British Crime Shows
by wwatinski | created - 17 Apr 2021 | updated - 10 months ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Endeavour (2012–2023)
TV-14 | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Set from 1965 into the 1970s, the show follows Endeavour Morse in his early years as a police constable. Working alongside his senior partner DI Fred Thursday, Morse engages in a number of investigations around Oxford.
Stars: Shaun Evans, Roger Allam, James Bradshaw, Sean Rigby
Votes: 33,188
2. Line of Duty (2012–2021)
TV-14 | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Drama series following the investigations of AC-12, a controversial police anti-corruption unit.
Stars: Martin Compston, Vicky McClure, Adrian Dunbar, Craig Parkinson
Votes: 69,663
3. Inspector Morse (1987–2000)
TV-14 | 100 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Chief Inspector Morse has an ear for Western classical music, a taste for beer, and a nose for crime. He and Detective Sergeant Robert Lewis solve intriguing cases in and around the Oxford area.
Stars: John Thaw, Kevin Whately, James Grout, Peter Woodthorpe
Votes: 14,261
4. Inspector Lewis (2006–2015)
TV-PG | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
DI Robert Lewis and DS James Hathaway solve the tough cases that the learned inhabitants of Oxford throw at them.
Stars: Kevin Whately, Laurence Fox, Clare Holman, Rebecca Front
Votes: 15,754
5. New Tricks (2003–2015)
TV-14 | 60 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Three retired police officers are drafted in to solve cold cases, with a touch of comedy and drama
Stars: Dennis Waterman, Amanda Redman, Alun Armstrong, James Bolam
Votes: 8,714
6. Death in Paradise (2011– )
TV-PG | 60 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A Detective Inspector is transferred from London to the Caribbean island of Saint-Marie to investigate and solve complex murders.
Stars: Elizabeth Bourgine, Don Warrington, Danny John-Jules, Joséphine Jobert
Votes: 27,505
7. Murder City (2004–2006)
TV-14 | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
British police drama that revolves around two mismatched detectives who scour London solving complex cases.
Stars: Amanda Donohoe, Kris Marshall, Connor McIntyre, Laura Main
Votes: 699
8. Prime Suspect (1991)
TV-14 | 207 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A female police detective investigates a series of serial murders while dealing with sexist hostility from her male comrades.
Stars: Helen Mirren, John Benfield, Tom Bell, Craig Fairbrass
Votes: 9,170
9. Prime Suspect: Tennison (2017)
TV-14 | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Prime Suspect 1973 tells the story of 22-year-old Jane Tennison's first days in the police force, in which she endured flagrant sexism before being thrown in at the deep end with a murder enquiry.
Stars: Alun Armstrong, Andrew Brooke, Blake Harrison, Daniel Ezra
Votes: 3,651
10. Whitechapel (2009–2013)
TV-14 | 817 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
A 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.
Stars: Rupert Penry-Jones, Phil Davis, Steve Pemberton, Sam Stockman
Votes: 14,691
11. Silk (2011–2014)
TV-14 | 60 min | Drama
Drama 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.
Stars: Maxine Peake, Rupert Penry-Jones, Neil Stuke, Theo Barklem-Biggs
Votes: 5,551
12. Scott & Bailey (2011–2016)
TV-14 | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Detectives Janet Scott & Rachel Bailey investigate murders with Manchester Police's Major Incident Team.
Stars: Suranne Jones, Lesley Sharp, Tony Mooney, David Prosho
Votes: 10,953
13. River (2015)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
John River is a brilliant police inspector whose genius lies side-by-side with the fragility of his mind. He is a man haunted by the murder victims whose cases he must lay to rest.
Stars: Stellan Skarsgård, Nicola Walker, Adeel Akhtar, Lesley Manville
Votes: 27,102
14. Unforgotten (2015– )
TV-MA | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
London detectives investigate crimes from the past, unravelling secrets left buried for years.
