10 Most Unpredictable Crime Shows, Ranked

For decades, the crime genre has been one of television’s most prolific and popular. Several of the shows that are usually considered among the greatest of all time are crime shows, and that’s no coincidence. These kinds of suspenseful, twist-based stories lend themselves perfectly to the episodic televisual format, and these shows are undeniable evidence of that.

A quality that tends to be essential to crime television is unpredictability. How will those twists and that tension have their desired effect if you can see the turns coming from a mile away? Thankfully, the best crime series tend to be pretty hard to predict—but there are definitely shows that stand out among the rest as the most consistently shocking of the bunch.

10

‘Pretty Little Liars’ (2010–2017)

Created by I. Marlene King

Based on the series of novels of the same name by Sara Shepard, Pretty Little Liars is one of the biggest television cult classics of the 2000s—arguably the best era ever for TV. The story of the whole show revolves around a group of friends investigating the disappearance of their friend while an anonymous foe threatens to reveal their darkest secrets, and the ensuing mystery is as gripping as it sounds.

This campy teen drama has a pretty clear target demographic, but the mysteries that populate each of the show’s seven seasons are thrilling enough to target any kind of fan of TV crime shows. Frankly, it’s commendable that the writers managed to keep the suspense fresh and exciting for so long, but there’s no denying that Pretty Little Liars was unpredictable all the way until the end.

9

‘Better Call Saul’ (2015–2022)

Created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould

A spin-off prequel of what many consider the greatest TV show ever made, Better Call Saul had massive shoes to fill, and it filled them with such excellence that many people even prefer it over its predecessor. Just like its titular protagonist is a chameleon, so too was the show. Throughout its run, it was a crime thriller, a legal dramedy, and a profound character study, often all at once.

At all points, Better Call Saul was a significantly more character-driven show than Breaking Bad, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t have any surprising plot points and storylines. This is a very special case, too, as prequels tend to run into the issue that viewers already know how things will end. Not so with Better Call Saul. How things would get to what fans saw in Breaking Bad was a mystery more than big enough to keep things exquisitely unpredictable, and the way the series continued and concluded its predecessor’s story was also a welcome surprise. It all culminated in one of the most satisfying TV finales in history, which is also perhaps one of the greatest episodes of television in history.

8

‘The X-Files’ (1993–2018)

Created by Chris Carter

A bastion of modern pop culture and one of the most influential shows of all time in the crime and sci-fi genres, The X-Files is a cult classic that has aged beautifully. A must-watch sci-fi show, it’s a favorite of sci-fi geeks and Area 51 conspiracy theorists around the world, with fresh dialogue and two of the most entertaining lead characters in the genre’s history.

The X-Files remains one of the most groundbreaking TV shows of all time over three decades after it first aired, the mother of all modern paranormal shows, from Supernatural to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Its monster-of-the-week format means that every new episode had a new unpredictable mystery to solve, which was mixed with thought-provoking themes and some solid character work. It’s a classic gem that no lover of crime television should miss out on.

7

‘Mr. Robot’ (2015–2019)

Created by Sam Esmail

With several of the greatest episodes and even one of the greatest seasons of television of all time, Mr. Robot is the kind of masterful show whose praises even its fans can’t sing enough. Shocking, intriguing, intelligent, and held together by a monumental Rami Malek lead performance, it’s a cyber thriller that proves just how great the subgenre can truly be.

The series’ timely themes of control, corporate greed, and the impossible-to-fully-understand nature of reality make it a timeless must-see. It’s best to go into it completely blind, since that’s the ideal way to experience its myriad twists and turns, which are simply impossible to predict. The thematic and character work are flawless, but it’s the constantly shocking nature of the story that really makes this the kind of show that you can’t stop clicking “next episode” on.

