Last updated March 2024
Want to watch sensational, universally adored Best dramatic Tv Shows? We compiled an expert list of 30 marvelous, must-see Best dramatic Tv Shows for your viewing pleasure. Critically celebrated by IMDB reviewers and widely loved by our own user community, these world-class titles earn top marks across the board. Help other fans discover hidden gems by voting for the titles you consider to be keepers. We appreciate your help highlighting elite content!
Breaking Bad (2008)
Plot Summary:
When Walter White, a New Mexico chemistry teacher, is diagnosed with Stage III cancer and given a prognosis of only two years left to live, he becomes filled with a sense of fearlessness and an unrelenting desire to secure his family's financial future at any cost as he enters the dangerous world of drugs and crime
Duration: 3030 min
IMDB Rating: 9.5/10
IMDB Votes: 21000000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: criminal, cancer, peril, life turned upside down, drug dealing, drug cartel, unlikely partners, drug lord, master criminal, family problems, life is a bitch, drug, ambition, meth lab, desperation, double life, success, anti hero, hidden identity, lifestyle change, cartel, methamphetamine, chemistry, drug dealer, outlaw
The Wire (2002)
Plot Summary:
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
Duration: 59 min
IMDB Rating: 9.3/10
IMDB Votes: 367000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: organized crime, corruption, police detective, police, urban ghetto life, life is a bitch, working undercover, fighting crime, drug dealing, surveillance, shooting, police investigation, gang, urban decay, drug lord, murder, cop, black, wiretap, team, politics, criminal, journalism, legal, dirty cop
The Sopranos (1999)
Plot Summary:
The Sopranos is an American television drama created by David Chase. The series revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads. Those difficulties are often highlighted through his ongoing professional relationship with psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi. The show features Tony's family members and Mafia associates in prominent roles and story arcs, most notably his wife Carmela and his cousin and protégé Christopher Moltisanti
Duration: 55 min
IMDB Rating: 9.2/10
IMDB Votes: 450000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Plot tags: organized crime, mafia, killings, dark humor, mob boss, criminal heroes, gangster, family life, violence, dysfunctional family, family relations, ambition, cosa nostra, parents and children, introspection, psychiatrist, criminal, death, crime boss, mobster, italian gangster, racial slur, mob hit, rise to the top, midlife crisis
Game of Thrones (2011)
Plot Summary:
Seven noble families fight for control of the mythical land of Westeros. Friction between the houses leads to full-scale war. All while a very ancient evil awakens in the farthest north. Amidst the war, a neglected military order of misfits, the Night's Watch, is all that stands between the realms of men and icy horrors beyond
Duration: 4189 min
IMDB Rating: 9.2/10
IMDB Votes: 22000000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Country: USA, UK
Plot tags: medieval, dragon, intrigue, incest, fantasy world, kingdom, power struggle, conflict, political intrigue, peril, treason, abuse of power, king, ruler, throne, rivalry, vicious, allies, swords and armor, politics, killings, sex scene, political unrest, danger, imaginary
The Ten Commandments (1989)
Plot Summary:
The Decalogue is a 1989 Polish television drama series directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski and co-written by Kieślowski with Krzysztof Piesiewicz, with music by Zbigniew Preisner. It consists of ten one-hour films, inspired by the Ten Commandments. Each short film explores one or several moral or ethical issues faced by characters living in modern Poland. The series is Kieślowski's most acclaimed work, has been said to be "the best dramatic work ever done specifically for television" and has won numerous international awards, though it was not widely released outside Europe until the late 1990s. Film-maker Stanley Kubrick wrote an admiring foreword to the published screen-play in 1991
Duration: 572 min
IMDB Rating: 9.0/10
IMDB Votes: 27000
Genere: Drama
Country: Poland, West Germany
Plot tags: philosophy, christian, love, depression, death, morality, christianity, spirituality, christmas, faith, catholic, redemption, religion, world war two, time travel, jesus, politics, spirit, dream, theft, bible, architecture, intrigue, basement, renaissance
Succession (2018)
Plot Summary:
The lives of the Roy family as they contemplate their future once their aging father begins to step back from the media and entertainment conglomerate they control
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 8.9/10
