15 British Crime Shows on Netflix So Addictive You’ll Lose Sleep Bingeing Them

15 British Crime Shows on Netflix So Addictive You’ll Lose Sleep Bingeing Them

British crime dramas have a special way of keeping you glued to the screen long past bedtime. They mix clever mysteries, complicated characters, and twists you never see coming. From gritty London streets to quiet countryside villages hiding dark secrets, these shows prove that Britain knows how to tell a crime story. Get ready to meet some of the most binge-worthy series Netflix has to offer.

1. Inside Man (2022)

A death-row prisoner in America, a vicar in a sleepy English village, and a journalist caught in an impossible situation—what could possibly connect them? This four-part miniseries weaves their stories together in ways that feel both shocking and satisfying.

Steven Moffat, the genius behind Sherlock, created this mind-bending puzzle that keeps you guessing until the final moments. Each episode peels back another layer of the mystery, revealing moral dilemmas that make you question what you would do in their shoes.

The performances are gripping, especially David Tennant as the conflicted vicar facing choices no one should have to make. Just when you think you’ve figured it out, another twist sends you spinning in a completely different direction.

2. Bodyguard (2018)

War leaves scars you cannot always see, and David Budd carries his everywhere he goes. As a protection officer for a powerful Home Secretary, he must keep her safe while battling his own trauma and suspicious instincts about the people around him.

The tension in this series is almost unbearable in the best possible way. Every episode builds on the last, creating a pressure cooker of political conspiracy, personal demons, and explosive action sequences that feel terrifyingly real.

Richard Madden delivers a career-defining performance as a man caught between duty and doubt. The show explores PTSD, political corruption, and the price of loyalty with intelligence and heart-pounding suspense that earned it massive ratings across Britain.

3. Black Doves (2024)

London’s criminal underworld becomes the playground for spies playing deadly games in this sleek new thriller. Secrets pile up like bodies, and trust is the rarest currency in a city where everyone has something to hide.

What makes this show stand out is how it blends classic spy craft with modern crime drama sensibilities. The characters operate in moral gray zones where betrayal might be an act of love, and loyalty could get you killed.

Shot with stylish cinematography that captures London’s dark beauty, Black Doves offers a fresh take on the espionage genre. Each episode reveals another layer of deception, keeping you hooked as allegiances shift like shadows in the night.

4. Bodies (2023)

Four detectives across four different time periods—1890, 1941, 2023, and 2053—all discover the exact same body in the exact same London location. How is that even possible? That question drives this absolutely wild ride through time and crime.

Based on a graphic novel, Bodies turns the murder mystery genre inside out by making time itself part of the investigation. Each era has its own visual style and challenges, from Victorian London to a dystopian future.

The way the storylines weave together is brilliant, with clues from one timeline affecting cases in another. It’s science fiction meets detective drama, and somehow it all makes sense by the end, delivering one of the most original crime shows in years.

5. Giri/Haji (2019)

When a Tokyo detective travels to London searching for his yakuza-connected brother, two worlds collide in spectacular fashion. Giri means duty, haji means shame—and this show explores both through the lens of family, honor, and survival across cultures.

Switching seamlessly between English and Japanese, the series captures the clash and connection between British and Japanese societies. Gang warfare, family obligations, and personal redemption all tangle together in a story that feels both intimate and epic.

The show takes bold creative risks, including an unforgettable action sequence choreographed like a dance. It’s beautiful, brutal, and deeply emotional—a crime drama that transcends borders and genre expectations with style and substance.

6. Safe (2018)

Gated communities promise safety, but what if the biggest threats live behind those secure walls? When Tom’s teenage daughter vanishes, his desperate search uncovers lies, affairs, and crimes his neighbors have been hiding for years.

Created by crime master Harlan Coben, this eight-episode series proves that danger doesn’t just lurk in dark alleys—it sits across the dinner table. Every family in this seemingly perfect suburb has secrets worth killing for.

Michael C. Hall brings intensity to the role of a widowed father who refuses to stop searching. The twists come fast, each revelation leading to bigger questions, until the final episode delivers answers that reframe everything you thought you knew.

7. Department Q (2025)

Some crimes get filed away and forgotten, gathering dust in basement archives—until Department Q digs them back up. This new series reimagines the acclaimed Danish novels in a British setting, where cold cases refuse to stay cold.

The detectives assigned to this department are often there because they don’t fit anywhere else. Brilliant but troubled, they bring fresh eyes to investigations that everyone else gave up on years ago.

Atmospheric and moody, the show captures that distinctly British combination of procedural detail and psychological depth. Each case peels back layers of time, showing how past crimes cast long shadows over present lives, and how truth has a way of surfacing no matter how deep it’s buried.

8. Top Boy (2011)

Hackney’s housing estates become the battleground for survival, power, and loyalty in this raw portrayal of London’s street culture. Dushane and Sully aren’t just drug dealers—they’re products of a system that offers few paths out and even fewer second chances.

