Top 2000 Law & Order/Matlock/Hill Street Blues Type Films & Shows
The best gritty dramas of the 80s/90s and today that were influenced by this docudrama style.
Here are shows that resemble Hill Street Blues, Law & Order and its spin-offs (Homicide, NY Undercover, Deadline, FBI, etc.).
Also inserted films that easily were Sidney Lumet inspired or could had easily been grittier versions of Matlock type courtroom procedures.
Here are shows that resemble Hill Street Blues, Law & Order and its spin-offs (Homicide, NY Undercover, Deadline, FBI, etc.).
Also inserted films that easily were Sidney Lumet inspired or could had easily been grittier versions of Matlock type courtroom procedures.
List activity
1.9K views
• 4 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
1300 titles
- CreatorJed MercurioStarsMartin CompstonVicky McClureAdrian DunbarDrama series following the investigations of AC-12, a controversial police anti-corruption unit.
- CreatorTom FontanaStarsErnie HudsonJ.K. SimmonsLee TergesenA series chronicling the daily activities of an unusual prison facility and its criminal inhabitants.
- CreatorSteven BochcoDavid MilchStarsDennis FranzJimmy SmitsGordon ClappDetectives from NYPD's 15th Precinct investigate homicides within their precinct.
- CreatorDavid SimonStarsDominic WestLance ReddickSonja SohnThe Baltimore drug scene, as seen through the eyes of drug dealers and law enforcement.
- CreatorAaron SorkinStarsMartin SheenRob LoweAllison JanneyInside the lives of staffers in the West Wing of the White House.
- CreatorDavid ChaseStarsJames GandolfiniLorraine BraccoEdie FalcoNew Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano deals with personal and professional issues in his home and business life that affect his mental state, leading him to seek professional psychiatric counseling.
- CreatorShawn RyanStarsMichael ChiklisCatherine DentWalton GogginsDrama series following the lives and cases of dirty cop Vic Mackey and the corrupt LAPD unit under his command.
- CreatorMichael CrichtonStarsAnthony EdwardsGeorge ClooneyJulianna MarguliesThe doctors who work in the ER at the County General Hospital in Chicago grapple with ups and downs in their personal and professional lives while trying to give apt medical care to their patients.
- CreatorDavid KoeppStarsDavid MorseAndre BraugherMatthew BorishWhen corruption charges strip him of his job, his family and his pride, former cop Mike Olshansky forges a new identity as a Philadelphia cab driver, patrolling the city as a roving vigilante who works with local police.
- CreatorAdi HasakStarsJennifer LopezRay LiottaDrea de MatteoHarlee Santos, New York police officer and single mother, is forced to work in the F.B.I.'s anti-corruption task force while dealing with her own financial problems.
- CreatorTom FontanaWill RokosStarsTom Weston-JonesKyle SchmidAnastasia GriffithIn the 1860s, an Irish-American Civil War veteran joins the New York City police force.
- CreatorJames Lee BarrettStarsCarroll O'ConnorAlan AutryDavid HartThe cases and adventures of the police forces in and around Sparta, Mississippi.
- CreatorFrank LupoStarsFred DryerStepfanie KramerCharles HallahanRick Hunter is a renegade cop who bends the rules and takes justice into his own hands. Partnered with the equally stunning and rebellious Sgt. McCall, he sets out to crack down on L.A.'s slimiest criminals.
- CreatorBarbara AvedonBarbara CordayStarsTyne DalySharon GlessAl WaxmanTwo female police detectives cooperate with each other both in their professions and in their personal lives.
- CreatorDavid MaplesStarsMary McCormackFrederick WellerPaul Ben-VictorU.S. Marshal Mary Shannon must hunt down witnesses for federal cases in the witness protection program while also managing a rather dysfunctional family and her own personal life.
- CreatorJanet TamaroStarsAngie HarmonSasha AlexanderJordan BridgesDetective Jane Rizzoli and Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Maura Isles team up to solve crimes in Boston.
- CreatorRobert CochranJoel SurnowStarsKiefer SutherlandMary Lynn RajskubCarlos BernardCounter Terrorism Agent Jack Bauer races against the clock to subvert terrorist plots and save his nation from ultimate disaster.
- CreatorJeff DavisStarsKirsten VangsnessMatthew Gray GublerA.J. CookA group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) using behavioral analysis and profiling to help investigate crimes and find the suspect known as the unsub.
