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Criminal Minds poster

Shows that feel likeCriminal Minds (2005–)

An elite team of FBI profilers analyze the country's most twisted criminal minds, anticipating their next moves before they strike again. The Behavioral Analysis Unit's most experienced agent is David Rossi, a founding member of the BAU who returns to help the team solve new cases.

If you loved Criminal Minds, the closest series we have are The Blacklist (2013), CSI: NY (2004) and Lie to Me (2009). All three share Criminal Minds' gritty and contemplative feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Alienist (2018).

★ 8.1 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗19 seasons · CBScreated by Jeff Davisgrittycontemplativetwisty
10 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video
Buy seasons:Amazon see price ↗Apple TV$19.99 buyCriminal Minds, The Complete Series · Apple price as of 2026-09-30

If Criminal Minds hit the spot, these will too

The Blacklist poster
The Blacklist
2013–2023 · 10 seasons · NBC
★ 7.9drama · crime · mysteryNetflix

The bureau working through a gallery of monsters

The difference: A criminal consultant leads

Raymond "Red" Reddington, one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives, surrenders in person at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. He claims that he and the FBI have the same interests: bringing down dangerous criminals and terrorists. In the last two decades, he's made a list of criminals and terrorists that matter the most but the FBI cannot find because it does not know they exist. Reddington calls this "The Blacklist". Reddington will co-operate, but insists that he will speak only to Elizabeth Keen, a rookie FBI profiler.

CSI: NY poster
CSI: NY
2004–2013 · 9 seasons · CBS
★ 7crime · drama · mystery

Team procedurals closing the net

The difference: Forensics-first NYC

Follow the investigations of a team of NYPD forensic scientists and police officers identified as "Crime Scene Investigators".

Lie to Me poster
Lie to Me
2009–2011 · 3 seasons · FOX
★ 8crime · drama · mysteryHulu

Reading the guilty through behavior

The difference: Micro-expression hook

The world's leading deception researcher, Dr. Cal Lightman, studies facial expression, body language and tone of voice to determine when a person is lying and why, which helps law enforcement and government agencies uncover the truth. But his skills also make it easier for him to deceive others.

White Collar poster
White Collar
2009–2014 · 6 seasons · USA Network
★ 8.2crime · drama · mysteryHulu

An expert brought in because the standard methods will not work

The difference: Charming caper crime, with almost no darkness

In exchange for his freedom, charming con artist Neal Caffrey provides his expertise to help straight-man FBI agent Peter Burke catch elusive white-collar criminals.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit poster
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
1999– · 28 seasons · NBC
★ 8.1crime · drama · mysteryHuluPeacock

Hunting predators inside the system

The difference: Victim-forward casework

In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.

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

Dark casework with emotional residue

The difference: Single-case serial gloom

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.

Quantico poster
Quantico
2015–2018 · 3 seasons · ABC
★ 6.7crime · drama · mystery

FBI life with serialized secrets

The difference: Trainee soap thriller

A diverse group of recruits has arrived at the FBI Quantico Base for training. They are the best, the brightest and the most vetted, so it seems impossible that one of them is suspected of masterminding the biggest attack on New York City since 9/11.

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

The making of the minds the BAU studies

The difference: One killer's origin

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.

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

Brilliant deduction in service of the police

The difference: Holmes consultancy

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.

How to Get Away with Murder poster
How to Get Away with Murder
2014–2020 · 6 seasons · ABC
★ 8.1crime · drama · mysteryHulu

Crime psychology with soap velocity

The difference: Legal-thriller twists

A sexy, suspense-driven legal thriller about a group of ambitious law students and their brilliant, mysterious criminal defense professor. They become entangled in a murder plot and will shake the entire university and change the course of their lives.

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

What the system does to the accused

The difference: One-case prestige

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.

The Alienist poster
The Alienist
2018–2020 · 2 seasons · TNT
★ 7.7drama · crime · mystery

Gritty and contemplative in the same breath

New York, 1896. Police commissioner Theodore Roosevelt brings together criminal psychologist Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, newspaper illustrator John Moore and secretary Sara Howard to investigate several murders of male prostitutes.

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The best-reviewed series that share Criminal Minds’ defining feeling.