Top 300 Gritty/Anti-Hero/Villain Type TV Shows
The best gritty TV-14 or TV-MA type TV shows that got the brutal, gruesome or flat-out disturbing with theor main protagonists.
Also listed in order for the most part.
Also adding two new Law & Order shows to this list soon.
Also listed in order for the most part.
Also adding two new Law & Order shows to this list soon.
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- CreatorSteven BochcoMichael KozollStarsDaniel J. TravantiMichael WarrenBruce WeitzThe lives and work of the staff of an inner city police precinct.
- CreatorDick WolfRick EidStarsJerry OrbachJesse L. MartinDennis FarinaNew York's finest police detectives and prosecutors fight to make the city a safer place. With integrity as the guiding force from investigation to verdict, the teams weigh every perspective in their commitment to finding justice.
- CreatorDavid GreenwaltJohn McNamaraStarsAdrian PasdarLisa DarrLisa BlountJim Profit works for a multinational company and isn't above using any means necessary to get ahead, which includes bribery, blackmail, intimidation, extortion, and even murder. Everyone at the company, including the president, Charles Gracen, are oblivious to his dark side. As a matter of fact, Gracen thinks of him as a golden boy. But when Joanne Meltzer, the company's security chief, looks into his eyes, she sees something sinister. And when her boss, Jack Walters, is looking into some irregularities at the company, he asks Joanne to investigate, and initially the person she cornered said it was Profit who was behind it. But when Profit learned of this, he convinced this person to change the story she told Joanne. But Joanne knows that Profit is evil and so she tries to get the goods on him. At the same time, Profit tries to find a way to neutralize her and anyone else who might believe her.
- CreatorTom FontanaStarsErnie HudsonJ.K. SimmonsLee TergesenA series chronicling the daily activities of an unusual prison facility and its criminal inhabitants.
- CreatorDavid ChaseStarsJames GandolfiniLorraine BraccoEdie FalcoNew Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano deals with personal and professional issues in his home and business life that affect his mental state, leading him to seek professional psychiatric counseling.
- CreatorDick WolfStarsMariska HargitayChristopher MeloniIce-TThis series follows the Special Victims Unit, a specially trained squad of detectives in the New York City Police Department that investigate sexually related crimes.
- CreatorRene BalcerDick WolfStarsKathryn ErbeVincent D'OnofrioJamey SheridanThis series focuses on the NYPD's Major Case Squad, a force of detectives who investigate high-profile cases, while also showing parts of the crime from the perpetrator's point of view.
- CreatorRobert CochranJoel SurnowStarsKiefer SutherlandMary Lynn RajskubCarlos BernardCounter Terrorism Agent Jack Bauer races against the clock to subvert terrorist plots and save his nation from ultimate disaster.
- CreatorDavid SimonStarsDominic WestLance ReddickSonja SohnThe Baltimore drug scene, as seen through the eyes of drug dealers and law enforcement.
- CreatorShawn RyanStarsMichael ChiklisCatherine DentWalton GogginsDrama series following the lives and cases of dirty cop Vic Mackey and the corrupt LAPD unit under his command.
- CreatorDonald P. BellisarioDon McGillStarsDavid McCallumSean MurrayMark HarmonFollows the Major Case Response Team (MCRT) from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), as they get to the bottom of criminal cases connected to Navy and Marine Corps personnel.
- CreatorDavid MillsStarsYancey AriasBrian BenbenBobby CannavaleA drug cartel leader and his family try to keep what is "rightfully" theirs.
- CreatorSteven BochcoDavid MilchStarsDennis FranzJimmy SmitsGordon ClappDetectives from NYPD's 15th Precinct investigate homicides within their precinct.
- CreatorPaul AttanasioStarsRichard BelzerClark JohnsonYaphet KottoAn American police procedural television series chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Police Department's Homicide Unit.
- CreatorVince GilliganStarsBryan CranstonAaron PaulAnna GunnA chemistry teacher diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer turns to manufacturing and selling methamphetamine with a former student in order to secure his family's future.
- CreatorAnn BidermanStarsLiev SchreiberEddie MarsanDash MihokRay Donovan, a professional "fixer" for the rich and famous in Los Angeles, can make anyone's problems disappear except those created by his own family.
- CreatorAlex GansaHoward GordonStarsClaire DanesMandy PatinkinDamian LewisA bipolar CIA operative becomes convinced a prisoner of war has been turned by al-Qaeda and is planning to carry out a terrorist attack on American soil.
- CreatorAnn BidermanStarsMichael CudlitzShawn HatosyRegina KingThe lives of Police Officers working for the Los Angeles Police Department.
