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Law & Order: Special Victims Unit poster

Shows that feel likeLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–)

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.

If you loved Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, the closest series we have are CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000), How to Get Away with Murder (2014) and Elementary (2012). All three share Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'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 The Chestnut Man (2021).

★ 8.1 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗28 seasons · NBCcreated by Dick Wolfgrittycontemplativetwisty
12 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video
Buy seasons:Amazon see price ↗Apple TV$2.99 buyLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit, Season 28 · Apple price as of 2026-10-09

If Law & Order: Special Victims Unit hit the spot, these will too

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation poster
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
2000–2015 · 15 seasons · CBS
★ 7.7crime · drama · mysteryHuluParamount+

Procedural royalty — the case closed by end of hour

The difference: Forensics-first Vegas

A Las Vegas team of forensic investigators are trained to solve criminal cases by scouring the crime scene, collecting irrefutable evidence and finding the missing pieces that solve the mystery.

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

Crime and courtroom entangled

The difference: Twisty law-school soap

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.

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

NYC crime-solving with a character core

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.

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

The same two preoccupations: detective, and domestic abuse

The difference: Made in the 2020s, in a different era of the craft

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.

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

The justice system examined case by painful case

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.

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

A specialist unit carrying cases that stay with them

The difference: Violent street policing, no courtroom half

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.

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

Victim-centered investigation

The difference: One case, serialized rain

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.

Criminal Minds poster
Criminal Minds
2005– · 19 seasons · CBS
★ 8.1crime · drama · mysteryPrime VideoHulu

Hunting predators with institutional machinery

The difference: Profiler psychology

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.

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

Reading the guilty by their tells

The difference: Deception-science 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.

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

A crime examined through everyone it damages

The difference: One family across one season, no procedure to hide behind

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

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

A detective whose care for the victims wears her down

The difference: One case, one town, and no reset next week

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

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

Both keep coming back to the same thing: detective

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.

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The best-reviewed series that share Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’s defining feeling.