The French word noir literally translates to “dark” or “black,” and was termed as such since it encompassed darker story lines and characters that were more reflective of the real world in the ’40s. As a result of the post-war pessimism of the era, noir film techniques generally played on more fatalistic themes, anti-hero tropes, and angles that subverted traditionally good characters. Those elements made it a perfect fit for crime dramas and detective mysteries.
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
Early renditions of film noir resulted in amazing classic films like Out of the Past, precipitating the ’40s and ’50s reputation as the Golden Age of Noir. And while noir originally boomed as a method of film making, its allure meant it could be just as successfully applied to TV shows.
With a far more expansive range that now includes sub-themed genres like neo-noir, sunshine noir, and the very popular Nordic noir, the discipline has never lost relevance. Dark and gritty, with adult themes and insurgent characters, these 20 thrilling crime dramas are the best of the best noir TV shows.
1 Broadchurch (2013 – 2017)
Featuring three electric seasons, Broadchurch was a modern slow-burn British crime noir show that starred David Tennant and Olivia Colman as its leads. Set in a fictional English town called Broadchurch, it follows Tennant and Colman as two detectives there during a period when sensational crimes rock the quiet beach community.
What Makes It Noir?
With immense performances from its leads, the show was a captivating and utterly compelling one. Its dark undertone takes a quaint countryside setting and bludgeons its quiet appeal with fantastically executed mystery, with underlying themes of ethnocentrism that play out under the guise of a peaceful little town upended by happenings it could never imagine.
2 Dexter (2006 – 2013)
Dexter
- Release Date
- October 1, 2006
- Seasons
- 8
Dexter was a masterful show that ran for eight seasons between 2006 and 2013, revolving around the eponymous character, Dexter Morgan. Made famous by Michael C. Hall’s haunting performance, Dexter is a forensic technician who has a shocking secret: he operates as a vigilante serial killer, tracking down and murdering killers he believes escaped true justice.
What Makes It Noir?
The immediate concept of the main protagonist being a serial killer himself immediately centers on a subversive ideology. He’s an anti-hero, the kind of man we should not be so enthralled by. Yet, the brilliant way it manages to flip dark and twisted ideals into morally gray notions while goading audiences into supporting the protagonist is a classic noir trope. Set to the tune of the humid Miami nightlife, the show is a tropical noir — if such a subgenre exists.
3 Perry Mason (2020 – 2023)
Billed as a period drama, HBO’s Perry Mason was a remake of the famous show of the same name from 1957. The modern version tells the origin story of the title character. Perry operates as a PI in Los Angeles in 1932, while the country is struggling in the aftermath of the great depression. Emotionally reeling from his divorce and WWI, he takes on a child kidnapping case that will forever alter his life.
What Makes It Noir?
This was a show that helped define the genre itself, and the reboot taps into all of the classic noir tropes. The ’30s period is wonderfully depicted, contrasting LA’s vast fortune and lavish lifestyle with other, very different parts of the country during that time.
Though the city may be doing better than most, Perry is not. His nihilistic viewpoints run counter to the lecherous nature of the wealthy who live in a different, more opulent world from those grinding under the boots of poverty.
As Australian-based critic Wenlei Ma, deftly explains, unlike some pseudo-noir shows that only brush the edges, Perry Mason provides on-the-nose noir.
This new installment leans fully into the film noir aesthetic it merely teased three years ago, contrasting saturated daylight scenes with the moody shadows of the night. What’s lurking at the edges can be as literal as it is metaphorical. Everyone has secrets and everyone is vulnerable. Noir aficionados will soak up the sultry jazz, femme fatales and institutional rot, and lovers of a legal drama will appreciate the more time spent in the courtroom.
4 Jessica Jones — (2015 – 2019)
Jessica Jones was a Marvel show that formed part of the MCU and featured continuity from its films. Krysten Ritter featured in the lead as the title character, an ex-superhero who becomes a private investigator that runs her own agency. The show ran for three seasons and won a host of awards in that time.
What Makes It Noir?
Ritter was superb as the character, who went through some very dark moments and was flawed in a myriad of ways. Unlike archetypal heroes, Jones suffered from PTSD, was known for being cold, abrasive, and even purposefully hurtful to everyone. Those traits placed her in direct opposition to traditional heroes, who are usually meant to represent the best of us.
With her chronic drinking in her private detective office and her morose views on the state of the world fit her classicaly into the noir genre. The dark and blue tone to many of the shots in the show only added to that feeling, making it one of the best modern noir shows — that also happens to be about superheroes.
