Entertainment
10 Essential Crime Shows You Need To Watch Before You Die
It should come as no surprise that many of the best shows of all-time are based on crime, as it’s perhaps the most popular genre in the medium. Television emerged from pulp novels, radio broadcasts, and low-budget films that explored scandalous and controversial events within the present, and it makes sense that the prestige era would focus on refining these ideas into more focused stories.
Television is often a reaction to great cinema, and many brilliant shows owe a significant debt of influence to classics within the crime genre, such as Francis Ford Coppola’s work on The Godfather trilogy and the many gangster epics of Martin Scorsese. Although there is enough great television to get a lifetime of recommendations, these shows stand out as being essential for anyone who considers themselves to be a fan of good storytelling.
10
’24’ (2001–2014)
24 is one of the most exciting and experimental achievements in television history because it offered a new way of telling an immersive story. Each season consisted of 24 episodes and took place over the course of a single day, with each episode taking up an hour, and the story was told in real-time.
24 hit at the right time when fears of domestic terrorism were at an all-time high, and the show delved into relevant issues regarding foreign policy, political conspiracies, and the abuses of power carried out in the name of law enforcement. Kiefer Sutherland’s character Jack Bauer was unquestionably framed as a hero, but the show was willing to depict him as being morally ambiguous, making for an even more enticing experience. It’s a show that got several continuations and might continue into the future should Sutherland agree to reprise his role.
9
‘Better Call Saul’ (2015–2022)
Better Call Saul is the greatest spinoff show of all time because it actually advanced and deepened the world that was created with Breaking Bad. Bob Odenkirk had been a standout in Breaking Bad with his performance as the sneaky, corrupt lawyer Saul Goodman, but Better Call Saul showed how his story began as the ambitious aspiring attorney Jimmy McGill, who was locked in a lifelong feud with his more successful older brother, Chuck (Michael McKean).
Better Call Saul is just as immersive as Breaking Bad because it is both a prequel that explores Jimmy’s early life and a sequel that shows Saul’s escape from justice in the aftermath of the original series. Odenkirk delivers amazing work, but the standout performance in Better Call Saul is from Rhea Seehorn as Kim Wexler, one of the best characters in the modern television era.
8
‘Mr. Robot’ (2015–2019)
Mr. Robot is the most stylistically advanced show ever made because creator Sam Esmail based the series on his concepts for a film and drew from many cinematic classics to make a show that felt like the work of an auteur. Mr. Robot began as a show about hacking that earned praise from real hackers regarding its authenticity, but it turned into a harrowing character study about the activist leader Elliot Alderson (Rami Malek), who is haunted by the memories of his dead father (Christian Slater).
Mr. Robot forces its audience to pay attention, but that detail is justified given the density of the material and how rewarding it ends up being. Although the terminology and worldbuilding are often quite complex, Mr. Robot is also a very emotionally open show that stuck the landing with one of the most beautiful endings of all time.
7
‘The Shield’ (2002–2008)
The Shield was a series that was ahead of its time because it subverted the lionization of law enforcement that had been inherent to television ever since the dawn of the procedural format. Set in modern-day Los Angeles, The Shield told the story of the corrupt Strike Team leader Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis), who abused his power for personal gain, while occasionally being used for good.
The Shield offered a scathing look at institutional corruption that also asked deep questions about morality, as Vic was a character who could occasionally be sympathetic, despite his reprehensible behavior. Although Chiklis delivered an amazing performance that ranks among the greatest in television history, The Shield was well-known for drawing in acclaimed guest stars, with both Forest Whitaker and Glenn Close being among the Academy Award nominees who joined the cast in later seasons.
6
‘Boardwalk Empire’ (2010–2014)
Boardwalk Empire is both an epic crime saga and an outstanding period drama because it is set during the Prohibition era, where gangsters became Robin Hood-esque heroes among a galvanized public. The series stars Steve Buscemi as the Atlantic City treasurer Nucky Thompson, who has serious ties to the mafia that shape his decisions, and is hunted down by a ruthless FBI agent (Michael Shannon).
