There are so many crime shows, so many, you’d think they’d get repetitive. However, people keep coming back to the best crime shows. These are the ones that have suspense, drama, and thrilling plot lines.
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These are the best crime shows, that deliver big stories, intriguing characters, and much more.
20. NCIS, Paramount Plus (2003- 2022)
NCIS is about cases of the Naval Criminal Investigative Services in Washington, D.C. There are 20 seasons of NCIS The premiere of the 20th season will take place on September 19th. In the early seasons, they have a slow start to the show but kick up as the seasons continue. It has those funny, heartfelt, gut-wrenching moments that you will never forget and will want to continue watching.
19. Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Philo (2001-2011)
Criminal Intent follows the NYPD Manhattan Detectives who investigate high-profile cases such as murder, kidnapping, or major robberies that involve VIPs, local government officials, the financial industry, and the art world. Law and Order is very popular it has a large number of shows that branch off of the original show. There are ten seasons of the show, which aired in 2001. Given that the show is older, you see how much more advanced it gets each season.
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18. The Blacklist, Netflix (2013-2022)
The plot of The Blacklist revolves around a former US Navy officer who becomes a high-profile criminal and voluntarily surrenders to the FBI, which has been after him for decades. He offers to help the FBI find and capture the most wanted people on one condition: he will only speak with one person when he is in the custody of the FBI, and that is Elizebeth Keen, who just started working for the FBI as a profiler. The show has nine seasons where you see all types of criminals, each one different from the next.
17. Sons of Anarchy, Hulu (2008-2014)
The Sons of Anarchy follows a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club operating in California’s Central Valley. The motorcycle club operates both illegal and legal businesses in a small town called Charming. The show has seven seasons, and each one is crazier than the last.
16. Hawaii Five-0, Paramount Plus (2010-2020)
Steve McGarrett has a chance to run his own task force called Five-0 in Hawaii. He returns to Oahu to avenge his father’s death and find the killer, all while trying to keep Hawaii safe. It is filled with action, thriller, and suspense. Hawaii Five-0 has special guest appearances throughout its ten seasons. For example, Nick Jonas, Dog the Bounty Hunter, and Kendal Jenner.
15. Bones, Hulu (2005-2017)
Bones is about a forensic anthropologist, Dr. Temperance Brennan, who teams up with a cocky FBI agent, Seely Booth, to build a team to investigate murders. They look at the bones to find out what happened to the victim and to figure out who they are when their body is decomposed to the point of being unrecognizable. Bones is a popular show for its witty sense of humor and the drama that is featured in the show between the characters. You will see numerous different crimes in the 12 seasons of the show.
14. Blue Bloods, Paramount Plus (2010- Present)
Blue Bloods revolves around a family of New York cops. Danny is a detective, Jamie is a police officer, and Frank is the police commissioner trying to balance duties trying to run the largest police force in the world while also being his kids’ boss. There are thirteenth seasons, and the thirteenth season will be aired next month.
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13. Chicago P.D., Hulu (2014-Present)
Chicago P.D is made up of two distinctly different groups There are the uniformed cops who patrol and go head to head with the city’s street crime. Then the Intelligence Unit consists of detectives combating the city’s major offenses like organized crime, drug trafficking, and high-profile murders. To be a part of the unit, it takes a lot of street work to get to the level of intelligence. Ten seasons of drama, suspense, and crime that is based in Chicago.
12. Arrow, Netflix (2012-2020)
We can’t miss the superhero crime shows because they are just as amazing as the regular ones. Arrow follows a billionaire playboy named Oliver who claims to have spent the last five years shipwrecked on an island called Lian Yu. When he returns home, he is a different man than he was before, and he is determined to clean up Star City of all of its bad and corrupt people. He chooses to do it as a hooded vigilante whose weapon is a bow. Arrow has eight seasons where you see Oliver take down bad guys and also put his life in danger.
11. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Hulu (2000- 2015)
If you ever wonder about the crime tech people who go to a scene and gather all the evidence and how they get the results they do, this is a show for you. CSI is about how crime scene investigators use physical evidence to solve murders in Las Vegas. They are able to get evidence from places you wouldn’t think of because the particles left behind are too small. There are sixteen seasons where you see crime scene investigators solve crimes with very little evidence or a bunch of evidence that leads nowhere.
10. Cold Case, HBO Max (2003-2010)
Cold Case is about older crimes that have gone unsolved because they couldn’t find enough evidence to lead them to who committed the crime. Detective Lily specializes in cold cases and actively opens each cold case to see if they are able to solve it with the technology and resources they have that they didn’t have when the crimes were committed. There are seven seasons with different types of cold cases that you will see in each season.
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9. The Closer, HBO Max (2005-2012)
The Closer is about Deputy Police Chief Brenda Johnson, who runs the Priority Homicide Division of the LAPD with an unusual style. Brenda’s ability to read people and obtain confessions allows her to be able to solve the city’s most difficult and sensitive cases. The Closer has seven seasons where you see Brenda read people and solve all different types of cases.
8. Rizzoli & Isles, HBO Max (2010-2016)
Rizzoli and Isles have to do with Detective Jane Rizzoli and Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Maura Isles, who team up to solve crimes in Boston. Not only does it have suspense, but there is constant humor throughout each episode of the seven seasons the show has. When you think you can’t laugh anymore, they surprise you with more funny and witty moments.
7. Flashpoint, Paramount Plus (2008-2012)
Flashpoint is a Strategic Response Unit based in Toronto. They handle situations like hostage rescue, bust gangs, defuse bombs, and talk down suicidal people. The job is stressful, and that shades all your choices and takes a toll on your family, friends, and lovers. There are five seasons of this show that will pull you through the wringer of emotions.
6. Lucifer, Netflix (2016-2021)
Lucifer is a fantasy crime show where Lucifer is the king of Hell and is taking a break from his duties on earth and living up with no responsibilities. A friend of his is murdered in front of his club, and now he has to help a detective out so he can find out the truth. There are six seasons of the show where you see Lucifer grow and want to become more than just the King of Hell.
5. Prison Break, Hulu (2005-2017)
“Prison Break” is about a man who ends up being framed for a crime he didn’t commit and is sentenced to death row, and his only hope is his brother. He makes it his mission to get himself set up in the same prison in order to break them both out from the inside. There are five seasons where you will see if they are able to break out of jail and what will happen after whether they succeed or not.
4. Breaking Bad, Netflix (2008-2013)
Breaking Bad is about a high school chemistry teacher, Walter, who discovers he has inoperable lung cancer. He ends up turning to manufacturing and selling meth in order to help his family and secure his family’s future. Breaking Bad has five seasons where you see Walter go through ups and downs with his lung cancer and the selling of meth.
3. Only Murders in the Building, Hulu (2021- Present)
Only Murders in the Building is about a tenant who ends up being murdered in the building he lives in. Three strangers who share an obsession with true crime suddenly find themselves trying to figure out who killed their fellow neighbor and why. The series just started and only has two seasons, but those two seasons have been a major hit.
2. Criminal Minds, Hulu (2005-2020)
Criminal Minds is about the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis, an elite group of profilers who analyze the nation’s most dangerous serial killers and heinous crimes. They use the murder scenes and people’s behaviors to stop the killers before they move on and strike again. There are fifteen seasons of Criminal Minds, and each season the group of profilers puts their lives and families at risk of getting hurt or worse, killed.
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1. The X-Files, Hulu (1993-2018)
The X-Files is focused on two FBI agents who investigate unsolved cases that involve elements of the supernatural or paranormal. Fox Mulder believes in the supernatural and paranormal but, Dana Cully is skeptical and approaches the cases from a scientific standpoint. There are eleven seasons of The X-Files where you will see the two agents come across the craziest elements of the supernatural.