- CreatorJoshua BrandJohn FalseyJohn MasiusStarsEd Begley Jr.Howie MandelDavid MorseThe lives and work of the staff of St. Eligius Hospital, an old and disrespected Boston teaching hospital.
- CreatorRichard LindheimMichael SloanStarsEdward WoodwardKeith SzarabajkaRobert LansingA retired Intelligence Agent turned private detective helps various threatened clients to equalize the odds.
- CreatorAnn DonahueCarol MendelsohnAnthony E. ZuikerStarsGary SiniseCarmine GiovinazzoHill HarperForensic scientists and investigators of the New York City Police Department unveil the circumstances behind mysterious and unusual deaths.
- CreatorPaul AbbottStarsRobson GreenNicola WalkerShaun DingwallA police drama following the exploits of a crack squad within the Organized and Serial Crime Unit, a rapid-response police force serving the entire county.
- CreatorSteven BochcoEric LodalStarsTaye DiggsKathleen RobertsonIan Anthony DaleA single murder case is dissected from the committing of the crime through to the investigation, arrest and trial.
- CreatorNeil CrossStarsIdris ElbaDermot CrowleyMichael SmileyJohn Luther is a brilliant homicide detective with a knack for getting inside the minds of murderers. Unfortunately, his unconventional methods and personal demons put him at odds with his team.
- CreatorEric Ellis OvermyerStarsTitus WelliverJamie HectorAmy AquinoAn L.A.P.D. homicide detective works to solve the murder of a 13-year-old boy while standing trial in federal court for the murder of a serial killer.
- CreatorDaniel CeroneJames ThorpeStarsKristin LehmanLouis FerreiraBrendan PennyA feisty Vancouver homicide detective tracks down the most cunning of killers by trying to figure out the often-unexpected motive to the crime.
- CreatorSally WainwrightStarsSarah LancashireSiobhan FinneranJames NortonYorkshire-based crime drama centering on the personal and professional life of Police Sergeant Catherine Cawood.
- CreatorColin BatemanStarsJames NesbittDel SynnottClaudia HarrisonAs a maverick cop with a dark past, DS Tommy Murphy fails a psychiatric assessment but is given one last chance by his boss and given a dangerous undercover assignment.
- CreatorEdward Allen BerneroJohn WellsStarsCoby BellSkipp SudduthJason WilesThe exploits of a group of men and women who serve New York City as police officers, firefighters, and paramedics in the fictional 55th Precinct.
- CreatorJohn RidleyStarsFelicity HuffmanRegina KingTimothy HuttonSeasonal anthology series. Season 1: The lives of the participants in a trial with significant racial motives are forever changed during the legal process.
- CreatorSamuel BaumStarsTim RothKelli WilliamsBrendan HinesAbout Cal Lightman, the world's leading deception expert who studies facial expressions and involuntary body language to expose the truth behind the lies.This builds on the formulas of both L&O: Criminal Intent and Criminal Minds
- StarsStephen TompkinsonJack DeamAndrea LoweTenacious and stubborn DCI Alan Banks unravels disturbing murder mysteries aided by his young assistants, DS Annie Cabbot and DI Helen Morton.
- CreatorCath StaincliffeStarsCaroline QuentinIan KelseyPaul LoughranSingle mother DCI Janine Lewis struggles with the problems of bringing up four children while leading her team of detectives in solving high-profile murders.
- CreatorLynda La PlanteStarsKelly ReillyCiarán HindsShaun DingwallA team of dedicated detectives investigate gruesome murders across London.
- CreatorJohn BanasJohn HugginsonStarsShane BourneNadine GarnerAaron PedersenOn the Homicide floor of a police headquarters in Melbourne, Australia, detectives work to bring justice for the deceased.
- CreatorHal McElroyTony MorphettJohn HugginsonStarsBrett PartridgePeter BensleyToni ScanlanBeneath its surface exists a playground for the murky underworld, pollution hazards, the remnants of huge drug hauls, and a graveyard of bodies from years of suicides, accidents and murders. That's the world of the WATER RATS.
- CreatorChris HaddockStarsIan TraceyKlea ScottJohn CassiniOrganized crime and the Organized Crime Unit (OCU) work together to achieve the opposing goals of each respective world.
- CreatorStuart OrmeStarsIain GlenNora-Jane NooneKillian ScottIrish ex-cop Jack Taylor solves crimes as a maverick private investigator. Based on Ken Bruen's crime-drama books.
