10 greatest – From family chaos in Big Mistakes to the community ache at the heart of Mare of Easttown, these 2020s crime shows keep changing what the genre can be—by mixing twists, character pain, and wildly inventive storytelling.
Crime TV has always had a home on the small screen. But the 2020s didn’t just give viewers more murders and detectives—they gave them new ways to look at obsession, guilt, grief, and the stories communities tell themselves.
This decade’s best entries don’t move in a straight line. Some crack the mystery by changing the genre each episode. Others treat a “case” like a family wound. A few lean into true-crime tension. while still making space for comedy. discomfort. and the feeling that the truth is never as simple as it sounds.
Here are 10 standout crime shows of the 2020s, ranked.
10. ‘Big Mistakes’ (2026–Present)
Siblings Nicky (Dan Levy) and Morgan Dardano (Taylor Ortega) get dragged into organized crime after a seemingly minor theft spirals out of control. What starts as an attempt to help their dying grandmother snowballs into blackmail. gangsters. and a growing web of lies that threatens to swallow their already dysfunctional family.
The show leans hard into weaponized incompetence—these aren’t calm masterminds, it’s people constantly in over their heads. The result is a crime thriller with suspense and comedy braided together. Levy and Ortega bring electric sibling chemistry, and the writing keeps the chaos sharp rather than sloppy.
9. ‘Deadloch’ (2023–Present)
In a small Tasmanian town. a local man’s body is discovered on the beach as the community prepares for a major festival. Local Senior Sergeant Dulcie Collins (Kate Box) expects a straightforward investigation—until Detective Eddie Redcliffe (Madeleine Sami) arrives from Darwin.
Dulcie and Eddie have to work through eccentric townsfolk, mounting suspects, and a growing body count as the mystery deepens. Deadloch looks, at first glance, like a typical noir murder mystery. Then it flips the tone with satire that pokes fun at genre conventions and small-town politics. Dulcie and Eddie’s clashing personalities power much of the humor, but the central mystery stays gripping throughout.
8. ‘A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’ (2024–Present)
Based on Holly Jackson’s bestselling novels. the series begins with a young woman who’s believed to have been murdered by her boyfriend—who later dies by suicide. Five years later, Pip Fitz-Amobi (Emma Myers) chooses this local case as the subject of a school project.
As Pip revisits the evidence, inconsistencies surface—suggesting the town’s accepted version of events may not be the truth. Unlike many YA mysteries. the show commits to the seriousness of the investigation. peeling back secrets while showing how rumors. prejudice. and assumptions can shape an entire community.
Pip’s curiosity lands because it’s rooted in empathy rather than fantasy detective power. The series uses genre tropes, but its emotional weight lifts the story well beyond a standard thriller. Season 2 has come out and raised the bar, even as it has flown under the radar of Netflix’s watchlists.
7. ‘The Afterparty’ (2022–2023)
A high-school reunion after-party ends with the death of a famous pop star. and every guest becomes a potential suspect. Detective Danner (Tiffany Haddish) arrives to investigate and interviews attendees. Each episode retells that night from a different character’s perspective.
The show’s structure is its engine. Every episode adopts a different genre inspired by the personality of the storyteller. turning the same events into rom-coms. action flicks. and psychological thrillers. Instead of feeling like a trick. the approach becomes a way to explore perspective and perception. while keeping the mystery consistently engaging.
6. ‘Bad Sisters’ (2022–Present)
After the sudden death of the deeply unpleasant John Paul Williams (Claes Bang). it becomes clear that each of the five Garvey sisters had reasons they might want him gone. The series shows their motives through flashbacks, revealing how John’s manipulation, cruelty, and emotional abuse affected the entire family.
At the same time, two insurance investigators become increasingly convinced the death was anything but accidental.
The mystery keeps viewers hooked. but the emotional core is the bond between the Garvey sisters and their effort to protect one another. The show balances suspense, dark comedy, and genuine poignancy, giving each sister her own fears, flaws, and motivations. It’s Irish black comedy with twists, schemes, and a rewatch factor built in.
5. ‘Dept. Q’ (2025–Present)
Based on Jussi Adler-Olsen’s acclaimed novels, DCI Carl Mørck (Matthew Goode) is left physically and emotionally scarred after being shot and left for dead. Months later, he returns to duty—now working in a newly created cold-case department in the office’s basement.
Carl is tasked with investigating forgotten crimes no one else wants to solve. Alongside a small team of outsiders and misfits, he sets his sights on the disappearance of a successful prosecutor.