IMDB Votes: 248000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Plot tags: wealth, family business, business, dysfunctional family, patriarchy, betrayal, dysfunctional relationship, father son relationship, ceo, family drama, businessman, parents and children, rivalry, family relations, siblings, employee employee relationship, finance, inheritance, corporation, intrigue, heir, workplace intrigue, company, megacorporation, society
The Shield (2002)
Plot Summary:
The story of an inner-city Los Angeles police precinct where some of the cops aren't above breaking the rules or working against their associates to both keep the streets safe and their self-interests intact
Duration: 47 min
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
IMDB Votes: 86000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: law enforcement, police corruption, police detective, corrupt cop, dirty cop, cop, police brutality, cruelty, dishonesty, murder, tough law enforcer, peril, victim, machismo, corrupt law enforcer, crime investigation, police, racism, honest law enforcer, police protagonist, investigator, officer, policewoman, robbery, partner
Rome (2005)
Plot Summary:
A down-to-earth account of the lives of both illustrious and ordinary Romans set in the last days of the Roman Republic
Duration: 1193 min
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
IMDB Votes: 182000
Genere: Action, Drama, Romance, War
Country: UK, USA
Plot tags: roman empire, ancient history, ancient rome, historical character, power struggle, emperor, antiquity, warrior, intrigue, roman soldier, female nudity, betrayal, political unrest, italian history, political conspiracy, julius caesar, incest, treason, rivalry, seduction, ruler, sex, ancient egypt, peplum, ambition
Friday Night Lights (2006)
Plot Summary:
Friday Night Lights is an American drama television series based around a high school football team situated in Texas. The series takes place in the fictional town of Dillon: a small, close-knit community in rural Texas. Particular focus is given to team coach Eric Taylor and his family, Tammy and Julie. The show uses this small town backdrop to address many issues facing contemporary American culture, including family values, child development, life lessons, school funding, racism, drugs, abortion and lack of economic opportunities
Duration: 44 min
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
IMDB Votes: 71000
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Plot tags: high school, football, athlete and trainer, american football, coach, sport team, friendship, contests and competitions, cheerleader, small town, teenage boy, teenager, career, human spirit, lifestyle, ambitious, leadership, training, championship, small town life, character change, youth, boyfriend girlfriend relationship, brother brother relationship, fitness
Downton Abbey (2010)
Plot Summary:
A chronicle of the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the post-Edwardian era—with great events in history having an effect on their lives and on the British social hierarchy
Duration: 3110 min
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
IMDB Votes: 220000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Plot tags: aristocracy, estate, traditional versus modern, relatives, manners, countryside, high society, butler, servant, family life, country estate, aristocrat, master and servant, family relations, couple relations, love and romance, upscale, social differences, staff, heir, domestic servant, parents and children, untimely death, class differences, social climbing
Six Feet Under (2001)
Plot Summary:
A darkly comic look at members of a dysfunctional L.A. family that run a funeral business. When death is your business, what is your life? For the Fisher family, the world outside of their family-owned funeral home continues to be at least as challenging as--and far less predictable than--the one inside
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
IMDB Votes: 145000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Plot tags: funeral home, gay, dealing with death, gays and lesbians, dark humor, dysfunctional family, sibling relationship, depression, hopes, lgbt, self discovery, death, life changing experience, workplace problem, suburbs, family drama, lgbtq, lie, couples, grief, gender, women, mental illness, life changing, belief
Oz (1997)
Plot Summary:
The daily lives of prisoners in Emerald City, an experimental unit of the Oswald Maximum Security Prison where ingroups - Muslims, Latinos, Italians, Aryans - stick close to their mutual friends and terrorizes their mutual enemies
Duration: 55 min
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
IMDB Votes: 105000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: prison life, prison, gay, life is a bitch, confined, violence spree, rape, homosexual rape, rapist, strong sexual content, gang violence, racism, prison rape, survival, power struggle, punishment, african american, solitary, lgbt, ku klux klan, neo nazism, electric chair, danger, warden, peril
