By its very nature, Netflix has something for everyone. Although the streamer initially built up a lineup of shows from other networks, it has slowly become more self-sufficient. Now, if you’re looking for a crime series, for example, you’re likely to stumble upon plenty of shows that Netflix produced itself.
Crime shows are among the most common on TV, and with good reason. I have always been fascinated by the depravity that can exist inside of humanity, and the ways that detectives and other law enforcement officers try to solve them. The shows on this list reflect the very best of what Netflix has to offer. These are the best crime shows on Netflix:
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MINDHUNTER (2017)
2 Seasons
Genre
Drama, Crime
Stars
Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany, Anna Torv
Created by
Joe Penhall
Watch on Netflix
One of the great tragedies in Netflix’s history is that Mindhunter only received two seasons. The show tells the story of the earliest days of the behavioral crime unit inside of the FBI, and follows two agents in particular as they interview some of the world’s most famous serial killers. The show’s brilliance stems from its understanding that we are equally repulsed and fascinated by people who a compulsive urge to kill. Mindhunter is beautifully shot, anchored by three amazing central performances, and the kind of crime show all crime shows should aspire to be.
You (2018)
5 Seasons
Genre
Drama
Stars
Penn Badgley, Charlotte Ritchie, Tilly Keeper
Created by
Greg Berlanti, Sera Gamble
Watch on Netflix
Pulpy, funny, and surprisingly incisive, You follows Joe Goldberg, a toxic romantic who gets violent whenever he realizes how little control he has over the women in his life. Joe is, at his core, a serial killer, but the way his beliefs about love inform his relationships and the dialogue that is constantly running through his head. Penn Badgley seems tailor-made to play this role, a creepy, charming, smart, funny character that is ultimately a sociopath, but one that is incredibly fun to watch.
Unbelievable (2019)
1 Season
Genre
Drama, Crime
Stars
Kaitlyn Dever, Toni Collette, Merritt Wever
Created by
Susannah Grant
Watch on Netflix
A heartbreaking true story that plays out as riveting drama, Unbelievable tells the story of a young woman who is raped, and the detectives who track down her rapist years after she has been convinced to recant her story. Kaitlyn Dever, Merritt Weaver, and Toni Collette are all brilliant in their central performances, and the show is unflinching in its depiction of a life that unravels because male police officers pressure her to say she was lying. Unbelievable is a heartbreaking story, but one that you’ll find well worth watching.
Peaky Blinders (2013)
6 Seasons
Genre
Drama, Crime
Stars
Cillian Murphy, Paul Anderson, Sophie Rundle
Created by
Steven Knight
Watch on Netflix
One of Netflix’s most popular series, Peaky Blinders is set in Britain immediately after World War I, and follows one of the most dominant gangs of that era. The series is riveting from the word go, in part because of Cillian Murphy’s utterly captivating central performance. As the world changes around the Peaky Blinders in the aftermath of the war, he realizes that the nature of his gang must change with it. But trying to go legit comes with its own complications, ones that you will be riveted by over the course of the show’s six-season run.
Evil (2019)
4 Seasons
Genre
Crime, Drama, Mystery
Stars
Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, Aasif Mandvi
Created by
Michelle King, Robert King
Watch on Netflix
Perhaps the wildest series on this list, Evil follows a court psychologist who teams up with a priest in training to investigate a variety of supposedly supernatural occurrences. These occurrences range from the actually mystical to the 100% explainable, but the real juice of Evil comes largely from just how zany the show is willing to get. Evil is ostensibly a show about understanding just how much of the world around us is unexplained, and how much of it we just choose to ignore because it’s easier.
RIPLEY (2024)
1 Season
Genre
Drama
Stars
Andrew Scott, Dakota Fanning, Johnny Flynn
Created by
Steven Zaillian
Watch on Netflix
Adapted from Patricia Highsmith’s novel The Talented Mr. Ripley, Ripley stars Andrew Scott as the titular character, a sociopathic con-man who becomes ensconced in and then obsessed with Dickie Greenleaf, who he has been hired to bring back to America. The series delves into the jealousy at the heart of Ripley, and the obsession that fuels the crime he ultimately commits. Andrew Scott is a brilliant Ripley, and the series is filmed in the kind of stunning black and white that makes you remember that TV doesn’t have to look bad.
Breaking Bad (2008)
5 Seasons
Genre
Drama, Crime
Stars
Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn
Created by
Vince Gilligan
Watch on Netflix
One of the most famous crime shows in the history of the genre, Breaking Bad tells the story of a mild-mannered chemistry teacher who becomes a drug kingpin after discovering that he only has a few months to live. Anchored by a revelatory central performance from Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad is brilliant in part because it knows exactly how disgusting its central character is, even if some of the show’s fans didn’t. The show is brilliant in part because it seems to understand exactly how to corner its characters over and over again.
A Man on the Inside (2024)
1 Season
Genre
Comedy, Crime
Stars
Ted Danson, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Lilah Richcreek Estrada
Created by
Michael Schur
Watch on Netflix
Ted Danson has been one of the most charming men on TV for decades, and A Man on the Inside takes full advantage of that skill. In A Man on the Inside, he plays a retired professor who finds a new purpose when he’s hired by a private investigator to go undercover inside a nursing home. Based loosely on a true story, this series has a lot of fun with its central premise, and it allows Danson to layer on the charm even as he’s also adding a level of deception that deepens and sharpens his character.
