Best tv shows like American Crime Story
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
An anthology series centered around some of history's most famous criminals.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 98000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: anthology, realistic, serious, psychological, feel good, political, suspense, entertaining, detective, mind blowing
Best tv shows and movies like American Crime Story (2016):
Similar in 82%
Shark (2006)
Plot Summary:
Notorious Los Angeles defense attorney Sebastian Stark becomes disillusioned with his career after his successful defense of a wife-abuser results in the wife's death. After more than a month trying to come to grips with his situation, he is invited by the Los Angeles district attorney to become a public prosecutor so he can apply his unorthodox-but-effective talents to putting guilty people away instead of putting them back on the street.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, tense, suspense
Similar in 78%
Zlo?in v Poln? (2016)
Plot Summary:
An exciting drama from a detective history. In 1899 a dead girl - seamstress Anežka Hrůzová - was found between the village of Věžnička and the town of Polná. She was 19 and she had a cutting wound on the throat. There was no sexual violence involved and since the local doctors thought that there was not enough blood on the crime scene, everyone jumped to the conclusion that Jews must have killed her and added her blood to their passover matzot. There was a potential murderer at hand too - a cheeky, not very bright young Jewish rover, Leopold Hilsner….
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 84
Genere: Crime, Drama, History
Country: Czech Republic
Duration:
Plot tags: serious, captivating, suspense, realistic, suspenseful, detective, poliziottesco
Similar in 84%
Matlock (1986)
Plot Summary:
Matlock is an American television legal drama, starring Andy Griffith in the title role of criminal defense attorney Ben Matlock. The show, produced by The Fred Silverman Company, Dean Hargrove Productions, Viacom Productions and Paramount Television originally aired from September 23, 1986 to May 8, 1992 on NBC; and from November 5, 1992 until May 7, 1995 on ABC. The show's format is similar to that of CBS's Perry Mason, with Matlock identifying the perpetrators and then confronting them in dramatic courtroom scenes. One difference, however, was that whereas Mason usually exculpated his clients at a pretrial hearing, Matlock usually secured an acquittal at trial, from the jury.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, witty, clever, serious, realistic, retro, detective, thrilling, captivating
Similar in 79%
True Story (2015)
Plot Summary:
A drama centered around the relationship between journalist Michael Finkel and Christian Longo, an FBI Most Wanted List murderer who for years lived outside the U.S. under Finkel's name.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 72000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: suspense, surprise ending, psychological, captivating, serious, enigmatic, suspenseful, intense, tricky, realistic
Similar in 88%
Garrow's Law (2009)
Plot Summary:
The true tale of pioneering 18th century barrister William Garrow, who acted as counsel for the accused, introducing the concept of 'innocent until proved guilty' at London's Old Bailey.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK
Duration:
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, period piece, intellectual, dark, period drama
Similar in 80%
The Murder of Mary Phagan (1988)
Plot Summary:
The Murder of Mary Phagan, a 1987 two-part TV miniseries made by Orion Pictures Corporation and distributed by National Broadcasting Company (NBC), is a dramatization of the story of Leo Frank, a factory manager charged and convicted with murdering a 13-year-old girl, a factory worker named Mary Phagan, in Atlanta, Georgia in 1913. The trial was sensational and controversial. After Frank's legal appeals had failed, the governor of Georgia in 1915 commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment. In 1915 Frank was kidnapped from prison and lynched by a small group of prominent men of Marietta, Georgia. The film features Jack Lemmon, Kevin Spacey, Rebecca Miller, Charles Dutton, Peter Gallagher, Cynthia Nixon, Dylan Baker, and William H. Macy.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 806
Genere: Crime, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 251 min
Plot tags: tense, thought provoking, bleak, serious, realistic
Similar in 77%
Jake and the Fatman (1987)
Plot Summary:
Jake and the Fatman is a television crime drama starring William Conrad as prosecutor J. L. "Fatman" McCabe and Joe Penny as investigator Jake Styles. The series ran on CBS for five seasons from 1987 to 1992. Diagnosis: Murder was a spin-off of this series.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: detective, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 78%
Perry Mason (2020)
Plot Summary:
Set in 1932 Los Angeles, the series focuses on the origin story of famed defense lawyer Perry Mason. Living check-to-check as a low-rent private investigator, Mason is haunted by his wartime experiences in France and suffering the effects of a broken marriage. L.A. is booming while the rest of the country recovers from the Great Depression — but a kidnapping gone very wrong leads to Mason exposing a fractured city as he uncovers the truth of the crime.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 28000
Genere: Crime, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: detective, rough, serious, bleak, realistic, suspenseful, neo noir, historical drama, noir, confusing
Similar in 83%
When They See Us (2019)
Plot Summary:
Five teens from Harlem become trapped in a nightmare when they're falsely accused of a brutal attack in Central Park.
