Best tv shows like Motive
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A cat-and-mouse series with a twist on the everyday whodunit, "Motive" centers on Angie Flynn, a detective on a backwards chase for clues to a killer that has already been revealed to viewers. The series, filmed in Vancouver, is an unconventional way to watch a crime unfold. Each episode begins by revealing to the audience, not only the victim, but the killer as well. The homicide detective then begins to piece together clues. How did they do it? How are the victim and killer connected? What's the motive? As the mystery unfolds, the audience navigates the twisted and complicated maze of each murder and solves the puzzle alongside Det. Flynn and her team.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, suspenseful, detective, realistic, captivating, suspense, disturbing, thrilling
Best tv shows and movies like Motive (2013):
Similar in 76%
Candice Renoir (2013)
Plot Summary:
Candice Renoir had put her career on standby for 10 years. When she returns from Singapore to resume service in a port town in the south of France, she feels a bit “rusty”. Despite the obvious defiance of her unit and a cynical superior who doesn’t make her job any easier, she is determined to turn her so-called weaknesses into strengths, solving the most complex cases with her common sense, her acute observation and her practical nature seasoned by a busy daily routine. Only Candice can catch a killer because she knows the chemical composition of a window-cleaning product or determine the hour of a murder from the cooking-time of kebabs… Candice is only naive on the outside, and nobody can resist her!.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 52 min
Plot tags: realistic, captivating, semi serious, detective, feel good, witty, suspenseful, serious
Similar in 89%
Killer Instinct (2005)
Plot Summary:
Killer Instinct is an American crime drama television series filmed in Vancouver that originally aired on the Fox Network. The pilot episode aired on September 23, 2005, and the final episode aired on December 2, 2005. Fox ordered 13 episodes, only nine of which were broadcast in the United States; the remaining four premiered in the UK on Five. The series also been broadcast in France, New Zealand, Croatia, Italy, Netherlands, Australia, Japan, and Poland.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 629
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, detective
Similar in 78%
Frankie Drake Mysteries (2017)
Plot Summary:
Toronto’s only female private detective in the 1920s takes on the cases the police don’t want or can’t handle. From airplanes and booze running to American G-men, Communists and union busters, Frankie’s fearless sense of adventure gets her into all kinds of trouble, but she always manages to find her way out.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: Canada
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: exciting, captivating, tense, light, funny, detective, fun, period drama, detective series
Similar in 80%
Wallander (2005)
Plot Summary:
Wallander is a Swedish television series adapted from Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander novels and starring Krister Henriksson in the title role. The 1st series of 13 films was produced in 2005 and 2006, with one taken directly from a novel and the remainder with new storylines suggested by Mankell. The 2nd series of 13 films was shown between 2009 and 2010. The stories are set in Ystad near the southern tip of Sweden. The three films Before the Frost, Mastermind, and The Secret were premiered in cinemas, with the rest first released as direct-to-DVD movies. The first episode of the second series, Hämnden, was released in Swedish cinemas in January 2009; the rest of the series was made for television. The BBC aired all 26 episodes of the Swedish television versions on BBC Four. A third and final season, containing six 90 minute episodes, will air in 2013 with Charlotta Jonsson as Linda Wallander. The first episode, adapted from the novel The Troubled Man, was released in cinemas in January 2013.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Sweden, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Finland
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, detective, serious, realistic, suspenseful, captivating, suspense, bleak, gloomy
Similar in 80%
Vera (2011)
Plot Summary:
A sharp detective with a messy life, DCI Vera Stanhope patrols her “patch” of northeast England, pursuing the truth in cases of murder, kidnapping, and blackmail. Vera is obsessive about her work and faces the world with caustic wit, guile and courage.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, detective, crime drama, captivating, costume drama, hardboiled detective, suspenseful, stylized, tense
Similar in 88%
The Brokenwood Mysteries (2014)
Plot Summary:
In a seemingly quiet country town the newest resident, Detective Inspector Mike Shepherd, finds that murder lurks in even the most homely location.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: New Zealand
