Best tv shows like Would Be Kings
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Best friends Patrick (Currie Graham) and Jamie (Ben Bass) are also cousins and cops determined to keep the streets safe and provide for their families. Their relationship suffers when they become entangled in a dangerous mix of mobsters, corruption, drugs and murder. As Jamie's boss, Patrick often has to cover for him, but their roles are reversed when Patrick falls in with the wrong people. Natasha Henstridge co-stars as Patrick's wife.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 148
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration:
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, suspense, rough
Best tv shows and movies like Would Be Kings (2008):
Similar in 83%
Frame of Mind (2009)
Plot Summary:
What happens when the truth is not enough? A New Jersey police detective comes across new evidence in the Kennedy assassination.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 472
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, detective
Similar in 80%
Othello (2001)
Plot Summary:
With freshly rechristened characters and brand-new dialogue, this British TV production of Othello is a "rethinking" of Shakespeare's play, albeit still retaining the original's power and potency. The story is set in the London of the near future, a crime-ridden metropolis virtually torn apart by racial hostilities. By order of the Prime Minister, black police officer John Othello (Eamonn Walker) is promoted to Commissioner, a post dearly coveted by Othello's friend, mentor and fellow officer Ben Jago (Christopher Eccleston). Seething with jealousy, Jago contrives to discredit Othello in the eyes of the public, and to destroy John's interracial marriage to the lily-white Dessie (Keeley Hawes). Among those used as unwitting dupes to gain Jago's ends are Othello's trusted lieutenant, Michael Cass (Richard Coyle), scrupulously honest police constable Alan Roderick (Del Synnott), and Jago's own wife, Lulu (Rachael Stirling).
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 657
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, USA, Canada
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, suspenseful, tense, realistic, modern day adaptation
Similar in 89%
Street Days (2010)
Plot Summary:
A middle-aged, unemployed heroin-addict, Checkie, loiters on the Tbilisi street outside his son’s school, where he himself was once a promising student. His wife, meanwhile, struggles to pay the tuition and understand her husband’s lack of interest in the family’s survival—even as the bank repossesses their furniture. But when a group of policemen blackmails Checkie into entrapping the son of his wealthy friend, husband and wife are unified by the uncertainty of their deepening moral dilemma, and a series of worsening foul-ups, in Levan Koguashvili’s lightly humorous yet realistic drama about the fate of a generation left behind in Georgia’s post-Soviet era.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Georgia
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: realistic, psychological, atmospheric, captivating, rough, bleak, serious, gloomy
Similar in 76%
One Way Out (2002)
Plot Summary:
Harry Woltz is a homicide cop with a gambling problem; a problem that leaves him owing a great deal of money to the Russell brothers. To clear the debt they ask him to train John Farrow to murder his wife, Evans, without leaving the usual clues or making the usual mistakes. However when Harry's ex-partner is put on the case, she begins to get closer than Harry had thought before the case takes some unexpected twists.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 685
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, tense, suspense
Similar in 85%
Two Coyotes (2001)
Plot Summary:
A drug runner takes over a lucrative drug business only to find his new found empire crumble when a deal goes bad.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 64
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, crime drama, surprise ending, independent film
Similar in 78%
The Ghost Squad (2005)
Plot Summary:
The Ghost Squad was a 2005 British crime drama series produced by Company Pictures, for Channel 4. The show was created by Tom Grieves. Inspired by the real life "Ghost Squad" that existed between 1994 and 1998, secretly investigating police corruption, the premise of the series is that the squad continued to operate in secret after officially being shut down. It starred Elaine Cassidy as a police constable recruited into the squad and Jonas Armstrong as her handler. The show was cancelled after a single seven episode series.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 475
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, detective, bleak
Similar in 85%
The Badge (2015)
Plot Summary:
The only difference between a cop and a criminal is The Badge. Detective Vince McKinley and his partner Martin Goulet have to solve the biggest case of their careers: a series of evidence have been stolen from their own precinct. Through out the case, Vince discovers that the person responsible could be one of his closest friend. The Badge brings a unique view on how trust and friendship can switch to blood in an instant.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 19
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, rough
Similar in 79%
The Diamond Hunters (2001)
Plot Summary:
Set against the background of South Africa's emerald coast and diamond mines, Diamond Hunters traces the torrid fortunes of a family unable to forgive and forget. Johnny, a successful diamond hunter, gets sucked back into a family that had been his own, before the patriarch, Jacob Van der Byl, abandoned him 20 years ago. Painful memories of an unjust father and a long lost love come back to reality as Johnny is pitted against his own half-brother Benedict in a fight over two women, a diamond empire and ultimately, his very survival. Played out over two episodes, Diamond Hunters describes Johnny's thwarted attempts to win the approval of Jacob, and the under-hand schemes by which the inimical Benedict plans to defeat him. Tracey, Benedict's sister and Johnny's true love, further complicates the fraternal rivalry, as all attempt to overcome the demons that survive from their troubled childhood.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 403