The Newsroom (2012)
Plot Summary:
A behind-the-scenes look at the people who make a nightly cable-news program. Focusing on a network anchor, his new executive producer, the newsroom staff and their boss, the series tracks their quixotic mission to do the news well in the face of corporate and commercial obstacles-not to mention their own personal entanglements
Duration: 55 min
IMDB Rating: 8.6/10
IMDB Votes: 123000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Plot tags: journalism, journalist, politics, news, workaholic, psychologist, rebellion, ambitious, workplace, power of media, ethics, teamwork, media coverage, idealism, liberal, media, writers, reporter, psychiatrist, intelligence, colleague, rape, relationships, marketing, white house
Sons of Anarchy (2008)
Plot Summary:
An adrenalized drama with darkly comedic undertones that explores a notorious outlaw motorcycle club’s (MC) desire to protect its livelihood while ensuring that their simple, sheltered town of Charming, California remains exactly that, charming. The MC must confront threats from drug dealers, corporate developers, and overzealous law officers. Behind the MC’s familial lifestyle and legally thriving automotive shop is a ruthless and illegal arms business driven by the seduction of money, power, and blood
Duration: 45 min
IMDB Rating: 8.6/10
IMDB Votes: 317000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: biker, motorcycle, motorcycle gang, prison, gang, organized crime, power struggle, group of criminals, young man, arms dealing, criminal, friends, family relations, police corruption, street gang, outlaw, small town, aryan brotherhood, mafia, dirty cop, violent, gangster, tattoo, ira, subculture
Skam (2015)
Plot Summary:
The story of a young teenager group, born 1999, and a pupil on Hartvig Nissens upper secondary school in Oslo, and her friends and their life, troubles, scandals and every day life. Which of the members represented changes per season
Duration: 30 min
IMDB Rating: 8.6/10
IMDB Votes: 38000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Norway
Plot tags: lgbt, gay, teenage sexuality, friendship, gay relationship, teenage protagonist, teenage boy, teenager, high school student, high school, boyfriend girlfriend relationship, friendship between girls, teenage girl, gay teenager, teenage sex, high school hunk, homosexual, friendship between boys, interracial relations, teen angst, muslim, parent child relationship, muslim girl, family relations, dating
Wentworth (2013)
Plot Summary:
Bea Smith is locked up while awaiting trial for the attempted murder of her husband and must learn how life works in prison. A modern adaptation and sequel of the iconic Prisoner series
Duration: 45 min
IMDB Rating: 8.6/10
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Australia
Plot tags: prison, lesbian, women in prison, prison life, women's prison, power struggle, protest, lesbian relationship, life is a bitch, danger, government facility, survival, sadism, convict, lgbtq, warden, female prisoner, lawyer, lgbt, smuggling, racial issues, anti hero, confined, blood, arrest
Deadwood (2004)
Plot Summary:
The story of the early days of Deadwood, South Dakota; woven around actual historic events with most of the main characters based on real people. Deadwood starts as a gold mining camp and gradually turns from a lawless wild-west community into an organized wild-west civilized town. The story focuses on the real-life characters Seth Bullock and Al Swearengen
Duration: 55 min
IMDB Rating: 8.6/10
IMDB Votes: 115000
Genere: Crime, Drama, History, Western
Country: USA
Plot tags: sheriff, old west, power struggle, shooting, rivalry, gold rush, prostitute, gunfight, profanity, lifestyle, dishonesty, violence, society, intrigue, cowboy, greed, brothel, gambling, mining town, outlaw, gold mine, small town life, wild west, killings, sex scene
Justified (2010)
Plot Summary:
A character drama based on the 2001 Elmore Leonard short story "Fire in the Hole." Leonard's tale centers around U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens of Kentucky, a quiet but strong-willed official of the law. The tale covers his high-stakes job, as well as his strained relationships with his ex-wife and father
Duration: 3400 min
IMDB Rating: 8.6/10
IMDB Votes: 116000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Western
Country: USA
Plot tags: drug lord, u.s. marshal, lone wolves, justice, fighting crime, officer, white trash, tough law enforcer, ex convict, family feud, crime family, rivals, shooting, conflict, machismo, gunfight, dirty cop, criminal, afghanistan veteran, arrest, dumb criminal, police officer, police, murder mystery, cop
Gomorrah (2014)
Plot Summary:
Based on Robert Saviano's bestselling book, this gritty Italian crime drama paints a portrait of the brutal Neapolitan crime organisation the Camorra, as seen through the eyes of Ciro Di Marzo, the obedient and self- confident right-hand man of the clan's godfather, Pietro Savastano
