Best tv shows like The Bill
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
The Bill is a police procedural television series that was broadcast on the ITV network from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, entitled Woodentop, which was broadcast in August 1983. In its final year on air, The Bill was broadcast once a week, usually on Tuesdays or Thursdays, in a one-hour format. The programme focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work. At the time of the series' conclusion, The Bill was the longest-running police procedural television series in the United Kingdom, and was among the longest-running of any British television series. The series was produced by Thames Television. The series name originated from "Old Bill", a slang term for the police. This was also Geoff McQueen's original title idea for the series, before he eventually decided on "The Bill". Although highly acclaimed amongst fans and critics alike, the series attracted controversy on several occasions. An episode broadcast in 2008 was criticised for featuring fictional treatment for multiple sclerosis, and another episode in the same year resulted in litigation, submitted by MP George Galloway for defamation. The series has also faced more general criticism, concerning the levels of violence it portrays, particularly prior to 2009, when it occupied a pre-watershed slot. During its time on air, The Bill won several awards, including BAFTAs, a Writers' Guild of Great Britain award and the title of "best drama" at the Inside Soap Awards in 2009, the latter being the series' fourth consecutive win. Throughout its twenty-seven-year run, the programme was always broadcast on the main ITV network. In later years, episodes of the show were repeated on ITV3 on their week of broadcast. The series has also been repeated on other digital stations, including UKTV Gold, Alibi, Watch and UKTV G2. In March 2010, executives at ITV announced that the network did not intend to recommission The Bill, and that filming on the series would cease on 14 June 2010. The last ever episode of the series was aired on 31 August 2010.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: captivating, serious, sincere, detective, crime drama, realistic
Best tv shows and movies like The Bill (1984):
Similar in 85%
EastEnders (1985)
Plot Summary:
The everyday lives of working-class residents of Albert Square, a traditional Victorian square of terrace houses surrounding a park in the East End of London's Walford borough.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: soap opera, captivating, serious, realistic, queer cinema
Similar in 81%
No Offence (2015)
Plot Summary:
Keeping these streets clean is a Herculean task, enough to demoralize even the keenest rookie – but there’s a reason why this hotchpotch of committed cops are on this force, on this side of town. Drug labs, arsonists, neo-Nazis and notorious murderers are all in a day’s work for this close-knit team, led by the dizzyingly capable but unquestionably unhinged DI Vivienne Deering. But when a particularly twisted serial killer emerges it leaves even the most hardened of these seasoned coppers reeling.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, semi serious, detective, dark comedy, crime drama, black comedy
Similar in 75%
Blue Heelers (1994)
Plot Summary:
Blue Heelers is an Australian police drama series which depicted the lives of police officers stationed at the fictional Mount Thomas police station in a small town in Victoria.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: Australia
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: detective, exciting, touching, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 80%
Z Cars (1962)
Plot Summary:
Z-Cars or Z Cars is a British television drama series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, Merseyside. Produced by the BBC, it debuted in January 1962 and ran until September 1978.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 370
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: detective, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 77%
WPC 56 (2013)
Plot Summary:
Drama following WPC Gina Dawson, the first Woman Police Constable to join Brinford Constabulary, a fictional police force in the West Midlands, in 1956. The show focuses on WPC Gina Dawson's struggle to gain acceptance in the male-dominated police station whilst having to deal with the sexist attitudes that were commonplace at the time.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: captivating, serious, realistic, detective, touching, historical drama, period piece, period drama
Similar in 88%
Conviction (2004)
Plot Summary:
The murder of a 12-year-old girl leaves her local community shell-shocked and intent on revenge. As the public clamour for justice, the team investigating the murder battle against a growing sense of vigilantism on their patch.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 175
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 59 min