- CreatorLynda La PlanteStarsDavid HaymanDorian LoughVictoria SmurfitThe team of Det. Supt. Michael Walker, DI North, and DCI Connor follows each case from crime committed, through the pursuit of justice, to the law courts where the efforts of the force will be tested--sometimes to the breaking point.
- StarsRobson GreenMark LetherenEmma HandyA psychologist gets inside of the minds of both killers and victims to aid the police in solving gruesome serial killings in Northern England.
- CreatorSteven BochcoCharles H. EgleeChanning GibsonStarsMary McCormackMichael HaydenJ.C. MacKenzieTheodore Hoffman is a prominent defense attorney in a prestigious Los Angeles law firm. After successfully defending the wealthy but suspicious Richard Cross in a lurid murder trial, he is now involved in the defense of Neil Avedon. Neil is a famous young actor who has had severe drug and alcohol problems and was subsequently charged with the murder, after Cross was acquitted. This single case will run an entire television season (interspersed with bits from other cases that the firm is involved in).
- CreatorAnn BidermanStarsMichael CudlitzShawn HatosyRegina KingThe lives of Police Officers working for the Los Angeles Police Department.
- CreatorChris HaddockStarsNicholas CampbellDonnelly RhodesVenus TerzoA Vancouver cop turned coroner searches for truth and justice with the help of his friends.
- CreatorFrank SpotnitzDavid VainolaStarsLuke RobertsBrandon Jay McLarenNazneen ContractorA team of crisis negotiators travels the globe to help multinational corporations and governmental agencies with complex negotiations and conflict resolution.
- StarsPaul BhattacharjeeGerard ButlerNina SosanyaTwelve men and women are called for jury service in the retrial of a man accused of a triple murder after the High Court overturns the original verdict.
- CreatorCynthia SaundersStarsAlly WalkerJulian McMahonA MartinezDr. Sam Waters is a detective with the Violent Crimes Task Force, a federal agency which often works with the FBI, ATF, and other crime-solving agencies.
- CreatorJason SmilovicStarsJeremy SistoCarmen EjogoDelroy LindoComplex overtones surround the kidnapping of a wealthy New York family's 15-year-old son, leading a specialist and a retiring FBI agent to figure it out.
- StarsCharlotte FichMads MikkelsenLars BrygmannA mobile task force is dispatched across Denmark to help local police solve tough cases.
- CreatorStephen J. CannellFrank LupoStarsJonathan BanksJim ByrnesKen WahlVincent Terranova is an agent with the Organized Crime Bureau infiltrating dangerous criminal organizations, struggling to remain true to himself while becoming close to the criminal leaders he is sworn to bring down.
- StarsKen StottClaire PriceJennifer BlackSet in Edinburgh, the mercurial Detective Inspector John Rebus's investigations lead him through the city's ancient beauty and into its more sinister quarters.
- CreatorBen CourtCaroline IpStarsRupert Penry-JonesPhil DavisSteve PembertonA fast-tracked inspector, a hardened detective sergeant, and an expert in historical homicides investigate modern crimes with connections to the past in the Whitechapel district of London.
- StarsAdrian HolmesJared KeesoMylène Dinh-RobicThe day to day of two unwilling patrol officers affected by troubled pasts.
- CreatorMatthew HallGF NewmanStarsJohn HannahPaul FreemanJohn ThomsonNew Street Law, set in Manchester's legal community, follows the exploits, competitiveness and legal cases of two rival law firms of barristers that both have very different attitudes to justice.
- StarsJemma RedgraveJohn HannahAce BhattiBrian Wicklow is jailed after a killing spree so macabre that he has become one of Britain's most notorious murderers. Vilified by the popular press and despised by fellow inmates, his notoriety is compounded by the fact that detectives, including Jake Osbourne, investigating his crimes have never found the body of his last victim. However no one is safe with Wicklow behind bars.
- StarsEmilia FoxDavid CavesWilliam GaminaraA team of exceptional forensic pathologists and scientists investigate heinous crimes and use their skills to catch the people responsible.
- CreatorJeffrey CaineStarsGillian MartellMartin ShawKaren ArcherFocussing on the politics at the top of a typical English police force in its continual battle to solve the problems the times, in this case the fictional Eastland of East Anglia.
- StarsTony MartinRachael BlakeVictoria LongleyFollow the men and women who work in a downtown police station and a renegade crisis centre in the tough red light district of Sydney, as they deal with the endless array of problems, crimes and triumphs that tumble onto the streets.
