10 Great Crime TV Shows to Check Out if You Loved The Sinner

The Sinner became a surprising Netflix hit when it debuted in 2017. This is the story of detective Harry Ambrose (Bill Pullman), an old, strange detective who will do anything to understand why Cora Tannetti (Jessica Biel, who was nominated for an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her performance) started stabbing a man on the beach for no reason at all. As happens with these kinds of shows, the answers were much more horrifying than anyone could have imagined.

After an incredibly thrilling, dark, and scary first season, the show was renewed and audiences saw three more strange, weird, and surprising mysteries for Detective Ambrose to solve, as the show received four seasons of different crimes. If you’ve already seen all those seasons and are craving some more shows in that vein, we’ve got you covered. Here are 10 great crime TV shows to check out if you loved The Sinner.

Stream on Netflix

10 Poker Face

Read Our Review

Charlie (Natasha Lyonne, who also created, wrote, and directed many episodes) has one power: she knows when someone’s lying. While escaping a casino enforcer by traveling across America, she uses that power to solve crimes in the most amateur way possible, and help those who deserve it. Greatly inspired by Columbo, that’s what Poker Face is all about.

A Great Palate Cleanser

Although Poker Face is much lighter and funnier, both TV series share a peculiar detective who can’t stop thinking about the case and will do anything in their power to discover what really happened. If you’re watching The Sinner, you could use this show as a palate cleanser, as its tone and style will help you decompress after all the dark emotions that the story of Detective Ambrose will make you feel.

Stream on Peacock

9 American Rust

American Rust tells the story of Del Harris (Jeff Daniels), a detective in the small town of Buell, who is trying to figure out who is guilty of a murder. The catch: the biggest suspect is the son of Grace (Maura Tierney), the woman Harris is dating and is in love with.

Old, Weary Detectives in Small Towns

Harris is also a detective in a small town, trying to solve a murder that the police think they’ve already solved, and it’s pretty obvious who did it and why. Both Harris and Ambrose are old-school detectives who feel they have failed in the past, and still want to do good work, and both get much more personally and emotionally involved with the in-theory killer. The difference is that Harris knew from the start that he shouldn’t be investigating the case, as he was personally involved and interested in a concrete outcome from the start.

But on Apple TV

8 Columbo

Detective Columbo (Peter Falk) was a detective like no other, as he always looked out of his depth and used that image to solve every crime and put those in prison who had underestimated him. That’s what made Columbo such a fun show to watch, as the character was extremely unique.

Both Detectives Use How Criminals Underestimate Them to Their Advantage

Both Ambrose and Columbo have surprising methods, but they always deliver. Although Columbo had one case per week and not a long mystery to solve during the whole season, both shows share a weird detective whom those being investigated underestimate, and that’s their downfall.

Stream on Prime Video

7 Perry Mason

Read Our Second Season Review

This is a re-imagination of the old TV series that starred Raymond Burr, and this time, Perry Mason (Matthew Rhys) is much darker and more brooding, as he tries to uncover a case with many political and civil implications, but with much more blood, violence, and sex than the original TV series could ever show.

Mason and Ambrose Are Against Their Town’s Biggest Interests

Perry Mason surprised many when it was released, and it became a must-watch show. Both Mason and Detective Ambrose fight against the places they’re in, trying to save the small guy, while bigger interests are put above those that might end in prison. If those aren’t enough similarities, both detectives have a past that still haunts them.

Stream on Max

6 Luther

This is the story of Detective Chief Inspector John Luther (Idris Elba), an investigator of the darkest crimes possible in London, who’s in a cat-and-mouse game with a serial killer named Alice (Ruth Wilson), with whom he has a relationship like no other, one that would be looked down upon by his police colleagues.

Both Shows Have Detectives with Lots of Demons

This one is a bit different as it’s set in London, not a small town, but both shows share a detective who has as many demons as the criminals they investigate. Both lead characters also have enough empathy to be able to put themselves in the criminals’ minds, sometimes a little bit too easily, as both have dark pasts, and if things had gone a bit differently, they could be the ones committing the crimes.

Stream on Britbox

5 Mindhunter

Mindhunter is all about how the minds of serial killers work, as FBI agents Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and Bill Tench (Holt McCallany), and psychologist Wendy Carr (Anna Torv) interview imprisoned serial killers to understand their thought processes so that they can solve ongoing cases.

Both Are Interested in the Psychological Element of the Criminal

The Sinner is also focused on the psychological element of the criminal, and that’s the reason you should watch Mindhunter. Well, that, the incredible performances of everyone involved, and the fact that it’s directed by the one and only David Fincher. The show ended after two seasons, although fans are still hoping for a third.

Stream on Netflix

4 The Fall

Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson (Gillian Anderson) is sent to Belfast to catch a serial killer (Jamie Dornan). That’s the story and plot of The Fall, but the show is much more interested in showing how both characters share similar traits in their chess matches to catch one another.

The Why Is Much More Important Than the Who

Both TV series are more focused on why the crime happened than the whodunit, and that’s what makes them special, as it allows for much better character evolution and discovery and creates a detective who is fallible as both a person and a professional, creating more layered roles for Anderson and Pullman to play.

Stream on Prime Video

3 Top of the Lake

In Top of the Lake, Detective Robin Griffin (Elisabeth Moss) is called back to her home of Laketop (in New Zealand) to find out what has happened to a young pregnant girl. There, Griffin must deal with her own experiences as a teenager and all the abuse she suffered back then.

It’s Darker Than The Sinner

A story about child abuse and how those who suffer it deal with it when they’re adults is a theme of both shows, and, in this series, it’s shown in an even darker way. The TV series, created by Jane Champion of The Piano fame, was meant to be one season, but it was such a success that it kept going as Elisabeth Moss was mesmerizing in the role. She even won a Golden Globe for it and was also nominated for a Prime-time Emmy.

Stream on Hulu

2 Mare of Easttown

In Easttown, a small town in Pennsylvania, a teenage girl is killed, shaking the whole community. A small-town detective, Mare (Kate Winslet), is the only one who can solve it. That’s the mystery and story in Mare of Easttown, as Mare might accuse people whom she knows personally, and who she’ll see at the park or the grocery store, making it a high-stakes proposition.

Mare of Easttown and The Sinner Share a Lot of Qualities

An absorbing and dark crime, a detective with their own traumas, who has seen it all and would do anything to get to the truth, a small town with some dark secrets; all those qualities are what make Mare of Easttown and The Sinner similar. Winslet is incredible as Mare, showing how the old, tired detective troupe still has a lot to offer in what was one of the best TV shows of 2021.

Stream on Max

1 Twin Peaks

Twin Peaks was the story of FBI agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan), who goes to the small town of Twin Peaks to discover who killed Laura Palmer. There, Agent Cooper starts peeling the weirdness of the town away and might end up discovering something much bigger than he intended.

The Sinner Wouldn’t Exist Without Twin Peaks

The Sinner wouldn’t exist without Twin Peaks, as it might be one of its biggest inspirations. Both have a strange detective with many peculiarities as their lead, and one that might be much smarter than he looks at first sight. Both shows also use the small-town feel as a way to tell all the dark things that can happen in those communities, and their first seasons are about a woman who did something in strange circumstances. What differentiates them most is the fact that Lynch’s TV series is more interested in the occult and inexplicable things that happen in Twin Peaks.

Stream on Paramount+