Stream Jessica Jones on Disney+
5 Boardwalk Empire (2010 – 2014)
Based on a non-fiction book about the prohibition-era criminal mastermind Enoch L. Johnson, Boardwalk Empire was a gritty crime show that held nothing back. Enoch “Nucky” Johnson was a political figure at the county level who used bootlegging to gain control over vast tracts of Atlantic City, New Jersey during the ’20s and ’30s.
His political standing sees him hobnobbing with everyone from gangsters like Al Capone and Lucky Luciano, to other politicians and government officials, as he slowly builds a cabal of corruption.
What Makes It Noir?
The show’s murky moral codes and romanticization of gangster life, corruption, and bloodshed immediately placed it among dark crime shows like The Wire and The Sopranos. At the same time, it cuts at the heart of how a free society could never fully accept the prohibition-level excessive governmental encroachment of the time that pushed legislative power into the realms of paternalism. With Martin Scorsese directing the pilot and other episodes during its second, third, and fourth seasons, the grimy noir elements were pretty much a guarantee.
Stream Boardwalk Empire on Max
6 The Shield (2002 – 2008)
One of the forerunners of modern noir shows, The Shield is widely hailed as a pioneering show that changed television. Starring Michael Chiklis as its renegade lead, the show was based on the real scandal of the LAPD’s infamous and violent Rampart Division. Flipping the script on conventional cop shows, this one saw the police entrusted with taking down gangs becoming thugs with a badge themselves.
What Makes It Noir?
Edgy and filled with boundary-pushing scenes, it came at a time when FX, and most other cable shows, were still known as family-friendly. The show redefined network TV and opened the door to abrasively brilliant shows like Breaking Bad. The show has since become legendary, an iconic and classic example of the best of dark police thrillers.
7 Fallen Angels (1993 – 1995)
Between 1993 and 1995, Showtime featured a gritty anthology crime series called Fallen Angels. Ahead of its time, it wasn’t as well appreciated back in the early ’90s when it first aired. Each episode was based on a notable and subversive crime writer, like Mickey Spillane or Raymond Chandler.
What Makes It Noir?
Frequently playing on angles of ambiguous morality, Fallen Angels featured an unbelievable array of talented guest stars, like Gary Oldman, Tom Hanks, Alan Rickman, Brendan Fraser and James Woods — just to name a few. Meanwhile, individual episodes were directed by the likes of Peter Bogdanovic, Alfonso Cuaron, Tom Cruise, and Steven Soderbergh.
With the inclusion of jazzy tones and emotively moving torch songs over black-and-white episodes, the show was steeped in a stylized atmosphere. Featuring everything from classical visual elements like dark and seedy lighting to deep existentialist themes, it brilliantly paid homage to the great film noirs of the past in splendid detail.
Fallen Angels is not currently available to stream or rent
8 The Untouchables (1959 – 1963)
The Untouchables
- Release Date
- October 15, 1959
- Cast
- Robert Stack , Paul Picerni
- Seasons
- 4
A classic show based on the famous memoir by prohibition agent Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley, The Untouchables tells the story of a group of incorruptible agents fighting against crime and corruption during Prohibition-era Chicago.
What Makes It Noir?
Breaking boundaries for its time, The Untouchables was widely regarded as one of the most violent and profane around. Despite its take-no-prisoners approach, it became known as one of the greatest police procedurals ever made, and influenced the legendary 1987 Brian de Palma film of the same name. Staring the harsh reality behind its concept dead in the eye, shot fully in black-and-white with acerbic dialogue and superb acting, it was film noir on TV at its finest.
The Untouchables is not currently available to stream
9 The Sopranos (1999 – 2007)
The Sopranos is one of those shows that is guaranteed to be in the top 3 of any list of the greatest TV series of all time. It is widely regarded as one of the most groundbreaking shows in TV history, and provided a powerful depiction of the nuances of modern crime families. Told from the perspective of Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), the head of a New Jersey Italian-American crime family who seeks therapy after suffering a panic attack, The Sopranos struck a delicate balance between his life as a mobster and being the head of his family.
What Makes It Noir?
Overarching tenets of nihilism pervade throughout the show as themes of a familiar life drifting into the decay caused by forsaken values that were once held in the highest regard by those who espouse them. Tony’s own contradictions as a powerful man bred from a world of violence contrast with the memorable dialogues from the therapy sessions he reluctantly undertakes.
He feels disillusioned by how the value system among organized criminals is slipping. His existential crises throughout the show subvert ordinary morality and present them through the lenses of neo-noir psychology — along with, of course, a host of gritty crime.
