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American Crime Story poster

Shows that feel likeAmerican Crime Story (2016–2021)

An anthology series centered around some of history's most famous criminal investigations.

If you loved American Crime Story, the closest series we have are Law & Order (1990), Chicago P.D. (2014) and Unbelievable (2019). All three share American Crime Story's gritty and contemplative 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).

★ 8.4 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗3 seasons · FXcreated by Larry Karaszewskigrittycontemplative
12 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video
Stream it:Hulu ↗

If American Crime Story hit the spot, these will too

Law & Order poster
Law & Order
1990– · 26 seasons · NBC
★ 7.8crime · dramaNetflixHulu

The same two preoccupations: police, and lawyer

The difference: Made in the 1990s, in a different era of the craft

In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to convict the perpetrator by proving the person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Working together, these expert teams navigate all sides of the complex criminal justice system to make New York a safer place.

Chicago P.D. poster
Chicago P.D.
2014– · 14 seasons · NBC
★ 8.1crime · dramaPrime VideoPeacock

One thread runs through both: crime investigation

A riveting police drama about the men and women of the Chicago Police Department's District 21 who put it all on the line to serve and protect their community. District 21 is made up of two distinctly different groups: the uniformed cops who patrol the beat and go head-to-head with the city's street crimes and the Intelligence Unit that combats the city's major offenses - organized crime, drug trafficking, high profile murders and beyond.

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

Common ground: a true story

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

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

Both are built on the same subject: a true story

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.

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

Gritty where it counts, contemplative underneath

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

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

The same preoccupation in both: criminal

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."

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

Drama built on grit, twice over

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

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

Both keep coming back to the same thing: police

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.

The Americans poster
The Americans
2013–2018 · 6 seasons · FX
★ 8.4crime · dramaHulu

Both lean on stillness more than on crime

Set during the Cold War period in the 1980s, The Americans is the story of Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, two Soviet KGB officers posing as an American married couple in the suburbs of Washington D.C. and their neighbor, Stan Beeman, an FBI Counterintelligence agent.

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

Gritty crime, and it commits to that

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.

Sons of Anarchy poster
Sons of Anarchy
2008–2014 · 7 seasons · FX
★ 8.5crime · dramaHulu

Both are built on the same subject: criminal

The Sons of Anarchy (SOA) are an outlaw motorcycle club with many charters in the United States and overseas. The show focused on the original and founding charter, Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original, often referred to by the acronym SAMCRO, Sam Crow, or simply Redwood Charter. The charter operates both legal and illegal businesses in the small town of Charming, California. They combine gun-running and a garage, and involvement in porn film industry. Clay, the charter president, likes it old school and violent; while Jax, his stepson and the club's VP, has thoughts about changing the way things are done. Their conflict has effects on both the club and their personal relationship, especially when Jax goes on a personal quest to cleanse the SAMCRO name and image.

The Act poster
The Act
2019 · 1 season · Hulu
★ 7.8drama · crimeHulu

One thread runs through both: anthology

Gypsy Blanchard struggles to deal with the toxic relationship with her overprotective mother, but her attempts to free herself lead to murder.

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The best-reviewed series that share American Crime Story’s defining feeling.