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Broadchurch poster

Shows that feel likeBroadchurch (2013–2017)

The murder of a young boy in a small coastal town brings a media frenzy, which threatens to tear the community apart.

If you loved Broadchurch, the closest series we have are The Killing (2011), Time (2021) and 13 Reasons Why (2017). All three share Broadchurch'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 Carrie (2026).

★ 8.3 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗3 seasons · ITV1created by Chris Chibnallgrittycontemplativetwistymelancholy
12 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video

If Broadchurch hit the spot, these will too

The Killing poster
The Killing
2011–2014 · 4 seasons · AMC
★ 8.3drama · crime · mysteryHulu

Both are working the same pair: child murder, police detective

The difference: Trades the melancholy of Broadchurch for an angle of its own

The Killing is an American crime drama television series based upon the Danish television series Forbrydelsen. Set in Seattle, Washington, the series follows the various murder investigations by homicide detectives Sarah Linden and Stephen Holder.

Time poster
Time
2021– · 3 seasons · BBC One
★ 8.1drama · crime

Both land grit and stillness at once

Guilt, violence and impossible choices – what does it take to survive? Tense, gritty and heartbreaking – Jimmy McGovern's award-winning prison drama, with an all-star cast.

13 Reasons Why poster
13 Reasons Why
2017–2020 · 4 seasons · Netflix
★ 7.4drama · mysteryNetflix

The same mix in both: twists, then melancholy

High school student Clay Jensen lands in the center of a series of heartbreaking mysteries set in motion by a friend's tragic suicide.

The Outsider poster
The Outsider
2020 · 1 season · HBO
★ 7.6drama · mystery · crimeMax

The same two preoccupations: small town life, and the investigation

When an insidious supernatural force edges its way into a seemingly straightforward investigation into the gruesome murder of a young boy, it leads a seasoned cop and an unorthodox investigator to question everything they believe in.

Carrie poster
Carrie
2026 · 1 season · Prime Video
★ 7.8mystery · drama · sci-fi & fantasyPrime Video

Drama with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

The difference: Sits closer to sci-fi & fantasy than Broadchurch does

After her father's sudden, untimely death thrusts her into the unforgiving ecosystem of public high school, Carrie is forced to navigate a viral bullying scandal that tears through her community, the relentless pressure and casual cruelty of the social‑media age, and the awakening of mysterious telekinetic powers that rise alongside her adolescence.

Mare of Easttown poster
Mare of Easttown
2021 · 1 season · HBO
★ 8.4drama · crime · mysteryMax

Common ground: small town life

A detective in a small Pennsylvania town investigates a local murder while trying to keep her life from falling apart.

Elementary poster
Elementary
2012–2019 · 7 seasons · CBS
★ 7.9drama · mystery · crimePrime VideoHulu

Both keep coming back to the same thing: the investigation

A modern-day drama about a crime-solving duo that cracks the NYPD's most impossible cases. Following his fall from grace in London and a stint in rehab, eccentric Sherlock escapes to Manhattan where his wealthy father forces him to live with his worst nightmare - a sober companion, Dr. Watson.

This Is Us poster
This Is Us
2016–2022 · 6 seasons · NBC
★ 8.7dramaHuluParamount+

One thread runs through both: grief

Follows the lives and families of three adults living and growing up in the United States of America in present and past times. As their paths cross and their life stories intertwine in curious ways, we find that several of them share the same birthday - and so much more than anyone would expect.

The Night Of poster
The Night Of
2016 · 1 season · HBO
★ 8.4crime · drama · mysteryMax

Both are built on the same subject: murder investigation

After a night of partying with a female stranger, a man wakes up to find her stabbed to death and is charged with her murder.

Bates Motel poster
Bates Motel
2013–2017 · 5 seasons · A&E
★ 8.1drama · crime · mysteryPrime Video

Both lean on grit more than on crime

A "contemporary prequel" to the 1960 film Psycho, depicting the life of Norman Bates and his mother Norma prior to the events portrayed in Hitchcock's film, albeit in a different fictional town and in a modern setting. The series begins after the death of Norma's husband, when she purchases a motel located in a coastal Oregon town so she and Norman can start a new life.

Another poster
Another
2012 · 1 season · KNB
★ 7.5animation · drama · mystery

Twisty mystery in both cases

When Kouichi arrives at his new school, he immediately senses something frightening in the atmosphere of his new class, something that no student wants to talk about and that seems to be related to a mysterious and silent girl.

The Chestnut Man poster
The Chestnut Man
2021–2026 · 2 seasons · Netflix
★ 7.6drama · crime · mysteryNetflix

Gritty crime, and it commits to that

At a grisly murder scene sits a figurine made of chestnuts. From this creepy clue, two detectives hunt a killer linked to a politician's missing child.

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