The best crime series on Netflix for detective drama fans
It’d be criminal to miss the best crime dramas and crime shows on Netflix
Marc Chacksfield
There’s something endlessly comforting about a great crime drama. The familiar rhythm of clues and red herrings, the troubled detective staring moodily out of a rain-streaked window, the slow, creeping realisation that nothing is quite as it seems. It’s television as a pressure release valve, tense, twisty, and designed to keep you saying “just one more episode” until suddenly it’s 2am.
Netflix, of course, has gone all-in on the genre. From bleak Nordic noir and prestige British procedurals to glossy American thrillers and true-crime-adjacent slow burns, the streamer’s crime library is deep enough to swallow entire weekends whole. Some shows lean hard into the puzzle, others into the psychology, and a few are simply there to make you gasp, rewind, and immediately message your group chat.
Whether you’re in the mood for a cerebral whodunnit, a cat-and-mouse serial killer saga, or a detective story that’s really about grief, obsession or institutional rot, these are the best crime dramas currently streaming on Netflix.
18. Good Girls
A playful, suburban crime drama, Good Girls mixes humour, escalating criminal misadventures, and relatable family dynamics. It’s lighter fare compared to the heavier prestige dramas, but the stakes, twists, and excellent performances make it addictive. Perfect for viewers who like their crime fun, dramatic, and a little chaotic.
17. Orange Is the New Black
![Orange Is The New Black - Season 1 - Official Trailer [HD] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/vY0qzXi5oJg/maxresdefault.jpg)
A blend of crime drama, social commentary, and ensemble comedy, Orange Is the New Black was Netflix’s early prestige hit. Its depiction of life inside a women’s prison is often sharp, funny, and politically pointed, though later seasons lose some focus. Still, it’s impossible to ignore the influence it had on streaming storytelling, its memorable cast, and its fearless exploration of difficult subjects.
16. The End of the F***ing World
A darkly comic twist on crime-adjacent storytelling, The End of the F**ing World* is nihilistic, funny, and occasionally violent, but always oddly tender. James and Alyssa’s misadventures mix coming-of-age angst with criminal escapades, producing a show that is simultaneously bleak and heartwarming. It’s short, punchy, and completely unlike anything else on the list, making it a cult favourite.
15. Kin
A quieter, family-focused take on crime, Kin blends gangland drama with emotional depth. It’s a slow burn, showing the human side of criminal enterprises, loyalty, betrayal, and the consequences of choices. Its realism and measured pacing set it apart from flashier shows, allowing the tension to simmer and the characters to resonate. For viewers who like their crime drama with heart as well as grit, Kin delivers.
14. Dear Child
A German psychological crime thriller that excels at suspense and creeping dread, Dear Child takes viewers deep into trauma and mystery. Every episode builds tension through claustrophobic direction and slow-burn storytelling, culminating in shocking reveals. It’s the kind of series that rewards patience and attention, pulling you into its unsettling world and leaving you thinking long after the credits roll.
13. Griselda
Stylish, star-studded, and unapologetically excessive, Griselda chronicles the life of the notorious drug queenpin Griselda Blanco. Sofia Vergara disappears into the role, anchoring a series filled with crime, ambition, and brutality. The show revels in its cinematic flair and high-stakes tension, blending historical crime storytelling with modern production values. While it’s more spectacle than subtlety, it’s impossible to look away from Blanco’s ruthless rise to power.
12. Lupin
Lupin injects a burst of charm and style into the crime genre. Omar Sy is magnetic as a modern gentleman thief, using wit, disguise, and elaborate schemes to pull off heists and exact revenge. It’s clever, slick, and fun — more about outsmarting the system than brute force. Its pacing, twists, and Sy’s charisma make it bingeable, and while it’s lighter than prestige dramas, it’s still immensely satisfying for fans of crime with style.
11. The Sinner
![The Sinner: Season 2 | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/eOGAhuyHgac/maxresdefault.jpg)
A concept-driven crime series, The Sinner inverts the usual whodunnit by asking why instead of who. Bill Pullman’s detective navigates psychologically complex cases, each rooted in trauma, buried secrets, and moral ambiguity. Some seasons are uneven, but at its best, it’s tense, clever, and deeply unsettling, with twists that keep you second-guessing. It’s a slow burn, more about character dissection than action, but the payoff is quietly devastating.
10. Unbelievable
A quiet powerhouse, Unbelievable follows two detectives as they hunt a serial rapist while exposing systemic failure in law enforcement. It’s a restrained, smart, and deeply human crime drama, anchored by incredible performances from Kaitlyn Dever, Merritt Wever, and Toni Collette. The series balances investigative procedure with emotional storytelling, showing the impact of crime on survivors and the perseverance required to find justice. Unbelievable is intense, affecting, and one of the most thoughtful crime dramas of recent years.