- CreatorCourtney A. KempStarsOmari HardwickLela LorenNaturi NaughtonJames "Ghost" St. Patrick, a wealthy New York nightclub owner who has it all; dreaming big, catering to the city's elite, and living a double life as a drug kingpin.
- CreatorMichael BrandtDerek HaasMatt OlmsteadStarsJason BeghePatrick John FluegerMarina SquerciatiFollows District 21 of the Chicago Police Department, made up of two different groups: the uniformed cops and the Intelligence Unit.
- CreatorJohn LinsonTaylor SheridanStarsKevin CostnerLuke GrimesKelly ReillyA ranching family in Montana faces off against others encroaching on their land.
- CreatorDavid WolstencroftStarsPeter FirthHugh SimonNicola WalkerThe missions of MI-5, the UK's domestic intelligence organization.
- CreatorJosh FriedmanStarsLena HeadeyThomas DekkerSummer GlauSet after the events in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Sarah Connor and her son, John, try to stay under-the-radar from the government, as they plot to destroy the computer network, Skynet, in hopes of preventing Armageddon.
- CreatorPaul T. ScheuringStarsDominic PurcellWentworth MillerAmaury NolascoA structural engineer installs himself in a prison he helped design, in order to save his falsely accused brother from a death sentence by breaking themselves out from the inside.
- CreatorHunt BaldwinJohn CovenyStarsRobert TaylorKatee SackhoffLou Diamond PhillipsWalt Longmire is the dedicated and unflappable sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming. Widowed only a year, he is a man in psychic repair but buries his pain behind his brave face, unassuming grin and dry wit.
- CreatorGraham YostStarsTimothy OlyphantNick SearcyJoelle CarterEnforcing his own brand of justice, U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, a strong-willed, quiet law-man haunted by his past, returns to his native town to see that justice is served to those in need.
- CreatorByron BalascoStarsFrank GrilloKiele SanchezMatt LauriaA retired MMA fighter turned trainer juggles keeping his mixed martial arts gym running and keeping his family united.
- CreatorRobert MunicRon BassStarsCam GigandetJeremy SistoAudrey Marie AndersonA diamond dealer navigates the culturally diverse and otherwise treacherous world of the diamond business.
- CreatorWill BeallStarsBill PaxtonJustin CornwellKatrina LawTV follow-up to the 2001 film 'Training Day' about a rookie cop partnered with a corrupt officer.
- CreatorWill BeallStarsStephen DorffYara MartinezBrian Van HoltDeputy Bill Hollister, a career lawman who is very comfortable kicking down doors but utterly lost in a staff meeting, becomes acting sheriff of Los Angeles County when the sheriff drops dead.
- CreatorOlen SteinhauerStarsLeland OrserMichelle ForbesMina TanderFollows a CIA team in Berlin and their clandestine activities.
- CreatorJoseph WeisbergStarsKeri RussellMatthew RhysKeidrich SellatiAt the height of the Cold War, two Russian agents pose as the average American couple, complete with family.
- CreatorHoward GordonGideon RaffCraig WrightStarsAdam RaynerJennifer FinniganAshraf BarhomAn unassuming American family is drawn into the workings of a turbulent Middle Eastern nation.
- CreatorGary GlasbergStarsScott BakulaRob KerkovichCCH PounderFollows an NCIS team that investigates criminal cases involving military personnel in The Big Easy, a city known for its music, entertainment, and decadence.
- CreatorMichael BrandtDerek HaasStarsTaylor KinneyChristian StolteEamonn WalkerThe story of firefighters and paramedics in the city of Chicago, both on a personal and professional level.
- CreatorDavid MilchStarsTimothy OlyphantIan McShaneMolly ParkerA show set in the late 1800s, revolving around the characters of Deadwood, South Dakota; a town of deep corruption and crime.
- CreatorCarlton CuseStarsDon JohnsonCheech MarinJodi Lyn O'KeefeA smart alecky San Francisco, California cop and his get rich quick scheme of a partner keep tabs on crime and take down the bad guys in the Bay Area.
- CreatorAnn DonahueCarol MendelsohnAnthony E. ZuikerStarsDavid CarusoEmily ProcterAdam RodriguezAn elite unit, led by an ex-homicide cop, which is linked to the Miami-Dade Police Department, uses all possible resources and skills at their disposal to solve complex crimes in cross-cultural Miami.
- CreatorGlen A. LarsonRonald D. MooreStarsEdward James OlmosMary McDonnellJamie BamberWhen an old enemy, the Cylons, resurface and obliterate the 12 colonies, the crew of the aged Galactica protect a small civilian fleet - the last of humanity - as they journey toward the fabled 13th colony, Earth.
