Best crime dramas and true crime docs to watch now

Top Crime Dramas

For all of you who can't get enough of gritty crime dramas, we've got more troubled detectives, winding plots and shocking twists than you can shake a stick at. Take a look at the top free-to-view crime dramas available for you to watch whenever the mood strikes.   

Ludwig

Stream now on BBC iPlayer

This cryptic comedy-drama sees puzzle-maker John ‘Ludwig’ Taylor (David Mitchell), a comfortable recluse, exit his comfort zone when his twin brother, a DCI goes missing. Under pressure from his sister-in-law (Anna Maxwell Martin), he impersonates his brother at work in order to discover what happened to him! 

Joan

Watch on ITVX + STV Player 

Sophie Turner stars in this six-part crime drama as the real-life renowned jewel thief Joan Hannington. The series documents Joan's journey from housewife and mother to petty offender and criminal mastermind and jewel thief in 1980’s London! 

Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist

Stream on ITVX 

Set in 1970 Atlanta, a city full of fight night anticipation, streetwise Gordan “Chicken Man” Williams (Kevin Hart) puts himself in the centre of the action during Muhammad Ali’s comeback fight against Jerry Quarry by hosting a lavish afterparty, ending in a major heist. With the whole city reeling from the heist, Detective JD Hudson (Don Cheadle) delves into a high-stakes game of cat and mouse as the body count starts rising. With the clocking ticking sown, JD and Chicken Man race to clear Chicken’s name as the dangers close in. Starring Samuel L. Jackson.

Showtrial (Season 2)

Stream now on BBC iPlayer

With a fresh story and a fresh cast, Showtrial has returned to our screens for a second season! High-profile climate activist Marcus Calderwood is left to die in a violent hit and run, in his dying moments he identifies his killer, a policeman. Showtrial explores the worlds of cocky officer Justin Mitchell (Michael Socha), anxious defence solicitor Sam Gill (Adeel Akhtar) and Leila Hassoun-Kenny (Nathalie Armin), a meticulous lawyer leading the case against the accused.

Until I Kill You

Stream now on ITVX and STV Player

Filled with a star studded cast, this new true crime drama sees the ordeal Delia Balmer (Anna Maxwell Martin) suffered at the hands of notorious killer John Sweeney (Shaun Evans). Following her traumatic journey through the police and criminal justice system, Until I Kill You denotes how they met and how John’s personality gave way to a much darker violent side…

Ellis

Stream now on My5

This new detective series follows DCI Ellis (Sharon D. Clarke), an intelligent murder detective whose keen mind and exceptional instincts allow her to find cracks and anomalies in cases that most would miss! Together with her assistant DS Harper (Andrew Gower), they are sent to help failing police investigations at different local police stations.

The Jetty

Watch now on BBC iPlayer

The Jetty is as much of a coming-of-age story as it is a detective thriller! Starring Jenna Coleman as Detective Ember Manning. With many twists and turns along the way The Jetty asks big questions about sexual morality, identity and memory, in the places the Me-Too movement has left behind. 

Recipes for Love and Murder

Stream now on U

This dangerously delicious drama follows recipe/advice columnist Tannie Maria (Maria Doyle Kennedy) who dishes out the latest and greatest recipes for her small town newspaper in the region of the Karoo in South Africa. Following the death of a woman who wrote to her, Tannie Maria and her colleague Jessie (Kylie Fisher) decide to solve the murder, much to the annoyance of police detective Khaya (Tony Kgoroge), but do they know what they are getting themselves into?

Vienna Blood (season 4)

Stream now on BBC iPlayer

Crime fighting duo Doctor Max Liebermann (Matthew Beard) and Detective Inspector Oskar Reinhardt (Juergen Maurer) return for the fourth season of this crime thriller. This time, it’s Vienna 1909 and the murder of an arms dealer whilst in police custody has shaken Vienna to the core. With a case that might just be the most dangerous of their careers, Oskar and Max discover a plot to bring down the government! Can the Freudian psychoanalyst and detective prevent the fall of the Austro-Hungarian empire?

Top True Crime Documentaries

Until I Kill You: The Real Story

Stream on ITVX and STV Player

This documentary tells the powerful true story of Delia Balmer and uncovers how she bravely faced serial killer John Sweeney and fought for justice.

Child Snatchers: A Day at the Fair

Stream now on My5 

This gripping two-part documentary, Child Snatchers: A Day at the Fair follows the horrifying tale of the Dirty Dozen, a horrific paedophile gang, guilty of the abductions of young boys during the 80s. Despite arrests, the documentary poses a big question – could there be more victims?

Twisted Twins

Watch on ITVX and STV Player

This shocking series offers a unique take on the psychology of identical twins and how their twin ship resulted in cases of murder, manslaughter and missing persons!

Hidden in my House

Stream now on My5

This strange, shocking and quite frankly, disturbing series is all about the phenomenon of phrogging, people living secretly inside someone else’s home, often with disturbing and sinister plans.

Merseyside Detectives: The Murders of Ashley and Olivia

Stream now on Channel 4

Over four episodes, this documentary highlights the heart-breaking toll of gun and gang crime on innocent lives in Merseyside after the deaths of 9-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbe and 28-year-old Ashley Dale a day apart.

The Hidden Children of Ruinerwold Farm

Watch on BBC iPlayer now

This gripping series tells the story that broke news outlets around the world. After finally escaping at 24, the fourth oldest child Israel reached out for help, alerting the authorities to the hidden farm, where himself and all his siblings had lived with their abusive father unregistered and in secret, for years!

Forensics: Murder Scene

Stream now on My5

With unprecedented access, Channel 5 follow the Scientific Support Team and Homicide Investigation Team from the moment a murder is reported, through to the conviction of the murderer. The Channel 5 team journey with the forensics team and detectives as they piece together the vital clues to crack the case.

Secrets of a Murder Detective

Watch on TRUECRIME Saturdays at 7pm and Sunday at 8pm

This series invites audiences into the intriguing job of crime-solving with Steve Keogh, a detective with over 30 years experience!

Best Crime Documentaries on Netflix: 

Worst Ex Ever

This docuseries shows how surprisingly easy it can be to find yourself trapped in a relationship with a monster, and most importantly how victims have found their way free. This is not a show for the faint of heart!

American Nightmare 

Not so affectionately dubbed the real Gone Girl, this docuseries explores the kidnapping of a young girl, and the lack of intervention by police enforcement who assumed it was a hoax. In 2015 an intruder broke into the home of Denise Huskin and her boyfriend Aaron Quinn, drugging them both and later holding Huskin for ransom. When Quinn reached out to the police for help however, he was not believed and instead suspected of being responsible for her disappearance.