsAnne-Marie DuffJames NesbittSacha DhawanVeteran detective Danny Frater is called to a hospital mortuary to identify a corpse only to find it is his estranged daughter. Traumatized by the news she took her own life, Frater sets out to discover the truth about her death.
- StarsRuaridh MollicaNina Toussaint-WhiteSion Daniel YoungJodie runs a hairdressing salon and one day at work, she glances out of the window and in a split second, she witnesses a killer and his victim moments before a murder.
- StarsWayne LeGetteLaura NovoaJorge MarraleThe infamous assassination of María Marta García Belsunce in 2002 in her upscale home in Argentina.
- CreatorAntonio CamposStarsColin FirthToni ColletteMichael StuhlbargTells the story of Michael Peterson, a crime novelist accused of killing his wife Kathleen after she is found dead at the bottom of a staircase in their home, and the 16-year judicial battle that followed.
- CreatorDaniel BurmanStarsNatalia OreiroGustavo BassaniAlejandro AwadaAn Argentinean intelligence agent infiltrates the Jewish community to gather information that is then allegedly used to perpetrate two of the worst terrorist attacks in Latin American history, leaving over 100 dead.
- CreatorRegina MoriartyStarsIwan RheonJoanna ScanlanAlexandra RoachWhen Cat Donato returns to Llanemlyn to try and find out the truth about Ela Roberts' disappearance 18 years ago, not everyone is happy to dig up the past.
- CreatorMarta SzymanekStarsKatarzyna WajdaBartlomiej KotschedoffJuliusz ChrzastowskiThe body of a young woman is discovered in the icy river. The investigation is led by Zawieja for whom solving the case will be a fight for herself.
- StarsPeter KurthNarges RashidiSebastian UrzendowskyIn the small German town of Ottern, a pediatrician diagnoses "chronic sexual abuse", while examining a young girl, setting events in motion that lead to a judicial scandal of devastating proportions.
- CreatorDaniel BrierleyStarsVicky McClureEric ShangoNabil ElouahabiDrama series following Lana Washington, an experienced bomb disposal officer working for the Metropolitan Police.
- StarsGary OldmanJack LowdenKristin Scott ThomasFollows a team of British intelligence agents who serve as a dumping ground department of MI5 due to their career-ending mistakes.
- CreatorPeter FinchamStarsAdrian ScarboroughPeter BankoléLucy PhelpsArnold, whose lifestyle on a battered houseboat in Chelsea's Cheyne Walk contrasts sharply with the affluent elite whose crimes he helps solve alongside partner D.C. Priya Shamsie.
- CreatorEduard CortésPiti EspañolStarsAida OsetSònia NinyerolaManel LlunellThe body of a high school student appears in an abandoned building where boys used to go skateboarding. It's thought to be an accident, but Mamen, his math teacher, begins to have suspicions and starts investigating the event.
- CreatorTony SchumacherStarsMartin FreemanAdelayo AdedayoJosh FinanA crisis-stricken, morally-compromised first-responder tackles a series of night shifts on the beat in Liverpool.
- CreatorFrank KetelaarHalina ReijnStarsCarice van HoutenMaaike NeuvilleHalina ReijnThree women get caught in the world of human trafficking, prostitution and organized crime when one their husbands disappears. The women, with a completely different background, meet on a similar turning point in their life.
- CreatorBruno DegaJeanne Le GuillouStarsMarine DeltermeMarc RuchmannConstance DolléMaud is an accomplished businesswoman and a blessed mother surrounded by faithful friends. The only thing missing is a man to share her life with. Everything changes when she meets Mathias. She can't believe it but it's true: Mathias is perfect and loves her. Happy in her new life, Maud can't see what's really going on. When her son starts digging a little deeper, he quickly realizes that his mother is in love with a dangerous manipulator.
- StarsLévi DoréNahéma RicciPierre-Luc BrillantHow the survivors of a school mass killing including family friends victims and police deal with the aftermath.
- CreatorPeter McKennaStarsSimone KirbyWouter HendrickxCathy BeltonA year on there is a new boss and old enemies. Criminal Asset Bureau's Claire Wallace finds herself at odds with CTU's Christian De Jong when CAB is drawn back to the Antwerp investigation. A familiar face returns but can she be trusted?
- CreatorNicole CastioniLéa FazerFlavien RochetteStarsSophie BroustalThibaut EvrardMichel VoïtaAnne Dupraz, a respected prosecutor in Geneva, is in custody for shooting a man, now between life and death. She admits her guilt but seems unable to explain her act. Her interrogation will allow Anne to finally free herself from her past.
- StarsCush JumboJames NesbittRichard ArmitageThe lives of a photojournalist, a soccer mom and a homicide detective are disturbed by a terrible event from the past.
- CreatorKelly JonesStarsBen AldridgeDeclan BennettSiobhán CullenFollows detective Matthew Venn as he returns to an evangelical community in which he grew up to attend his father's funeral.
- CreatorRoberto SantiagoStarsMaribel VerdúNatalia VerbekeIsrael ElejaldeAna Tramel is a brilliant criminal lawyer in her lowest hours. She receives a call from her brother, who has been accused of murdering the director of a famous casino. With a small team, she will have to face a huge corporation.
- StarsGemma WhelanEmmett J ScanlanTahirah SharifAfter a long-serving cop and a teenage girl fall to their deaths from a London tower block, Detective Sarah Collins investigates the dark heart of policing.
- StarsMurathan MusluJulia KoschitzAntje TraueA normal day in the shopping center "Sunshine City" - then shots are fired. In six episodes, the drama series tells the story of the people involved and their emotional suffering leading up to the act of violence.
