Items20The creator’s order
  1. 1Prime Suspect (1991)Prime Suspect (1991) 8.3/10 on IMDbFirst aired Apr 7, 1991Helen Mirren's Jane Tennison has a murder to investigate and a squad that resents her authority. The two problems are inseparable. Pick the first case if you want to watch a detective earn the room's attention one decision at a time, with mistakes that count against her more heavily than they would…0
  2. 2Cracker (1993)Cracker (1993) 8.4/10 on IMDbFirst aired Sep 27, 1993Robbie Coltrane's criminal psychologist Fitz is at his sharpest when he has someone across the table and an answer he doesn't believe. The first case gives him a suspect who claims to remember nothing. Start here if you want an interview to feel like the most volatile scene in the episode.0
  3. 3Between the Lines (1992)Between the Lines (1992) 8.1/10 on IMDbFirst aired Sep 4, 1992Neil Pearson's Tony Clark investigates complaints against police officers. A conversation with another cop can be as tense as a confrontation with a suspect. Try it if you're drawn to dramas where the question of who gets to call something misconduct matters as much as the evidence.0
  4. 4The Cops (1998)The Cops (1998) 8.4/10 on IMDbFirst aired Oct 19, 1998The patrol officers work a small patch in the fictional northern town of Stanton. The tight setting means they can find themselves back at the door of someone they handled badly last time. Come for an unvarnished view of policing at street level, where a routine call can leave things worse than it…0
  5. 5A Touch of Frost (1992)A Touch of Frost (1992) 7.9/10 on IMDbFirst aired Dec 6, 1992David Jason makes Jack Frost funny enough to lower your guard. His sympathy for people who get overlooked can put him at odds with his bosses, and that's where the show finds a lot of its bite. Try it for familiar detective storytelling with a lead who keeps getting tangled up in the human business…0
  6. 6Silent Witness (1996)Silent Witness (1996) 7.9/10 on IMDbFirst aired Feb 21, 1996Start with Amanda Burton’s Sam Ryan if you want a mystery to turn on the interpretation of an injury or a trace of evidence. The early cases give the pathologist enough time with the dead to make her work feel like an investigation in its own right. The tension rises whenever someone wants an…0
  7. 7Band of Gold (1995)Band of Gold (1995) 7.8/10 on IMDbFirst aired Mar 12, 1995In Kay Mellor's Bradford, a mother who needs money turns to sex work and finds herself in danger. Spend time here if you want a crime story centered on the women who have to weigh the risks of being out on the street. It has a sense of the work, friendships, and debts that a police-centered drama…0
  8. 8Trial & Retribution (1997)Trial & Retribution (1997) 7.6/10 on IMDbFirst aired Oct 19, 1997Lynda La Plante follows the work of finding a suspect into the very different business of proving the case. In the opening story, the police have someone in mind and still need evidence. Choose this if you want the prosecution to feel like another test of the investigation, with a chance for things…0
  9. 9Dalziel and Pascoe (1996)Dalziel and Pascoe (1996) 7.5/10 on IMDbFirst aired Mar 16, 1996Start with the 1996 series starring Warren Clarke and Colin Buchanan. Dalziel is an abrasive Yorkshire detective and Pascoe has the training and tact to ask the questions his partner would rather skip. Pick it for a partnership that keeps the traditional murder mystery moving without making the…0
  10. 10The Vice (1999)The Vice (1999) 7.6/10 on IMDbFirst aired Jan 4, 1999Ken Stott's Pat Chappel runs into the kind of moral trouble that suits a story about London's vice squad. Watching what an undercover assignment asks of an officer gives the show more force than simply cataloging the crimes. It's a good choice when you want a squad drama with little faith that a…0