We’ll talk about the top 7 crime thriller TV series on Netflix in this article. No matter how many books, films, or television shows we have read, watched, or seen about a crime thriller, there must be something about them that draws us back for more.
From the mythology stories of the past to religious texts such as the bible and Mahabharata, people have been intrigued with stories where the plot touches on the ethics and morality of the character.
We want justice to be served for the victims of the crime or to see how the criminals’ minds work. From the stories of the smartest detective solving the city’s mysteries to the stories of people doing illegal things and risking their lives for money or loved ones, the excitement of cracking the mystery of a series before the show reveals the answer feels fantastic.
The fascination of solving the murder mystery and knowing the cliffhangers before the story reveals itself has become a popular way to enjoy free time.
These days there are many crime thriller series to choose from on Netflix. To make your life easier and save time from badly created stories, we have ranked the best crime thriller TV series on Netflix that you should watch. See if you can crack the code before the series does.
7. Top Boy
Top Boy is a British crime thriller television series created and written by Ronan Bennet. It is set in a fictional Summerhouse estate in the London Borough of Hackney.
This series has four seasons with a total of 26 episodes. Top Boy is a crime drama that involves drugs and gang violence.
The series focuses on two drug dealers, Dushane (Ashley Walters) and Sully (Kane Robinson), running a thriving drug business and becoming the wealthiest men in their area.
They partner with the top don Bobby Rakes (Geoff Bell) however the conflict with Kamale (Tayo Jarret) and his gang end up with their money given by Raikes being stolen. These two drug dealers’ pursuit of money and power is threatened, and they swear vengeance.
Top Boy is a very realistic and raw series that looks into the darker side of London. This series is faultless, as the casting, cinematography, and writing it is excellent.
Top Boy is so excellently made that you will be left wondering why you didn’t hear of it or seen it before. Top Boy has scored 8.4 out of 10 on the IMDB scoreboard. Top Boy is a decade-old, underrated series but it is one of the greatest series you will find on Netflix.
6. Ozark
Ozark is an American crime thriller series created by Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams of Netflix. The series revolves around money laundering and drug cartels.
The show has a total of 4 seasons with 44 episodes. Each of the episodes has a runtime of 51 to 80 minutes.
The series is about a financial advisor Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman) who has to flee from Chicago to the Lake of Ozarks region of Missouri with his family after the failed attempt of a money-laundering scheme. In Ozark, Byrde works for a drug cartel where he gets entangled with criminals. Byrde now goes through many hurdles to get rid of the drug cartel and drug lord.
Ozark is an awesome mind-gripping thriller where the story builds up tension and continues to do so throughout each episode and then pays off in the end in a huge way. With a rating of 8.5 out of 10 stars on IMDB, this series ranks among the best crime thriller series on Netflix.
5. MindHunter
If you are fond of watching serial killer series then this series is going to blow your mind. Mindhunter is an American Psychological crime thriller television series created by Joe Penhall.
The series is based on the 1995 true-crime book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit written by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker; the former is an American special agent while the latter is an American author.
The show has 2 seasons with a total of 19 episodes, each with different cases presented interestingly. Season 1 is largely based on criminal psychology and the Profiling of criminals, while the 2nd season has investigation and case details that will appeal to the viewers.
The series is set in the late 1970s when FBI agents Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff), Bill Tench (Holt Mc Callany), and Psychologist Wendy Carr (Anna Torv) work in the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit.
They together launch a research project to interview serial killers who are jailed to understand their psychology in hopes of applying this knowledge to solve open cases.
The 1st season takes place in the years from 1977 to 1980 when the study of criminal psychology and criminal profiling at the FBI was just beginning.
In this season we are introduced to notable serial killers like Montie Rissell, Jerry Brudos, Dennis Rader, and many more to solve the open cases. The 2nd season takes place in the years 1980 and 1981 when Ford and Tench investigate the Atlanta murders and also features infamous murders like David Berkowitz, William Pierce Jr., and many more.
The series has a long form of storytelling where it builds the characters to help explain who the character is and where they come from. The series is not concerned with pity theft, tax fraud, or corruption but rather with criminals who are ten times wicked like murderers and serial killers.
The series is amazing as its characters leave a lasting mark on your psyche as the show presents the dark side of human psychology. The series has got 8.6 out of 10 on the IMDB rating scale. Mindhunter is highly recommendable as the show is faultlessly well-created.
4. Narcos
If you are a fan of watching brutal, violent, and bloody drug mafias and drug cartels, then Narcos will not let you down.
This is an American-Colombian crime thriller series based on real-life incidents of the drug lord Pablo Escobar created and produced by Chris Brancato. The show has three seasons with a total of 30 episodes following the drug mafia business in Columbia and Pablo Escobar’s life during the 1970s when he started his cocaine business.
Season 1 and season 2 show the recorded life of drug lord Pablo Escobar (played by Wagner Moura) from the 1970s, when he started doing cocaine manufacturing business, to the end of his life. Season 3 continues the story of the Drug mafia right after Pablo Escobar’s death and shows the DEA’s fight against the Cali Cartel.
