Neha Shelar
With everything that is going on in this world, we know that people like you and me are stuck at home. While we are at home, all of us are often found trapped in our lazy moments of binge-watching shows for hours. These shows are a sort of an escape route for our own troubles.
The world has its own drama unfolding this year, but sometimes, the best way to take our minds off the crime and drama going on in real life is by diving into reel life dramas, detached from our own compelling life stories!
Now, if you are looking for some of the best crime-drama series for a thrilling experience, then Netflix has got you covered! After hours of consuming web content, if your appetite for drama is still dissatisfied, we have for you a list of 13 engaging and thought-provoking Netflix series that challenge your insatiable appetite for good content. They have an endless range of shows and a variety of thrilling stories for you to choose from.
These shows vary from intense historical dramas like Babylon Berlin to Better Call Saul- a series that is slightly light-hearted with its dash of black humour. We have tried to include all sorts of crime drama shows from detectives teaming up to solve a crime to murder trials.
Based on the Rotten Tomatoes scores, we have prepared the list of 11 top-rated crime TV dramas on Netflix for you to binge-watch.
1. Babylon Berlin
The historical crime drama series, Babylon Berlin, is Netflix original based during the Weimer Republic era, about a police detective from Cologne who was transferred to Berlin for solving a criminal case revolving around a pornography ring run by the Berlin Mafia. He partners with a flapper/sex worker to uncover the story which turns out to be a huge scandal involving weapons trafficking, drug dealing and major political conspiracies.
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Due to its intense, historical setting, Babylon Berlin follows the main characters and the city of Berlin in a way never depicted before. It all starts when a haunted cop finds out about a hijacked Soviet freight train. Shh! We are not the ones to give you any spoilers.
2. Alias Grace
Alias Grace is a 1996 novel by author Margaret Atwood who is best known for her book-turned-series The Handmaid’s Tale. Now ‘Alias Grace’ has followed the footsteps of The Handmaid’s Tale’s success and is being retold on screen. It is a dramatic recreation of a murder case that took place in 19th-century Canada. Grace Marks is the original murderess in this rivetting series that follows her as she is tried in the murder of her former employer.
What is more interesting is that this novel is based on the true story of an Irish woman who emigrated to Canada and was accused of the murder of her employer in 1843. It is a miniseries with only six episodes, perfect for binge-watching. With a Rotten Tomatoes Score of 99%, this definitely is a must-watch when it comes to crime drama shows.
3. Unbelievable
Unbelievable is an American drama miniseries. In its eight parts, it tells the story of the trial of a young teenage girl who is accused of lying about being raped. It follows two female detectives who work to reveal the truth and investigate a series of eerily similar incidents. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning article, “An Unbelievable Story of Rape,” this series is a dramatized rendition of the infamous Washington and Colorado serial rape cases that took place between 2008-2011.
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Due to its immense success in pulling the audience into the story, it goes on to humanize the characters even further and gives a voice to the abuse survivors — rather than focusing on the criminals who changed them forever. This show was nominated for a Golden Globe but didn’t win. However, Toni Collette did bag the award for Critic’s choice of best-supporting actress miniseries to its credit and also won the Peabody Award for entertainment.
4. Better Call Saul
Better Call Saul follows the rollercoaster backstory of Saul Goodman: criminal-for-hire. This series is a prequel and spin-off of Breaking Bad. Saul Goodman did not start off all bad, and through this entertaining series Better Call Saul, viewers get to follow his backstory from the very beginning.
It stars Bob Odenkirk and features appearances from Breaking Bad alums like Jonathan Banks (Mike Ehrmantraut) and Raymond Cruz (Tuco Salamanca), Better Call Saul is on track to match the success of its predecessor- Breaking Bad, if not surpass it. This series will keep you gripped, entertain you and make you laugh and smile altogether in its own unique way.
5. Mindhunter
Mindhunter is a series about two FBI agents, Holden Ford and Bill Tench who come across a case of a serial killer who kills regularly but without any particular motive. So they try to develop innovative investigation techniques by using behavioural sciences and applying theories of psychology, anthropology and sociology in their methods to figure out the motive behind these psychopath killers’ moves. They understand that classic crime-solving is no more sufficient for complicated cases like these.
This series shows the two agents interviewing some of history’s most infamous serial killers like ‘Son of Sam’, ‘The Zodiac Killer’, ‘The Co-ed Killer’ and more to make sense out of their crimes. It is based on a book of the same name ( Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit ) written by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker.
6. Battle Creek
Battle Creek is a dramedy following the rocky relationship between an FBI agent and a local cop who pair up to solve crime in Battle Creek, Michigan. Although a small town, it is chock full of crime and the one-season, thirteen-episode series follows this unlikely duo as they encounter cases involving murder, drug trafficking, homicide and more.
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Starring Josh Duhamel and Dean Winters, Battle Creek may not reinvent the buddy-cop trope, but the show adds some refreshingly dark humour to the crime drama series. It initially aired on CBS in 2015 and is now available to stream on Netflix.
7. When They See Us
Ava Duvernay’s ‘When They See Us’ is a crime series based on the real events of the five suspects who were prosecuted on the charges of sexual assault. They assaulted and raped a jogger in New York’s Central Park in 1989 and then spent the following years fighting for their dispense from the charges. This series has left its audience deeply shook as the show throws light on the reality of the struggle of fighting for justice. This limited series from 2019 stars Jharrel Jerome who won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie.
8. American Crime
This three season-long addictive series starring Felicity Huffman, Regina King and Timothy Hutton (among many other talents), explores the impact of the justice system on everyday American citizens when someone breaks the law. During each season, watch as one crime permanently impacts the lives of those connected to the incidents, whether they were directly involved or not. American Crime serves as an insightful portrayal of how one mistake can change the lives of many forever. Its viewers have recommended it highly and are extremely disappointed with the fact that it didn’t renew for a new season.
9. Broadchurch
Broadchurch is a British series spread across 3 seasons which is about a police investigation into the murder of a young local boy in the seaside town of Broadchurch. This series follows detectives Ellie Miller and Alec Hardy as they unravel mysteries of not just the murder but also of the town- Broadchurch. Not only is this series jam-packed with drama, but also with a stellar cast: Doctor Who veteran David Tennant, Jodie Whittaker and Academy-Award winner Olivia Colman! If great writing and great actors aren’t enough to attract you to a show like Broadchurch, then nothing will!
10. Bodyguard
Richard Madden, a popular Game of Thrones cast, stars in Bodyguard, the drama series about a war veteran who, after acting heroically on duty and saving countless lives, is hired as the personal bodyguard of a conservative and controversial politician. The two appear to be at odds initially, but later they realize that they must come to trust and rely on each other if they expect to live. As they are both battling, she through her position as a politician and he through his PTSD. This British political thriller bagged a few awards and a nomination for a Golden Globe as the best television series- Drama.
11. Sherlock
Benedict Cumberbatch is in his full proper British glory in Sherlock, as he plays the role of Sherlock Holmes- the greatest mystery-solving detective that ever lived.
This modern take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s book series adds a new and spicy twist to the classic character dynamics, including details such as Dr Watson’s (played by Martin Freeman) experience in the war in Afghanistan, drug addiction, social polarization, and more! Sherlock Holmes was an extremely sharp detective who was always a step ahead in solving crimes, and this series might do justice to the character by being two centuries ahead in its setting.
The series has a total of four seasons and originally aired on BBC one from 2010 to 2017 and is now available on Netflix for a worldwide audience!
Baishaly Roy
