
Shows that feel likeCSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000–2015)
If you loved CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, the closest series we have are Columbo (1971), Lie to Me (2009) and The Killing (2011). All three share CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'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 Law & Order (1990).
If CSI: Crime Scene Investigation hit the spot, these will too

The original methodical case-closer
The difference: Inverted-mystery charm

Science reading the crime scene and the face
The difference: Behavioral gimmick

Evidence trails under gray skies
The difference: Serialized single case

Evidence versus psychology as the way in
The difference: Profiler focus

Deductive craft applied case by case
The difference: Character-driven Holmes

Forensics before anyone believed in it
The difference: 1896 period grime

A weekly case cracked by a team who like working together
The difference: Banter-forward, with a writer tagging along

Methodical police work carried by professionals who take it seriously
The difference: One detective, serialised, and much more sombre

Common ground in both: police and homicide detective
The difference: Less twisty, more its own thing

One thread runs through both: murder investigation

Common ground: murder investigation
The difference: Made in the 2020s, in a different era of the craft

Investigators reading a scene for what the killer wanted them to see
The difference: British, bleak, and about the detective falling apart
In the mood for more gritty?
all gritty shows →The best-reviewed series that share CSI: Crime Scene Investigation’s defining feeling.