Plot tags: psychological, sentimental, serious, suspenseful, detective, sincere, realistic
Similar in 75%
Babylon (2014)
Plot Summary:
London's police force is in need of a public image revamp. And Chief Constable Richard Miller has found just the woman to do it...American visionary from the world of new media Liz Garvey, sets out to revolutionise the force's PR department just as an outbreak of violence erupts.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: realistic, atmospheric, serious, captivating, detective, humorous, stylized, semi serious, fake documentary
Similar in 83%
Dalziel and Pascoe (1996)
Plot Summary:
A British crime drama based on the "Dalziel and Pascoe" series of books by Reginald Hill, set in the fictional Yorkshire town of Wetherton. The unlikely duo of politically incorrect elephant-in-a-china-shop-copper Detective Superintendent Andrew Dalziel (pronounced Dee-ell) and his more sensitive and university educated sidekick Detective Sargent, later Detective Inspector, Peter Pascoe is always on hand to solve the classic murder mystery, while maintaining a down to earth wit and humour.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Mystery, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: serious, detective, crime drama, tense, realistic, witty, suspenseful
Similar in 89%
A Touch of Frost (1992)
Plot Summary:
A Touch of Frost is a television detective series produced by Yorkshire Television for ITV from 1992 until 2010, initially based on the Frost novels by R.D. Wingfield. Writing credit for the three episodes in the first 1992 series went to Richard Harris, with screenplays credited to Wingfield. The series stars David Jason as Detective Inspector William Edward "Jack" Frost, an experienced and dedicated detective who frequently clashes with his superiors. In his cases, Frost is assisted by a variety of different detective sergeants, with each bringing a different slant to the particular case. Comic relief is provided by Frost's interactions with the bureaucratically minded Superintendent Norman Mullett, played by Bruce Alexander. A number of young actors had their major debut as supporting cast in the show, including Matt Bardock, Ben Daniels, Neil Stuke, Nathaniel Parker, Mark Letheren, Colin Buchanan, Jason Maza, Damian Lewis and Marc Warren.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: detective, crime drama, sincere, clever, serious, realistic, suspenseful, witty
Similar in 85%
Law & Order: UK (2009)
Plot Summary:
Adapted from the hit US series, Law & Order: UK follows a team of police detectives and prosecutors representing the public interest in the criminal justice system.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 46 min
Plot tags: serious, tense, rough, bleak, suspenseful, crime drama, detective, clever, realistic
Similar in 79%
Rosemary & Thyme (2003)
Plot Summary:
Rosemary & Thyme is a British television mystery series starring Felicity Kendal and Pam Ferris as gardening detectives Rosemary Boxer and Laura Thyme. The show began on ITV in 2003. The third series ended in August 2007. The theme is murder mysteries in the setting of professional gardening jobs. It was created by Brian Eastman to entertain his wife, Christabel Albery, who is an avid gardener. The show was directed by Brian Farnham, Simon Langton, and Tom Clegg. Clive Exton, who helped create the show, contributed 10 of the 22 scripts.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 48 min
Plot tags: feel good, realistic, captivating, clever, detective, semi serious, crime drama, suspenseful
Similar in 80%
Lewis (2006)
Plot Summary:
Inspector Robert Lewis and Sergeant James Hathaway solve the tough cases that the learned inhabitants of Oxford throw at them.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: clever, realistic, detective, serious, crime drama, suspenseful, atmospheric
Similar in 76%
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries (2001)
Plot Summary:
Inspector Lynley TV Series.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: detective, serious, realistic, suspenseful, crime drama, tense, captivating, disturbing, dark, sincere
Similar in 90%
Taggart (1983)
Plot Summary:
Taggart is a Scottish detective television programme, created by Glenn Chandler, who has written many of the episodes, and made by STV Productions for the ITV network. The series revolves around a group of detectives initially in the Maryhill CID of Strathclyde Police, though various storylines have happened in other parts of the Greater Glasgow area, and as of the most recent series the team have operated out of the fictional John Street police station across the street from the City Chambers. It is one of the UK's longest-running dramas and is the longest-running police drama after the cancellation of The Bill. The show's 100th story aired on Christmas Eve 2009 on the ITV network. In May 2011, it was reported that the ITV network had decided to axe Taggart from the network after 28 years. The series may continue to be screened in Scotland on the STV network and on overseas broadcasters.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: detective, crime drama, tense, rough, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 87%