What sets Top Boy apart is its refusal to glamorize the life it depicts. Violence has consequences, choices destroy families, and the cost of power is measured in broken relationships and lost futures.

The performances feel documentary-real, the dialogue crackles with authenticity, and the storytelling never loses sight of the humanity beneath the crime. Drake loved it so much he helped revive it after cancellation, bringing this essential British drama to a global audience.

9. Marcella (2016)

Marcella Backland returns to the Metropolitan Police after a decade away, just as a serial killer from her past resurfaces. But she’s battling more than just a murderer—she’s fighting blackouts and memory gaps that leave her questioning her own actions.

Anna Friel delivers a haunting performance as a detective unraveling both a case and her own mind. The psychological thriller elements blend seamlessly with the police procedural, creating a show that’s as much about internal demons as external crimes.

Each season presents a new case while deepening the mystery of Marcella herself. It’s dark, intense, and uncomfortable in the best way, exploring mental health and trauma alongside murder investigations with unflinching honesty.

10. Peaky Blinders (2013)

Post-war Birmingham, 1919: the Shelby family runs their criminal empire with razor blades sewn into their caps and ambitions that reach far beyond the smoky streets of Small Heath. Tommy Shelby isn’t just a gangster—he’s a war-damaged tactician playing chess while everyone else plays checkers.

Stylish doesn’t begin to describe this show. With its anachronistic soundtrack, cigarette-smoke cinematography, and swagger for days, Peaky Blinders turned period crime drama into art.

Cillian Murphy’s icy intensity as Tommy anchors a cast of memorable characters navigating class warfare, political intrigue, and family loyalty. It’s violent, beautiful, and utterly addictive—six seasons of British crime drama at its most ambitious and entertaining.

11. The Capture (2019)

Seeing is believing—except when video evidence can be manipulated without a trace. Shaun Emery, a soldier accused of assault, has CCTV footage showing his guilt. But what if that footage is a lie created by technology most people don’t know exists?

This techno-thriller taps into modern anxieties about surveillance, deepfakes, and truth in the digital age. Detective Rachel Carey must question everything she sees as she investigates a case where reality itself becomes unreliable.

Tightly plotted and deeply unsettling, The Capture feels ripped from tomorrow’s headlines. It raises chilling questions about privacy, power, and how technology can be weaponized, all while delivering edge-of-your-seat suspense that makes you rethink every camera you pass.

12. Stay Close (2021)

Megan Pierce seems like an ordinary suburban mom, but her past holds secrets dark enough to destroy her present. When a man disappears during carnival weekend, three people with hidden connections find their carefully constructed lives beginning to crumble.

Another Harlan Coben adaptation, Stay Close delivers the twists and turns he’s famous for. A former photojournalist, a detective haunted by an unsolved case, and Megan herself all circle around a mystery that keeps expanding.

Set in a vividly realized British seaside town, the show balances domestic drama with genuine menace. Each episode reveals another piece of the puzzle, building to a finale that ties together past and present in ways you won’t predict, no matter how hard you try.

13. Paranoid (2016)

A doctor stabbed to death in a children’s playground—it should be a tragic but straightforward case. Instead, four detectives find themselves pulled into a conspiracy that stretches across Europe and involves secrets powerful people would kill to protect.

What begins as a local murder investigation transforms into something far more dangerous and complex. The detectives must navigate international politics, personal demons, and threats that hit closer to home than they ever imagined.

The eight-episode series keeps the tension high while developing its characters beyond their badges. It’s a conspiracy thriller that doesn’t lose sight of the human cost, with performances and plotting that make you question who to trust until the very end.

14. Adolescence (2025)

A thirteen-year-old boy arrested for murdering a classmate—how did it come to this? Shot in ambitious single-take episodes, this four-part series examines youth violence, online culture, and the ripple effects that destroy multiple families.

The single-take format creates unbearable intimacy and tension. You can’t look away as the story unfolds in real time, forcing you to sit with uncomfortable questions about responsibility, influence, and the digital world shaping young minds.

This isn’t easy viewing, but it’s important and gripping. Adolescence explores how social media, peer pressure, and family dynamics intersect in tragic ways, offering no simple answers but plenty of devastating insight into modern youth culture and violence.

15. Criminal: UK (2019)

One room. A table. Two chairs. That’s all this show needs to create absolutely gripping television. Criminal: UK takes place almost entirely in police interrogation rooms, where detectives match wits with suspects in psychological battles that reveal truth one question at a time.

Each episode features a different case and guest star, from David Tennant to Kit Harington, delivering intense performances in a pressure-cooker environment. The minimal setting forces you to focus on dialogue, body language, and the cat-and-mouse games people play.

It’s a masterclass in acting and writing, proving you don’t need car chases or shootouts to create edge-of-your-seat drama. Just two people in a room, one truth to uncover, and tension thick enough to cut.