- CreatorKirsten BeyerMichael ChabonAkiva GoldsmanStarsPatrick StewartMichelle HurdJeri RyanFollow-up series to Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) that centers on Jean-Luc Picard in the next chapter of his life.
- CreatorMichael CarnesJosh GilbertDavid GrazianoStarsMichael ChiklisJuan Pablo RabaAdriana PazAfter 32 years of service, Border Patrol agent Ben Clemens finds himself helping people he has always tried to keep out of the United States.
- CreatorJeff DavisStarsKirsten VangsnessMatthew Gray GublerA.J. CookA group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) using behavioral analysis and profiling to help investigate crimes and find the suspect known as the unsub.
- CreatorChris BrancatoPaul EcksteinStarsForest WhitakerIlfenesh HaderaLucy FryA gangster named Bumpy Johnson makes his way in Harlem during the 1960s. A TV prequel to the 2007 film, 'American Gangster', which centered on the criminal enterprise of Frank Lucas.
- CreatorFarhad SafiniaStarsKelsey GrammerConnie NielsenHannah WareMayor Tom Kane, diagnosed with a dementia disorder, struggles to keep his grip on power in Chicago.
- StarsHelen MirrenJohn BenfieldTom BellA female police detective investigates a series of serial murders while dealing with sexist hostility from her male comrades.
- CreatorEric Ellis OvermyerStarsTitus WelliverJamie HectorAmy AquinoAn L.A.P.D. homicide detective works to solve the murder of a 13-year-old boy while standing trial in federal court for the murder of a serial killer.
- CreatorAlexandra ClertGuy-Patrick SainderichinStarsCaroline ProustAudrey FleurotThierry GodardFollows criminal investigations in Paris from all the different points of view of those involved.
- CreatorOlivier MarchalStarsJean-Hugues AngladeJoseph MalerbaKarole RocherA dark realistic cop series follows a squad of Paris cops who exist in the blurred boundaries at the very edge of the law, often using violence and intimidation to get the job done.
- CreatorSteven KnightStarsCillian MurphyPaul AndersonSophie RundleA gangster family epic set in 1900s England, centering on a gang who sew razor blades in the peaks of their caps, and their fierce boss Tommy Shelby.
- CreatorJon FavreauStarsPedro PascalChris BartlettKatee SackhoffThe travels of a lone bounty hunter in the outer reaches of the galaxy, far from the authority of the New Republic.
- StarsEwan McGregorMoses IngramVivien Lyra BlairJedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi must save young Leia after she is kidnapped, all the while being pursued by Imperial Inquisitors and his former Padawan now known as Darth Vader.
- CreatorElwood ReidBjörn SteinMeredith StiehmStarsDemián BichirDiane KrugerThomas M. WrightTwo detectives work together to take down a serial killer operating on both sides of the Texas-Chihuahua border.
- CreatorEric RochantStarsMathieu KassovitzFlorence Loiret CailleJonathan ZaccaïA very unique and captivating series about the "bureau des légendes", the mythical powerhouse within the French Secret Service and its dare devil ghost agents.
- StarsMichael IronsideRoy DupuisMichel ForgetCharacterized as being among the largest outlaw biker gangs in the world, The Triple Sixer's unrivaled presence and strength stretches from Halifax to Vancouver, with one important exception- Ontario. The richest market in the country.
- CreatorChris CarterStarsDavid DuchovnyGillian AndersonMitch PileggiTwo F.B.I. Agents, Fox Mulder the believer and Dana Scully the skeptic, investigate the strange and unexplained, while hidden forces work to impede their efforts.
- CreatorChris CarterStarsLance HenriksenMegan GallagherTerry O'QuinnA former FBI profiler with the ability to look inside the mind of a killer begins working for the mysterious Millennium Group which investigates serial killers, conspiracies, the occult, and those obsessed with the end of the millennium.
- CreatorJanet TamaroStarsAngie HarmonSasha AlexanderJordan BridgesDetective Jane Rizzoli and Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Maura Isles team up to solve crimes in Boston.
- CreatorJoe GaytonTony GaytonStarsAnson MountColm MeaneyRobin McLeavyThe Civil War is past, but former Confederate soldier Cullen Bohannon can't put it behind him. Fresh are the memories of the death of his wife, killed at the hands of Union soldiers, an act that sets him on a course of revenge.
- CreatorCraig SilversteinStarsJamie BellHeather LindSamuel RoukinA Long Island farmer bands together a group of childhood friends to form an unlikely group of spies who turn the tide in America's fight for independence.
