10 Best crime series to watch on Netflix

You will certainly see some bloody gunfights in the best series on Netflix, but we also like to dive deeper into the streaming detectives especially for the crime-addicted Netflix viewer. These are the 10 best crime series on Netflix right now in no particular order!

10. Luther

Luther is also definitely one of the best crime series on Netflix and that is mainly because of Idris Elba. He plays the role of his life as Special Agent John Luther. This unpredictable, hyper-intelligent man is destructive, struggles with many understandable mental issues and sometimes gets out of hand. This makes him incredibly unpredictable and sets him apart from all sorts of other, much more sluggish TV detectives with boring moral compasses. Luther often crosses the border, but does so with a heart that in the end – it takes some digging – turns out to be gold.

9. When They See Us

When They See Us is a true story about the wrongful prosecution of five boys for a rape in New York that they had nothing to do with. Poor Kevin, Antron, Yusef, Korey and Raymond – otherwise known as “The Central Park Five” – fell into the hands of officers who forced them to make false statements. They then turned into sad victims of a racist, heavily biased legal system. The way director Ava DuVernay portrayed it all…pooh. Extremely intense, confrontational and ultimately hopeful. You’re going to cry. Every episode again. Especially the last episode, in which Korey ends up in ‘adult’ prison and has to survive, grabs you by the throat and never lets go.

8. The Sinner

A standard boring detective who works by the book has long ceased to be a strong starting point for a crime series. Today’s central crime fighters (Luther, Marcella and even Lucifer) excel in layering. Bill Pullman’s detective Harry Ambrose from The Sinner is the superlative. The intriguing man (with sm fetish) is far from perfect, at times hard to fathom, but extremely determined. He goes far, sometimes a little too far, to delve into the psyche of the murderer. That has already resulted in three different and very impressive seasons. The premise of The Sinner is extra special: it is not a ‘whodunnit’, but a ‘whydunnit’ series.

7. The Blacklist

Raymond “Red” Reddington, one of the FBI’s most wanted fugitives, surrenders in person at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. He claims that he and the FBI have the same interests: bringing down dangerous criminals and terrorists. In the last two decades, he’s made a list of criminals and terrorists that matter the most but the FBI cannot find because it does not know they exist. Reddington calls this “The Blacklist”. Reddington will co-operate, but insists that he will speak only to Elizabeth Keen, a rookie FBI profiler.

6. Lucifer

Lucifer is a wonderfully hybrid series. Drama, thriller, fantasy and certainly also a serious crime – it’s all there. And in charisma cannon Tom Ellis, the series has found a perfect lead. He plays the devil descended to Earth who runs a nightclub. Meanwhile, he helps Detective Chloe Decker (Lauren German) unravel crimes, and his talent for telling people the truth helps immensely. Okay, that fact gets a bit more in the background in later seasons, but still: Lucifer is so special that we can put it without hesitation among the best crime series on Netflix.

5. Marcella

Marcella – one of the best dark crime thrillers on Netflix – has already changed a lot. It once started as a show about a woman who returned to her old job: a police detective after the unexpected divorce from her husband. Meanwhile, it has increasingly become a show about Marcella’s unstable mental health and her battle against fierce inner demons. The troubled detective should definitely be in our list of the best crime series on Netflix.

4. Peaky Blinders

The angry British bosses from Peaky Blinders should not be missing from our list of the best crime series on Netflix. The immensely popular BBC series immerses you in the filthy world of a notorious gangster family: the Peaky Blinders. These hard-core Britons are led by the ambitious and charismatic Tommy Shelby (a fantastic role by Cillian Murphy), the iconic face of the series. Based on a real corridor that made Birmingham unsafe from the 19th century.

3. Better Call Saul

If you’ve been able to cross Breaking Bad off your binge list, Better Call Saul should be your next streaming project. This prequel series to Breaking Bad takes one of its most popular characters, shady lawyer Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk), and gives it a life of its own full of sad family drama, tough lawyer competition and believable personal depth that only makes Breaking Bad (even) richer. The prequel cliché – ‘you know how it ends’ – actually never occurs to you while watching: a whole world opened up to us and it fits seamlessly with Breaking Bad. Perfection!

2. Breaking Bad

Breaking Bad isn’t just one of the best crime series on Netflix; it is one of the best series of all time. And that has been said countless times by everything and everyone. If you still haven’t seen Walter ‘Heisenberg’ White’s path from sad teacher to hard-core crystal meth boss, we suggest you put everything aside NOW and start the binge trip of a lifetime. You will not regret it.

1. Giri/Haji

If you want to watch the best crime series on Netflix, you should definitely start with Giri/Haji. This genius Japanese-British fusion oozes style, class, finesse and suspense, setting it apart from the rest of the crime offering on Netflix. Giri/Haji is a rare and carefully constructed police superstar. We hop between Tokyo and London and follow Detective Kenzo, who travels to England to track down his fugitive Mafia brother Yuto. He had every reason to leave, but because of that he does bring the Yakuza to London. Along the way we learn more and more about the complicated bond between the brothers and that gives Giri/Haji an extra deep layer.