Do you love watching crime dramas like Happy Valley? If you are someone who enjoys crime, suspense, and thriller then we are sure you must have watched Happy Valley. The much loved and appreciated British crime drama starring Sarah Lancashire, James Norton, Siobhan Finneran, Rhys Connah, and Katherine Kelly. Happy Valley was not only appreciated by the viewers but was also highly rated on IMDb. The drama was rated 8.5 out of 10 by IMDb and is available on the official site of Netflix.
Happy Valley has released two seasons and now BBC has confirmed another season for the show. As much as fans are happy to hear the news of the show being back with another season it is also sad news for them as season three will be the concluding season for the series and there will be no more seasons for Happy Valley.
The story of the show revolves around a strong and courageous police officer trying to accept the suicide of her daughter. Things start turning around when she starts investigating a kidnapping case and finds out more and more about the people who are related to the crime. The last two seasons of the show had six episodes and it is expected that season three will also have six episodes.
If you are someone who loved the plot and crime drama shown in Happy Valley then here are 15 shows with amazing crime and thriller plots that you will enjoy watching as much as you enjoyed Happy Valley.
Scott & Bailey
Scott & Bailey is a police procedural drama starring Suranne Jones, Nicholas Gleaves, Danny Miller, Lesley Sharp, and Amelia Bullmore. The series stars two female detectives Janet Scott and Rachel Bailey and their personal lives. The drama debuted on 29 May 2011 and concluded on April 2016 having five seasons and thirty-three episodes in total. The first few seasons of the series were filmed in and around Greater Manchester. Other few locations where Scott & Bailey was set up are Oldham, Beal Lane, and Old Barclays.
The show has a rating of 8 out of 10 on IMDb and about 87% of Google users liked the show. You can watch Scott & Bailey on many platforms like Prime Video, BritBox, Apple TV, or The Roku Channel on your Roku device. The first two seasons of the show are also available on Hulu.
Broadchurch
Broadchurch is a highly rated British crime drama which aired in 2013. The television series was broadcasted on ITV, written by Chris Chibnall and Louise Fox. The show received a great response from the audience with 91% of Google users giving a thumbs up to the show and a rating of 8.4 on IMDb.The show ran for three seasons. The first season revolves around the death of an 11-year-old child named Daniel and his family. The death of the young one brings together a lot of suspicion and media attention to the town.
The second season of the show follows two storylines at the same time, where on one hand Daniel’s killer is brought to justice and on the other hand there is a case that returns from the past and haunts Hardy. The last season puts its key focus on the rape of a young woman from the same town and how Daniel’s family moves on from his death. The show has 24 episodes in total and can be watched on iTunes, Vudu, Amazon Instant Video, and Google Play.
Luther
Luther is a British thriller starring Idris Elba, Ruth Wilson, Warren Brown, and Indira Varma. The show is a psychological crime drama revolving around detective John Luther a devoted police officer who is obsessive, consumed and gets violent sometimes. The series shows how a dedicated officer like Luther has to pay a price for his devotional service in the criminal world. Due to his priorities related to his duty, Luther can never escape the gloomy criminal world and this affects his life as well as the life of people connected to him.
Luther aired on BBC One between June 2011 and July 2013. The show consists of 5 seasons and 20 episodes, rated 8.1 on IMDb and liked by 91% of Google users. You can enjoy watching this drama on Prime Video and Hulu.
Line Of Duty
As suggested by the name Line of Duty is a drama related to police procedures. This British drama is starring Martin Compston, Vicky McClure, Adrian Dunbar, and Lennie James. The show ran for 6 seasons and 36 episodes. First, two seasons were aired on BBC Two and the show became one of the best-performing drama series in the last ten years.
Line of Duty is a story of a detective named Steve, a firearms officer trying to catch an Islamic terrorist by leading an operation. The problem in the operation starts when the team led by Steve enters some other apartment and shoots an innocent man. The drama is also rated 8.7 out of 10 by IMDb. You can watch this drama on Prime Videos or Hulu Plus.
Marcella
The detective series Marcella is written by a Swedish screenwriter but the origin of the series is in the United Kingdom. The show was originally aired on ITV in April 2016. The show has 3 seasons and 24 episodes in total. The series stars Anna Friel, Nicholas Pinnock, and Ray Panthaki. Marcella is a story of a former detector from London who starts investigating an eleven-year-old case of an unknown serial killer who reportedly became active once again.
Along with the case, the show also focuses on the personal life of Marcella (the detective) as her husband decides to leave her and later tried to take full custody of their children by using her mental disorder as a tool. The show has a rating of 7.4 on IMDb and is liked by 86% of viewers. The show is available on Netflix and Amazon Prime.
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Shetland
Shetland is a British drama which debuted on 10th March 2013 and aired on BBC One. The story of the show revolves around the crimes taking place in Shetland and how the Inspector and his team investigate the criminal activities. Shetland ran for seasons and 32 episodes. The show stars Douglas Henshall, Alison O’Donnell, Steven Robertson, and Lewis Howden.
The main cast of the show involves Douglas Henshall as Jimmy Pérez as a detective inspector and his fellow team members played by Steven Robertson, Lewis Howden, Erin Armstrong, Anne Kind, and Julie Graham. The filming of the story takes place in Shetland as the name suggests. BBC has also announced two more seasons for the show in the next few years.
The rating of the show is 8.2 out of 10 on IMDb. You can enjoy watching Shetland on Amazon Prime, BritBox, or The Roku Channel.
