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G Moniy

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The Definitive List of the 6 Top Crime Drama TV Shows

By G-Moniy August 11th, 2022
Jason Bateman and Amanda Anka attend the Premiere Of Netflix's "Ozark" Season 2 at ArcLight Cinemas on August 23, 2018 in Hollywood, California.

I enjoy watching different genres of TV shows from wrestling (obviously), comedies, action, fantasy, etc., but there’s a special place in my heart dedicated to crime dramas.

It’s probably my favorite genre of TV show. But I have a long history of watching certain shows from beginning to the unfortunate end, for some.

The struggle of a poor teenager/adult in whatever situation trying to better themselves by doing whatever illegal activity to get by is a can’t-miss situation for me. Everybody has a story and it’s amazing how we often find ourselves rooting for a “bad guy” but these shows make these types the protagonist, even when they have to do some unsavory things.

Here’s my personal list of Top 6 Crime Dramas.

  • Honorable Mention - Law & Order SVU

    Everybody and their mother, including mine, loves Law & Order. I’m making this an honorable mention only because it doesn’t follow a set story, I know occasionally they get linked together but that’s not the purpose of this list.

  • 6. New York Undercover

    For me this was the OG show! It ran from 1994-1998 I absolutely loved this show as a kid. It was my first introduction into shows like this, the smoothness of Detectives Williams & Torres, the teamwork I was taken immediately. Plus the jazz club at the end of every episode…Fire! The last 2 seasons kind of sucked because of…I’m not gonna spoil it but yeah.

  • 5. Ozark

    This one just ended earlier this year but is still available on Netflix. I thoroughly enjoyed this show about money laundering and the Mexican Cartel. Lots of twists turns and surprises, I enjoyed the writing and the soundtrack of this one. A must watch.

  • 4. Snowfall

    This show is still going on as well and I really really enjoy this show. This John Singleton Co-Created masterpiece is about the crack epidemic of the early 80s in Los Angeles. So much great acting and excellent characters make this one of my all-time favorites. Best part? 4 Seasons and counting. If you have Hulu, check it out.

  • 3. Power

    Truth be told I had to change this from a list 5 to 6 because I refused to leave any of these shows off. Power is one of those shows that really just spoke to the culture. Damn near everybody was watching this modern day drug series about a successful club owner/drug dealer named Ghost maneuver his family and the drug game. This one is so addictive, so many side stories, amazing characters, wild situations, etc. This series is so popular that after the main story ended 3 spinoffs were born from it because of the popularity of the characters. 50 Cent struck gold as the executive producer of this one.

  • 2. Breaking Bad

    You can make the argument that Breaking Bad is the greatest Crime Drama of all time…maybe even better than the Sopranos (from what I’ve heard) and the only reason that’s not on this list is because I never saw more than a couple episodes. Breaking Bad is pure greatness from start to finish. I just finished rewatching the fifth season again just because. The story of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman is undeniable with one of the absolute best antagonist in TV history with Gustavo Ring. This was the definition of smart tv. The show is so good even the spinoff “Better Call Saul” is just as good and will probably make the list after it’s over.

  • 1. The Wire

    It is my personal belief that “The Wire” is the greatest crime drama of all time. Sad thing was I didn’t start watching until around the 4th season and I had to catch up from the beginning. It ran from 2002- 2008 and it gave you the drug game in Baltimore from both sides of the coin, the cops and the dealers. It was created by former police reporter David Simon who also wrote some episodes. During the lifespan of the show it was referenced constantly in many hip hop songs and garnered rave reviews from literally every critic. Second to none story telling, superb characters, top notch acting, and surprising deaths made this my all time favorite crime drama. Honestly…I’m gonna rewatch the whole series on HBO Max.

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