From twisted thrillers to stylish heists, these are the best crime TV shows of the last decade – proof that bad behavior never goes out of style.
There’s something oddly comforting about watching fictional people make terrible decisions while we sit safely on the couch, popcorn in hand. Crime TV has evolved into an art form over the past decade – where detectives, con artists, mobsters, and morally gray masterminds all blur the lines between good and evil. These shows don’t just solve cases; they pull us into messy worlds we can’t look away from.
From gritty dramas that redefine justice to clever thrillers that make you question everyone’s motives, the last ten years have given us some truly addictive storytelling. Whether you crave dark realism or slick heist energy, these crime series prove one thing: crime might not pay, but it sure makes for great television.
10. Criminal Minds (2005)
Profiling serial killers shouldn’t be this bingeable, yet somehow Criminal Minds makes it irresistible. What sets it apart isn’t just the dark cases – it’s the team dynamic, that strange balance of grim psychology and warm camaraderie. Each episode feels like cracking open a new nightmare, only to watch the BAU methodically pull the monster out of the shadows. The show somehow manages to make the most horrifying crimes feel grounded in humanity, empathy, and a dash of gallows humor. And after 15 seasons, it proved that crime-solving is as much about understanding people as it is about catching them.
9. Person of Interest (2011)
It starts with a machine that predicts crimes before they happen – a concept that sounds like sci-fi until it starts feeling uncomfortably real. Person of Interest blends high-tech surveillance, philosophy, and action into one sleek, paranoid cocktail. What begins as a procedural quickly morphs into a story about artificial intelligence, morality, and the price of safety in a world that’s always watching. It’s stylish, clever, and just paranoid enough to make you side-eye your own phone afterward. If justice had a software update, this would be it.
8. The Night Of (2016)
There’s no flash or heroism here – just the messy, painful truth of what happens when a young man becomes trapped in the justice system. The Night Of dissects crime and punishment with surgical precision, turning every courtroom scene and police interrogation into an emotional gut punch. Its slow-burn tension makes you squirm not from the violence, but from the sheer hopelessness of it all. The writing doesn’t hand you villains or heroes, just flawed people stumbling through a system designed to break them. It’s haunting television that lingers long after the credits roll.
7. Narcos (2015)
It’s hard not to get pulled into the intoxicating chaos of Narcos. The rise and fall of Pablo Escobar unfolds like an epic gangster opera – equal parts history lesson and adrenaline rush. What makes it so addictive is how it humanizes everyone involved, from the ruthless drug lords to the exhausted DEA agents trying to stop them. The narration, the music, the tension – it all drips with cinematic swagger. You know how it’s going to end, but that doesn’t make the journey any less gripping. In the war on drugs, everyone’s chasing power, and nobody really wins.
6. Broadchurch (2013)
It begins with tragedy – a small seaside town shaken by a child’s murder – and unravels into one of the most emotionally devastating crime stories ever put on screen. Broadchurch isn’t just about finding a killer; it’s about what grief and suspicion do to a community. The cinematography feels intimate, almost claustrophobic, as every glance and silence carries unbearable weight. David Tennant and Olivia Colman deliver powerhouse performances that make the mystery feel painfully human. It’s slow, raw, and honest – crime drama stripped of glamour and filled with quiet heartbreak.
5. Fargo (2014)
What Fargo does best is remind you that chaos can wear a friendly face. Each season spins a new story of small-town crime gone horribly wrong, stitched together by dark humor, moral ambiguity, and enough snow to hide several bodies. It’s part noir, part absurdist comedy, and somehow, it works flawlessly. Every character feels like they wandered in from a Coen Brothers movie – because, well, they kind of did. Whether it’s greed, pride, or pure bad luck driving them, the result is always a beautiful, bloody mess.
4. Peaky Blinders (2013)
There’s style, and then there’s Peaky Blinders – a show that makes organized crime look dangerously cool. From razor-stuffed caps to industrial Birmingham grit, it’s the kind of series that makes you want to light a cigarette you don’t even smoke. Cillian Murphy’s Tommy Shelby commands every frame, a man torn between ambition, trauma, and family loyalty. The storytelling walks a fine line between brutal and poetic, with a soundtrack that hits like a punch to the jaw. It’s not just a gangster saga – it’s a full-blown cultural phenomenon dressed in tailored wool.
3. Mindhunter (2017)
The monsters here don’t lurk in shadows – they sit calmly in interrogation rooms, explaining why they kill. Mindhunter digs into the origins of criminal profiling with an almost hypnotic intensity, stripping away the flash of traditional crime TV to focus on psychology. Every interview with a serial killer feels like a chess match between intellects, quiet but terrifying. It’s not about gore or chase scenes – it’s about understanding evil at its most clinical and unnerving. The pacing is deliberate, the performances razor-sharp, and the tension almost unbearable. It’s criminally good television that ended far too soon.
2. Better Call Saul (2015)
What started as a Breaking Bad spinoff turned into one of the most tragic and beautifully crafted character studies in TV history. Better Call Saul isn’t about meth or crime empires – it’s about one man’s slow, painful transformation into his worst self. Watching Jimmy McGill evolve into Saul Goodman is like seeing a train wreck in slow motion, except you can’t look away because it’s too human, too relatable. Every con, every moral compromise feels earned and inevitable. It’s witty, heartbreaking, and crafted with surgical precision – television writing at its absolute peak.
1. True Detective (2014)
Season one alone could justify True Detective’s place at the top of this list. It’s a philosophical crime story disguised as a southern gothic mystery, with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson delivering performances that feel mythic. The dialogue dances between nihilism and poetry, while the direction turns Louisiana’s swamps into something almost supernatural. It’s dark, dense, and unforgettable – more meditation than murder mystery. Even as later seasons varied in tone, the original remains a high-water mark for prestige TV. When people talk about television becoming art, this is what they mean.