10 The Knick (2014 – 2015)
The Knick
- Release Date
- August 8, 2014
- Seasons
- 2
The Knick was a brilliant medical drama set in the early 1900s that followed Clive Owen as Dr. John Thackery, a surgeon who arrives at the famous Knickerbocker Hospital in New York to lead its surgical team. Although a fantastic physician, he has to find a way to balance his personal demons, all while he and the staff struggle to keep the hospital running amid a milieu of problems and societal tensions.
What Makes It Noir?
Dr. Thackery is an ambitious doctor but quietly struggles with a cocaine and opium addiction while treating patients. Directed by Steven Soderbergh, the show made for an uncomfortably gory watch at times as it often delved into dark, dank rooms to indulge its more sordid elements of drug abuse and the medical limitations of the day.
11 Fargo (2014 – present)
Fargo
- Release Date
- April 15, 2014
- Seasons
- 5
Based on the famous film of the same name by the noir-loving Coen Brothers, with some continuity from it, Fargo is a dark crime series told in an anthology format. It follows a state trooper (Patrick Wilson) and his father-in-law (Ted Danson), a sheriff, as they investigate a triple homicide with links to the Kansas City Mafia.
What Makes It Noir?
The show follows different time periods, people, and locations from the Dakotas to Minnesota and Kansas. Featuring an amazing cast each season, some of the notable names that have appeared in it include Billy Bob Thornton, Colin Hanks, Kirsten Dunst, Ewan McGregor, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. The snowy landscapes and array of despicable characters provide a distinct noir vibe, while the usage of different periods and locations replaces classic noir flashbacks with neo-noir time jumps. Let’s face it — the Midwest was born to be a noir setting.
12 True Detective (2014 – present)
True Detective
- Release Date
- January 12, 2014
- Cast
- Mahershala Ali , Stephen Dorff , Carmen Ejogo , Scoot McNairy , Jodie Foster , Kali Reis , Matthew McConaughey , Woody Harrelson , Alexandra Daddario , John Hawkes , Colin Farrell , Vince Vaughn
- Seasons
- 4
Another brilliant anthology crime show, True Detective also takes place across different time periods and locations. With standalone seasons, it features multiple crime stories and teams of detectives that investigate them. Each season is different in characters, setting, and crime, and so it can sometimes feel like many different shows, each with varying style.
What Makes It Noir?
Widely acclaimed, the show holds nothing back as it delves into its characters’ darkest nuances and an overall philosophical pessimism that permeates it. Compelling and engaging, even touching on horror along the way, this one also had a splendid range of actors driving it.
From the first season teaming up Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey, to Colin Farrel and Rachel McAdams in the second season, Mahershala Ali in the third, and Jodie Foster in the most recent fourth season, the show is packed with superb performances.
13 The Bridge (2011 – 2018)
Nordic noir has become popular throughout the world, inspiring many international series and remakes, and The Bridge is among the best examples. It begins with two halves of different women’s bodies, one belonging to a politician and one to a sex worker, found at the border of the Øresund Bridge which connects Sweden and Denmark.
What Makes It Noir?
Wildly disturbing at times, the show creeps under the skin of viewers and settles there. The color grading is cast in a grayish tinge throughout, while the characters almost seem to personify the atmosphere created. As it develops, it becomes clear that there is a bleak undertone, and that neither character is clean cut in any way. Brilliant in a cold and hardened way, the show spawned five international remakes.
14 Oz (1997 – 2003)
Oz
- Release Date
- July 12, 1997
- Seasons
- 6
from HBO, Oz was another groundbreaking show that pushed the limits of TV acceptability. Taking place in the now infamous Emerald City, the show details the daily struggles to keep control of is raucous prisoners and the battles they face for daily survival.
What Makes It Noir?
A disturbing deep dive into prison culture, it shattered expectations by going beyond anything deemed normal on TV at the time. As an exploration of the corrupt nature of humanity as a whole, it almost provided a chilling and raw look at the callous nature of predatory behavior in an incarceration environment. While shows like The Sopranos became culturally significant, it was shows like Oz that lay the groundwork for it and distinguished HBO.
15 The Killing (2011 – 2014)
The Killing was an American remake of a Danish Nordic noir show called Forbrydelsen. It starred Mireille Enos, Billy Campbell, and Joel Kinnaman, and revolved around a murder investigation at first. Telling a dark story from three angles, it slowly draws out the details of the chilling homicide with the family’s grief and a political story that unfolds at the same time.
What Makes It Noir?
Taking place in Seattle, this version sufficiently manages to capture the same cold, hardened atmosphere of the original show. The intractable grief depicted, and the side plots that delve into murky waters of morality, contrasted with the innate human goodness that the main characters struggle to stay in touch with, makes for a chilling show that draws viewers in with its dark and quiet mystery.
