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Adolescence poster

Shows that feel likeAdolescence (2025)

When a 13-year-old is accused of the murder of a classmate, his family, the psychological expert and the detective in charge are all left asking: what really happened?

If you loved Adolescence, the closest series we have are Defending Jacob (2020), Dexter: New Blood (2021) and MobLand (2025). All three share Adolescence's contemplative and gritty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Godfather of Harlem (2019).

★ 8.1 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗1 season · Netflixcreated by Stephen Grahamcontemplativegritty
12 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Hulu
Stream it:Netflix ↗

If Adolescence hit the spot, these will too

Defending Jacob poster
Defending Jacob
2020 · 1 season · Apple TV
★ 7.7drama · mystery · crimeApple TV+

Both are working the same pair: bullying, murder

The difference: Sits closer to mystery than Adolescence does

A family's lives are irreparably disrupted when the 14-year-old son is accused of murdering a fellow classmate.

Dexter: New Blood poster
Dexter: New Blood
2021–2022 · 1 season · Showtime
★ 8drama · crimeParamount+

Common ground: miniseries

10 years after Dexter went missing in the eye of Hurricane Laura, we find him living under an assumed name in the small town of Iron Lake, New York. Dexter may be embracing his new life, but in the wake of unexpected events in this close-knit community, his Dark Passenger beckons.

MobLand poster
MobLand
2025– · 2 seasons · Paramount+
★ 8.3crime · dramaParamount+

The same preoccupation in both: murder

Two mob families clash in a war that threatens to topple empires and lives.

Black Bird poster
Black Bird
2022 · 1 season · Apple TV
★ 8.1drama · crimeApple TV+

One thread runs through both: miniseries

As Jimmy Keene begins a 10-year prison sentence, he gets an incredible offer: If he can elicit a confession from suspected killer Larry Hall, Jimmy will be freed. Completing this mission becomes the challenge of a lifetime.

The Penguin poster
The Penguin
2024 · 1 season · HBO
★ 8.6drama · crimeMax

Both land stillness and grit at once

With the city in peril following the seawall's collapse, Oswald "Oz" Cobb seeks to fill the power vacuum left by the death of Carmine Falcone and finally give his mother Francis the life he's always promised. But first, Oz must confront his enemies and his own demoralizing reputation as "the Penguin."

Unbelievable poster
Unbelievable
2019 · 1 season · Netflix
★ 8.3drama · crimeNetflix

Drama built on stillness, twice over

After a young woman is accused of lying about a rape, two female detectives investigate a spate of eerily similar attacks.

Banshee poster
Banshee
2013–2016 · 4 seasons · Cinemax
★ 8.4crime · dramaMax

Gritty crime, and it commits to that

Banshee is an American drama television series set in a small town in Pennsylvania Amish country and features an enigmatic ex-con posing as a murdered sheriff who imposes his own brand of justice while also cooking up plans that serve his own interests.

Godfather of Harlem poster
Godfather of Harlem
2019–2025 · 4 seasons · Epix
★ 8.1drama · crimeHulu

Drama with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

Loosely based on infamous crime boss Bumpy Johnson, who in the early 1960s returned from ten years in prison to find the neighborhood he once ruled in shambles. With the streets controlled by the Italian mob, Bumpy attempts to regain his piece of Harlem.

Your Honor poster
Your Honor
2020–2023 · 2 seasons · Showtime
★ 7.6drama · crimeParamount+

Both lean on grit more than on crime

New Orleans judge Michael Desiato is forced to confront his own deepest convictions when his son is involved in a hit and run that embroils an organized crime family.

Narcos: Mexico poster
Narcos: Mexico
2018–2021 · 3 seasons · Netflix
★ 8.3drama · crimeNetflix

Both play drama straight

See the rise of the Guadalajara Cartel as an American DEA agent learns the danger of targeting narcos in 1980s Mexico.

When They See Us poster
When They See Us
2019 · 1 season · Netflix
★ 8.8dramaNetflix

Both are drama through and through

Five teens from Harlem become trapped in a nightmare when they're falsely accused of a brutal attack in Central Park.

El Chapo poster
El Chapo
2017–2018 · 3 seasons · Univision
★ 7.8drama · crimeNetflix

The same crime instincts

A look at the life of notorious drug kingpin, El Chapo, from his early days in the 1980s working for the Guadalajara Cartel, to his rise to power of during the '90s and his ultimate downfall in 2016.

In the mood for more contemplative?

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The best-reviewed series that share Adolescence’s defining feeling.