Best tv shows like The Killing
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
The Killing is an American crime drama television series based upon the Danish television series Forbrydelsen. Set in Seattle, Washington, the series follows the various murder investigations by homicide detectives Sarah Linden and Stephen Holder.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 120000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: psychological, gloomy, neo noir, tense, serious, detective, suspenseful, atmospheric, realistic, dark
Best tv shows and movies like The Killing (2011):
Similar in 87%
Wallander (2008)
Plot Summary:
This drama follows Inspector Kurt Wallander – a middle-aged everyman – as he struggles against a rising tide of violence in the apparently sleepy backwaters in and around Ystad in Skane, southern Sweden. Based on the international best-selling books by Henning Mankell.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, Sweden, Germany, USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: bleak, detective, psychological, tense, serious, suspenseful, crime drama, realistic, atmospheric, noir
Similar in 82%
Borderliner (2017)
Plot Summary:
To protect his family, police detective Nikolai covers up a murder case. But when his co-investigator Anniken suspects foul play, he is trapped in a dangerous game on duty, blurring the line between right and wrong.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Norway, Germany, Sweden
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, serious, detective, tense, bleak, realistic, suspenseful, dark
Similar in 86%
Gracepoint (2014)
Plot Summary:
When a young boy is found dead on an idyllic beach, a major police investigation gets underway in the small California seaside town where the tragedy occurred. Soon deemed a homicide, the case sparks a media frenzy, which throws the boy's family into further turmoil and upends the lives of all of the town's residents.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Crime, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: tense, realistic, bleak, serious, gloomy, detective, captivating, suspense, action adventure
Similar in 88%
Deadwind (2018)
Plot Summary:
When Sofia Karppi, a detective in her 30's who is trying to get over her husband's death, discovers the body of a young woman on a construction site, she triggers a chain of events that threatens to destroy her life again.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Finland, Germany, France
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: captivating, tense, suspense, suspenseful, dark, crime thriller, detective
Similar in 81%
Shetland (2013)
Plot Summary:
Created from the novels by award winning crime writer Ann Cleeves, Shetland follows DI Jimmy Perez and his team as they investigate crime within the close knit island community. In this isolated and sometimes inhospitable environment, the team have to rely on a uniquely resourceful style of policing.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, tense, crime drama, serious, stylized, detective, suspense, realistic, noir, suspenseful
Similar in 85%
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 87%
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 85%
Prime Suspect (2011)
Plot Summary:
Prime Suspect is an American police procedural television drama series that premiered on NBC on September 22, 2011. It stars Maria Bello as Detective Jane Timoney. The series is a "re-imagining" of the original British series Prime Suspect. The series was created by Lynda La Plante and was redeveloped by Alexandra Cunningham who also serves as executive producer and writer. Peter Berg serves as executive producer and director. Sarah Aubrey, Julie Meldal-Johnson, Paul Buccieri, Lynda La Plante, and John McNamara all serve as executive producers. The series is produced by Universal Television, ITV Studios America, and Film 44. On November 14, 2011, NBC announced it would replace Prime Suspect in the Thursday night line-up with The Firm, beginning January 12, 2012.The final two produced episodes were broadcast by NBC on Sunday, January 22, 2012.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, suspenseful, realistic, detective
Similar in 83%
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 80%
The Killing (2007)
Plot Summary:
The Killing is a Danish police procedural set in the Copenhagen main police department and revolves around Detective Inspector Sarah Lund and her team, with each season series following a different murder case day-by-day and a one-hour episode covering twenty-four hours of the investigation. The series is noted for its plot twists, season-long storylines, dark tone and for giving equal emphasis to the story of the murdered victim's family alongside the police investigation. It has also been singled out for the photography of its Danish setting, and for the acting ability of its cast.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 30000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany
Duration: 57 min
Plot tags: psychological, gloomy, tense, detective, serious, suspenseful, crime drama, captivating, atmospheric, noir
Similar in 76%
Line of Duty (2012)
Plot Summary:
Steve Arnott is a young officer who’s fallen foul of his superiors for refusing to help in the cover-up of an operation that ended in the shooting of an innocent father. He seems ideal to join AC-12, an anti-corruption police unit, just as it starts to investigate Detective Chief Inspector Tony Gates, the regional force’s Officer of the Year.
