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.   

The Responder (Season 2) 

Watch on BBC iPlayer from Sunday 5th May

Everything is on the line as Liverpool PC Chris Carson (Martin Freeman) returns to the screens. Last season saw him dealing with the harshness of the job combined with many person issues. Now he’s back, and determined to be a better police officer, a better man and significantly – a better father to his daughter Tilly. 

Mr Bates vs the Post Office

Watch on ITVX + STV Player 

The British Post Office Scandal bought to screen in an electrifying drama. Dubbed the UK’s most widespread miscarriage of justice, Mr. Bates vs The Post Office tells the story of dozens of sub-postmasters and postmistresses wrongly accused of theft, fraud and false accounting due to a defective IT system installed in the 90s. 739 were prosecuted, and hundreds lost livelihoods, homes and life savings because they paid back money the post office claimed was missing.

Professor T (Season 3) 

Watch on ITVX + STV Player (Scotland)

ITV’s quirky crime drama returns! With his career on the line after defending his former flame, Professor T (Ben Miller) finds himself in prison dealing with the consequences of shooting an unlicensed weapon. 

If you are yet to watch Seasons 1-2, they are streaming now on ITVX and STV Player (Scotland). 

Blue Lights

Watch on BBC iPlayer 

If you’re looking for a new crime show with a lot of drama, then Blue Lights is the show for you. Based in Northern Ireland, this show follows Grace (Siân Brook), Annie (Katherine Devlin) and Tommy (Nathan Braniff) on their journey as new police recruits. After dealing with criminal gangs, trust and divided communities they all have one question- was joining the PSNI the right decision? 

Walter Presents: Top Dog (Season 1) 

Watch on Channel 4  

This Swedish crime drama sees two worlds collide as attorney Emily (Josefin Asplund) and freshly released convict Teddy (Alexej Manvelov) must work together to save the kidnapped son of one of Emilys top clients. With lives on the line, will the unlikely duo succeed in time? 

Coma

Watch on Channel 5 from Monday 18 March

‘Sometimes you don’t want them to wake up.’ 

Family man Simon Bamford (Jason Watkins) is at breaking point. Between juggling his mortgage and redundancy, it only takes a few interactions with a gang of youths terrorising the neighbourhood to send him over the edge. When an altercation with troublemaking teen Jordan (Joe Barber) lands the boy in a coma, Simon quickly finds himself lying to everyone he knows, including the police. But someone else was there that night, and they know the truth. 

Whitstable Pearl

Watch on UKTV Play

Actor and comedian Kerry Godliman plays single mum Pearl – a Whitstable native and restaurant owner – who is pursuing her dream of starting a private detective agency. But when a friend suspiciously dies, Pearl finds herself at odds with the new cop in town DCI Mike McGuire (Howard Charles, Top Boy). Can they put their differences aside and work together to uncover the truth?
 

The Marlow Murder Club

Watch on UKTV Play

If you love a classic whodunnit with plot twists, cliff hangers and ordinary citizens who just can’t help but save the day, The Marlow Murder Club is sure to be up your street. As the bodies pile up in Marlow, retired archaeologist Judith Potts (Samantha Bond, Downtown Abbey), vicar’s wife Becks (Cara Horgan, Traitors), and local dog walker (Jo Martin, Doctor Who) forge an unlikely friendship as amateur sleuths.

Top True Crime Documentaries

Sarah Everard: The Search for Justice

Watch on BBC iPlayer

The murder that sent shockwaves across the nation. Sarah Everard: The Search for Justice casts a questioning gaze on the Metropolitan Police investigation and the controversial fallout. Sparking a discussion around police failings and violence against women, this incisive documentary features commentary from those closely involved with the case, including the Senior Investigating Officer, the Prosecuting Barrister and Sarah’s local MP. 

Paranormal: The Girl, The Ghost, and The Gravestone 

Watch on BBC iPlayer

Four-part paranormal docuseries in which sceptical radio host Sian Eleri investigates a remote Welsh farmhouse once known as the most haunted house in Britain. Penyfford Farm, a 15th-century property is shrouded by the mystery of more than 300 supernatural incidents. These include inexplicable carvings on the walls, sightings of a young girl’s ghost and a hooded figure hovering over a baby’s cot. Eleri gathers accounts from multiple witnesses, but after they all share similar accounts this once sceptic is left questioning everything, she thought she knew. 

Instagram’s Worst Con Artist 

Watch on ITVX and STV Player (Scotland)

This two-part documentary series shines a light on Belle Gibson, the fraudster who angered the whole world. Rising to fame as a cancer survivor claiming she was saved through wellness and lifestyle changes, Belle then went on to publish a book, go viral on Instagram and have her own app. However, everything fell apart when the truth was revealed – nothing was as it seemed. 

Wayne Couzens: Killer in Plain Sight 

Watch on My5

How did Wayne Couzens hide from scrutiny for so long? This thought-provoking 90-minute documentary reveals the true story using interviews with key witnesses, detectives and members of the law enforcement to gage exactly how he managed it, revealing along the way how big of an issue misogyny is within the UK police force. 

The Rise and Fall of Pablo Escobar

Watch on Channel 4

An intimate look into the hunt and capture of Colombian drugs lord Pablo Escobar, as told by the US DEA agents who hunted him. Viewers will hear personal accounts from DEA agents and journalists, whilst also gaining access to never seen before footage and photographs of Escobar’s life and capture. 

Death Row Stories 

Stream on UKTV now

This true crime documentary series shows each side of the cases, documenting not just the inmates take but also the prosecutions and defence. With one wrong decision resulting in an unfair trial or innocent death, the show resurfaces old cases and scrutinises the treatment of inmates. 

My Wife, My Abuser: The Secret Footage 

Watch on Channel 5 from Monday 18 March

A shocking portrayal of the decades of abuse Richard Spencer was subject to at the hands of his wife Sheree. With the courage to tell his own story, Richard details the coercive control and physical abuse he endured, with footage and audio recordings he captured himself. 

48 Hours 

Watch on TRUE CRIME from Thursday, 16th May

This 6-part documentary highlights the shockingly gruesome homicides that have hit Alaska in the past 50 years. According to the National Crime Statistics “A person is more likely to be murdered in Alaska than any other state.” This series will open your eyes to Alaska’s gory history. 

Best Crime Documentaries on Netflix: 

The Tindler Swindler 

As one of the most popular true crime documentaries in the past two years, it certainly deserves it’s 97% Tomatometer rating. The Tinder Swindler tells the story of how Simon Leviev (actually called Shimon Hayut) managed to emotionally manipulate women he had met through tinder into taking out loans or new credit cards which he used to support his lavish lifestyle under the guise of a diamond businessman. 

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. 

Escaping Twin Flames

A couple built a spiritual business preying on people looking for love. Twin Flames Universe are a group dedicated to helping people find their twin flame – a deeply spiritual connection supposedly bigger than a soulmate. Whilst none of the members have been charged with a crime, the group leaders have been shrouded with allegations of abuse, indoctrination and coercion.