The show focuses on damaged people finding purpose through difficult work. Carl isn’t easy to like: he’s rude, abrasive, and incredibly short-tempered. But beneath the bravado is someone who clearly cares and is desperate for help. The darker tone, eerie landscape, and layered mysteries make it especially appealing to viewers who want character prioritized alongside suspense. Season 2 is also poised to arrive.
4. ‘Ludwig’ (2024–Present)
Puzzle creator John “Ludwig” Taylor’s (David Mitchell) identical twin brother mysteriously disappears. Ludwig’s sister-in-law (Anna Maxwell Martin) convinces him to assume his brother’s identity to uncover what happened.
The problem is immediate and messy: Ludwig’s twin is a senior police detective, meaning Ludwig now finds himself solving real murder cases despite having no formal investigative experience.
The premise sounds absurd, but the show commits to Ludwig’s charisma. Mitchell delivers an understated performance that turns Ludwig’s social awkwardness and analytical mind into strengths. Weekly mysteries bring procedural charm, while an ongoing throughline adds momentum. In a landscape dominated by gritty crime drama, Ludwig plays like a clever, cozy alternative that still delivers intrigue.
3. ‘Mare of Easttown’ (2021)
In a small Pennsylvanian town where everyone knows everyone else’s business. Detective Mare Sheehan (Kate Winslet) investigates the murder of a young mother while dealing with her own personal tragedies. As the case grows more complicated. Mare has to navigate family tensions and long-buried secrets that threaten to expose painful truths about the community she has spent her entire life trying to protect.
Few crime dramas capture community texture with the same precision as Mare of Easttown. The murder investigation stays gripping, but the real strength is how the show explores grief, addiction, and generational trauma. Winslet delivers a career-best performance, and every other character adds drama in their own distinct way. The mystery’s resolution lands with extra power because it’s earned. It’s easily one of the best miniseries of all time.
2. ‘Black Bird’ (2022)
Inspired by true events, convicted drug dealer Jimmy Keene (Taron Egerton) is offered an extraordinary deal: transfer to a maximum-security prison and befriend suspected serial killer Larry Hall (Paul Walter Hauser) in exchange for a reduced sentence.
The arrangement puts Jimmy on a mission—obtain a confession and uncover the location of several victims before Hall’s appeal potentially sets him free.
If you want tension built through conversation rather than action, Black Bird fits the bill. Egerton and Hauser deliver standout performances, with Hauser creating one of the most unsettling television villains of the last decade. The psychological battle between the two criminals is impossible to look away from. especially as it digs into manipulation. guilt. and the disturbing banality of evil.
It also stands as a highlight of Apple TV+’s catalog.
1. ‘Only Murders in the Building’ (2021–Present)
Three strangers living in a luxurious Manhattan apartment building form a bond over their shared obsession with a true-crime podcast. That connection becomes useful when a resident is suddenly found dead. Believing the death is actually a murder. Charles (Steve Martin). Oliver (Martin Short). and Mabel (Selena Gomez) launch their own investigation.
They document the process through a new podcast. Their amateur sleuthing soon uncovers far more secrets than they bargained for.
While the crimes keep the hook in place, the real magic lives with the trio. The intergenerational clashes add charm. but the show makes a point that great crime stories aren’t only about solving murders—they’re about the people pulled together by them. It balances heartfelt relationships, clever writing, iconic cameo appearances, and sharp comedy.
Only Murders in the Building has become one of the defining shows of the 2020s, with quick—and mostly yearly—turnovers.
Release Date: August 31, 2021
Network: Hulu
Showrunner: John Hoffman
Directors: Jamie Babbit, John Hoffman, Cherien Dabis, Chris Koch, Robert Pulcini, Shari Springer Berman, Adam Shankman, Don Scardino, Jesse Peretz, Jessica Yu, Jude Weng, Chris Teague
crime tv shows 2020s crime series Only Murders in the Building Black Bird Mare of Easttown A Good Girl's Guide to Murder Deadloch Bad Sisters Dept. Q Ludwig The Afterparty Big Mistakes
I don’t even know what Big Mistakes is but 10th place sounds backwards.
So is Mare of Easttown like the whole “community ache” thing?? Cuz that show was so sad I had to stop watching halfway. Still best crime show vibe though.
Wait Dan Levy is in a crime show now? I thought he was only like comedy and Schitt’s Creek. Also organized crime from a theft sounds kinda unrealistic like how does one minor thing turn into all that
Ranked lists are always dumb because everybody gonna argue. If they’re counting 2020s crime shows then where’s the one about that viral true crime case everybody talks about on TikTok. They say twists and comedy but crime shows just feel depressing to me, like why are they adding jokes. Truth never simple my ass, it’s usually just bad writing.