When it comes to crime dramas, there's certainly no shortage of titles from which to choose, and right now, the genre is on fire with recent hits like Adolescence, MobLand, and Dope Thief. They're just about on every platform, and they range in intensity from mild and comedic to gritty and violent.
Sometimes it can be overwhelming trying to find the right title to binge, so let me help you out with that. Here are 16 of the best binge-worthy crime dramas to watch that aren't on cable, in no particular order, but they're all a favorite in my book and should be a MUST SEE in yours. Find out why in the list below!
1. Adolescence
This little gem dropped on Netflix recently, and it didn’t just make a splash, it created a tidal wave of critical acclaim. Adolescence is a limited series about a 13-year-old boy accused of murdering a female classmate. Written by powerhouse actor Stephen Graham, who also stars in the series, the show is a chilling, engrossing cautionary tale about the effects of bullying, social media, trauma, and adolescence on one’s mental health and psyche.
Everything is filmed in a real-time, one-shot process, which keeps us in the heart of the story instead of jumping around in time, through different perspectives. This ride grabs you by the throat and backs you against the wall as it plays out. It has quickly become a must-see for crime drama fans.
Watch it on Netflix
2. Sons of Anarchy
One of my all-time favorite crime shows, Sons of Anarchy premiered in 2008 and changed my life forever with its binge-worthy story about an outlaw motorcycle club as a visceral analogy for human transformation. The Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club was built on hopes, dreams, loyalty, and brotherhood but became tainted with lies, secrets, and betrayals when guns, drugs, and violence infiltrated its foundational core. The series follows club V.P. Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam) as he struggles to find balance between fatherhood and honoring his personal relationships while remaining loyal to his club, which is slowly unraveling from the inside out.
It’s raw, gritty, bold, and captivating (also full of incredible characters and performances), and it’s one you’ll watch on repeat; it’s that good. The 7-season series features big names like Kurt Sutter, Katey Sagal, Ron Perlman, Taylor Sheridan, Tommy Flanagan, Kim Coates, Theo Rossi, and Ryan Hurst, to name a few.
Watch it on Hulu
3. Ozark
Starring Jason Bateman, Laura Linney, and my favorite foul-mouthed spitfire Julia Garner, Ozark is an intense crime drama about a financial advisor who quickly moves his family from Chicago to the Ozarks after a money laundering scheme for a Mexican drug cartel goes horribly wrong. As a result, Marty Byrde (Bateman) is forced to launder $500M in five years to keep his family safe.
The series explores so much, from family dynamics to survival to the influence of corruption and power. Helping Marty along the way is a hired hand named Ruth (Garner), who’s small but fierce, with the mouth to prove it and the action to back it up. Ozark sucks you right in and bolts you to its narrative. Bateman and Linney are superb, as is Garner. This is one family scenario you'll want to watch play out.
Watch it on Netflix
4. Taboo
Tom Hardy is HOT right now between Venom: The Last Dance, MobLand, and Havoc, so if you’re a fan and haven’t seen Taboo, drop whatever you’re doing and watch it, especially since season 2 is coming, at some point. Created by Hardy, his father, Chips, and Steven Knight, of Peaky Blinders and See fame, the series is set in 1814 against the dark, tumultuous backdrop of 19th Century London, amidst the War of 1812 and the rise of the East India Trading Company. We follow James Delaney (Hardy) as he returns to London to inherit his late father’s shipping empire after being presumed dead in Africa.
When he does, not only does he face enemies and conspiracy, but he also disrupts the plans of his half-sister, her husband, and the Trading Company, who seek to control the inheritance and eliminate Delaney. It’s dark, it’s gritty, it’s scandalously provocative, and it’s utterly brutal, all of which make Taboo a deliciously crime drama series.
Watch it on Peacock and Prime Video
5. Wentworth
This Australian series is the best prison drama I’ve ever seen, short of Oz. A reimagining of the 1979 series Prisoner, Wentworth is set in modern-day Victoria, Australia, and centers around the fictional Wentworth Correctional Centre. It follows the lives of inmates and staff, exploring their relationships, struggles, vulnerabilities, and efforts to survive inside and outside of prison. The first four seasons follow Bea Smith (Danielle Cormack) as she first enters prison after murdering her husband and must climb up through the ranks.
However then, the story takes a sharp turn and morphs into a psychological thriller with a sadistic, lesbian governor so full of manipulation and cruelty that you’ll struggle to tear yourself away from it to do basic things like eat, sleep, and work. With 100 episodes spread across 8 seasons, Wentworth offers more than enough crime, violence, tension, and shock to excite the senses.
