Sort by Popularity - Most Popular Movies and TV Shows tagged with keyword "criminal-investigation"
- Movies or TV
- Genres
- Keywords
- IMDb Rating
- Instant Watch Options
- In Theaters
- On TV
- Release Year
1. The Sinner (2017– )
TV-MA | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Anthology series that examines how and why ordinary people commit brutal crimes.
Stars: Bill Pullman, Dohn Norwood, Adam LeFevre, Jessica Biel
Votes: 87,031
2. The Blacklist (2013– )
TV-14 | 43 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A new FBI profiler, Elizabeth Keen, has her entire life uprooted when a mysterious criminal, Raymond Reddington, who has eluded capture for decades, turns himself in and insists on speaking only to her.
Stars: James Spader, Megan Boone, Diego Klattenhoff, Ryan Eggold
Votes: 197,561
3. Breaking Bad (2008–2013)
TV-MA | 49 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A high school chemistry teacher diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer turns to manufacturing and selling methamphetamine in order to secure his family's future.
Stars: Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, Betsy Brandt
Votes: 1,466,892
4. NCIS (2003– )
TV-14 | 60 min | Action, Crime, Drama
The cases of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service's Washington, D.C. Major Case Response Team, led by Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs.
Stars: Mark Harmon, David McCallum, Sean Murray, Pauley Perrette
Votes: 119,813
5. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999– )
TV-14 | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
This series follows the Special Victims Unit, a specially trained squad of detectives in the N.Y.P.D., who investigate sexually related crimes.
Stars: Mariska Hargitay, Christopher Meloni, Ice-T, Dann Florek
Votes: 81,644
6. Dexter (2006–2021)
TV-MA | 53 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
By day, mild-mannered Dexter is a blood-spatter analyst for the Miami police. But at night, he is a serial killer who only targets other murderers.
Stars: Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, David Zayas, James Remar
Votes: 646,727
7. Bones (2005–2017)
TV-14 | 40 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan and cocky F.B.I. Special Agent Seeley Booth build a team to investigate murders. Quite often, there isn't more to examine than rotten flesh or mere bones.
Stars: Emily Deschanel, David Boreanaz, Michaela Conlin, T.J. Thyne
Votes: 139,829
8. Billions (2016– )
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama
U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades goes after hedge fund king Bobby "Axe" Axelrod in a battle between two powerful New York figures.
Stars: Paul Giamatti, Damian Lewis, Maggie Siff, David Costabile
Votes: 69,603
9. Law & Order (1990–2010)
TV-14 | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Follows a crime (usually a murder), usually adapted from current headlines, from two separate vantage points, the police investigation and the prosecution in court.
Stars: Jerry Orbach, Jesse L. Martin, Dennis Farina, S. Epatha Merkerson
Votes: 31,902
10. Hannibal (2013–2015)
TV-MA | 44 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
Explores the early relationship between renowned psychiatrist, Hannibal Lecter, and his patient, a young FBI criminal profiler, who is haunted by his ability to empathize with serial killers.
Stars: Hugh Dancy, Mads Mikkelsen, Caroline Dhavernas, Laurence Fishburne
Votes: 228,349
11. NCIS: Los Angeles (2009– )
TV-14 | 43 min | Action, Crime, Drama
The Naval Criminal Investigation Service's Office of Special Projects takes on the undercover work and the hard to crack cases in LA. Key agents are G. Callen and Sam Hanna, streets kids risen through the ranks.
Stars: Chris O'Donnell, Daniela Ruah, Barrett Foa, Linda Hunt
Votes: 48,707
12. Se7en (1995)
R | 127 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Kevin Spacey, Andrew Kevin Walker
Votes: 1,450,779 | Gross: $100.13M
13. Murdoch Mysteries (2008– )
TV-PG | 48 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
In the 1890s, William Murdoch uses radical forensic techniques for the time, including fingerprinting and trace evidence, to solve some of the city's most gruesome murders.
Stars: Yannick Bisson, Helene Joy, Thomas Craig, Jonny Harris
Votes: 10,600
14. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000–2015)
TV-14 | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Series following an elite team of police forensic evidence investigation experts as they work their cases in Las Vegas.
Stars: Laurence Fishburne, Marg Helgenberger, George Eads, Eric Szmanda
Votes: 77,098
15. Heat (1995)
R | 170 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A group of professional bank robbers start to feel the heat from police when they unknowingly leave a clue at their latest heist.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight
Votes: 579,435 | Gross: $67.44M
16. NCIS: New Orleans (2014– )
TV-14 | 42 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A spin-off of NCIS (2003) about the local field office of NCIS that investigates criminal cases involving military personnel in The Big Easy, a city known for its music, entertainment and decadence. This colorful city that harbors a dark side is a magnet for service personnel on leave, and when overindulgence is followed by trouble, Special Agent Dwayne Pride's team is at its best.
