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The Killing poster

Shows that feel likeThe Killing (2011–2014)

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.

If you loved The Killing, the closest series we have are The Bridge (2011), CSI: NY (2004) and Broadchurch (2013). All three share The Killing's contemplative and gritty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

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

★ 8.3 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗4 seasons · AMCcreated by Veena Sudcontemplativegrittytwisty
11 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video

If The Killing hit the spot, these will too

The Bridge poster
The Bridge
2011–2018 · 4 seasons · SVT1
★ 8.6crime · mystery · drama

Two things both keep coming back to: detective and a woman at the center

When a body is found on the bridge between Denmark and Sweden, right on the border, Danish inspector Martin Rohde and Swedish Saga Norén have to share jurisdiction and work together to find the killer.

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

Both are built on the same subject: murder investigation

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

Broadchurch poster
Broadchurch
2013–2017 · 3 seasons · ITV1
★ 8.3crime · drama · mysteryNetflixPeacock

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

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

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

The same preoccupation in both: 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.

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

Contemplative where it counts, gritty underneath

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

One thread runs through both: 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.

The Undoing poster
The Undoing
2020 · 1 season · HBO
★ 7.4drama · crime · mysteryMax

Twisty drama in both cases

Grace and Jonathan Fraser are living the only lives they ever wanted. Overnight a chasm opens in their lives: a violent death and a chain of terrible revelations. Left behind in the wake of a spreading and very public disaster, Grace must dismantle one life and create another for her child and her family.

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

Both keep coming back to the same thing: murder mystery

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.

Columbo poster
Columbo
1971–2003 · 10 seasons · ABC
★ 8.3crime · drama · mysteryPrime VideoPeacock

Common ground: police detective

The difference: 40 years apart, and the 1970s show

Columbo is a friendly, verbose, disheveled-looking police detective who is consistently underestimated by his suspects. Despite his unprepossessing appearance and apparent absentmindedness, he shrewdly solves all of his cases and secures all evidence needed for indictment. His formidable eye for detail and meticulously dedicated approach often become clear to the killer only late in the storyline.

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

Crime built on stillness, twice over

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

Gritty mystery, and it commits to that

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.

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

Drama with a pulse of twists, in both cases

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

In the mood for more contemplative?

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