Watch it on Netflix
6. Peaky Blinders
Peaky Blinders captivated me with its brutal, gritty exploration of the human condition and its pulpy depiction of post-World War I 1919 England. Created and written by Steven Knight, the series is a fictionalized version of a real-life British crime gang that existed and operated during this time in Birmingham: the Peaky Blinders, who were known for sewing razor blades into their caps. It follows Tommy Shelby, a veteran-turned-crime boss, as he works to elevate his family from bickering, nomadic gypsies to the height of British power, only to burn it all down in the end and return to his roots.
Peaky Blinders is extremely engaging and well written, but the icing on this grit cake is actor Cillian Murphy’s (Oppenheimer) visceral performance. Peaky Blinders will have you laughing, crying, cheering, and on the edge of your seat through its powerful, gut-wrenching narrative. The Peaky Blinders’ story doesn’t end here, though, as there’s a major movie coming soon that will wrap it up once and for all.
Watch it on Netflix
7. Gangs of London
Since we’re on gangs, let’s keep it rolling with another one of my all-time favorite crime dramas, Gangs of London, which is perhaps the bloodiest, most brutal, and most intense gritty crime drama series to date. This one is set in 21st-Century London and introduces us to the competing power dynamics between gangs and criminal organizations in present-day London. When crime lord Finn Wallace is shot in the face and killed, his son Sean (Joe Cole, of Peaky Blinders fame) is left to rebuild their empire, only he faces a similar fate but survives.
Now he must face the man who shot him: an undercover cop whom he values as a family member. Gangs of London is not for the faint of heart, but if blood, gore, action, violence, and brutality (and exploration of one’s own mortality) are as much your jam as they are mine, this series is an absolute MUST. Expect your eyes to pop and your jaws to drop. Season 3 is currently airing in the U.K. and is expected to follow shortly in the U.S.
Watch it on AMC+, Netflix, and Prime Video
8. A Thousand Blows
Yet another hit from famed creator Steven Knight, A Thousand Blows is a gritty boxing/crime drama that debuted in March to raving reviews. Its story of ambition, violence, and desire is set in mid-1800’s London and follows a group of outsiders (lower class) who first demand more than society is willing to give, then they downright take it when they’re denied. Inspired by the true-life stories of a group of characters battling for survival in London’s East End, A Thousand Blows casts a spotlight on a whole new gang, this time the all-female Forty Elephants, led by the infamous Mary Carr (Erin Doherty).
The narrative follows a pair of Jamaican best friends who emigrate to London, right into the path of murderous gangster (and badass boxer) Sugar Goodson (Stephen Graham). The series is masterful at depicting the filthy, dangerous, brutal underbelly of London’s thriving bare-knuckle boxing scene, and it's full of grit and power intertwined with weakness and vulnerability. It is utterly delicious, and with season 2 already filmed and arriving this year, now is the time to acquaint yourself if you haven’t already done so.
Watch it on Hulu
9. The Sticky
If gritty crime dramas aren’t your thing and you prefer more of a comedic premise full of zany dialogue, you have to watch The Sticky. The series is loosely inspired by the real-life Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist that occurred between 2011-2012, where roughly $18M worth of maple syrup was stolen. However, the characters and plot are all fictional.
It follows Ruth Landry (Margo Martindale), an underappreciated middle-aged syrup farmer, as she orchestrates the daring heist after her farm is shut down then teams up with a Boston mobster and a French-Canadian security guard to pull it off. The writing is witty, the pace moves quickly, the characters are fun to watch, and the plot is quirky and engaging. You’ll be glad you took the time to fly through season 1 and laugh as much as you will. Jamie Lee Curtis also shows up as a marvelous hitwoman.
Watch it on Prime Video
10. Bad Sisters
While Bad Sisters is considered a crime drama, it’s also a dark comedy focusing on the family drama that erupts in the face of a whodunnit mystery. The show is set in present-day Dublin and follows the lives of the Garvey sisters (Evan, Grace, Ursula, Bibi, and Becka) as they navigate Grace’s marriage to an abusive, soon-to-be-dead husband then find themselves at the center of a life insurance investigation and must endure the challenges that test their bond as sisters.
I know it sounds like a heavy drama but trust me when I tell you it’s more of a dark comedy thriller wrapped up in a whodunnit. You’ll love the characters, you’ll laugh with them and at them, and you’ll appreciate this well-written narrative full of sibling banter and unfortunate mishaps. This one is bingeworthy to the max!
Watch it on Apple TV+
11. Justified
Do yourself a favor and escape into the lives of my favorite U.S. Marshal, Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant), and his lifelong nemesis, career redneck criminal Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins). Margo Martindale also stars in this little gem. Justified follows Givens, a badass, lightning-fast gunslinger with his own brand of justice. After a pretty sweet (but illegal) gunslinging incident in Miami, Givens is reassigned to his hometown Kentucky district full of hills, hollers (small valleys in the Appalachian region of the U.S.), and hoodlums, like Crowder.