Stars: Sanjeev Bhaskar, Jordan Long, Carolina Main, Nicola Walker
Votes: 30,039
15. Shetland (2013– )
TV-14 | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A local police team investigate crimes within the close knit island community of Shetland.
Stars: Alison O'Donnell, Steven Robertson, Douglas Henshall, Lewis Howden
Votes: 25,546
16. Gentleman Jack (2019–2022)
TV-MA | 60 min | Biography, Drama, History
A dramatization of the life of lesbian trailblazer, voracious learner, and cryptic diarist Anne Lister.
Stars: Suranne Jones, Sophie Rundle, Gemma Whelan, Ben Hunter
Votes: 15,852
17. Grantchester (2014–2025)
TV-14 | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A Cambridgeshire clergyman finds himself investigating a series of mysterious wrongdoings in his small village of Grantchester.
Stars: Robson Green, Tessa Peake-Jones, Al Weaver, Kacey Ainsworth
Votes: 17,103
18. DCI Banks (2010–2016)
TV-14 | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Tenacious and stubborn DCI Alan Banks unravels disturbing murder mysteries aided by his young assistants, DS Annie Cabbot and DI Helen Morton.
Stars: Stephen Tompkinson, Jack Deam, Andrea Lowe, Caroline Catz
Votes: 9,076
19. Wallander (2008–2016)
TV-PG | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Unable to unsee the dark crimes he's tasked to investigate, Wallander's job comes at a cost to his family and relationships.
Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Richard McCabe, Jeany Spark, Sarah Smart
Votes: 16,424
20. Young Wallander (2020–2022)
TV-MA | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Follow recently graduated police officer Kurt Wallander as he investigates his first case.
Stars: Adam Pålsson, Leanne Best, Ellise Chappell, Sara Seyed
Votes: 13,327
21. The Valhalla Murders (2019–2020)
TV-MA | 50 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Police profiler Arnar is sent back home from Oslo to his native Iceland to investigate the country's first serial killer case. He teams up with the local senior cop Kata.
Stars: Aldís Amah Hamilton, Nína Dögg Filippusdóttir, Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir, Gunnar Bersi Björnsson
Votes: 16,880
22. The Pembrokeshire Murders (2021)
TV-14 | 144 min | Crime, Drama, History
DSU Steve Wilkins reopens two unsolved murder cases from the 1980s. Forensic methods link the crimes to a string of burglaries. Steve's team has to find more evidence before the perpetrator is released from prison.
Stars: Luke Evans, Keith Allen, Caroline Berry, Oliver Ryan
Votes: 10,765
23. Midsomer Murders (1997– )
TV-14 | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A veteran Detective Chief Inspector and his young Sergeant investigate murders around the regional community of Midsomer County.
Stars: John Nettles, Jane Wymark, Barry Jackson, Neil Dudgeon
Votes: 39,121
24. Criminal Justice (2008–2009)
Not Rated | 584 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Drama series following people accused of crimes and their journey through the British Criminal Justice System.
Stars: Ben Whishaw, Maxine Peake, Bill Paterson, Alice Sykes
Votes: 2,096
25. Bodyguard (2018)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Troubled war veteran turned Police Officer David Budd is assigned to the Metropolitan Police's Specialist Protection Branch.
Stars: Richard Madden, Sophie Rundle, Vincent Franklin, Ash Tandon
Votes: 146,722
26. Ashes to Ashes (2008–2010)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Fantasy
After being shot in 2008 while investigating DCI Sam Tyler, DI Alex Drake wakes up in 1981.
Stars: Philip Glenister, Keeley Hawes, Dean Andrews, Marshall Lancaster
Votes: 11,020
27. Deadwater Fell (2020)
184 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
When a seemingly perfect and happy family is murdered by someone they knew and trusted, cracks appear on the surface of a supposedly idyllic community.
Stars: David Tennant, Cush Jumbo, Matthew McNulty, Bradley Connell
Votes: 9,640
28. C.B. Strike (2017– )
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
War veteran turned private detective Cormoran Strike solves brutal murders with the help of his trusted partner Robin Ellacott.