Stars: Scott Bakula, Rob Kerkovich, CCH Pounder, Daryl Mitchell
Votes: 15,144
17. Castle (2009–2016)
TV-14 | 43 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
After a serial killer imitates the plots of his novels, successful mystery novelist Richard "Rick" Castle receives permission from the Mayor of New York City to tag along with an NYPD homicide investigation team for research purposes.
Stars: Nathan Fillion, Stana Katic, Susan Sullivan, Jon Huertas
Votes: 140,549
18. L.A. Confidential (1997)
R | 138 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
As corruption grows in 1950s Los Angeles, three policemen - one strait-laced, one brutal, and one sleazy - investigate a series of murders with their own brand of justice.
Director: Curtis Hanson | Stars: Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kim Basinger
Votes: 533,506 | Gross: $64.62M
19. Major Crimes (2012–2018)
Not Rated | 43 min | Action, Crime, Drama
The Closer (2005) spin-off series, which follows Captain Raydor of the Los Angeles Police Department.
Stars: Mary McDonnell, G.W. Bailey, Tony Denison, Michael Paul Chan
Votes: 11,957
20. Zodiac (2007)
R | 157 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
In the late 1960s/early 1970s, a San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac Killer, an unidentified individual who terrorizes Northern California with a killing spree.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards
Votes: 468,540 | Gross: $33.08M
21. The Shield (2002–2008)
TV-MA | 47 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Follows the lives and cases of a dirty Los Angeles Police Department cop and the unit under his command.
Stars: Michael Chiklis, Catherine Dent, Walton Goggins, Michael Jace
Votes: 72,141
22. Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001–2011)
TV-14 | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
This series focuses on the NYPD's Major Case Squad, a force of detectives who investigate high-profile cases, whilst also showing parts of the crime from the criminal's point of view to the audience.
Stars: Kathryn Erbe, Vincent D'Onofrio, Jamey Sheridan, Courtney B. Vance
Votes: 22,800
23. Basic Instinct (1992)
R | 127 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A violent police detective investigates a brutal murder that might involve a manipulative and seductive novelist.
Director: Paul Verhoeven | Stars: Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone, George Dzundza, Jeanne Tripplehorn
Votes: 178,820 | Gross: $117.73M
24. Inside Man (2006)
R | 129 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A police detective, a bank robber, and a high-power broker enter high-stakes negotiations after the criminal's brilliant heist spirals into a hostage situation.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Christopher Plummer
Votes: 341,096 | Gross: $88.51M
25. Spenser Confidential (2020)
R | 111 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
When two Boston police officers are murdered, ex-cop Spenser teams up with his no-nonsense roommate, Hawk, to take down criminals.
Director: Peter Berg | Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Winston Duke, Alan Arkin, Iliza Shlesinger
Votes: 70,347
26. A Time to Kill (1996)
R | 149 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
In Canton, Mississippi, a fearless young lawyer and his assistant defend a black man accused of murdering two white men who raped his ten-year-old daughter, inciting violent retribution and revenge from the Ku Klux Klan.
Director: Joel Schumacher | Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey
Votes: 133,271 | Gross: $108.77M
27. American Gangster (2007)
R | 157 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
An outcast New York City cop is charged with bringing down Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas, whose real life inspired this partly biographical film.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Josh Brolin
Votes: 393,531 | Gross: $130.16M
28. Beck (1997– )
90 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Commissioner Martin Beck and his eccentric partner Gunvald Larsson investigate murders in Stockholm, center of criminality in Eastern Europe.
Stars: Peter Haber, Ingvar Hirdwall, Rebecka Hemse, Mikael Persbrandt
Votes: 4,214
29. CSI: Miami (2002–2012)
TV-14 | 43 min | Action, Crime, Drama
The cases of the Miami-Dade, Florida police department's Crime Scene Investigations unit.
Stars: David Caruso, Emily Procter, Adam Rodriguez, Rex Linn
Votes: 53,350
30. Memories of Murder (2003)
Not Rated | 132 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
In a small Korean province in 1986, two detectives struggle with the case of multiple young women being found raped and murdered by an unknown culprit.
Director: Bong Joon Ho | Stars: Kang-ho Song, Kim Sang-kyung, Roe-ha Kim, Jae-ho Song
Votes: 140,783 | Gross: $0.01M
31. Mystic River (2003)
R | 138 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The lives of three men who were childhood friends are shattered when one of them has a family tragedy.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Emmy Rossum
Votes: 420,385 | Gross: $90.14M
32. Coroner (2019– )
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A newly appointed coroner investigates a string of mysterious deaths in Toronto.
Stars: Roger Cross, Serinda Swan, Éric Bruneau, Ehren Kassam
Votes: 2,528
33. Bad Boys (1995)
R | 119 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Two hip detectives protect a witness to a murder while investigating a case of stolen heroin from the evidence storage room from their police precinct.
Director: Michael Bay | Stars: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Lisa Boyle, Michael Taliferro
Votes: 240,959 | Gross: $65.81M
34. Inspector Morse (1987–2000)
TV-14 | 100 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Chief Inspector Morse has an ear for music, a taste for beer and a nose for crime. He sets out with Detective Sergeant Lewis to solve each intriguing case.