16 Peaky Blinders (2013 – 2022)
Fans of Peaky Blinders have long since known of Cillian Murphy’s brilliance. A period crime drama set in early 20th century England, it chronicles the Peaky Blinders street gang’s efforts to control their territory. Cillian Murphy is hypnotic as the gang’s charismatic leader, Thomas Shelby.
What Makes It Noir?
The grungy setting makes it feel like a show you need to cleanse yourself off after watching. Shelby is a man that has built up power and influence, but is still willing to dive into the filthy trenches and get his hands dirty to take care of business.
Ruthless and yet somehow still stoic and magnetic, he’s an anti-hero that operates in the darkness of a dimly lit noir seediness. Punctuated by anamorphic cinematography, it blurs the line between good and evil so effectively, it will have you throwing your own principles out the door to cheer Shelby on.
Stream Peaky Blinders on Netflix
17 Snowfall (2017 – 2023)
Snowfall
- Release Date
- 2017-07-00
- Seasons
- 3
A compelling crime-drama show by the late, great John Singleton, Snowfall is a shocking show that chronicles a fictionalized version of how crack-cocaine came into the world. Pulling together a myriad of dark characters from its protagonist, Franklin Saint (Damson Idris), to the idealistic and ruthless CIA Agent Teddy, the show depicts in terrifying detail how entire communities were destroyed by drug and gang violence.
What Makes It Noir?
The crack-cocaine epidemic of the ’80s fueled a drug and gang culture that’s still prevalent to this day. The unspeakable atrocities that stemmed from it shook the world, spreading the drug far and wide as it cut a global path of addiction that destroyed countless lives.
It’s one of those shows where everyone is an antagonist, and no one is really the hero, since it displays the worst of humanity and the age-old corruptibility that comes with money and power. Flashbacks and time jumps, immersive cinematography, and a pessimistic air that fit the context to a tee, the show is devastatingly brilliant and haunting at the same time — and one you won’t want to miss. Watch it and learn why Damson Idris is today’s Denzel Washington.
18 Naked City (1958 – 1963)
Based on an earlier film noir of the same name, Naked City was a brilliant police show from the late ’50s. Classic noir, it provided a grisly look at a crime-ridden New York but was characterized by a loyalty to story over action. Melding psychological tales with hardy police work and complex characters, the show made for one of the best examples of noir that made the era such a special one for it.
What Makes It Noir?
Along with films of the time, it was a show that helped define noir from the beginning. Shot in black and white, its semi-anthological format took nothing away from the gripping stories told by each episode, and the grittiness of the investigations that ensued. Everything from the camera angles to the use of mise-en-scène elements to produce tense and atmospheric shots, gave it a classic noir feel that most neo-noir shows of today can still never replicate.
19 Breaking Bad (2008 – 2013)
A show that is simply too good to be summed up easily, Breaking Bad is still regarded by many to be among the greatest TV shows ever made. It follows Walter White, a timid high school chemistry teacher, after he’s diagnosed with cancer.
Frustrated with how little he has achieved, despite being a genius chemist, White teams up with his ex-student Jesse and builds a drug empire by using his knowledge of chemistry to manufacture high grade crystal meth.
What Makes It Noir?
It might seem to sunny in the desert to make viewers think of noir, but the show fits the genre perfectly. It manages to slowly flip the characters from good (or at least not-so-bad) to deeply morally questionable, eventually leading the drug-dealing teenager at the start of the show to become better than the quiet family man who becomes one of TV’s greatest villains.
The grungy, unorganized freefall into explorations of greed and violence made Breaking Bad a pop culture phenomenon that raked in awards. The show was a masterclass in tension, exhibiting darkness at every turn, and turning an incorrigible monster into a cult hero.
Stream Breaking Bad on Netflix
20 Dragnet (1951 – 1959)
One of the earliest and best examples of a police procedural ever made, Dragnet is an iconic show from the ’50s that broke boundaries for others to follow. It followed its own showrunner, Jack Webb, as Sgt. Friday, an LAPD officer with a mordant attitude and little patience for anyone he suspects may be trying to deceive him.
What Makes It Noir?
All these years later, as shows continue to clamor to be the best or most distinct cop show around, shows like Dragnet are still the benchmark they’re trying to replicate. With immersive cinematography shot in black-and-white, there’s an authenticity to the series that came with the era. One of its finest attributes lay in how accurate it was, ensuring that all the investigative and police angles were filmed in consultation with the real LAPD.
