6 Great British Crime Dramas You've Probably Never Heard Of
#1 is one of the best shows ever, period.
We all know that crime dramas are a staple of British television. From The Sweeney to Inspector Morse to The Bill, it's a genre that the UK does so well.
In fact, there are so many great British crime dramas that you may have missed a few. Here are six of the best:
6. A Confession
Martin Freeman stars in dramas based on a real-life series of murders in Swindon. Freeman plays detective Steve Fulcher, who got a killer to admit his crimes by going against the rule book. It looks like the right result. But it was obtained by unlawful means.
When the killer's lawyer gets a whiff of it, the police's entire case looks like it could fall apart. Imelda Staunton also stars.
5. Cracker
The late, great Robbie Coltrane was fantastic in his portrayal of criminal psychologist Eddie 'Fitz' Fitsgerald, with a chaotic personal life but an incredible talent for understanding the inner workings of the criminal mind. Ricky Tomlinson and Christopher Eccelstone play detectives who rely on Fitz.
The show let itself down when the focus shifted to the main characters rather than the crimes they were investigating, but the early seasons in particular were great TV.
4. Inside Man
David Tennant and Stanley Tucci star in a great drama that argues that any of us could commit murder under the right (or wrong) circumstances. Tennant plays a British vicar who makes a bad decision that sets him on a path fraught with tough choices.
3. Unforgotten
Each season of this show follows a team of London detectives as they reopen cold cases following the discovery of a body. The team must sift through clues, track down anyone connected to the case and piece together fragments of information to determine how and why the person died.
The investigations move at a fine pace and all four seasons make for a great binge.
2. The Fall
A gripping drama starring Gillian Anderson as Stella Gibson, a Met Police superintendent sent to Northern Ireland to investigate a case. Jamie Dornan is superb as serial killer Paul Spector. But with all the complications thrown in her way, can Superintendent Gibson track him down before he strikes again? And is Spector becoming obsessed with her?
1. Top Boy
The most realistic depiction yet of the criminal gangs operating in London. It's not always pretty - and no one is safe. Set in and around the fictional Summerhouse estate, the show follows the lives of Dushane, Sully and those around them as they fight for supremacy and the right to run drugs on the estate.
Around the quest to be the neighbourhood's top boy, several subplots explore life on a run-down London estate, revealing the various struggles and pressures that shape the lives of those living in the capital's poorer areas.