Summary
- The Wire stands out for its unparalleled realism, based on real-life events observed by David Simon and Ed Burns.
- True Detective captivates viewers with star power like Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, creating unforgettable drama.
- The Sopranos breaks new ground by focusing on characters’ personal lives, leading to a unique portrayal of a New Jersey mafia family.
Crime drama has always been a popular genre, so virtually every era of television has an iconic series that follows either the police in their pursuit or criminals in their anti-social projects. It’s not just the local police that feature in these shows, but every LEO from the FBI to the lowest local beat cop, and some of the best crime shows are actually about the people on the wrong side of the law.
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Depictions of crime can often be gruesome and visceral, so it’s not always a first choice when it comes to a binge-watching session, but some of these shows are too good to stop watching once a viewer gets started. Every single one of these shows defines the famous last words, “just one more episode.”
7
The Wire
Realism Ahead Of It’s Time
The grim realism that made The Wire famous isn’t a coincidence. The show was written by former Baltimore police reporter David Simon and based on several real events witnessed or recorded by Simon and his partner, Ed Burns, who had worked as a public school teacher and homicide detective.
Various characters and their storylines connect the parts of a much bigger city network, and casting was a strong point, giving lesser-known actors major roles that launched their careers. As the five seasons of the show unfold, viewers learn how Baltimore’s society is made up of various criminal elements, and how those working within the law try to subvert (or engage) with them.
6
True Detective
Difficult To Watch, More Difficult To Stop Watching
True Detective is a compelling show, and one of the best in recent television history, so once a viewer gets started, they might as well settle in and get comfortable for all four seasons. Season one is especially notorious for how it sucks viewers into its tense drama, unique setting, pseudo-Lovecraftian elements, and brilliant performances, and it rolls on for the other three seasons in much the same way.
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Unlike other shows that lean into realism by avoiding big-name stars, True Detective does the opposite, and the results are impressive. It was the star power of Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson that made the first season so unforgettable, and Jodie Foster stars in the most recent season Night Country, which takes place in frigid northern Alaska.
5
The Sopranos
Wiseguys Need Love Too
The Sopranos was popular because it wasn’t just a crime drama about a powerful New Jersey mafia family, but because it also focused on Tony and certain members of his crew as individuals with their own unique personalities. It also infused the point of view of a local therapist, as opposed to the main character or the LEO chasing the gangsters, which was a completely new take.
Human and crime drama went hand in hand in The Sopranos, which tends to be a theme in the mafia genre, and there were whole episodes that focused on the issues that Tony was dealing with personally, like his recurring panic attacks. However, this didn’t keep his life of crime from catching up with him, even though he was a success at what he did, which was ironically his biggest problem.
4
Prison Break
Crime Drama Starring The Criminals
Prison Break was popular from the beginning because of the twist that it was the prisoners who were the good guys and the people that put them away were the villains. The series was popular enough to last for five seasons, the last of which ended in 2017, with a movie concluding the original storyline in 2009.
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The plot revolves around two brothers, Lincoln and Michael, and although both of them are incarcerated, Lincoln has been sentenced to death for a crime he didn’t commit. The next few seasons aren’t just about how they break out, but also what happens when they hunt down the person who set up Lincoln’s stint on death row.
3
Gotham
Even More Batman Lore
Anyone who’s watching The Penguin should make some time for Gotham as well, which chronicles the era of Gotham City after Bruce Wayne’s parents’ deaths, but before Batman’s first appearance and subsequent rise. This isn’t a comic book adaptation, strictly speaking, because although the events and characters are lifted from DC lore, there’s no equivalent story in the graphic novel medium.
Several familiar characters appear in the show, but the most prominent is James Gordon, who most viewers know as the Police Commissioner in Batman’s time. The story covers the rise and fall of several political figures and includes the youthful training of Bruce Wayne, who still has to first survive his childhood before he can grow up to be Batman.
2
The X-Files
The Best Of Experimental Television
The X-Files
- Release Date
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1993 – 2017
- Network
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FOX
It began as a niche show filmed in an obscure location with a flimsy premise and a low budget, but thanks to some creative writing and stellar casting choices, The X-Files evolved into one of television’s most popular and longest-running crime dramas. The dark, misty forests of Canada’s west coast gave this paranormal drama some gritty realism, and as the show lasted for more than 20 years, the locations would often vary.
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Writers were taking all kinds of chances in the 1990s, which is one of the reasons why The X-Files successfully blends a variety of genres, like dark fantasy and science fiction, along with crime drama. Mulder and Scully were real FBI agents, and between her forensics and his research, their work on paranormal activity was ironically very realistic.
1
Breaking Bad
The Saga Of Walter White
It could be television’s greatest crime drama, and it’s a uniquely American one. Breaking Bad follows high school chemistry teacher Walter White on an unexpected journey from law-abiding suburbanite to deadly criminal mastermind. The series was created by Vince Gilligan, who also worked on The X-Files and suggested Bryan Cranston take on the role of the main character.
In a society where even a small accident can bankrupt a family for years, White not only has a special needs child to look after, but a recent cancer diagnosis of his own has put his financials in even more dire straits, and he turns to drastic measures as a result. White decides to exploit his chemistry knowledge to start cooking crystal meth, which naturally leads him to a life of organized crime in a savage and competitive market that he is, surprisingly, uniquely suited for.
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