- CreatorRand RavichStarsDamian LewisSarah ShahiAdam ArkinDetective Charlie Crews was framed, convicted and cleared for a crime he didn't commit. Twelve years of hard time have given him a unique philosophy on life and criminal investigation. Now he's readjusting to a world that's moved on.
- CreatorJames DuffStarsKyra SedgwickJ.K. SimmonsCorey ReynoldsDeputy Police Chief Brenda Johnson runs the Priority Homicide Division of the LAPD with an unorthodox style. Her innate ability to read people and obtain confessions helps her and her team solve the city's toughest, most sensitive cases.
- CreatorJames DuffStarsMary McDonnellG.W. BaileyTony DenisonThe Closer (2005) spin-off series, which follows Captain Raydor of the Los Angeles Police Department.
- CreatorJonathan GlassnerBrad WrightStarsRichard Dean AndersonMichael ShanksAmanda TappingA secret military team, SG-1, is formed to explore other planets through the recently discovered Stargates.
- CreatorRobert C. CooperBrad WrightStarsJoe FlaniganRachel LuttrellDavid HewlettAn international team of scientists and military personnel discover a Stargate network in the Pegasus Galaxy and come face-to-face with a new, powerful enemy: The Wraith.
- CreatorJonathan NolanStarsJim CaviezelTaraji P. HensonKevin ChapmanAn ex-CIA agent and a wealthy programmer save lives via a surveillance AI that sends them the identities of civilians involved in impending crimes. However, the details of the crimes, including the civilians' roles, are left a mystery.
- CreatorRobert C. CooperBrad WrightStarsRobert CarlyleLouis FerreiraBrian J. SmithTrapped on an Ancient spaceship billions of light-years from home, a group of soldiers and civilians struggle to survive and find their way back to Earth.
- CreatorJ. Michael StraczynskiStarsMira FurlanRichard BiggsStephen FurstIn the mid 23rd century, the Earth Alliance space station Babylon 5, located in neutral territory, is a major focal point for political intrigue, racial tensions and various wars over the course of five years.
- CreatorJ. Michael StraczynskiStarsGary ColeTracy ScogginsDaniel Dae KimSet right after the events of Babylon 5: A Call to Arms (1999), a team of soldiers and scientists led by Capt. Matthew Gideon have five years to find a cure for an alien plague decimating Earth.
- StarsAlexander SkarsgårdJames RansoneLee TergesenA Rolling Stone reporter, embedded with The 1st Recon Marines chronicles his experiences during the first wave of the American-led assault on Baghdad in 2003.
- StarsScott GrimesDamian LewisRon LivingstonThe story of Easy Company of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division and their mission in World War II Europe, from Operation Overlord to V-J Day.
- CreatorSteven BochcoChris GerolmoStarsJosh HendersonLuke MacfarlaneErik PalladinoA dramatized take on war in Iraq.
- CreatorSteven BochcoEric LodalStarsTaye DiggsKathleen RobertsonIan Anthony DaleA single murder case is dissected from the committing of the crime through to the investigation, arrest and trial.
- StarsJack O'ConnellMichelle DockeryScoot McNairyIn the 1880s American West, murderous outlaw gang leader Frank Griffin hunts for ex-protege Roy Goode. Frank's chase leads him to La Belle, New Mexico--a town inhabited, after a mining disaster, almost entirely by women.
- CreatorChuck MacLeanStarsKevin BaconAldis HodgeLauren E. BanksIn early 1990s Boston, ADA, Decourcy Ward, forms an unlikely alliance with a corrupt venerated FBI veteran, Jackie Rohr. Together, they take on a case that changes the city's entire criminal justice system.
- CreatorBlake MastersStarsJason IsaacsJason ClarkeAnnabeth GishSet in an Irish neighborhood in Providence, Rhode Island, the series revolves around two brothers on opposite sides of the law: one a gangster (Jason Isaacs) and the other a state politician (Jason Clarke).
- StarsPhilip WinchesterSullivan StapletonMichelle LukesFollows the actions of Section 20, a secretive unit of British military intelligence. A team of special operations personnel conduct several high risk missions across the globe.
- CreatorMatthew ParkhillSimon MaxwellStarsJoe DempsieKarima McAdamsAnastasia GriffithWhat happens when a man who believes he has retired from MI6 is called back to do one more job to regain his life, only to discover that this job may mean he has no life to go back to.
- CreatorJesse ArmstrongStarsNicholas BraunBrian CoxKieran CulkinThe Roy family is known for controlling the biggest media and entertainment company in the world. However, their world changes when their father steps down from the company.