IMDB Rating: 8.9
IMDB Votes: 134000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 296 min
Plot tags: suspense, captivating, detective, atmospheric, intellectual, epic, political, social, educational, anthology
Similar in 85%
The Jury (2004)
Plot Summary:
Set in New York City, the series brings the viewer into the jury room to watch the deliberators try to answer the many questions posed during a trial. As facts are exposed through flashbacks of testimony and crime footage, viewers will form their own opinions about the guilt or innocence of the defendant. Following each verdict, a final flashback will let viewers see the crime as it actually happened and reveal whether or not the jury made the right decision.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 144
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, rough, bleak
Similar in 78%
Helter Skelter (1976)
Plot Summary:
The investigation of two horrific mass murders leads to the capture and trial of the psychotic pseudo-hippie Charles Manson and his "family".
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 194 min
Plot tags: disturbing, slasher horror, spooky, psychological, tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, talky
Similar in 90%
Fatal Vision (1984)
Plot Summary:
A retiree spends nine years relentlessly seeking to prove that his son-in-law, a former Green Beret Army doctor, murdered his pregnant wife and two children.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, History, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 181 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 89%
Helter Skelter (2004)
Plot Summary:
A new take on the Manson Family murders, with a keen focus on Charles Manson himself.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History, Horror, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 136 min
Plot tags: rough, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, serious, captivating, detective, psychological, psychedelic, suspense
Similar in 82%
The Lizzie Borden Chronicles (2015)
Plot Summary:
An intense and fictionalized account of actual events and people surrounding Lizzie’s life after her controversial acquittal of the horrific double murder of her father and stepmother in 1892.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History, Horror
Country: USA
Duration: 337 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, captivating, psychological, suspense, psychological thriller, bloody, costume drama
Similar in 83%
Escape at Dannemora (2018)
Plot Summary:
The stranger-than-fiction account of a prison break in upstate New York in the summer of 2015, which spawned a massive manhunt for two convicted murderers who were aided in their escape by a married female prison employee with whom they both became sexually entangled.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 27000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 440 min
Plot tags: melancholic, captivating, atmospheric, entertaining, anthology, anime, grindhouse, non fiction, historical drama, interesting
Similar in 76%
The Murders at White House Farm (2020)
Plot Summary:
Factual drama based on the notorious Whitehouse Farm murders, and the ensuing police investigation and court case.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 277 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, tense, disturbing, crime drama
Similar in 81%
Code of a Killer (2015)
Plot Summary:
Set in 1984, Code of a Killer is a true story which tells of the discovery of DNA fingerprinting. Detective David Baker leads an investigation of the vicious murders of the two Leicestershire schoolgirls, Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth. Alec Jeffreys at the time was an ambitious scientist who uncovered a remarkable method to read each individual's unique DNA finger print. Convinced the murderer was local, Baker approached Jeffreys to utilise his newly discovered scientific technique as a way to solve the murders. The first ever DNA manhunt and blood testing of many men followed - all in the aid of catching the killer.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History
Country: UK
Duration: 65 min
Plot tags: captivating, tense, serious, exciting, thought provoking, disturbing, detective, crime drama, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 81%
Law & Order Los Angeles (2010)
Plot Summary:
Law & Order: LA, originally titled Law & Order: Los Angeles, is an American police procedural and legal drama television series set in Los Angeles, where it was produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and developed by Blake Masters, it premiered on NBC on September 29, 2010, as a spin-off of Wolf's successful crime drama Law & Order. The show received a full season pickup on October 18, 2010. On January 18, 2011, however, NBC announced that it was putting the series on hold indefinitely. According to a representative of the show, the scheduling change was not caused entirely by the recent cast shake-up. The network later announced a return date for the series, April 11, 2011; and the final episode scheduled for July 11, 2011. Law & Order: LA was canceled by NBC on May 13, 2011.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: serious, tense, realistic, suspenseful, detective, crime drama, rough, bleak, gloomy
Similar in 87%
Unbelievable (2019)
Plot Summary:
The true story of Marie, a teenager who was charged with lying about having been raped, and the two female detectives who followed a twisting path to arrive at the truth.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 116000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 385 min