Duration: 55 min
IMDB Rating: 8.6/10
IMDB Votes: 43000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Italy, Germany
Plot tags: mafia, mob boss, drug lord, gang war, camorra, social decay, society, life is a bitch, gangster, urban, strong violent content, criminal heroes, rivalry, urban ghetto life, gang, italian mafia, violence spree, poverty, juvenile delinquency, organized crime, multiple storylines, mobster, social problems, outlaw gang, gory
House of the Dragon (2022)
Plot Summary:
The prequel series finds the Targaryen dynasty at the absolute apex of its power, with more than 15 dragons under their yoke. Most empires—real and imagined—crumble from such heights. In the case of the Targaryens, their slow fall begins almost 193 years before the events of Game of Thrones, when King Viserys Targaryen breaks with a century of tradition by naming his daughter Rhaenyra heir to the Iron Throne. But when Viserys later fathers a son, the court is shocked when Rhaenyra retains her status as his heir, and seeds of division sow friction across the realm
Duration: 50 min
IMDB Rating: 8.5/10
IMDB Votes: 350000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: USA
Plot tags: dragon, knight, kingdom, female nudity, king, legend, medieval, serial killer, sword and sorcery, queen, incest, revenge, women, evil, strength, gay couple, interracial romance, adaptation, wizard, sorcery, dysfunctional family, sexually dissatisfied wife, gay husband, female pubic hair, giant monster
Boston Legal (2004)
Plot Summary:
Boston Legal is an American legal dramedy created by David E. Kelley and produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The series aired from October 3, 2004, to December 8, 2008. Boston Legal is a spin-off of long-running Kelley series The Practice, following the exploits of former Practice character Alan Shore at the legal firm of Crane, Poole & Schmidt
Duration: 44 min
IMDB Rating: 8.5/10
IMDB Votes: 49000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Plot tags: law firm, hotshot lawyer, lawyer, courtroom drama, partner, friendship between men, society, workplace, civil rights, idealism, trial, friendship, law, legal, autism, bromance, advocate, high priced lawyer, courtroom, attorney, police, investigation, finance, justice, power
Queer as Folk (2000)
Plot Summary:
Brash humor and genuine emotion make up this original series revolving around the lives, loves, ambitions, careers and friendships of a group of gay men and women living on Liberty Avenue in contemporary Pittsburgh, PA. The show offers an unapologetic look at modern, urban gay and lesbian lives while addressing the most critical health and political issues affecting the community. Sometimes racy, sometimes sensitive and always straight to the heart
Duration: 47 min
IMDB Rating: 8.5/10
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Canada, USA
Plot tags: lgbt, gay, gays and lesbians, gay relationship, homosexual, gay love, friendship, homosexuality, lesbian, lifestyle, gay lead character, sexual activity, age difference, gender, homoeroticism, discrimination, unrequited love, gay sex, thirtysomething life, gay teenager, friends, sex, gay slur, casual sex, lgbtq
Scenes from a Marriage (1973)
Plot Summary:
Ten years of Marianne and Johan's relationship are presented. We first meet them ten years into their marriage. He is a college professor, she a divorce lawyer. They say that they are happily married - unlike their friends Katarina and Peter who openly fight, especially when under the influence of alcohol - but there is a certain detached aloofness in the way they treat each other. In the next ten years, as they contemplate or embark upon divorce and/or known extramarital affairs, they come to differing understandings at each phase of their relationship of what they truly mean to each other. Regardless of if it's love or hate - between which there is a fine line - they also come to certain understandings of how they can best relate to each other, whether that be as husband and wife, friends, lovers or none of the above
Duration: 283 min
IMDB Rating: 8.5/10
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Drama
Country: Sweden
Plot tags: divorce, marriage, couples, infidelity, dysfunctional family, relationships, crumbling marriage, loneliness, adultery, art, minimalism, manipulation, conversation, extramarital affair, selfishness, retreat, slice of life, modernism, failed relationship, crazy love, nordic, breakup, lawyer, unrequited love, adulterous husband
Kingdom (2014)
Plot Summary:
A raw family drama set against the world of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) in Venice, California. Alvey Kulina owns Navy St. MMA with the help of his girlfriend Lisa Prince. He is willing to go through extraordinary means to make sure his fighters are taken care of, but all of this responsibility comes at a steep price. He has complicated relationships with both of his sons, Jay and Nate, who are both struggling with their own identities and places within Alvey’s life and gym
