7 Crime Drama Series That Will Keep You On The Edge of Your Seat The Whole Time
Interesting detective series you might have missed.
The Killing (2011-2014)
The very atmospheric and dark series follows detective Sarah Linden (Mireille Enos) and her new partner Stephen Holder (Joel Kinnaman) as they investigate the death of a teenage girl. The series keeps up the pace throughout its four seasons, telling the story from multiple viewpoints: the two detectives, the family of the murdered girl and a local politician who may be involved.
It's psychological, suspenseful and brilliant in execution.
Mindhunter (2017-2019)
The show is set in the late 1970s. FBI Special agent Holden Ford and his more experienced partner Bill Tench are working the Behavioral Science Department at the FBI Academy when Ford comes up with the idea to interview famous serial killers like Ed Kemper or Jerry Brudos to find a pattern in their behaviour and profile them.
The series was produced by David Fincher (Fight Club, Seven, The Vanished), who even directed several episodes in the first season. The series is dark, cold and precisely calibrated in how it depicts what happens when you stare into the abyss for too long.
The Sinner (2017-2021)
This anthology series follows one central character, Detective Harry Ambrose(Bill Pullman). The thing about Harry Ambrose is that he wants to know not just who committed the murder but what drove the criminal, which is just as interesting. Each season features a different supporting character who has something in common with Ambrose, creating a peculiar dynamic.
Hannibal (2013-2015)
Based on a novel by Thomas Harris, the TV version of the famous Hannibal Lecter, played by the charming Mads Mikkelsen, in many ways eclipses Sir Anthony Hopkins' take on the character in Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon. Mads Mikkelsen's performance also eclipses the ostensible protagonist of the series, Will Graham, a top-notch FBI serial killer profiler played by Hugh Dancy.
The three-season series follows the relationship between Graham and Hannibal, which starts as a client-patient interaction, then evolves into friendship and eventually into a bitter rivalry. The whole performance is staged with a detached grace and irony worthy of Lecter himself: each episode is named after a dish, and the seasons are devoted to the cuisines of different countries.
Prodigal Son (2019-2021)
Malcolm Bright is another genius profiler on our list.
For him, his gift of being able to get into the mind of a murderer is a curse, especially given the fact that his father is also a serial killer. He plays his own personal Hannibal to Malcolm as the latter visits him from time to time in the asylum to get help on his cases. The father, Dr.Wheatley, is played brilliantly by the outstadning Michael Sheen.
The Serpent (2021)
The eight-part miniseries follows Charles Sobhraj, a French serial killer of Indian descent who, like a serpent, sheds his skin from time to time. Figuratively speaking, of course. Charles' modus operandi was to meet young European tourists travelling the hippie trails in India(this is the 1970's), Thailand and Nepal, get them drunk, rob them, murder them and steal their documents and identities, which he would then use to travel.
The charming and resourceful Charles, who eventually faced the music, is played by Tahar Rahim (The Prophet, The Mauritanian).
Tokyo Vice (2022)
Based on American journalist Jake Adelstein’s book of the same name, the series tells the story of his move to Tokyo in the late 1990s and his investigation of corruption in the local police department.
Tokyo Vice is directed by Michael Mann, director of the 1995 cult film Heat, and stars Ansel Elgort (Baby Driver, West Side Story) and Ken Watanabe (Inception) in neon glory.