14 crime dramas to binge watch on Netflix

2. Happy Valley

Across two seasons, police sergeant Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire) grapples with the dangerous communities of West Yorkshire while dealing with her troubled sister and the death of her daughter. But, as if she hasn’t got enough to deal with, things soon take an even darker turn for her family. Last year, Lancashire won a BAFTA for her stunning performance. And season three is currently in the works.

3. Dark

Dark quickly transcends the crime genre and morphs into a freaky, truly scary, brain-expanding exploration of time and space. But it keeps at its core a gripping mystery of kids that keep disappearing from a small town. Watch in German but with English subtitles – the English dubbing is a bit weird.

4. Undercover

Undercover follows stellar British lawyer Maya Cobbina (Sophie Okonedo) as she fights to save the life of a man on death row in the States. But the real drama is about to explode back home when something about her husband’s past is revealed. Come for the gripping plot, stay for Okonedo’s out-of-this-world performance.

5. Narcos

In its third thrilling season – and with another on the way – now is the perfect time to watch José Padilha’s series about the rise of Pablo Escobar. Filmed in Colombia and following Escobar’s life from 1970 to 1992, there’s plenty of action in this true-to-life account. The show even includes real archival footage of the era for an extra (frighteningly) realistic feel.

6. Sons of Anarchy

A series that follows an outlaw biker gang as they run guns, drugs and shoot their way through rival gangs like there’s no tomorrow and Scarface never existed. The whole thing is based around Shakespeare’s Hamlet, which, let’s face, it is a bona fide classic. Throw in motorbikes and more Mexican stand-off situations than you could throw a sombrero at and you’ve got some seriously addictive telly.

7. Orange Is The New Black

The US doesn’t need John Oliver to dictate the failings of its penal system for comedic effect – no, it already has Orange Is The New Black, the pitch black comedy based on the experiences of Piper Kerman and her memoir about living for a year in a women’s prison. The episodes just get better and better and with season five now added there’s no excuse for missing out on this show.

8. Peaky Blinders

If Gangs of New York had a sequel and that sequel was set in Birmingham, this is what it would be. An absolute British triumph of television starring Cillian Murphy as crime boss Tommy Shelby as he runs rackets post World War I with his flat-capped gang, The Peaky Blinders. Notable appearances from Sam Neill other big names couple together to make it one of the best things that the BBC has made in years.

9. Hannibal

A smart – and at times very, very dark – reworking of Thomas Harris’ Red Dragon does the impossible: turns Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter back from a pantomime villain into a legitimately scary monster. It doesn’t rush to trade off the more familiar elements from the book or previous movies, instead using a “killer of the week” procedural format to develop the relationship between the psychotic Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) and possibly psychotic FBI agent Will Graham (Hugh Dancy). Tasty.

10. Fargo

Slotting straight into the same universe as the original Cohen Brothers film, Fargo is a charming (and bloody) indie-fied crime series for the coffee house generation. All ironic jumpers, funny characterisations, suspense and Billy Bob Thornton sporting the worst haircut of his career. Essential viewing for anybody with eyeballs. Three seasons are now available on Netflix.

11. Better Call Saul

OK, so it might not have the same edge-of-your-seat discomfort as Breaking Bad but the televisual return of Saul Goodman definitely has its own weight. Charting the rise (ok, flatline) of Walter White’s future lawyer from morally challenged good guy to hustlin’ legal trickster, it’s a modern classic in its own right.

12. Luther

One of the best British crime thrillers of recent years, with Idris Elba playing the growling Detective Chief Inspector who blurs the lines between right and wrong in order to get the job done. As the series develops, the crimes stretch across multiple episodes and the complications of Luther’s life become ever more tangled, making it almost impossible to watch just one episode.

13. Sherlock

When Sherlock launched in 2010 it immediately had the feeling of a show that would be beloved for years, as if it had already been around for decades but we’d only just noticed. Even once you know how all the crimes were committed it still bears repeat viewing for the beautifully drawn friendship between Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman.

14. Breaking Bad

Obviously. We’re not going to berate you if you haven’t seen it yet, but you know you’ve got a treat in store when you do get round to it, and that you’re probably going to have to cancel all your plans until you’ve finished it.