Duration: 43 min
IMDB Rating: 8.5/10
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Plot tags: athlete's life, mixed martial arts, ex convict, brother brother relationship, martial arts, gym, drug addiction, father son relationship, competition, sibling relationship, family problems, training, drug abuse, gay, parents and children, rivalry, ambition, contests and competitions, brutality, friends, estrangement, blind ambition, lgbt, villain, lgbtq
Generation Kill (2008)
Plot Summary:
Marines prepare to invade Iraq at the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom; while the soldiers wait to receive their orders, they learn a Rolling Stone columnist will be embedded with them
Duration: 70 min
IMDB Rating: 8.5/10
IMDB Votes: 58000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA, UK
Plot tags: military, iraq war, marines, soldier, war, anti war, courage, military life, violence, life & death, character study, survival, invasion, life is a bitch, society, conflict, danger, behind enemy lines, chaos and mayhem, wartime, propaganda, reporter, mission, squad, intrigue
Broadchurch (2013)
Plot Summary:
The murder of a young boy in a small coastal town brings a media frenzy, which threatens to tear the community apart
Duration: 48 min
IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
IMDB Votes: 124000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Plot tags: murder investigation, police investigation, murder, police detective, twists and turns, grief, multiple suspects, small town, legal, reluctant partners, police officer, murderer, uncover truth, courtroom drama, small town life, social relations, under the surface, investigation, whodunit, police, coastal town, parents and children, who done it, loss of child, police procedural
Carnivàle (2003)
Plot Summary:
Carnivàle is an American television series set in the United States during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. In tracing the lives of two disparate groups of people, its overarching story depicts the battle between good and evil and the struggle between free will and destiny; the storyline mixes Christian theology with gnosticism and Masonic lore, particularly that of the Knights Templar
Duration: 55 min
IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
IMDB Votes: 46000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: prophecy, circus, healing power, god or devil, psychic, surrealism, evil, supernatural, self discovery, clergy, good versus evil, carnival, freak, supernatural ability, psychic power, dark secret, secret, dwarf, healing, talented, religions or cults, chosen one, creature, priest, great depression
Top Boy (2011)
Plot Summary:
A thrilling and raw crime drama following a gang of drug dealers in Hackney, London - an honest and gripping rendition of inner-city drug and gang culture
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
IMDB Votes: 37000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Plot tags: urban ghetto life, gang, teenage life, ambitious, life is a bitch, ambition, drug dealing, youth, poverty, rivalry, society, social problems, gang war, struggle, right hand man, partners in crime, financial problem, black, drug dealer, urban, violence, mafia, drug lord, african american, corruption
Luther (2010)
Plot Summary:
A dark psychological crime drama starring Idris Elba as Luther, a man struggling with his own terrible demons, who might be as dangerous as the depraved murderers he hunts
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
IMDB Votes: 152000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Plot tags: uncover truth, murder, talented, police detective, police investigation, law enforcement, cruelty, psychopath, police, forensics, crime investigation, tough law enforcer, cop, against the rules, serial killer, investigation, police procedural, graphic violence, violent content, partner, multiple suspects, black, unlikely relationship, anti hero, killer
The Americans (2013)
Plot Summary:
Set during the Cold War period in the 1980s, The Americans is the story of Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, two Soviet KGB officers posing as an American married couple in the suburbs of Washington D.C. and their neighbor, Stan Beeman, an FBI Counterintelligence agent
Duration: 44 min
IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
IMDB Votes: 109000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: cold war, espionage, spy, undercover, kgb, mole, surveillance, double life, working undercover, investigation, parents and children, double agent, fbi, top secret, family relations, couple relations, government agency, neighbor, secret agent, intrigue, marriage, soviet spy, cold war era, mission, shooting