Boardwalk Empire had one of the best rogues’ galleries of any HBO show, as the series was able to consistently pull in notable guest stars to play its villains. It is among the rare shows that are as informative as it is entertaining, as Boardwalk Empire captured the tension within one of the most divisive periods in American history, while also telling a classic story of greed, power, and ambition through the eyes of an anti-hero.
5
‘The Americans’ (2013–2018)
The Americans is the greatest spy show ever made because it doesn’t take the traditional route to exploring espionage and secret agents. Set during the height of the Cold War in the 1980s, The Americans is about the KGB agents Philip (Matthew Rhys) and Elizabeth Jennings (Keri Russell), who go undercover in the United States to pose as an average American couple so that they can intercept information and send it back to the KGB.
The Americans offers a fascinating portrayal of the evolution of a marriage because the relationship between Philip and Elizabeth is one that began out of obligation, but steadily transformed into something legitimate. It’s a thrilling series from start to finish that capitalized on a real relationship between its stars (as Russell and Rhys fell in love and married during the making), and ended with a completely satisfying conclusion in the finale “-START-.”
4
‘Twin Peaks’ (1990–2017)
Twin Peaks is responsible for creating modern television because David Lynch crafted the first true “watercooler” show that heightened expectations on a weekly basis because audiences were tuned in to the serialized story. Twin Peaks is so ambitious that its amazing what Lynch was able to do with just two seasons back in the early ’90s; it was simultaneously an insight into grief, an exploration of the secrets within an idealized American small town, a subversion of what broadcast television had become, and a surrealist journey into the existential battle between good and evil that has been waged since the beginning of time.
Lynch returned to Twin Peaks in 2017 with a third season produced for the Showtime channel that somehow got richer and more complex, and became the perfect swan song for one of the most brilliant creatives of all-time.
3
‘The Sopranos’ (1999–2007)
The Sopranos has earned its status as “The Godfather of television,” and not just because it is another mob epic about an American family. The Sopranos is a character study about a psychopathic, yet sensitive anti-hero whose faults are the result of decades of restrained emotions and familial baggage. It’s both a dark study in what the American dream really is and a more grounded look at what being part of the criminal lifestyle really is.
The Sopranos features the single greatest performance in television history from the late great James Gandolfini, who became so synonymous with the role of Tony Soprano that it would be impossible to imagine anyone else in the part. Nonetheless, the entire show was filled with tremendous acting, with Michael Imperioli’s role as Christopher Moltisanti being particularly important as an inverse to his ulcer Tony.
2
‘The Wire’ (2002–2008)
The Wire was an underground sensation among television fans that was never a massive ratings success or awards contender, but steadily began to earn more traction as the word spread about its brilliance. The Wire was created by David Simon, a former journalist who spent over a decade writing for the crime beat in Baltimore, who based the series on his own experiences and drew attention to real issues within American communities.
The Wire is an all-encompassing crime epic that explores the perspectives of those within every level of infrastructure, and raises important points about the existential issues that are baked into the country. While it’s a very complex show that requires a significant amount of attention from viewers, the journey of its five brilliant seasons aren’t to be missed by anyone who wants to be both informed and entertained.
1
‘Breaking Bad’ (2008–2013)
Breaking Bad deserves to be considered as a modern work of Shakespeare because it has five seasons that correspond to the five acts of one of the great tragedies by “The Bard.” Although there have been many modern shows that have attempted to tell the story of an unredeemable anti-hero, Breaking Bad was a novelty because it showed how the mild-mannered high school chemistry teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston) transformed into the ruthless drug kingpin known as “Heisenberg.”
It’s a miracle that Breaking Bad achieved a level of consistency that was impossible to replicate, as showrunner Vince Gilligan showed the importance of planning out stories in advance. Breaking Bad is an operatic tragedy, but it’s also a consistently thrilling drama with terrific performances, dark humor, and constant twists and turns that kept viewers guessing until the end of its run.
Breaking Bad
- Release Date
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2008 – 2013-00-00
- Network
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AMC
- Showrunner
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Vince Gilligan
- Directors
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Vince Gilligan, Michelle Maclaren
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