Stars: Tom Burke, Holliday Grainger, Kerr Logan, Jack Greenlees
Votes: 24,452
29. Unforgotten: Body in a Suitcase (2017 Video)
2 min | Documentary, Short
A specially made DVD bonus feature to accompany the series.
Stars: Sanjeev Bhaskar, Nicola Walker, Andy Wilson, Sam Ives
Votes: 5,351
30. No Offence (I) (2015–2018)
TV-MA | 42 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Follows a group of police officers on the front line wondering what they did to end up where they are now, on the ugly side of Manchester.
Stars: Joanna Scanlan, Elaine Cassidy, Will Mellor, Paul Ritter
Votes: 6,560
31. Unforgiven (2009)
TV-14 | 135 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A young woman imprisoned for murdering two police officers is released from prison after 15 years. All she wants now is to find her younger sister.
Stars: Suranne Jones, Emily Beecham, Matthew McNulty, Siobhan Finneran
Votes: 1,715
32. Save Me (2018–2022)
TV-MA | 270 min | Drama, Mystery
Nelly hasn't rested trying to find his missing daughter Jody, he won't give up, and he will do anything to find out what happened. Discovering things about him and those around him, things he never imagined.
Stars: Lennie James, Stephen Graham, Suranne Jones, Camilla Beeput
Votes: 6,233
33. A Confession (2019)
TV-PG | 45 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
DSU Stephen Fulcher intends on catching a killer of a missing woman, even if that may cost him his career and reputation.
Stars: Martin Freeman, Siobhan Finneran, Imelda Staunton, Peter Wight
Votes: 9,937
34. Honour (2020)
TV-14 | 95 min | Crime, Drama, History
DCI Caroline Goode vows to bring justice for a young girl, murdered by her family for falling in love with the wrong man.
Stars: Keeley Hawes, Mark Stanley, Michael Jibson, Alexa Davies
Votes: 2,724
35. The Missing (2014–2016)
TV-14 | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Tony and Emily Hughes' vacation turns into a nightmare when their 5-year-old son Oliver disappears from a large celebrating crowd in Northern France.
Stars: Tchéky Karyo, Anastasia Hille, James Nesbitt, Frances O'Connor
Votes: 30,083
36. Broadchurch (2013–2017)
TV-MA | 1,143 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The murder of a young boy in a small coastal town brings a media frenzy, which threatens to tear the community apart.
Stars: David Tennant, Olivia Colman, Jodie Whittaker, Andrew Buchan
Votes: 126,605
37. Luther (2010–2019)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
John 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.
Stars: Idris Elba, Dermot Crowley, Michael Smiley, Warren Brown
Votes: 153,808
38. MI-5 (2002–2011)
TV-14 | 60 min | Action, Crime, Drama
The missions of MI-5, the UK's domestic intelligence organization.
Stars: Peter Firth, Hugh Simon, Nicola Walker, Rupert Penry-Jones
Votes: 18,260
39. Baptiste (2019–2021)
Not Rated | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Mercurial retired police detective, Julien Baptiste, specializes in missing-persons cases.
Stars: Tchéky Karyo, Anastasia Hille, Tom Hollander, Fiona Shaw
Votes: 10,188
40. Unforgotten: Building the Series (2017 Video)
5 min | Short, Crime
A specially made DVD bonus feature to accompany the series.
Director: Sven Arnstein | Stars: Nicola Walker, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Andy Wilson, Chris Lang
Votes: 1,625
41. The Fall (I) (2013–2016)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A seemingly cold but very passionate policewoman goes head to head with a seemingly passionate father who is in fact a cold serial killer in this procedural out of Belfast. The only thing they share is their common complexity.
Stars: Gillian Anderson, Jamie Dornan, John Lynch, Aisling Franciosi
Votes: 119,051
42. Safe (2018)
TV-MA | 356 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
After his teenage daughter goes missing, a widowed surgeon begins uncovering dark secrets of the people closest to him.