Genere: Drama
Country: South Africa, USA, Germany, Italy
Duration: 170 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 78%
Truth Be Told (2002)
Plot Summary:
Rayne Johnson is a shrewd investment company assistant who turns a mob slaying into a golden opportunity for a new improved lifestyle, managing to outsmart the crooked cops who are very eager to see her disappear.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 174
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, suspenseful, realistic
Similar in 78%
Clutch (2011)
Plot Summary:
Tough, street smart, and resourceful pickpocket Kylie is forced to take care of herself after her boyfriend Matt finds himself in deep trouble with a gang of vicious mobsters he owes a huge sum of money to.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 124
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration:
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, suspenseful, realistic
Similar in 80%
East Los High (2013)
Plot Summary:
East Los High is not your typical high school. Dance, sex, romance, and mystery are at the heart of this inner city school in East LA where two teenage cousins—Jessie, a 16-year-old virgin and Maya, a troubled runaway with a violent past —fall in love with Jacob, a popular football player. From this forbidden love triangle, Maya, Jessie and Jacob, along with their close friends must face true-to-life decisions during a single dramatic and breath-taking year that will mark their lives forever.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 855
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 26 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, exciting, melancholic, suspense, suspenseful
Similar in 84%
The Warrior Class (2007)
Plot Summary:
Rookie lawyer Alec Brno has just been assigned the case of his career: exposing a billion-dollar oil scam led by a ruthless mafia boss. When he reluctantly falls for the gangster's beautiful but drug-addicted wife - also his key witness - Alec soon realizes that all the legal savvy in the world can't protect him from the dangerous reality of mob violence. In a system where criminals often walk free, sometimes courtroom warriors must take the battle for justice into their own hands. Written by Echo Bridge Home Entertainment.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 214
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 84%
Blood Crime (2002)
Plot Summary:
For burned-out Seattle cop Daniel Pruitt, a camping trip turns hellish when his wife, Jessica, is savagely attacked in the forest. En route to the hospital, the Pruitts collide with a semi, and Jessica identifies the driver as her assailant. Enraged, Pruitt pummels the man. Once at the ER, however, she changes her mind and names a male nurse as her attacker. But before Pruitt can make amends, he learns that his victim, the son of Sheriff Morgan McKenna, is dead.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 670
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, suspense
Similar in 87%
The Porcelain Horse (2012)
Plot Summary:
Paco Chavez's life is careless and charming. It's a life of illicit drugs and a forbidden love affair he carries with Lucia, his former high school sweetheart, now married to another man. One night, Paco and his younger brother Luis, enter their parent's home to steal a porcelain horse to pawn in order to score more drugs. Their father catches them and a fight ensues. The consequences of that fight will haunt both brothers forever.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 261
Genere: Drama
Country: Ecuador
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, serious, realistic, suspenseful, bleak
Similar in 85%
Betrayal (2013)
Plot Summary:
Centers on Sara, a beautiful but unhappily married female photographer who begins a torrid affair with Jack, a lawyer for a powerful family.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, heartbreaking
Similar in 87%
The Street King (2002)
Plot Summary:
In life, there's silver, and there's lead, says Rikki Ortega, as he moves to be king of the street in "Ánglio," L.A.'s east side. Older brothers and a brother-in-law are in his way. While they think they are driving out the Rojas, a local gang that runs the meth trade for bosses in Cabo San Lucas, Rikki is running an elaborate double-cross on his own family. He's not happy just to run this fratricidal con, he also wants to cash in as much as he can of one hundred kilos of crystal meth that he stole from the Rojas (and the Mexicans), seduce the girlfriend of one of his victims, and stay ahead of a cop who was a childhood friend. Will he end up with the silver?.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 219
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 84%
Like a Puppet Out of Strings (2006)
Plot Summary:
Two Brothers; Tom and Felipe, have moved up the ranks of the street gangs because they have no greater devotion than the protection of each other. Luis, former gang member, is now a cop, his life having been turned around by Angelica, a female cop. When Tom is blamed for the shooting death of Angelica, a crime his brother Felipe committed, Felipe is forced to agree to Luis' terms in order to save Tom. Luis decides to convert Felipe just like he had been converted 10 years earlier. Eventually the brothers must face each other on the opposite sides of the law and chose between right and wrong, thier past and their future.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 14
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 86%
Extreme Honor (2001)
Plot Summary:
A highly decorated Navy Seal is forced out of retirement in order to save his son's life and bring justice to the man who destroyed his career.