Each season carries its own stand-alone arc that strikes up the perfect balance between drama and comedy, and there’s plenty of crime everywhere. The show is based on a short story by author Elmore Leonard, so when you finish with it, be sure to catch its sequel, Justified: City Primeval, which is also based on Leonard’s work.
Watch both on Hulu
12. Dexter franchise
Surely you didn’t think I was going to exclude America’s favorite vigilante serial killer, did you? Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) is an expert blood spatter analyst for Miami Metro P.D. He’s also a serial killer who takes out other killers in the world and does so as a method of taming his Dark Passenger, an identity consisting of a thirst for blood that developed as a result of seeing his mother (and others) brutally dismembered right before his little kid eyes, then being left to sit in their remains.
Hall narrates every episode of the franchise with dry humor and hard truths. You’ll want to start with the original series Dexter, then hop to its sequel, Dexter: New Blood. After that, take on the prequel, Dexter: Original Sin, but it doesn’t stop there. A sequel to New Blood called Dexter: Resurrection drops this summer, and spinoffs aplenty are coming down the chute.
Watch it on Paramount+
13. Animal Kingdom
If you haven’t met the Cody family yet, you’re gonna want to, like, yesterday. Featuring Ellen Barkin as Smurf, the manipulatively ruthless matriarch of the Cody crime family, Animal Kingdom follows 17-year-old Joshua “J” Cody (Finn Cole, of Peaky Blinders notoriety) as he moves in with his estranged uncles and grandmother. The Codys partake in a multitude of criminal activity and pull of various heists to make their money, and the jobs are undertaken by J’s uncles: Smurf’s adopted, shot-calling son Baz (Scott Speedman); Pope (Shawn Hatosy), the oldest and most dangerous; Craig (Ben Robson), the tough, fearless, hippie middle son; and Deran (Jake Weary), the deeply troubled and youngest son, who’s also the most suspicious.
Animal Kingdom is one family saga you’ll want to immerse yourself in: It’s outstanding in every single way. 1000% bingeworthy, full of secrets, lies, drama, betrayal, sex, violence, thrills, mysteries, and excitement. You can’t go wrong with this. It’s intensity to the max.
Watch it on Prime Video
14. Dope Thief
One of the most chilling new crime dramas of the year, Dope Thief follows life-long friends—and career criminals—Ray (Brian Tyree Henry) and Manny (Wagner Moura) as they revel in their life of delinquency... until the day it blows up in their faces. The two run a scam where they pose as Philadelphia DEA Agents to rob small-time drug dealers. When they’re lured into robbing a house in the countryside, sh*t hits the fan, bullets start flying, and bodies start dropping, sending Ray and Manny on the run not only from the cops but also from a very dangerous cartel.
Without realizing it, Ray and Manny robbed and exposed one of the largest hidden narcotics corridors on the Eastern seaboard. Full of drama, tension, and moments of heart-stopping action, this Ridley Scott production is a must-see. Both Henry and Moura are outstanding in their roles, and this might be Henry’s best role to date.
Watch it on Apple TV+
15. Banshee
This crime drama is so provocative and full of bone-breaking action that it’s impossible to watch it with your mouth closed. Starring Homelander himself (Anthony Starr), Banshee follows Lucas Hood (Starr), an ex-con and master thief who is released after 15 years in prison and assumes the identity of a murdered sheriff in the small Pennsylvania town of Banshee. There to find his former heist partner and lover, Hood struggles to reconcile his new life as a lawman with his criminal past, all while dealing with threats from a ruthless former gangster from whom he stole and a local Amish crime lord who lusts for control of Banshee.
Through some of the most fascinating characters on television, the show explores themes of identity, revenge, and the complexities of morality and displays some of the most brutal, badass martial arts fight scenes formerly on TV. There isn’t one thing you won’t love about the series. It’ll leave your jaw glued to the floor.
Watch it on Max
16. Breaking Bad
AS IF I’d leave off the notorious high school chemistry teacher-turned-meth kingpin. You guys will come to know me better than that! Breaking Bad, to me, was all about how desperation and fear, when strong enough, can change who you are entirely. The story follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston) as he’s diagnosed with terminal cancer and hiding it from his family, stressed at and overwhelmed by the mounting medical costs and pressure of keeping secrets. After going on a ride-along to a drug bust with his DEA agent brother-in-law, White spots a former student sneaking away from the scene and catches up with him, only to discover Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) is a meth cook.
So, White gets a brilliant idea and teams up with Pinkman to manufacture and sell the purest methamphetamine on the market to secure his family’s financial future. I mean, Mr. White is a chemistry teacher, you know? Hands down, Breaking Bad is one of the top crime dramas ever to hit our screens. You want to follow White’s harrowing journey as he straddles the line between family man and criminal.
Watch it on Netflix