Inspector George Gently (2007)
Plot Summary:
Crime drama set in the 1960s about an old-school detective trying to come to terms with a time when the lines between the police and criminals have become blurred.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK, Ireland
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: detective, serious, suspenseful, crime drama, clever, realistic, dark, period drama
Similar in 79%
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 90%
Happy Valley (2014)
Plot Summary:
Happy Valley is a dark, funny, multi-layered thriller revolving around the personal and professional life of Catherine, a dedicated, experienced, hard-working copper. She is also a bereaved mother who looks after her orphaned grandchild.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 62000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 58 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, tense, detective, crime drama, realistic, captivating, atmospheric, noir, bleak
Similar in 86%
Code 37 (2009)
Plot Summary:
Female detective Hannah Maes leads a police squad, specialized in sexual offenses. A smaller, but important part of the story is about the private quest of Hannah. She investigates a past robbery at her home and the subsequent brutal rape of her mother.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Belgium
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: tense, realistic, captivating, psychological, suspense, detective, rough, serious, suspenseful
Similar in 83%
The Bridge (2010)
Plot Summary:
The Bridge was a Canadian police drama commissioned by CTV and CBS starring Aaron Douglas. The name of the series is derived from the bridge which connects the wealthy Rosedale neighborhood of Toronto with one of its poorest, St. James Town. The initial order is for 11 episodes, produced by Entertainment One. After CTV ordered the pilot to series in November 2008, CTV later shared the pilot with CBS. This series premiered on CTV on March 5, 2010 and premiered on July 10, 2010 on CBS. It has been canceled in the US after three episodes due to low ratings. CTV announced on June 3, 2010 that the series will return for a second season during the 2010–2011 season. However, on January 13, 2011, star Aaron Douglas tweeted that the series has been officially canceled after only one season.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 470
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, psychological, captivating, detective, rough, suspenseful
Similar in 89%
Foyle's War (2002)
Plot Summary:
As WW2 rages around the world, DCS Foyle fights his own war on the home-front as he investigates crimes on the south coast of England. Foyle's War opens in southern England in the year 1940. Later series sees the retired detective working as an MI5 agent operating in the aftermath of the war.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, War
Country: UK
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: clever, serious, captivating, detective, suspenseful, realistic, crime drama, atmospheric, dark, period piece
Similar in 83%
Midsomer Murders (1997)
Plot Summary:
The peacefulness of the Midsomer community is shattered by violent crimes, suspects are placed under suspicion, and it is up to a veteran DCI and his young sergeant to calmly and diligently eliminate the innocent and ruthlessly pursue the guilty.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 38000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, detective, crime drama, realistic, serious, suspenseful, clever, dark, slasher, thrilling
Similar in 87%
Above Suspicion (2009)
Plot Summary:
Above Suspicion is a British TV series based on Lynda La Plante's novels Above Suspicion, The Red Dahlia, Deadly Intent and Silent Scream. It stars Kelly Reilly and Ciarán Hinds, and features the career of La Plante's latest heroine DC Anna Travis. The first series, Above Suspicion, was shown on the fourth and fifth of January 2009; the second series, Above Suspicion: The Red Dahlia, was shown on the fourth, fifth and sixth of January 2010. The third series, Above Suspicion: Deadly Intent, was shown on the third, fourth and fifth of January 2011. The fourth series, Above Suspicion – Silent Scream was shown on the ninth, sixteenth and twenty-third of January 2012; in a break from the previous broadcasts, which were broadcast on consecutive days, this latest tale was serialised weekly. ITV cancelled Above Suspicion on May 28, 2012.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 46 min
Plot tags: detective, realistic, suspenseful, tense, serious, crime drama, dark
Similar in 79%
Robbery Homicide Division (2002)
Plot Summary:
Robbery Homicide Division was an American police procedural television series on CBS, created by Barry Schindel with executive producer Michael Mann. Schindel has been nominated for three Emmy Awards.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 403
