Crime drama shows are responsible, perhaps more than any other small-screen genre, for the advent of prestige television.Their complex, carefully woven plotlines, involving morally ambiguous anti-heroes and rendered with formal and tonal elements borrowed from neo-noir cinema, tend to make for masterful works of televisual storytelling.
The verybest crime dramasare natural contenders for the greatest TV show ever made.But even these masterpieces are liable to have a bad episode or two in their midst.Crime shows that are perfect from start to finishare particularly rare. When one comes along, it takes on the same status as a classic movie.
These are series that now belong to posterity, pristine works of art that no future act of small-screen vandalism could ever tarnish. They each form a body of work that’s one coherent whole, in which every episode is relied upon to serve the story, and adheres to the same immaculate standards of writing and production.
No TV cast or crew wants to make a bad episode of their show,but these are the rare cases where writers, directors, actors, producers, and showrunners went the extra mile to make sure no part of the story let their audiences down. As a result, their series are likely to be celebrated for many generations to come.
One of thebest serial killer shows on Netflixfrom any country, Danish detective seriesThe Chestnut Maneffortlessly blends horror with classic police-procedural dramafor a truly pulsating watch. The show’s belated second season will be along in 2026, but until then, any viewer is guaranteed to be gripped by six sublime episodes of crime TV.
This show is the pinnacle of Nordic noir condensed into fewer than six hours of television (so far), with the kind of elegant visuals, compelling performances, and suitably disturbing horror motifs you expect from a big-screen suspense thriller.If season 2 ofThe Chestnut Mancan emulate its initial release, the series could be counted among the best-ever Netflix originals.
While it’s arguably the best show on this list overall,The Sopranoscertainly has peaks and troughs across its six seasons, which prevent it from ranking higher.Fans regularly cite the season 4 episode “Christopher”, with its controversial Columbus Day storyline, as one especially sour note for the series.
On the other hand,The Sopranosfeatures many episodes that are basically perfecttelevision.Even its weakest moments can’t be considered “bad” episodes in the grand scheme of things, as they still outdo what most other shows manage at their very best, regardless of any controversies these episodes might have caused.
Spinoff series usually represent a step down in quality from the original show that spawned them, but such a scenario was never the case forBetter Call Saul. If anything,Bob Odenkirk steps it up from his supporting berth inBreaking Badto assume the titular role in this series, alongside some stunning performances from his fellow cast members.
At its best,Better Call Saulis a small-screen masterpieceentirely on its own terms. At its worst, it’s an excellent prequel series toBreaking Bad, which adds yet more depth to characters such as Gus Fring.Between these two shows and their follow-up movie,El Camino, Vince Gilligan created a watertight TV universe that’s difficult to find fault with.
David Lynch and Mark Frost’s surrealist crime seriesTwin Peakshas long since acquired untouchable status as a work of television, yet the relative merits of the show’s second season are still hotly debated among fans.For many viewers, turning Leland Palmer, one ofTwin Peaks’ best characters, into his daughter’s abuser and killer, BOB, was a step too far.
For me, this horrifying plot twist is wholly consistent with the deeply disturbing overtones of the entire series, and the Leland-BOB reveal scene is a masterpiece of televisual art. What’s more,the show keeps us guessing about its apparently supernatural elementsuntil the very end.
Black Birdis the true story of Jimmy Keene, a criminal who was given the chance to commute his entire prison sentence by instead serving as an FBI agent.This premise might sound like familiar territory for a true-crime drama, but the 2022 miniseries is far from ordinary.
Black Birdis based on Jimmy Keene’s 2011 memoir In with theDevil: A Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption, which was co-written by Hillel Levin.
It serves up a level of realism and psychological intensity that few filmmakers would even dream of matching, while presenting a nuanced perspective of its central character’s situation that gives the audience space to make up their own minds about him. Perhaps the best original series ever produced for Apple TV+,Black Birdwas a landmark release for true crime.
Known asLa casa de papel(“The House of Cards”) in its original Spanish release,Money Heistis the fictional story of robbersattempting the two most daring bank heists in the history of Spain.It was originally to be a limited series about a single heist, until its global popularity exploded, precipitating a further two seasons.
If the stakes of its characters are occasionally hyperbolized for dramatic purposes, then this works in pulling us along for the bank robbery of a lifetime.
Nevertheless, there stillisn’t a single bad episode throughout this engrossing, elegantly shot, and powerfully acted crime thriller. If the stakes of its characters are occasionally hyperbolized for dramatic purposes, then this works in pulling us along for the bank robbery of a lifetime.
Thebest 1920s period dramaever made,Boardwalk Empireplays like a who’s who of the Prohibition era’s criminal underworld. At the heart of this world, however, is Nucky Thompson, a fictional local government accountant played by the incomparable Steve Buscemi.
Fans of period drama likely won’t find a better series than this one, set in any time period.
Boardwalk Empire’s depiction of how various mob families established themselves in the United States during the early 20th century is so painstakingly realized that it’s hard to imagine any movie or TV show on the subject ever topping it. Fans of period drama likely won’t find a better series than this one, set in any time period.
The story of a young English boy suspected of murdering his classmate,Adolescencehas already staked its claim to be crowned the best TV show of 2025, if not of this entire decade so far. Leaving asidethe technical ingenuity involved in pulling off its formal conceit of single-shot episodes, the miniseries is a jaw-dropping feat of acting, directing, and storytelling.
All fourepisodes ofAdolescenceare enthralling emotional rollercoasters, the likes of which have never been produced for the small screen before.The cultural impact that the show has already made is comparable to the public response received by Ken Loach’s British TV dramaCathy Come Homein 1966,and it deserves to be treated in similarly reverential terms.
IfBetter Call Saul’s worst is still excellent, thenBreaking Badjust doesn’t know the meaning of the word. As much as it can be a slow-burner at times, the series is faultless throughout, asVince Gilligan’s masterful command of plot is complemented by some extraordinary lead performancesby Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, and Giancarlo Esposito, in particular.
The show is so good that it’s difficult to rankBreaking Bad’s best episodes, as there are around 60 genuine contenders to choose from.In any case, no one would seriously argue that it has anything close to a dud across its five seasons.
Purely on the basis of its sheer variety and complexity as a series,The Wirejust pipsBreaking Badto the top spot as the best crime drama without a single bad episode.From the moment we’re first introduced to Dominic West’s Detective Jimmy McNulty to the show’s final-episode montage, it’s a masterclass in storytelling.
The Wire’s most controversial storylinemight have threatened to undermine its status as a flawless work of television during its fifth and final season.But this controversy is now just a footnote to a season that delivers a worthy conclusion to the seminal crime series.
Crime dramascome and go, butThe Wirewill remain the yardstick for quality and consistency by which all subsequent series are measured. More than 20 years after it debuted on HBO, the show is only growing in stature.