Stars: John Thaw, Kevin Whately, James Grout, Peter Woodthorpe
Votes: 10,154
35. Flight (I) (2012)
R | 138 min | Drama, Thriller
An airline pilot saves almost all his passengers on his malfunctioning airliner which eventually crashed, but an investigation into the accident reveals something troubling.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Denzel Washington, Nadine Velazquez, Don Cheadle, John Goodman
Votes: 326,818 | Gross: $93.77M
36. Unforgettable (2011–2016)
TV-14 | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Carrie Wells, a former police detective, has a rare ability to remember virtually everything she experiences including detailed visual recall. She returns to police work and uses her ability to solve crimes.
Stars: Poppy Montgomery, Dylan Walsh, James Hiroyuki Liao, Jane Curtin
Votes: 16,750
37. All the President's Men (1976)
PG | 138 min | Biography, Drama, History
"The Washington Post" reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncover the details of the Watergate scandal that leads to President Richard Nixon's resignation.
Director: Alan J. Pakula | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam
Votes: 103,590 | Gross: $70.60M
38. In the Heat of the Night (1988–1995)
60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The cases and adventures of the police forces in and around Sparta, Mississippi.
Stars: Carroll O'Connor, Alan Autry, David Hart, Hugh O'Connor
Votes: 3,811
39. Insomnia (2002)
R | 118 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Two Los Angeles homicide detectives are dispatched to a northern town where the sun doesn't set to investigate the methodical murder of a local teen.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Hilary Swank, Martin Donovan
Votes: 275,956 | Gross: $67.36M
40. Cold Case (2003–2010)
TV-14 | 44 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The Philadelphia homicide squad's lone female detective finds her calling when she's assigned "cold cases", older crimes that have never been solved.
Stars: Kathryn Morris, Danny Pino, John Finn, Jeremy Ratchford
Votes: 24,343
41. CSI: NY (2004–2013)
TV-14 | 43 min | Action, Crime, Drama
CSI head Detective Mac Taylor and his team solve crimes using forensic science in New York City.
Stars: Gary Sinise, Carmine Giovinazzo, Hill Harper, Eddie Cahill
Votes: 43,792
42. The Boondock Saints (1999)
R | 108 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Two Irish Catholic brothers become vigilantes and wipe out Boston's criminal underworld in the name of God.
Director: Troy Duffy | Stars: Willem Dafoe, Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, David Della Rocco
Votes: 227,448 | Gross: $0.03M
43. Mississippi Burning (1988)
R | 128 min | Crime, Drama, History
Two F.B.I. Agents with wildly different styles arrive in Mississippi to investigate the disappearance of some civil rights activists.
Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Gene Hackman, Willem Dafoe, Frances McDormand, Brad Dourif
Votes: 88,622 | Gross: $34.60M
44. Taking Lives (2004)
R | 103 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
An FBI profiler is called in by French Canadian police to catch a serial killer who takes on the identity of each new victim.
Director: D.J. Caruso | Stars: Angelina Jolie, Ethan Hawke, Kiefer Sutherland, Gena Rowlands
Votes: 81,771 | Gross: $32.68M
45. The Frozen Ground (2013)
R | 105 min | Crime, Thriller
An Alaska State Trooper partners with a young woman who escaped the clutches of serial killer Robert Hansen to bring the murderer to justice. Based on actual events.
Director: Scott Walker | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Vanessa Hudgens, John Cusack, Dean Norris
Votes: 58,650
46. Fallen (1998)
R | 124 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Homicide detective John Hobbes witnesses the execution of serial killer Edgar Reese. Soon after the execution, the killings start again, and they are very similar to Reese's style.
Director: Gregory Hoblit | Stars: Denzel Washington, John Goodman, Donald Sutherland, Embeth Davidtz
Votes: 75,684 | Gross: $25.19M
47. The French Connection (1971)
R | 104 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A pair of NYC cops in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a drug smuggling job with a French connection.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider, Fernando Rey, Tony Lo Bianco
Votes: 110,435 | Gross: $15.63M
48. The Laundromat (I) (2019)
R | 95 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A widow investigates an insurance fraud, chasing leads to a pair of Panama City law partners exploiting the world's financial system.
Director: Steven Soderbergh | Stars: Gary Oldman, Antonio Banderas, AJ Meijer, Arsenio Castellanos
Votes: 44,284
49. In the Heat of the Night (1967)
Approved | 110 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A black police detective is asked to investigate a murder in a racially hostile southern town.
Director: Norman Jewison | Stars: Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Warren Oates, Lee Grant
Votes: 68,015 | Gross: $24.38M
50. Stranger (2017– )
TV-14 | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
With the help of a gutsy female detective, a prosecutor who has almost lost the ability to feel emotions tackles a strange murder case amid political corruption.
Stars: Cho Seung-woo, Bae Doona, Joon-hyuk Lee, Jeon Bae-soo
Votes: 5,380