Best Police TV Shows

2026 • Rating 10.0 • crime, mystery, drama

A fiercely competitive police officer and an idealistic prosecutor, former high school classmates, reunite while investigating a nationwide serial murder case, pulling them into both a dangerous pursuit and an unresolved personal past.

Genre: Crime, Mystery, Drama

Style: Cerebral, Dark, Gritty, Suspenseful

Audience: Adult, Date Night

Plot: Detective, Investigation, Police, Serial Killer, Buddy Cop, Police Procedural, Crime Thriller, A Fiercely Competitive Police Officer And An Idealistic Prosecutor, Former High School Classmates, Reunite While Investigating A Nationwide Serial Murder Case

Time: Year 2026, 2020S, 2026-04-20

Place: South Korea, Korean

Cast: Park Hae-soo, Lee Hee-jun, Kwak Sun-young, Seo Ji-hye, Jung Moon-sung, Bek Hyun-jin

2002 • Rating 8.6 • crime, drama

Told from the points of view of both the Baltimore homicide and narcotics detectives and their targets, the series captures a universe in which the national war on drugs has become a permanent, self-sustaining bureaucracy, and distinctions between good and evil are routinely obliterated.

Genre: Crime, Drama

Style: Gritty, Suspenseful

Audience: Adult, Date Night

Plot: Corruption, Newspaper, Drug Trafficking, Drug Dealer, Baltimore, Usa, Gangster, Police, Organized Crime, Police Detective, Surveillance

Time: Year 2002, 2000S, 2002-06-02

Place: United States Of America, Mandarin, English, Greek, Spanish

Cast: Dominic West, Lance Reddick, Sonja Sohn, Wendell Pierce, Michael Kenneth Williams, Deirdre Lovejoy

2006 • Rating 8.6 • animation, mystery, sci-fi & fantasy

Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects—and he’s bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But will Light succeed in his noble goal, or will the Death Note turn him into the very thing he fights against?

Genre: Animation, Mystery, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Style: Cerebral, Dark, Psychological, Suspenseful

Audience: Adult, Family, Teens

Plot: Detective, Journalism, Secret Identity, Police, Supernatural, Sociopath, Rivalry, Murder, Serial Killer, Grim Reaper

Time: Year 2006, 2000S, 2006-10-04

Place: Japan, Japanese

Cast: Mamoru Miyano, Shido Nakamura, Aya Hirano, Kappei Yamaguchi, Kimiko Saito, Naoya Uchida

2014 • Rating 8.4 • crime, drama

A riveting police drama about the men and women of the Chicago Police Department's District 21 who put it all on the line to serve and protect their community. District 21 is made up of two distinctly different groups: the uniformed cops who patrol the beat and go head-to-head with the city's street crimes and the Intelligence Unit that combats the city's major offenses - organized crime, drug trafficking, high profile murders and beyond.

Genre: Crime, Drama

Style: Cerebral, Dark, Gritty, Suspenseful

Audience: Adult, Date Night, Teens

Plot: Chicago, Illinois, Police, Spin Off, Crime Investigation, A Riveting Police Drama About The Men And Women Of The Chicago Police Department'S District, Who Put It All On The Line To Serve And Protect Their Community, District, Is Made Up Of Two Distinctly Different Groups, The Uniformed Cops Who Patrol The Beat And Go Head-To-Head With The City'S Street Crimes And The Intelligence Unit That Combats The City'S Major Offenses - Organized Crime, Drug Trafficking

Time: Year 2014, 2010S, 2014-01-08

Place: United States Of America, English

Cast: Jason Beghe, Marina Squerciati, Patrick John Flueger, LaRoyce Hawkins, Benjamin Levy Aguilar, Arienne Mandi

2003 • Rating 7.8 • crime, drama, mystery

The Philadelphia homicide squad's lone female detective finds her calling when she is assigned cases that have never been solved. Detective Lilly Rush combines her natural instincts with the updated technology available today to bring about justice for all the victims she can.

Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery

Style: Cerebral, Dark, Gritty, Suspenseful

Audience: Adult, Date Night, Teens

Plot: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Detective, Victim, Investigation, Police, Police Detective, Female Detective, Murder Investigation, Homicide Detective, Cold Case

Time: Year 2003, 2000S, 2003-09-28

Place: United States Of America, English

Cast: Kathryn Morris, Danny Pino, Jeremy Ratchford, Thom Barry, Tracie Thoms, John Finn

2000 • Rating 7.6 • crime, drama, mystery

A Las Vegas team of forensic investigators are trained to solve criminal cases by scouring the crime scene, collecting irrefutable evidence and finding the missing pieces that solve the mystery.

Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery

Style: Cerebral, Dark, Gritty, Suspenseful

Audience: Adult, Date Night, Teens

Plot: Detective, Police, Crime Scene, Las Vegas, Criminal Investigation, Forensic, Murder Investigation, Homicide Detective, Crime Investigation, Police Procedural

Time: Year 2000, 2000S, 2000-10-06

Place: United States Of America, English

Cast: Ted Danson, George Eads, Jorja Fox, Eric Szmanda, Robert David Hall, Wallace Langham

1990 • Rating 7.3 • crime, drama

In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to convict the perpetrator by proving the person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Working together, these expert teams navigate all sides of the complex criminal justice system to make New York a safer place.

Genre: Crime, Drama

Style: Cerebral, Gritty, Suspenseful

Audience: Adult, Date Night, Teens

Plot: New York City, Police, Lawyer, Homicide Detective, Crime Investigation, Criminal Law, Legal Drama, Criminal Justice System, In Cases Ripped From The Headlines, Police Investigate Serious And Often Deadly Crimes

Time: Year 1990, 1990S, 1990-09-13

Place: United States Of America, Canada, Singapore, English, New York

Cast: Reid Scott, Maura Tierney, Tony Goldwyn, Hugh Dancy, Odelya Halevi