You know that empty feeling you get when you’ve finished the last episode of your favorite show? We know it too! When the latest season of True Detective wrapped up, we scrambled to find our next riveting watch, starting with the streamer we already have at our disposal: Max.
We’re happy to report that the platform has more than a few excellent options in the crime drama genre, including award-winning television series that might not have previously registered on your radar. It’s time to right that wrong! Here are 10 series you should definitely check out if you love psychological thrillers.
True Detective (2014-Present)
If you were as glued to the screen as the rest of us during the Jodie Foster and Kali Reis-led fourth season of True Detective, you probably already know that there are additional seasons of the moody noir drama available to stream, as well. While True Detective: Night Country was the most watched season with over 12.7 million average viewers per episode, the first three seasons are worth watching if you enjoy terrific acting and writing and a good mystery.
The show was originally conceived as an anthology, so each season is a self-contained story populated with new characters. Not long after season 4 wrapped, HBO announced that season 5 is already in the works and Night Country writer and director Issa Lopez will once again run the show.
The Wire (2002-2008)
The Wire aired on HBO from June 2002 until March 2008. Over five seasons (60 episodes), viewers got to ride along with detectives in the crime-ridden city of Baltimore, Maryland, as they attempted to keep the city safe from drugs, bureaucracy, education, and corrupt news journalism. The show was mostly written by former police reporter-turned-author David Simon and his writing partner Ed Burns, a former homicide detective. Rather than using a cast full of professional actors, the showrunners attempted to make the show more realistic by hiring mostly unknown actors and real-life people from the streets of Baltimore.
The Staircase (2018)
The Staircase is a short miniseries consisting of just eight episodes, yet it packs an emotional punch that makes it unforgettable. The story behind The Staircase is shockingly true: In 2001, Kathleen Peterson’s bloody body was found at the bottom of her home’s staircase by her husband, Michael Peterson. The husband was accused of first-degree murder, and the resulting trials revealed outlandish ideas, shocking confessions, and, ultimately, a devastating truth.
There have been multiple true crime podcasts about the story, and in 2018, Academy Award-winning documentary maker Jean-Xavier de Lestrade (Murder on a Sunday Morning) created a 13-episode docuseries called The Staircase. In 2022, Antonio Campos created this miniseries with the same name based on de Lestrade’s series. Toni Collette plays Kathleen Peterson, and Colin Firth plays her duplicitous husband, Michael Peterson.
Boardwalk Empire (2010-2014)
Terence Winter is no stranger to writing about gangsters and bad guys; he wrote for HBO’s hit series The Sopranos from 2000 to 2007 and was nominated for an Academy Award for his screenplay for Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street. Winter was inspired to pen Boardwalk Empire by the 2002 documentary book Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City, which detailed the bloody history of mobster Enock L. Johnson. That character became Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi) in Winter’s fictionalized version of events.
Boardwalk Empire is set in the 1920s during Prohibition, and it takes place largely in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The show ran for five seasons (56 episodes) from September 2010 until October 2014.
The Sopranos (1999-2007)
The Sopranos premiered in January 1999 and became one of the most loved television series of all time. David Chase created the series, which features New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) trying to juggle his mental health, family, and crime syndicate all at once. After suffering from panic attacks, he reluctantly starts seeing a therapist (Lorraine Bracco) to explore his psyche up close, giving the audience an up-close view as well.
Throughout six seasons and 86 episodes, everyone fell in love with the most unlovable character on TV. We also got to know (and love) his inner circle of friends and family, which is what makes the show so special. It’s not just about crime; it’s about relationships among criminals.
Mare of Easttown (2021)
Brad Ingelsby created this show about small-town detective Mare Sheehan (Kate Winslet) investigating the murder of a young woman while working through some of the most devastating personal issues imaginable. This limited series has just seven tight episodes, but they pack an emotional wallop and keep viewers guessing until the very last moment.
Winslet completely disappeared into the role of Mare, and she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress for her performance. Co-stars Julianne Nicholson and Evan Peters also won Best Supporting Actress and Actor Emmys.
Love & Death (2023)
Elisabeth Olsen shines in this seven-episode miniseries written by David E. Kelley (Big Little Lies, Big Sky), which premiered in April 2023. The show is based on the real-life story of Candy Montgomery, a housewife in Wylie, Texas, in 1980 who starts an affair with a man from church (Jesse Plemons) and ends up committing a murder as a result.
A year earlier, Jessica Biel starred as the same character in Hulu’s fictional version of events, a 5-episode miniseries called Candy. Previously, Stephen Gyllenhaal directed a TV film about the case called A Killing In A Small Town. It’s clearly a fascinating case, but it’s Olsen’s faltering sunniness that makes her performance so believable.
Sharp Objects (2018)
Author Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl) published Sharp Objects in 2006, and it took more than a decade before showrunner Marti Noxon turned it into an HBO series with the same name. Amy Adams plays crime reporter Camille Preaker as she returns to her deeply southern hometown of Wind Gap, Missouri, to investigate the murder of two young girls. Camille struggles with alcoholism and self-harm, and her issues are triggered the moment she steps back into the perfect home of her mother, Adora (Patricia Clarkson). Sharp Objects is not always an easy show to watch (it’s difficult to see Camille self-destruct before our eyes), but the mystery is addictive, and the conclusion is sure to surprise you.
Tokyo Vice (2022-Present)
This crime drama is based on the eponymous book by Jake Adelstein, which chronicled his own experiences as an American journalist who moves to Japan to join the staff of a newspaper. J.T. Rogers adapted the book for television. Ansel Elgort plays the journalist who teams up with a jaded vice squad detective (Ken Watanabe) to investigate crime on the mean streets of Tokyo. The show premiered on April 7, 2022, and a second season hit the streamer on February 8, 2024.
Barry (2018-2023)
Who says crime dramas have to be serious all the time? Barry is the rare thriller that brings some laughs along with the violence, which is probably why it has earned 44 Primetime Emmy Award nominations during its four-season, 32-episode run.
Premiering in March 2018, Barry stars Bill Hader as Barry Berkman, a former Marine and war veteran who works for criminal Monroe Fuches (Stephen Root) as a hired hitman. When Barry goes to Los Angeles on a mission, he joins an acting class taught by Gene Cousineau (the incomparable Henry Winkler) and falls in love with an aspiring actress named Sally (Sarah Goldberg). Suddenly, Barry doesn’t want to kill people anymore, he just wants to act and have a normal life. Unfortunately, his criminal associates don’t agree.
We hope you enjoy this selection of crime dramas! All of these thrillers are currently streaming on Max.
(featured image: HBO/Max)