Stars: Michael C. Hall, Amy James-Kelly, Amanda Abbington, Freddie Thorp
Votes: 51,733
43. Collateral (2018)
TV-MA | 230 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Investigating the murder of a pizza delivery man, a London detective uncovers a tangled conspiracy involving drug dealers, smugglers and spies.
Stars: Carey Mulligan, Nathaniel Martello-White, Hayley Squires, Vineeta Rishi
Votes: 21,344
44. Before We Die (2021– )
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Thriller
Detective Hannah Laing becomes deeply conflicted when she discovers that her son is playing a crucial role as an undercover informant in the investigation of a brutal murder.
Stars: Lesley Sharp, Vincent Regan, Issy Knopfler, Kazia Pelka
Votes: 2,460
45. Vigil (2021– )
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The mysterious disappearance of a Scottish fishing trawler and a death onboard a Trident nuclear submarine bring the police into conflict with the Navy and British security services.
Stars: Suranne Jones, Rose Leslie, Gary Lewis, Orla Russell
Votes: 27,518
46. Happy Valley (2014–2023)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Yorkshire-based crime drama centering on the personal and professional life of Police Sergeant Catherine Cawood.
Stars: Sarah Lancashire, Siobhan Finneran, James Norton, Rhys Connah
Votes: 64,026
47. Traces (2019–2022)
TV-14 | 45 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
While attending an online forensic course, young lab assistant discovers that the fictitious case study has a link to her past. With the help of two female professors she works on bringing a killer to justice.
Stars: Laura Fraser, Michael Nardone, Jennifer Spence, Andrea Hart
Votes: 6,406
48. Giri/Haji (2019)
TV-MA | 461 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A detective from Tokyo scours London for his missing brother, who's been involved with the Yakuza and accused of murder.
Stars: Takehiro Hira, Kelly Macdonald, Yôsuke Kubozuka, Will Sharpe
Votes: 16,669
49. Foyle's War (2002–2015)
TV-14 | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
As WWII rages, DCS Foyle fights his own war on the home-front; investigating crime on the south coast of England. Later series, see the retired detective working as an MI5 agent in the aftermath of the war.
Stars: Michael Kitchen, Honeysuckle Weeks, Anthony Howell, Ellie Haddington
Votes: 18,128
50. Top of the Lake (2013–2017)
TV-MA | 750 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Obsessed with the disappearance of a 12-year-old pregnant girl near a freezing lake in New Zealand, a brave detective will find herself up against small-town secrets and a side of herself that was meticulously kept at bay.
Stars: Elisabeth Moss, David Wenham, Peter Mullan, Thomas M. Wright
Votes: 37,619
51. Wire in the Blood (2002–2008)
TV-MA | 69 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A psychologist gets inside of the minds of both killers and victims to aid the police in solving gruesome serial killings in Northern England.
Stars: Robson Green, Mark Letheren, Emma Handy, Mark Penfold
Votes: 9,328
52. Murdoch Mysteries (2008– )
TV-PG | 48 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
In the 1890s, William Murdoch uses radical forensic techniques for the time, including fingerprinting and trace evidence, to solve some of the city's most gruesome murders.
Stars: Yannick Bisson, Helene Joy, Thomas Craig, Jonny Harris
Votes: 17,311
53. Criminal: UK (2019–2020)
TV-MA | 43 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A cat-and-mouse drama, which focuses on the intense mental conflict between detectives and suspects. The stories take place within the confines of a police interview suite.
Stars: Katherine Kelly, Lee Ingleby, Rochenda Sandall, Shubham Saraf
Votes: 21,352
54. Miss Scarlet & the Duke (2020– )
TV-14 | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
When Eliza Scarlet's father dies, he leaves her penniless, but she resolves to continue his detective agency. To operate in a male-dominated world, though, she needs a partner - step forward a detective known as the Duke.
Stars: Kate Phillips, Stuart Martin, Cathy Belton, Simon Ludders
Votes: 10,835
55. London Kills (2019– )
TV-14 | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Drama series following the detectives of an elite murder investigation squad in London.