- CreatorHarry WilliamsJack WilliamsStarsJoanne FroggattMichiel HuismanSamuel AdewunmiTrapped in a relationship she cannot escape, Angela is approached out of the blue by Ed, a private investigator, who spills her husband's darkest secrets.
- StarsJulie GayetTomer SisleyEden DucourantConvinced of her daughter's innocence in a homicide, a devoted mother soon uncovers unsettling truths as the line between victim and perpetrator blurs.
- CreatorTom EdgeStarsSuranne JonesRose LeslieGary LewisThe mysterious disappearance of a Scottish fishing trawler and a death onboard a Trident nuclear submarine bring the police into conflict with the Navy and British security services.
- StarsSharlene WhyteSteve CooganHugh QuarshieFollows the Lawrences and their quest for justice 18 years after the death of Stephen Lawrence.
- CreatorStéphane CarriéAlice Chegaray-BreugnotNicolas JeanStarsAudrey FleurotMehdi NebbouBruno SanchesMorgane has a 160 IQ but it never really helped her in her everyday life. The police decide to bring her on board to help them track down and catch highly intelligent criminals.
- StarsNiamh AlgarEddie MarsanHarry TreadawayFollows the true story of a controversial honeytrap at the heart of the 1992 police investigation into the murder of a young mother in London.
- CreatorMichelle AllenFrançois RozonStarsMichaël YounSylvie TestudFanny CottençonCharts the descent into hell of 16-year-old Lea, a self-assured teenager surrounded by a loving family, who comes to fall under the influence of a shady older man, and the attempts of her parents to pry her away from him.
- CreatorJimmy McGovernStarsSiobhan FinneranSean BeanJodie WhittakerEric is a prison officer who tries to protect those in his charge. When one of the most dangerous inmates identifies his weakness, Eric faces an impossible choice between his principles and his love for his family.
- StarsDaniel AuteuilCharlie BruneauGrégoire BonnetClaude Arbona can say that he has succeeded in life. Happily married, he had a great career. However, his grandson causes an unexpected upheaval in his life when he accuses Claude of having raped him.
- StarsLeonard TerfeltKristofer KamiyasuBahador FoladiA young Romanian woman named Lidia is lured to Sweden with promises of a better life, but is instead forced into prostitution. In search of revenge, her fate is interwoven with police officer Ewert Grens who chases a dangerous criminal.
- StarsCush JumboBilly HowleDouggie McMeekinFollowing the death of her son in a hit and run, all Frances Cairnes wants is to hunt down and kill the man she believes is responsible. When she finally tracks him down, she tricks her way into his house and plots his murder from within.
- CreatorHarry BradbeerEd WhitmoreStarsNoel ClarkeAlexandra RoachKíla Lord CassidyA tense police surveillance investigation into a tight-knit Manchester community explores whether it is ever possible to observe the lives of others with true objectivity and zero effect.
- CreatorBrad IngelsbyStarsKate WinsletJulianne NicholsonJean SmartA detective in a small Pennsylvania town investigates a local murder while trying to keep her life from falling apart.
- StarsLuke EvansKeith AllenCaroline BerryDSU Steve Wilkins reopens two unsolved murder cases from the 1980s. Forensic methods link the crimes to a string of burglaries. Steve's team has to find more evidence before the perpetrator is released from prison.
- CreatorFrancesca BrillLuke WatsonStarsJill HalfpennyDeborah FindlayDara DevaneySince losing her son eight years ago, Jodie has been rebuilding her life but when she catches sight of Daniel, she is convinced she has found her missing son.
- CreatorIlya KulikovStarsAndrey DobrovolskiyAndrey ArzyaevPolina ChernyshovaIn the Ural Mountains, nine students go on a ski hike, but never return. Local investigators must piece together what happened to them when their bodies are found a month later.
- StarsSøren MallingPilou AsbækPernilla AugustCopenhagen Police's Homicide unit, headed by Jens Møller, tries to solve the murder of Swedish journalist Kim Wall.
- CreatorTorleif HoppeStarsAnders W. BerthelsenZofia WichlaczCharlotte RamplingFive years after his daughter's disappearance, Danish police officer Rolf discovers a fatal flaw in the DNA database and might finally be able to find her.
- StarsKeeley HawesMark StanleyMichael JibsonDCI Caroline Goode vows to bring justice for a young girl, murdered by her family for falling in love with the wrong man.
- CreatorPip HallPhilip SmithStarsDominic Ona-ArikiPhoebe McKellarJoel TobeckDuring a murder investigation at Queenstown's infamous One Lane Bridge, ambitious young Maori Detective, Ariki Davis, inadvertently reawakens a spiritual gift that endangers the case, his career and his life.
- CreatorNeil CrossStarsRussell ToveyAmrita AchariaBertie CarvelAlmost a decade into his new devoted married life Nathan is rocked to the core when Bob, an unwelcome face from the past, turns up on his doorstep with shocking news, triggering a series of catastrophic decisions.
- StarsDavid TennantDaniel MaysJason WatkinsIn 1983, Scottish serial killer Dennis Nilsen was arrested after the discovery of human remains which had blocked a drain near his London home.
- CreatorChris MurrayStarsMarc WarrenMaimie McCoyDarrell D'SilvaA Dutch detective takes on criminal cases in Amsterdam using insightful human observation and his natural street smarts.
- CreatorFulvio BernasconiJean-Marc FröhleStéphane MitchellStarsFéodor AtkineStéphane MetzgerLaura SepulA private banker goes into a coma. His sister becomes the director and finds out his coma might not be accidental as she finds obscure transactions her brother was involved in.
- StarsDavid TennantCush JumboMatthew McNultyWhen a seemingly perfect and happy family is murdered by someone they knew and trusted, cracks appear on the surface of a supposedly idyllic community.