9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_InqQJRqGW4
Absurd, addictive, and unapologetically over-the-top, Money Heist transforms a heist into pure operatic spectacle. The series thrives on high emotion, clever twists, and elaborate planning, with the Professor orchestrating chaos like a chess master. The show knows exactly what it is: a melodrama with flair, dramatic tension, and moments of genuine suspense. It’s less about realism and more about momentum, excitement, and big personalities, and when it hits, it’s impossible to look away.
8. Top Boy
Top Boy is raw, authentic, and unflinchingly honest, a portrait of life in modern London’s housing estates. It focuses on survival, loyalty, and consequence in the drug trade without glamorising it, giving every character depth and motivation. The dialogue is sharp, performances from the cast are pitch-perfect, and the storylines hit hard and fast. Top Boy manages to blend tense crime drama with social realism, making it both thrilling and emotionally resonant. Every street, corner, and conversation feels alive, drawing you into a world that’s as compelling as it is dangerous.
7. When They See Us
![When They See Us: Limited Series | Teaser [HD] | Netflix - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/YyoSErErnCE/maxresdefault.jpg)
A departure from standard crime thrillers, Ava DuVernay’s When They See Us is an essential, gut-wrenching watch. The miniseries reconstructs the harrowing story of the Central Park Five, combining meticulous attention to real events with powerhouse performances. It’s an unflinching look at racial injustice, the failures of the legal system, and the resilience of youth wronged by the state. Emotionally devastating and uncomfortably truthful, it’s a series that stays with you long after the credits roll.
6. Narcos
![Narcos | Official Trailer 2 [HD] | Netflix - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/RNWAKZzgbp4/maxresdefault.jpg)
Few series capture the scale and chaos of organised crime like Narcos. By weaving historical events with high-stakes storytelling, the series charts the rise and fall of some of the world’s most notorious drug lords. Wagner Moura’s Pablo Escobar is iconic, commanding every frame he’s in, while the political and law enforcement perspectives add depth and tension. Narcos doesn’t shy away from the human cost of power, the collateral damage, betrayals, and moral compromises are brutal and unflinching. Every season is a sprawling, immersive ride through the machinery of empire and crime.
5. Ozark
![Ozark | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/5hAXVqrljbs/maxresdefault.jpg)
Cold, bleak, and relentlessly tense, Ozark is a Netflix crime drama at its most anxiety-inducing. Jason Bateman’s Marty Byrde is a financial wizard dragged into laundering cartel money, while Laura Linney’s Wendy Byrde grows darker, smarter, and scarier with each season. The show thrives on moral ambiguity, claustrophobic tension, and the slow-burn consequences of every decision. With each season, the stakes escalate, the violence sharpens, and the Byrde family’s survival feels more fragile than ever. It’s a masterclass in tone, pacing, and suspense that keeps viewers perpetually on edge.
4. Peaky Blinders
Style, swagger and slow-motion violence collide in Steven Knight’s Birmingham-set gangster epic. Peaky Blinders thrives on atmosphere, razor-sharp suits, pounding soundtracks and Cillian Murphy’s hypnotic performance as Tommy Shelby. It’s melodramatic, sure, but when it hits, it really hits, and with the new film dropping this year, it's the perfect time to catch up.
3. Breaking Bad
The gold standard for modern TV crime dramas, Breaking Bad charts the unforgettable descent of Walter White from mild-mannered chemistry teacher to full-blown criminal mastermind. What starts as a desperate bid to provide for his family quickly spirals into something far darker, driven by ego, pride and a taste for power. Meticulously plotted, relentlessly tense and packed with iconic performances, it’s a show that rewrote the rulebook, and still looms large over everything that followed.
2. Better Call Saul
![Better Call Saul | Series Trailer [HD] | Netflix - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/HN4oydykJFc/maxresdefault.jpg)
A prequel that somehow becomes its own masterpiece, Better Call Saul takes the comic relief of Breaking Bad and turns him into one of TV’s most tragic figures. Watching Jimmy McGill’s slow, painful transformation into Saul Goodman is gripping television, built on razor-sharp writing, moral grey areas and devastating character work. It’s a crime drama less concerned with shootouts than consequences, where every small decision carries weight, and where the line between good and bad blurs long before it finally snaps.
1. Mindhunter
![MINDHUNTER | Teaser [HD] | Netflix - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/LR3G1lWbnUU/maxresdefault.jpg)
David Fincher’s meticulous deep dive into the minds of serial killers remains one of Netflix’s greatest (and most frustratingly unfinished) crime dramas. Set in the late 1970s, it follows FBI agents pioneering criminal profiling by interviewing some of America’s most notorious murderers. It’s all slow-burn dread rather than cheap thrills, with chilling performances, especially Cameron Britton’s unnervingly calm Ed Kemper, and an oppressive sense that evil isn’t loud, but methodical. Cold, cerebral and quietly terrifying, Mindhunter proves crime drama doesn’t need gunfights and explosions to stand out.
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