- CreatorDavid WolstencroftStarsPeter FirthHugh SimonNicola WalkerThe missions of MI-5, the UK's domestic intelligence organization.
- CreatorAbi MorganStarsRomola GaraiBen WhishawDominic WestA behind-the-scenes drama and espionage thriller in Cold War-era England that centers on a journalist, a producer, and an anchorman for an investigative news programme.
- CreatorJed MercurioStarsRichard MaddenSophie RundleVincent FranklinTroubled war veteran turned Police Officer David Budd is assigned to the Metropolitan Police's Specialist Protection Branch.
- CreatorMatt LopezStarsLeven RambinChris NothDanny PinoThe survivor of a famous child-abduction case joins a special task force dedicated to solving abductions and missing person cases.
- StarsShenae Grimes-BeechAngela GriffinWendy CrewsonThree female homicide detectives solve crimes while also dealing with their personal lives.
- StarsHelen MirrenJohn BenfieldTom BellA female police detective investigates a series of serial murders while dealing with sexist hostility from her male comrades.
- StarsRitchie CosterNelson LeeTony MusanteA three-part miniseries that offers a look into the world of trafficking, where drugs, weapons and even people are traded all over the world. Here, the lives of three Seattle-based men become intertwined - until they're all in over their heads.
- CreatorRene BalcerMalina DetchevaFranck OllivierStarsJean RenoJill HennessyTom AustenJoachim Jo Saint-Clair is a veteran detective in Paris elite Criminal Brigade tackling the city's most challenging murder cases.
- CreatorPeter MoffatStarsMaxine PeakeRupert Penry-JonesNeil StukeDrama series about life at the Bar, the dilemmas and problems that modern day barristers have to face, and what it means to become a silk.
- CreatorChris LangStarsSanjeev BhaskarJordan LongCarolina MainLondon detectives investigate crimes from the past, unravelling secrets left buried for years.
- StarsRebecca GibneyRobyn NevinSusanne ChapmanJane Halifax is a freelance forensic psychiatrist (f.p.) a psychological super-sleuth immersed in a mire of crime and punishment: Jane is an expert of the human mind.
- CreatorRonan BennettWalter BernsteinStarsPhilip GlenisterThekla ReutenAnna ChancellorWhen lawyer Gina Hawkes hires Harry to find a witness, he unexpectedly revisits his brother's decades-old death, embroiling him in a political conspiracy at the highest levels of British government.
- StarsPeter PhelpsKate KendallAnita HeghStingers reveals the shadowy and ambiguous world of undercover cops - people with covert lives and constantly changing identities. They are the police who defeat crime from within the criminal world.
- StarsRichard RoxburghTony MartinSteve BastoniSet in 1980s Sydney, this acclaimed mini-series tells the story of the relationship between corrupt Detective Roger Rogerson and one of Australia's most infamous criminals Neddy Smith.
- StarsJoel KellerMimi KuzykKathleen LaskeyBlue Murder is a Canadian crime television series featuring a Toronto based police squad investigating murders.
- StarsCharlton HestonKeith CarradineStephen CollinsThree generations of police chiefs for a southern town go about their jobs while a serial murderer operates.
- CreatorJimmy McGovernStarsRobbie ColtraneGeraldine SomervilleKieran O'BrienDr Edward "Fitz" Fitzgerald is a criminal psychologist. He is rather anti-social and obnoxious but he has a gift for solving crimes. Thus he is employed as a consultant by the Manchester Police.
- StarsKen StottFrances GreyJamie DravenAfter two horribly mutilated bodies are discovered, DCI Red Metcalfe is assigned to the case and plunged head-on into a nightmare.
- CreatorBarbara MachinStarsTrevor EveSue JohnstonWil JohnsonDrama series following a team of detectives who investigate unsolved murders using modern technology.
- CreatorMichael DugganMichael M. RobinStarsEric RobertsD.B. SweeneyChristine TucciThe series revolves around Criminal Division Squad 16, part of the Los Angeles field office of the FBI.
- CreatorReggie Rock BythewoodGina Prince-BythewoodStarsSanaa LathanStephan JamesStephen MoyerExamines the dangerous aftermath of two racially charged shootings in a small Southern town, providing an explosive autopsy of our criminal justice system.
- CreatorDick WolfJack WebbStarsEd O'NeillEthan EmbryChristina ChangLAPD Detectives Joe Friday and Frank Smith methodically investigate homicides.