IMDB Rating: 3.4
IMDB Votes: 237
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, realistic, independent film
Similar in 83%
Buried (2003)
Plot Summary:
Buried is a British television drama series, produced by World Productions for Channel 4 and originally screened in 2003. The programme starred Lennie James as Lee Kingley, who is serving a long prison sentence in order to protect a member of his family from a violent criminal. Critically well-received, the programme won the Best Drama Series category at the British Academy Television Awards in 2004.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 193
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, serious, suspenseful, thought provoking, bleak, captivating, realistic
Similar in 87%
The Cleaner (2008)
Plot Summary:
After hitting rock-bottom from his own addictions during the birth of his twins, William Banks strikes a tentative deal with God. In exchange for a second chance, he vows to kick his addictions and dedicate his life to helping others. Now, along with his unconventional team, he helps people get clean from their own addictions of sex, drugs, alcohol and gambling by any means necessary.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: uplifting, serious, realistic, suspenseful, sincere, rough, touching, suspense, contemplative
Similar in 90%
Cool Money (2005)
Plot Summary:
Charismatic thief Bobby Comfort escapes from prison, clears himself of all charges, and returns to a home life he finds unsatisfying. Though he is devoted to his wife and daughter, his old life comes calling, both figuratively and literally, in the form of idea man Sammy Nalo. With the help of Comfort's old partner, they begin robbing posh New York City hotels, while second cousin and bumbling cop Phil Parris thinks he can turn Comfort to the straight and narrow.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 634
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 75%
Cement (2000)
Plot Summary:
What's the bond between partners, between brothers, and between spouses? In L.A., Bill Holt handcuffs Sean Rickhart inside a rebar frame for a freeway pillar at a construction site; Bill's going to bury Sean in quick-drying cement. Guided by the narration of Nin, Bill's coke-snorting partner, we go back and forth over the past 48 hours to find out what brings Bill and Sean to this deadly scene. Missing money, cops on the take, Sean's two brothers (one the leader of the mob, the other a camera-carrying simpleton), Bill's wife, dead young police officers, infidelity, and Bill and Nin's partnership make a mix as volatile and unstable as the cement is solid and immobile.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 654
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: neo noir, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, dark, independent film, tense
Similar in 77%
Proof (2004)
Plot Summary:
The discovery of a connection between a small-time thief's murder and the death of a crooked accountant, peeks the interest of investigative reporter Terry Corcoran. Further digging leads him into a sordid scandal involving human trafficking, high finance and high stakes politics in this explosive Irish television series.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 209
Genere: Drama
Country: Ireland, Denmark
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, exciting, tense, captivating, suspense, suspenseful, detective
Similar in 90%
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 87%
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 87%
Hack (2002)
Plot Summary:
Hack is a television series that aired on the American CBS television network from 2002 to 2004. The series centers on the fictional life of a former police officer, Polish-American Mike Olshansky, who left the force after being charged with corruption and now works as a taxi driver in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, rough, detective, crime drama
Similar in 89%
The Chief (2011)
Plot Summary:
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IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 46
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Russia
Duration:
Plot tags: exciting, realistic, disturbing, suspenseful, captivating, tense, suspense, rough, serious, psychological
Similar in 80%
Low Winter Sun (2013)
Plot Summary:
Low Winter Sun is an American television drama series developed by Chris Mundy, starring Mark Strong and Lennie James. The series premiered on August 11, 2013, on AMC, with the first season consisting of ten episodes. It is based upon the 2006 British two-part miniseries of the same name.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, serious, suspenseful, detective, spooky, realistic, independent film
Similar in 75%
Mafiosa (2006)
Plot Summary:
By the will of her dead uncle who was murdered Sandra Paoli is propelled to the head of a powerful mafia clan. She becomes a respected, but also hated, woman in a world of men, murder and criminality.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 680
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 416 min
Plot tags: serious, rough, suspenseful, semi serious, captivating, realistic, erotic, detective, sensual
Similar in 77%
Romanzo criminale - La serie (2008)
Plot Summary:
Romanzo Criminale – La serie - is a television series Italian based on the eponymous novel by judge Giancarlo De Cataldo, and it is the second adaptation of the film Romanzo Criminale directed by Michele Placido. The first series quickly achieved cult status in Italy. This is the second fiction series after Quo Vadis, Baby? that was produced by Sky and broadcast on Fox Crime, Sky One and on Sky Arts with English subtitles in 2012. The series is set in about 1977-89 and follows a criminal gang in Rome that has a near monopoly of the city's heroin trade. Most of the characters use the Romanesco dialect. The gang is led by three old friends, Libanese, Freddo and Dandi. As well as its internal feuding, the gang has to deal with the Camorra and Sicilian Mafia that both supply its heroin, the police led by Commissioner Scialoja and the Italian secret services. The plotline is based on the Banda della Magliana of the 1970s-90s.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Italy
Duration:
Plot tags: rough, serious, captivating, suspense, realistic, suspenseful, interesting