Plot tags: detective, serious, crime drama, tense, enigmatic, suspense, social, suspenseful, disturbing, compassionate
Similar in 79%
Gangland Undercover (2015)
Plot Summary:
This drama series is a fictionalized retelling of the story of meth dealer-turned-ATF informant Charles Falco, who spent three years inside one of America's most dangerous motorcycle gangs, the Vagos. Although Falco originally took on the assignment to avoid spending 20 years in prison on drug charges, it eventually evolved into a quest for justice for him. “Gangland Undercover” documents the lives of outlaw bikers, who live in a world in which respect is earned through fear. The series is based on Falco's memoir, “Vagos, Mongols, and Outlaws,” and documented historical research of gang rivalries.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, serious, captivating, realistic, suspense, tense, rough
Similar in 80%
Manhunt (2017)
Plot Summary:
An in-depth look at how an FBI profiler helped track down the terrorist Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 63000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 817 min
Plot tags: tense, suspense, detective, anthology, enigmatic, captivating, suspenseful, psychological, psychological thriller, inspirational
Similar in 84%
The Night Of (2016)
Plot Summary:
After a night of partying with a female stranger, a man wakes up to find her stabbed to death and is charged with her murder.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 167000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 525 min
Plot tags: suspense, realistic, atmospheric, tense, psychological, serious, detective, thought provoking, clever, enigmatic
Similar in 81%
The Whole Truth (2010)
Plot Summary:
As District Attorney Kathryn Peale and defense attorney Jimmy Nolan rally their teams around their arguments and prepare to go head-to-head in the the courtroom, they make frantic moves and countermoves of complex legal wrangling to tilt justice in their favor.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 716
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: captivating, realistic, psychological, atmospheric, serious, contemplative
Similar in 76%
In Cold Blood (1967)
Plot Summary:
A 1967 film based on Truman Capote's book of the same name. After a botched robbery results in the brutal murder of a rural family, two drifters elude police, in the end coming to terms with their own mortality and the repercussions of their vile atrocity.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 29000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: black and white, disturbing, suspense, neo noir, bleak, tense, controversial, road movie, detective, inspirational
Similar in 77%
Find Me Guilty (2006)
Plot Summary:
Based on the true story of Jack DiNorscio, a mobster who defended himself in court for what would be the longest mafia trial in U.S. history.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 36000
Genere: Biography, Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: tense, suspense, stylized, captivating, realistic, witty, semi serious, inspirational, social, novela
Similar in 90%
Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
Plot Summary:
Ghosts of Mississippi is a drama covering the final trial of the assassin, Bryon De La Beckwith, of the 60s civil rights leader Medgar Evers. It begins with the murder and the events surrounding the two initial trials which both ended in a hung jury. The movie then covers District Attorney, Bobby DeLaughters transformation and alliance with Myrlie Evers, wife of Medgar Evers, of the, as he becomes more involved with bringing Beckwith to trial for the third time 30 years later. Some of the characters are played by the actual participants in this story.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: inspirational, talky, factual, intense, compassionate, sincere, thought provoking, serious, political, political thriller
Similar in 81%
Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G. (2018)
Plot Summary:
A chronicle of the two major police investigations by LAPD Detective Greg Kading into the deaths of Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History, Music, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: tense, factual, captivating, suspense, detective, anthology
Similar in 89%
Des (2020)
Plot Summary:
The story of one of the most infamous cases in UK criminal history, that of serial killer Dennis Nilsen. Told through the prism of three men, the series explores the personal and professional consequences of coming into contact with a man like Nilsen.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Crime, Drama, History, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 143 min
Plot tags: tense, detective, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing, thought provoking, emotional, thrilling, contemplative, moody
Similar in 88%
The Staircase (2022)
Plot Summary:
An exploration of the life of Michael Peterson, his sprawling North Carolina family, and the suspicious death of his wife, Kathleen Peterson.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 32000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 519 min
Plot tags: suspense, entertaining, detective, historical drama, crime thriller, queer cinema
Similar in 82%
Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (2022)
Plot Summary:
Across more than a decade, 17 teen boys and young men were murdered by convicted killer Jeffrey Dahmer. How did he evade arrest for so long?.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 148000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 534 min
Plot tags: suspense, tense, suspenseful, disturbing, psychological, slasher, sexual, historical drama, thrilling, psychological thriller