Stars: Hugo Speer, Sharon Small, Bailey Patrick, Tori Allen-Martin
Votes: 3,304
56. Undercover (I) (2016)
TV-14 | Drama, Thriller
A lawyer returns to Britain to become the first black Director of Public Prosecutions. She begins to suspect that everything she knew about the man she has been married to for the past 20 years is a lie.
Stars: Sophie Okonedo, Adrian Lester, Daniel Ezra, Shannon Hayes
Votes: 2,263
57. The Capture (2019– )
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
When a British soldier is charged with a crime, the tenacious young detective handling his case begins to uncover a conspiracy.
Stars: Holliday Grainger, Ben Miles, Lia Williams, Cavan Clerkin
Votes: 22,720
58. A Touch of Cloth (2012–2014)
60 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
DCI Jack Cloth and DC Anne Oldman are paired to investigate a series of grisly murders done by a devious killer.
Stars: John Hannah, Suranne Jones, Navin Chowdhry, Adrian Bower
Votes: 4,126
59. The Undeclared War (2022)
TV-MA | 47 min | Drama, Thriller
In 2024, a leading team of analysts buried in the heart of GCHQ secretly works to ward off a foreign cyber-attack on the country's electoral system.
Stars: Hannah Khalique-Brown, Simon Pegg, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, Edward Holcroft
Votes: 4,945
60. Trigger Point (2022– )
TV-MA | 60 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Drama series following Lana Washington, an experienced bomb disposal officer working for the Metropolitan Police.
Stars: Vicky McClure, Eric Shango, Nabil Elouahabi, Kerry Godliman
Votes: 8,130
61. Alex Rider (2020– )
TV-14 | 45 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Alex Rider is an ordinary teenager enlisted to work on behalf of MI6, where he uses skills he didn't know he had to become an extraordinary spy.
Stars: Otto Farrant, Vicky McClure, Brenock O'Connor, Ronke Adekoluejo
Votes: 16,515
62. The Body Farm (2011–2012)
Crime, Drama
A British police procedural, which follows the team from a forensic pathology facility that conducts scientific research to help solve crimes.
Stars: Tara Fitzgerald, Keith Allen, Wunmi Mosaku, Mark Bazeley
Votes: 857
63. Doctor Foster: A Woman Scorned (2015–2017)
TV-MA | 60 min | Adventure, Drama, Mystery
A woman suspects her husband of having an affair. After following several lines of inquiry far more unravels including a streak of violence below the surface.
Stars: Suranne Jones, Bertie Carvel, Tom Taylor, Thusitha Jayasundera
Votes: 22,089
64. The Secret Agent (2016)
60 min | Drama, Thriller
Verloc, the owner of a seedy shop in Victorian Soho, plays a dangerous game spying on an agitating anarchist group that will prove useful to the foreign power he is secretly working for.
Stars: Toby Jones, Vicky McClure, Charlie Hamblett, Marie Critchley
Votes: 1,068
65. Departure (2019–2022)
TV-14 | 45 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A high-octane conspiracy series that follows the mystery of Flight 716 - a passenger plane that vanishes over the Atlantic Ocean.
Stars: Archie Panjabi, Mark Rendall, Kris Holden-Ried, Karen LeBlanc
Votes: 16,548
66. Marcella (2016–2021)
TV-MA | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Marcella Backland left the Metropolitan Police for the sake of her family, only to have her husband leave her. She returns to her job on the murder squad, investigating a case that seems disturbingly familiar to her.
Stars: Anna Friel, Ray Panthaki, Jack Doolan, Jamie Bamber
Votes: 36,928
67. Law & Order: UK (2009–2014)
TV-14 | 46 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
UK version of the long-running U.S. TV drama that tells the stories of two separate yet equally important groups: the police, who investigate crime; and the attorneys, who prosecute the offenders.
Stars: Bradley Walsh, Robert Glenister, Harriet Walter, Freema Agyeman
Votes: 4,832
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