- CreatorReggie Rock BythewoodShaun CassidyIce-TStarsIce-TCostas MandylorFrank John HughesThree scam-artist convicts satisfy their parole requirements by helping out the FBI.
- CreatorSidney LumetStarsJoseph Lyle TaylorManny PerezPhyllis NewmanThe lives and work of the staff of a New York City courthouse.
- CreatorBarbara HallStarsTéa LeoniTim DalyErich BergenA political drama which looks into the life of the Secretary of State as she tries to balance work with family.
- CreatorDavid E. KelleyStarsKathy BatesNate CorddryChristopher McDonaldA group of misfit lawyers form an unconventional firm.
- CreatorMichelle KingRobert KingStarsJulianna MarguliesChris NothJosh CharlesAlicia Florrick has been a good wife to her husband, a former state's attorney. After a very humiliating sex and corruption scandal, he is behind bars. She must now provide for her family and returns to work as a litigator in a law firm.
- CreatorMichelle KingRobert KingPhil Alden RobinsonStarsChristine BaranskiSarah SteeleNyambi NyambiWhen Diane Lockhart's life savings are lost, she must start from scratch at a new firm.
- CreatorRobert MunicJonathan PrinceStarsGrace ParkBenjamin BrattAmy Price-FrancisA guy transforms his life by taking control over his addictions and using his story to help others.
- CreatorAlexandra CunninghamLynda La PlanteStarsMaria BelloBrían F. O'ByrneKirk AcevedoJane Timoney, an iconoclastic female detective, must make her bones in a tough New York precinct that is dominated by men.
- CreatorLouis St. ClairJorge ZamaconaStarsGary ColeRyan HurstRashida JonesAn elite team of crime fighters from various federal and local law enforcement agencies track down the city's 100 most wanted fugitives.
- CreatorDave EricksonStarsJulianna MarguliesBen ShenkmanKeith D. RobinsonA television series centered on Elizabeth Canterbury, a tough-minded defense attorney who isn't afraid to push boundaries in order to protect innocent clients.
- DirectorMichael Caton-JonesStarsRobert De NiroJames FrancoFrances McDormandVincent Lamarca, whose father was executed for a 1950s kidnapping of a child, grew up to become a police officer, only to see his own son become a murder suspect.
- CreatorGraham YostStarsDonnie WahlbergNeal McDonoughMykelti WilliamsonEach episode of this series, set in present day Los Angeles, examines one crime from many different viewpoints - uniformed cops, detectives, witnesses, the media, the fire department and rescue squad, even the criminals themselves.
- CreatorDavid E. KelleyStarsDylan McDermottKelli WilliamsLara Flynn BoyleWe follow the exploits and cases of defense attorneys of a Boston law firm. Bobby Donnell is the senior defense attorney and founder of the firm.
- CreatorDavid E. KelleyStarsJames SpaderWilliam ShatnerCandice BergenBoston Legal is a spin-off of the long-running David E. Kelley series The Practice (1997), following the exploits of former Practice character Alan Shore (James Spader) at the legal firm of Crane, Poole, and Schmidt.
- CreatorMatt MacLeodJulia KeatleyPhilip KeatleyStarsJulie StewartGarry ChalkTamara Marie WatsonThe cases of a police unit specializing in revisiting old criminal files whose investigations have been inconclusive.
- CreatorTyler BensingerDavid McNallyStarsVictor GarberKerr SmithRebecca MaderA powerful Los Angeles law firm handles high-profile, media-circus cases.
- CreatorRichard StrattonStarsRob MorrowMichelle NoldenAlexander ContiFollows a fair parole officer and his parolee who wants to go straight but his former business associates are after him.
- CreatorCraig SweenyCraig TurkStarsAnna WoodAto EssandohPhillipa SooA look at the professional and personal lives of some of the military's brightest legal minds in the courtroom, where each attorney is trained as a prosecutor, a defense lawyer, an investigator - and a Marine.
- StarsPeter HaberIngvar HirdwallRebecka HemseCommissioner Martin Beck and his eccentric partner Gunvald Larsson investigate murders in Stockholm, Sweden.
- DirectorGregory HoblitStarsRichard GereLaura LinneyEdward NortonAn altar boy is accused of murdering a priest, and the truth is buried several layers deep.
- CreatorJeff RakeStarsDebra MessingLaz AlonsoJosh LucasA New York City homicide detective cracks case after case while raising wild twin boys and locking horns with her less-than-helpful Police Detective ex-husband.