IMDB Rating: 8.7
IMDB Votes: 68000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: realistic, tense, suspenseful, serious, detective, crime drama, atmospheric, dark, sitcom, deep
Similar in 75%
Law & Order (1990)
Plot Summary:
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It originally aired on NBC and, in syndication, on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24, 2010. At the time of its cancellation, Law & Order was the longest-running crime drama on American primetime television. After The Simpsons, both Law & Order and Gunsmoke tied for the second longest-running scripted American primetime series with ongoing characters.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 43000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: detective, tense, realistic, rough, clever, serious, suspenseful, crime drama, dramatic, thrilling
Similar in 78%
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 86%
The Bridge (2013)
Plot Summary:
A murdered body on a bridge between El Paso and Juarez bring together El Paso detective Sonya Cross and Chihuahua State Police detective Marco Ruiz.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min
Plot tags: tense, atmospheric, detective, serious, suspenseful, psychological thriller, sexy, bleak, crime drama, captivating
Similar in 81%
Without a Trace (2002)
Plot Summary:
Without a Trace was an American police procedural television drama series that originally ran on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009. The series follows the ventures of a Missing Persons Unit of the FBI in New York City.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, serious, suspenseful, captivating, realistic, detective, bleak, rough, crime drama, thrilling
Similar in 89%
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 83%
The Bridge (2011)
Plot Summary:
When a body is found on the bridge between Denmark and Sweden, right on the border, Danish inspector Martin Rohde and Swedish Saga Norén have to share jurisdiction and work together to find the killer.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 75000
Genere: Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Norway
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, captivating, tense, suspenseful, gloomy, serious, detective, realistic, crime drama, noir
Similar in 77%
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.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 124000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 48 min
Plot tags: emotional, tense, clever, realistic, serious, detective, crime drama, gloomy, dramatic, crime thriller
Similar in 86%
Top of the Lake (2013)
Plot Summary:
A woman haunted by her past, Detective Robin Griffin, investigates complex and unsettling cases.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 37000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, Australia, New Zealand, USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, clever, bleak, captivating, detective, suspenseful, dark, crime drama, spooky, psychological thriller
Similar in 87%
Cardinal (2017)
Plot Summary:
Detective John Cardinal attempts to uncover the mystery of what happened to the missing 13-year-old girl whose body is discovered in the shaft-head of an abandoned mine. At the same time, he comes under investigation by his new partner, Lise Delorme, a tough investigator in her own right.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: detective, suspense, disturbing, enigmatic, tense, dark, crime drama, hardboiled detective, detective series
Similar in 78%
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 84%
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999)
Plot Summary:
In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 119000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: detective, tense, clever, captivating, crime drama, grindhouse, rough, bleak, serious, realistic
Similar in 86%
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 76%
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
Similar in 87%
The Fall (2013)
Plot Summary:
When the Police Service of Northern Ireland are unable to close a case after 28 days, Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson of the Metropolitan Police Service is called in to review the case. Under her new leadership, the local detectives must track down and stop a serial killer who is terrorising the city of Belfast.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 116000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: psychological thriller, psychological, captivating, serious, tense, detective, crime drama, suspenseful, atmospheric, noir
Similar in 75%
Hannibal (2013)
Plot Summary:
Both a gift and a curse, Graham has the extraordinary ability to think like his prey—he sees what they see, feels what they feel. But while Graham is pursuing an especially troubling, cannibalistic murderer, Special Agent Jack Crawford teams him with a highly respected psychiatrist – a man with a taste for the criminal minded – Dr. Hannibal Lecter.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 271000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 1680 min
Plot tags: psychological, scary, tense, suspenseful, atmospheric, serious, stylized, rough, psychological thriller, detective
Similar in 89%
Ripper Street (2012)
Plot Summary:
A drama set in the East End of London in 1889, during the aftermath of the "Ripper" murders. The action centres around the notorious H Division – the police precinct from hell – which is charged with keeping order in the chaotic streets of Whitechapel. Ripper Street explores the lives of characters trying to recover from the Ripper's legacy, from crimes that have not only irretrievably altered their lives, but the very fabric of their city. At the drama's heart our detectives try to bring a little light into the dark world they inhabit.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK, Ireland
Duration: 59 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, serious, tense, suspenseful, stylized, detective, costume drama, historical drama, crime drama, realistic
Similar in 81%
True Detective (2014)
Plot Summary:
An American anthology police detective series utilizing multiple timelines in which investigations seem to unearth personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within or outside the law.
IMDB Rating: 8.9
IMDB Votes: 618000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 55 min
Plot tags: neo noir, serious, atmospheric, anthology, gloomy, realistic, southern gothic, clever, stylized, captivating
Similar in 84%
Mindhunter (2017)
Plot Summary:
An agent in the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit develops profiling techniques as he pursues notorious serial killers and rapists.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 323000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: psychological thriller, detective, psychological, thought provoking, crime drama, thrilling, suspense, disturbing, exciting, retro
Similar in 86%
Dexter (2006)
Plot Summary:
Dexter is an American television drama series. The series centers on Dexter Morgan, a blood spatter pattern analyst for 'Miami Metro Police Department' who also leads a secret life as a serial killer, hunting down criminals who have slipped through the cracks of justice.
IMDB Rating: 8.7
IMDB Votes: 753000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 5076 min
Plot tags: captivating, clever, serious, stylized, tense, atmospheric, disturbing, bloody, suspenseful, offbeat