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: realistic, suspenseful, semi serious, detective, witty, tense, captivating, suspense, humorous, crime drama
Similar in 80%
Barcelona Crime (2017)
Plot Summary:
With its expert and attractive crime squad run by these two, Barcelona can be proud of its homicide team: Xavi, independent, impulsive, enigmatic, with a well-functioning network of contacts on the city‘s dark side; and his charming partner Fina, a single mother and self-confident beauty. They‘re never far behind the plotters and schemers who prefer to do their dark dealings after sunset. Their cases take them throughout the Catalan metropolis – out to its suburbs and deep into the heart of the medieval city. With puzzling mysteries waiting to be solved, Xavi and Fina have lots to do before crimes are mercilessly stopped.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 114
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Germany
Duration:
Plot tags: tense, serious, captivating, suspense, disturbing, detective
Similar in 87%
New Tricks (2003)
Plot Summary:
New Tricks is a British comedy-drama that follows the work of the fictional Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad of the Metropolitan Police Service. Originally led by Detective Superintendent Sandra Pullman, it is made up of retired police officers who have been recruited to reinvestigate unsolved crimes.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: detective, crime drama, serious, realistic, tense, captivating, suspenseful
Similar in 80%
Unit 1 (2000)
Plot Summary:
Rejseholdet is a Danish television crime series starring Charlotte Fich, Mads Mikkelsen and Lars Brygmann. Produced by Danmarks Radio, the program aired 32 episodes spanning four seasons from 2000 to 2004. Each episode revolved around an elite mobile police task force called "Unit One" that travels around Denmark helping local police solve crimes. Cases portrayed in the show were loosely based upon actual incidents of sensational crimes such as murders, kidnappings, cross-border sex traffic and child pornography. Rejseholdet won the 2002 International Emmy Award for best drama series.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Denmark, Sweden
Duration: 75 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, suspenseful, tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing, noir, detective, realistic
Similar in 79%
Unforgotten (2015)
Plot Summary:
'Unforgotten' follows modern police team DCI Cassie Stuart and DI Sunny Khan, who gradually unravel long-forgotten secrets which have a dramatic impact on their investigation and the four potential suspects. The slow revelation of the secrets will also affect the personal lives of both Sunny and Cassie.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 29000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: detective, serious, realistic, crime drama, tense, suspenseful, clever, captivating, disturbing, atmospheric
Similar in 82%
Murder in Suburbia (2004)
Plot Summary:
Murder in Suburbia was a British detective drama that ran for two series in 2004 and 2005.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, bleak, rough, detective, tense, crime drama, captivating, suspense, mind bending, serious
Similar in 83%
Marnow Murders (2021)
Plot Summary:
The city of Schwerin is melting – it is the hottest summer in years. Detectives Lona Mendt and Frank Elling are on the trail of a serial murderer, who seems to choose his victims randomly. But nothing is as it seems. The detectives have apparently made some powerful enemies that will do everything in their power to keep the truth from coming to light. The further along with their investigation Frank Elling, a devoted husband and father, and the aloof Lona Mendt get, the bigger the obstacles become.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 781
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Germany
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: tense, enigmatic, captivating, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 86%
King (2011)
Plot Summary:
King is a Canadian police drama which premiered April 17, 2011 on Showcase. The series stars Amy Price-Francis as Jessica King, a veteran police officer who gets promoted to head of the Major Crimes Task Force in Toronto after her predecessor has a breakdown on television. Season 2 began production in September 2011 and premiered 29 February 2012. On June 2, 2012, it was reported that King had been cancelled after 2 seasons.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Canada
Duration:
Plot tags: realistic, serious, suspenseful, captivating, detective, psychological, tense, clever
Similar in 82%
Cold Squad (1998)
Plot Summary:
Cold Squad is a Canadian police procedural television series first broadcast in 1998 that followed the investigations of a part of the Vancouver Police Department Homicide Division tasked with solving cold cases, the titular Cold Squad, as led by Sergeant Ali McCormick. The cast of Cold Squad was diverse and changing, McCormick being the only character to appear in all 7 seasons. Some notable series regulars include Detective Tony Logozzo in seasons 1-2, Sgt. Frank Coscarella in seasons 3-4, Sgt. Len Harper in seasons 5-7, Insp. Vince Schneider season 1, Insp. Simon Ross season 2, Insp. Andrew Pawlachuk seasons 3-7, Det. Mickey Kollander seasons 3-6, Det. Nicco Sevallis seasons 3-6, Christine Wren seasons 4-7, as well as Det. Samantha Walters and Const. Ray Chase in season 7. Between the second and third seasons, almost the entire on-screen cast other than Julie Stewart were replaced. This along with the new sets, a significant revamp of the credits and theme music, and even having McCormick's hair change from auburn to dirty-blonde all contributed to a considerable reworking of the series.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 629
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: Canada
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: detective, crime drama, tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 89%
Crossing Jordan (2001)
Plot Summary:
Crossing Jordan is an American television crime/drama series that stars Jill Hennessy as Jordan Cavanaugh, M.D., a crime-solving forensic pathologist employed in the Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: detective, realistic, tense, clever, serious, medical drama, crime drama, captivating, suspenseful
Similar in 90%
Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001)
Plot Summary:
The third installment of the “Law & Order” franchise takes viewers deep into the minds of its criminals while following the intense psychological approaches the Major Case Squad uses to solve its crimes.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 27000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: detective, tense, clever, serious, realistic, suspenseful, cult classic, telenovela
Similar in 76%
Cold Case (2003)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 31000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 44 min
Plot tags: detective, atmospheric, serious, contemplative, realistic, tense, suspense, bleak, dramatic, grindhouse
Similar in 80%
CSI: Miami (2002)
Plot Summary:
CSI: Miami follows Crime Scene Investigators working for the Miami-Dade Police Department as they use physical evidence, similar to their Las Vegas counterparts, to solve grisly murders. The series mixes deduction, gritty subject matter, and character-driven drama in the same vein as the original series in the CSI franchise, except that the Miami CSIs are cops first, scientists second.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 60000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, detective, rough, realistic, contemplative, crime drama, cliffhanger, exciting, grindhouse
Similar in 85%
Women's Murder Club (2007)
Plot Summary:
Women's Murder Club was an American police procedural and legal drama, which ran on ABC from October 12, 2007, to May 13, 2008. The series is set in San Francisco, California and is based on the 'Women's Murder Club' series of novels written by James Patterson. Series creators Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain also served as executive producers alongside Patterson, Joe Simpson, Brett Ratner, and R. Scott Gemmill. The latter also served as showrunner, with Gretchen J. Berg and Aaron Harberts co-executive producing. The pilot was directed by Scott Winant. Produced by 20th Century Fox Television, the series first aired on Friday nights at 9:00PM Eastern/8:00PM Central. On October 31, 2007, ABC ordered an additional three scripts. On February 23, 2008, it was announced that the show would return in late April with three episodes; this came two weeks after the show was almost cancelled. On March 31, 2008, it was announced that Women's Murder Club would return with three new episodes, beginning on Tuesday April 29, 2008 at 10:00PM Eastern/9:00PM Central, replacing Boston Legal. On May 12, 2008, ABC Television confirmed that the series would not return for a second season.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, suspenseful, witty, detective, anime
Similar in 81%
Major Crimes (2012)
Plot Summary:
Major Crimes explores how the American justice system approaches the art of the deals as law enforcement officers and prosecutors work together to score a conviction. Los Angeles Police Captain Sharon Raydor heads up a special squad within the LAPD that deals with high-profile or particularly sensitive crimes.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min
Plot tags: captivating, serious, realistic, detective, tense
Similar in 80%
Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector (2020)
Plot Summary:
Former NYPD detective and forensic genius Lincoln Rhyme was at the top of his game until a serious accident at the hands of a notorious serial killer forced him out of the field. When Amelia Sachs, an intuitive young officer who has a gift for profiling, finds herself hot on the killer's trail, Rhyme finds a partner for this new game of cat and mouse.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, detective, psychological
Similar in 82%
The Closer (2005)
Plot Summary:
Deputy Police Chief Brenda Jean Johnson transfers from Atlanta to LA to head up a special unit of the LAPD that handles sensitive, high-profile murder cases. Johnson's quirky personality and hard-nosed approach often rubs her colleagues the wrong way, but her reputation as one of the world's best interrogator eventually wins over even her toughest critics.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 28000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 46 min
Plot tags: captivating, realistic, sincere, tense, serious, detective, suspense, inspirational, bloody, thrilling
Similar in 82%
Chasing Shadows (2014)
Plot Summary:
Chasing Shadows' follows a team of special operatives who are tracking down serial killers.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, detective, crime drama, captivating, suspense
Similar in 80%
Bosch (2014)
Plot Summary:
Based on Michael Connelly's best-selling novels, these are the stories of relentless LAPD homicide Detective Harry Bosch who pursues justice at all costs. But behind his tireless momentum is a man who is haunted by his past and struggles to remain loyal to his personal code: “Everybody counts or nobody counts.”.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 81000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 51 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, exciting, detective, neo noir, tense, crime drama, mind blowing, crime thriller, gloomy
Similar in 78%
Unforgettable (2011)
Plot Summary:
Former Syracuse, New York, police detective Carrie Wells has hyperthymesia, a rare medical condition that gives her the ability to visually remember everything. She reluctantly joins the New York City Police Department's Queens homicide unit after her former boyfriend and partner asks for help with solving a case. The move allows her to try to find out the one thing she has been unable to remember, which is what happened the day her sister was murdered.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, detective, thrilling, tense, realistic, exciting
Similar in 84%
Numb3rs (2005)
Plot Summary:
Inspired by actual cases and experiences, Numb3rs depicts the confluence of police work and mathematics in solving crime as an FBI agent recruits his mathematical genius brother to help solve a wide range of challenging crimes in Los Angeles from a very different perspective.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 45000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min
Plot tags: tense, suspense, detective, intellectual, thrilling, realistic, psychological, thought provoking, enigmatic, captivating
Similar in 90%
The Blacklist (2013)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 274000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min
Plot tags: exciting, tense, serious, captivating, clever, detective, disturbing, realistic, intellectual, political
Similar in 83%
Rizzoli & Isles (2010)
Plot Summary:
Perhaps their strikingly different personalities make the relationship between detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles so effective. Jane, the only female cop in Boston's homicide division, is tough, relentless and rarely lets her guard down, while the impeccably dressed Maura displays a sometimes icy temperament — she is, after all, more comfortable among the dead than the living. Together, the best friends have forged a quirky and supportive relationship; they drop the protective shield in each other's company, and combine their expertise to solve Boston's most complex cases.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 37000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: captivating, tense, realistic, detective, serious, crime drama, suspenseful
Similar in 78%
The Chestnut Man (2021)
Plot Summary:
A young woman is found brutally murdered in a Copenhagen playground. Above her hangs a small doll made of chestnuts. Adapted from the acclaimed novel.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 52000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Denmark
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: enigmatic, brutal, tense, captivating, psychological, detective, twisted, suspense, disturbing, serious
Similar in 80%
Blue Murder (2001)
Plot Summary:
Blue Murder is a Canadian crime drama television series, featuring stories that reflected the turbulence of urban life and the crimes that make headlines. The Blue Murder squad members were an elite group of big-city investigators out to solve some of the city's most complicated and riveting crimes.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 144
Genere: Drama, Crime
Country: Canada
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: detective, tense, captivating