No Offence
No Offence is a 2015 crime drama starring Joanna Scanlan, Alexandra Roach, Elaine Cassidy, and Will Mellor. The show ran for three seasons and 21 episodes in total. The first season of the show focuses on a team of detectives in the Manchester Metropolitan Police investigating the case of someone who is killing girls with down syndrome. As the team investigates further into the case it concludes that the leader of the team Viv Deering’s husband is also involved in the murders taking place.
The show has been appreciated by the audience for the female lead roles shown as police officers rather than only showing male officers. It is rated 8 out of 10 on IMDb and liked by 83% of the viewers. You can watch all the seasons of this show on Prime Videos.
Hinterland
Hinterland is the police procedural series that was aired on S4C in Welsh. The series debuted on 27 November 2013. As the series is originally in the Welsh language, the English version of this drama was aired by BBC in 2014. Hinterland became one of the first television dramas which were aired in both Welsh and English language.
The show is created by Ed Talfan and Ed Thomas starring Richard Harrington, Mali Harries, Alex Harries, and Hannah Daniel. Hinterland rand for three seasons and 26 episodes in total. The show is full of suspense, thrill, and dark crime so even if you are someone who doesn’t enjoy crime that much the suspense will keep you going for sure. The English version of Hinterland is available on Prime Videos and you can enjoy it there.
Paranoid
Paranoid is a crime and thriller drama which originally aired on ITV (UK). The show features Lesley Sharp, Dino Fetscher, Indira Varma, Niel Stuke, and Robert Glenister. The drama revolves around a group of UK detectives who are investigating the case of a local doctor in a fictional town who was stabbed in a playground. As the investigation moves forward they come to know that the murder is linked to a German pharmaceutical company. The show moves forward as they seek the help of their German colleagues to find out the killer of the doctor.
The show has one season with eight episodes, so if you are someone who likes to keep it short then you would love to watch this thriller drama. The IMDb has rated this drama 6.6 out of 10. You can enjoy watching this show on Netflix.
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Wallander
Wallander is a fresh crime drama which streamed originally on Netflix. The show was released in 2020 having 2 seasons and 12 episodes. The show is also known as Young Wallander and is based on a fictional inspector Kurt Wallander by Henning Mankell. The series debuted on Netflix on 3rd September 2020. The show stars Adam Pålsson as the main protagonist Kirt Wallander and other actors like Richard Dillane, Leanne Best, and Elise Chappell.
The series shows the personal and professional experiences of the young detective Kurt Wallander who is in his early twenties and has just graduated as a police officer. He is on his journey to solve his first case as he faces some new challenges in his new world. The show focuses on the modern side of the young generation and how they face their challenging experiences. Wallander is rated 6.8 by IMDb and as it is a Netflix original you can watch this show on Netflix itself.
Collateral
Collateral is a thriller and crime television drama consisting of four parts. The drama is written by David Hare and stars Carey Mulligan, Nathaniel Martellowhite, Jeany Spark, and John Simm. Collateral is a police procedural drama where a team of detectives are given a case to investigate the murder of a pizza delivery guy who was shot in the London suburbs. As the investigation takes place the detective finds out how everyone involved in the murder are connected like a web to each other. The show is rated 6.7 on IMDb and is available on Netflix and BBC Two.
Strike
Strike is a British crime and thriller series based on the novel by J.K Rowling ‘Cormoran Strike’. The show debuted in August 2017 and was aired on BBC One. Written by Ben Richards and Tom Edge the drama stars Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger. Strike ran for four seasons and 11 episodes in total.
The show focuses on the storyline of a private detective and a former soldier operating from a line office in London who uses his skills and abilities to get to the roots of complex cases and solves them.
All of the four seasons of the show are adopted from the first four strike novels. The show is rated 7.9 by IMDb and is liked by 82% of Google viewers. You can enjoy watching Strike on Hulu.
Bloodline
Bloodline is an American thriller and a Netflix original drama starring Kyle Chandler, Ben Mendelssohn, Linda Cardellini, and Norbert Leo Butz. The series was premiered in February 2015 on Netflix and had three seasons. The total episodes of Bloodline are 33 having 13,10, and 10 episodes respectively in each season.
The storyline revolves around the Rayburn family where there are a lot of secrets and the struggle to keep those secrets and their old wounds untouched as Danny returns home.
The show has been rated 7.9 on IMDb and can be watched on Netflix. The talks for the show having another season are still making rounds but there is no official confirmation yet.
Undercover
Undercover is a crime drama in Dutch. The original language of the show is Dutch but it is available in the English language on various platforms. The show stars Anna Drijver, Frank Lammers, Tom Waes, and Elise Schaap. The story of the show follows two agents who pretend to be a couple and visits a campground to infiltrate a drug case. The show has three seasons and 28 episodes in total. The IMDb rating of the show is 7.9 and it can be watched on Netflix and Disney Hotstar.
The Outsider
The Outsider is a mystery murder series based on the novel ‘The Outsider’ by Stephen King. The show was originally aired by HBO in March 2020 and has one season with 10 episodes. The series stars Bill Camp, Ben Mendelsohn, Jeremy Bobb, and Julianne Nicholson. HBO has not renewed the series but the makers have expressed their wish to renew the show with another season and a new cast to give some more to the audience. The show has been rated 7.7 by IMDb and can be watched on Disney Hotstar.
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