- CreatorBrian KoppelmanDavid LevienAndrew Ross SorkinStarsPaul GiamattiDamian LewisMaggie SiffNew money means no mercy as Mike Prince takes the Axe Capital throne. Chuck Rhoades is convinced no one should have that much wealth - or power. As all the players seek out new alliances, only one thing's for certain - wealth means war.
- CreatorAaron SorkinStarsMartin SheenRob LoweAllison JanneyInside the lives of staffers in the West Wing of the White House.
- CreatorDavid GuggenheimStarsKiefer SutherlandAdan CantoItalia RicciA low-level Cabinet member becomes President of the United States after a catastrophic attack kills everyone above him in the line of succession.
- CreatorBarbara HallStarsTéa LeoniTim DalyErich BergenA political drama which looks into the life of the Secretary of State as she tries to balance work with family.
- StarsKim Yeong-cheolYun Ju-sangKim Seung-wooThe National Security Service (NSS) is a secret South Korean black ops agency that takes on a secret terrorist organization, called IRIS.
- CreatorSteven BochcoBill ClarkWilliam M. FinkelsteinStarsJon TenneyMichael DeLuiseGary BasarabaA realistic and gritty police drama centering on the lives of a group of close knit police officers and crime victims at a seedy police station in Brooklyn, New York City.
- CreatorRobert LevineJonathan E. SteinbergStarsJessica Parker KennedyToby StephensHannah NewFollows Captain Flint and his pirates twenty years prior to Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel "Treasure Island."
- CreatorGlen MorganJames WongStarsMorgan WeisserKristen ClokeRodney RowlandThe Earth is embroiled in a desperate war against alien invaders, and this series focuses on one squadron of Marine pilots involved in it.
- CreatorRod SerlingStarsRod SerlingRobert McCordJay OverholtsOrdinary people find themselves in extraordinarily astounding situations, which they each try to solve in a remarkable manner.
- CreatorSteven KaneHank SteinbergStarsEric DaneAdam BaldwinCharles ParnellThe crew of a naval destroyer is forced to confront the reality of a new existence when a pandemic kills off most of the earth's population.
- CreatorPeter BergStarsKyle ChandlerConnie BrittonZach GilfordA drama that follows the lives of the Dillon Panthers, one of the nation's best high school football teams, and their head coach Eric Taylor.
- CreatorHart HansonStarsEmily DeschanelDavid BoreanazMichaela ConlinF.B.I. Special Agent Seeley Booth teams up with the Jeffersonian's top anthropologist, Dr. Temperance Brennan, to investigate cases where all that's left of the victims are their bones.
- CreatorMike FlanaganStarsMichiel HuismanCarla GuginoHenry ThomasFlashing between past and present, a fractured family confronts haunting memories of their old home and the terrifying events that drove them from it.
- CreatorLaeta KalogridisStarsChris ConnerRenée Elise GoldsberryDichen LachmanSet in a future where consciousness is digitized and stored, a prisoner returns to life in a new body and must solve a mind-bending murder to win his freedom.
- CreatorJoseph MallozziPaul MullieStarsMelissa O'NeilAnthony LemkeAlex Mallari Jr.In the dystopian 27th century, six people wake up on a deserted spaceship with no memory of who they are or what they're doing there. They reluctantly team up and set off to find answers with the help of a female android.
- CreatorCraig SilversteinStarsMaggie QShane WestLyndsy FonsecaA rogue assassin returns to take down the secret organization that trained her.
- CreatorJoel SurnowStarsPeta WilsonDon FrancksEugene Robert GlazerA clandestine anti-terrorist organization fakes the death of a convicted murderer and trains her in the fighting skills necessary to succeed in her new job.
- CreatorPeter MoffatStarsBryan CranstonHope DavisMichael StuhlbargA judge confronts his convictions when his son is involved in a hit-and-run that embroils an organized-crime family.
- CreatorBryan CranstonDavid ShoreStarsGiovanni RibisiMarin IrelandShane McRaeA con man on the run from a vicious gangster takes cover by assuming the identity of his prison cellmate Pete, and reuniting with Pete's estranged family, which threatens to drag him into a world just as dangerous as the one he's escaping.
- CreatorScott RyanStarsScott RyanChika YasumuraJustin RosniakRay Shoesmith is a father, ex-husband, boyfriend, brother and best friend, tough roles to juggle in the modern age. Especially when you're also a criminal for hire.
- CreatorDavid KoeppStarsDavid MorseAndre BraugherMatthew BorishWhen corruption charges strip him of his job, his family and his pride, former cop Mike Olshansky forges a new identity as a Philadelphia cab driver, patrolling the city as a roving vigilante who works with local police.