Season 1 is about the rise of the drug lord Pablo Escobar (Wagner Moura) told from the perspective of Steve Murphy, who is an American DEA agent working in Colombia. The first season portrays Escobar when he first becomes involved in the cocaine business in Colombia. Escobar was already established in black, marketing illegal goods such as alcohol, cigarettes, and other items in Medellin.
After, he met Mateo “Cockroach” Moreno (played by Luis Genecco) an Underground chemist with whom they started a business of producing and distributing cocaine.
The story gets thrilling with the involvement of Americans, military, police, political leaders, and even civilians who clash to control the cocaine network in Columbia.
The 2nd season starts where the 1st season had left off. This season is filled with Escobar fleeing the hands of the American task force and Colombian police, where he engages in many battles with the official forces.
The 3rd season is the continued story right after the death of Pablo Escobar; DEA now turns to cleanse the drug trafficking organization, which is led by the wealthiest powerful godfathers of the drug mafia in Columbia.
Narcos is about a real-life incident that took place in Colombia. This series has great realistic visuals, an exciting story format, and perfect casting for the roles. You will get entertained by this series and educated on the historic incident regarding the drug mafias.
The story is based on real life and has already been presented as a series and movies however Narcos is by far the best series on Netflix. With a score of 8.8 out of 10 on IMDB, this show will keep you glued to the screen up till the end of the show.
3. Peaky Blinders
Peaky Blinders is an awesome series about a gangster family filled with suspense, cliffhangers, and a lot of fighting scenes. This show is a British TV crime thriller created by Steven Knight.
Peaky Blinders show which started in September 2013, has 6 seasons with a total of 36 episodes.
The series is set in Birmingham, England, and follows the crimes of the Family gangs after the First World War. The story focuses on the Peaky Blinders gang and their highly ambitious and crafty leader Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy).
After World War I, Tommy Shelby and his brothers return to Birmingham to take control of their business along with the city, but as Shelby’s ambitions expand beyond Birmingham city, he plans to build on the business empire and will kill anyone who will get in his way. The family goes through a lot of twists and turns in the process of accumulating the giant empire for the gang.
The series is based mainly on anti-heroes, but the characters are likable and raise feelings of sympathy in the audience. The series is written well, and the characters and their accents are unique and exciting.
The series has clever storylines and plot developments, with each season ending with a heart-stopping cliffhanger so that the audience would want more of it. The show is engaging and has something new in every season.
Peaky Blinders has scored 8.8 out of 10 on IMDB, making it one of the best show that BBC has ever made. So do yourself a favor and give this series a watch on Netflix, as a new Peaky Blinders movie will likely release in 2024.
2. Sherlock
There are a lot of different movies and series relating to Sherlock, but this specific Sherlock is British mystery crime series which is created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes detective stories.
Sherlock was released in the summer of 2010 until the beginning of 2017 with a total of 4 series and a total of thirteen episodes.
The series is about a brilliant 21st-century detective Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch), who lives in London, and with the help of the Veteran Afghan army Dr. John Watson (Martin Freeman), they solve perplexing and bizarre crime mysteries.
In the series, they have to also compete with Holmes’s adversary Moriarty who is baiting Holmes into some problem, and if he is unable to solve the problem, then he has to face its consequences. The series presents a variety of different crimes, mysteries, and criminals.
Sherlock depicts a story that happened in the 21st century, which is a different timeline from the original Sherlock Holmes written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyel in 1892.
This is a fantastic series about a detective solving crimes and mysteries. This modern series of the classic Sherlock Holmes shows some pure brilliance in delivering the original fictional detective. The acting and the writing of the series are awesome.
This show deserves more respect than it already has. The series has got one of the most amazing ratings having 9.1 out of 10 in the IMDB score. It is a good series and you will not regret watching it.
1. Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad is undoubtedly the most significant American crime drama TV show of all time. Created and produced by Vince Gilligan, this series has everything a crime thriller needs.
Breaking bad, released in 2008 until 2013, spun out in a total of 5 seasons with a total of 62 episodes. Each season consistently improves on the previous one as the story is excellently moved forward.
The story is about a chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with lung cancer. He turns to manufacturing and selling meth (a type of drug) with his former student to treat his illness and secure his family’s future.
Their new illegal business turns out to be filled with quite a lot of twists and turns as you will see a lot of gruesome fight scenes, mafias, and some tough choices that the lead characters had to make to stay on the safe side.
The show has great acting, cinematography, direction, screenplay, story, and, most of all character development which most of the viewers and critics have praised for.
We get to see the change of behavior and attitude in the characters as the story develops. The show has received good reviews and is one of the most popular series on IMDB, with a rating of 9.5 out of 10. This show became so popular that it helped create four other different films and TV series relating to Breaking Bad’s story.
The show maintains a consistent engagement and gradually improves along with the story. You should watch this series as this series is as pure as Walt’s meth.
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