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, serious, suspenseful, exciting, captivating, realistic
Similar in 86%
Adam-12 (1968)
Plot Summary:
Adam-12 is a television police drama that followed two police officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, Pete Malloy and Jim Reed, as they patrolled the streets of Los Angeles in their patrol unit, 1-Adam-12. Created by R. A. Cinader and Jack Webb, who is known for creating Dragnet, the series captured a typical day in the life of a police officer as realistically as possible. The show ran from September 21, 1968 through May 20, 1975, and helped introduce police procedures and jargon to the general public in the United States of America.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: realistic, sincere, serious, stylized, detective, captivating, vintage
Similar in 76%
Holby Blue (2007)
Plot Summary:
The police force at Holby South is tasked with the toughest job yet. Not only are they fighting the usual crime with drug offenders and gang members, but today they are faced with the threat of terrorism on their own soil. A Spin off from Holby City and Casualty.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 414
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, serious, psychological, emotional, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 76%
Between the Lines (1992)
Plot Summary:
Between the Lines was a television police drama series created by J. C. Wilsher and produced by World Productions for the BBC. It was first shown on BBC1 between 1992 and 1994, running for three series. The show centred on the eventful life of Detective Superintendent Tony Clark, played by Neil Pearson. Clark was an ambitious member of the Complaints Investigation Bureau, an internal organisation that investigates claims of corruption inside the police in England and Wales. Along the way Clark had to overcome strong influence from his superiors and problems in his private life, most notably the break-up of his marriage following an affair with WPC Jenny Dean. Throughout the series Clark was assisted by sidekicks Harry Naylor and Mo Connell. Clark's work as a lead officer in CIB was the focus of the first two series. In the first series his boss was Deakin, a tough Irish policeman. At the end of the first series Deakin was revealed to be a corrupt officer himself. He left the force but remained a recurring character working freelance for the security services and others, sometimes in conflict with Clark and sometimes assisting him. At the start of the third series Clark, Naylor and Connell leave the police force and work in the murky world of private security, far right politics and espionage. The third series ends with the betrayal of Clark and Naylor who had been masquerading as mercenaries. The betrayal is made by Connell in league with Deakin, their former boss and nemesis. It is unclear whether Clark and Naylor have died as the show ended on a cliffhanger. Rumours of a remake did circulate for some years, but Pearson confirmed in 'Watching the Detectives' that he had wanted a 'final' ending at the time and would never return to the role.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 611
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: detective, tense, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 76%
Life of Crime (2013)
Plot Summary:
A female cop becomes obsessed with tracking down the killer of a 15-year-old girl, and hunts him over the course of her 28 year career in the force.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 730
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 132 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, detective, period piece, rough, serious
Similar in 81%
The Body Farm (2011)
Plot Summary:
Dr Eve Lockhart is one of Britain's leading forensic pathologists and runs a state-of-the-art forensic research facility called The Body Farm with her business partner Mike Phillips. Theirs is the only facility in the country using real human body-donors to examine the complex and fascinating journey the body goes through as it decays and returns to the earth.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 842
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration:
Plot tags: serious, realistic, tense, captivating, detective, psychological, rough, suspenseful
Similar in 77%
Endeavour (2012)
Plot Summary:
The early days of a young Endeavour Morse, whose experiences as a detective constable with the Oxford City Police will ultimately shape his future.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 32000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: serious, detective, intellectual, realistic, atmospheric, crime drama, period piece, captivating, melancholic, costume drama
Similar in 84%
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.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 152000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, psychological thriller, tense, detective, rough, serious, crime drama, exciting, dramatic, suspenseful