6

‘Broadchurch’ (2013–2017)

Created by Chris Chibnall

One of the most underrated crime shows of modern times, the British police procedural Broadchurch has far more going for it than just David Tennant and Olivia Colman at the top of their games. Deliberately plotted, socially conscious, and with mysteries that keep going in all sorts of unexpected directions, it’s an edge-of-your-couch thriller that’s exquisitely easy to binge-watch.

The show is so twisty and unpredictable that each of the three seasons had strict secrecy policies, where even the actors were on a need-to-know basis regarding plot points in preparing for their performances. The stark contrast between the series’ stunning visual beauty and dark narrative feels entirely deliberate, and the way this tonally unique environment allows for such strong characterization and amazing production values makes this a show that deserves far more appreciation than it gets outside of the U.K. nowadays.

5

‘Ozark’ (2017–2022)

Created by Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams

The drug crime epic Ozark has a somewhat slow start and a somewhat disappointing ending, but everything in between is so riveting that it’s hard not to consider this one of the greatest modern crime shows. Thanks to its cinematic visuals, stunning writing, and masterful performances, it’s a nail-bitingly tense drama that never lets up.

With a hypnotic plot and some deeply nuanced, fascinating characters (including one of the best antiheroes in TV history), Ozark gets more and more intriguing, as well as less and less predictable, as the story goes on and the stakes keep ramping up. It’s a gritty, complex story where the character arcs provide as much unpredictability as the plot twists do, offering an example of how to nail crime television writing.

4

‘Breaking Bad’ (2008–2013)

Created by Vince Gilligan

Except perhaps for those who have been living under a rock for the past decade or so, Breaking Bad is a show that needs no introduction. Celebrated by many as the single greatest show of all time—and if not, at least of the 21st century—, it’s as close as crime drama television can ever hope to come to perfection. Brilliantly shot, directed, written, and performed, it’s a masterclass in all departments of TV production.

The greatest TV drama of the 2000s, Breaking Bad knows that the key to a truly riveting crime show is a balance between layered character arcs and entertaining, entirely unpredictable storylines. There isn’t a single moment in the show where a twist comes along that doesn’t generate some kind of shocked reaction. It’s all consistently surprising, yet never contrived.

3

‘Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency’ (2016–2017)

Created by Max Landis

Based on a series of novels by British comedic author Douglas Adams, best known for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency is one of the most underappreciated crime dramas out there. Tragically canceled by the BBC after just two season due to declining viewership, it’s nevertheless still very much worth checking out in 2025.

Ambitious, darkly humorous, and reveling in its head-scratching weirdness, it’s an often-surreal fantasy sci-fi show as much as it is a crime show, which unsurprisingly results in some of the most offbeat and unpredictable stories imaginable. Sharp, smart, and mysterious beyond measure, it’s an absolute delight for those who like their crime series with a generous side portion of weirdness.

2

‘True Detective’ (2014–)

Created by Nic Pizzolatto

There is a before and after True Detective in the history of contemporary crime television. Starting with season one, which is easily and by far one of the greatest seasons of TV in history, this anthology series hasn’t really reached such heights again, but it has also never ceased to be one of the greatest shows currently on television.

As far as psychological thrillers on television go, this is as good as it gets. Each of the four different stories that each of the show’s four seasons tell have plenty of things in common, but one of the most noteworthy is just how delightfully unpredictable it all is. There are logically seasons that are better (and therefore more surprising) than others, but there isn’t a single episode of True Detective that’s dull, boring, or predictable.

1

‘Dark’ (2017–2020)

Created by Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese

The Netflix original Dark is a German cult classic where, if viewers aren’t paying attention, they’re likely to get completely lost. But if they’re willing to invest their patience and full focus on the series, they’ll be treated to a sci-fi crime thriller with one of the most complex and expertly constructed narratives that they ever have or will ever watch.

The amount of attention to detail that went into not only Dark‘s masterful narrative structure, but also its eerie and often horror-like tone, is admirable. Fans of bizarre, mind-bending shows simply ought to check this one out, as it’s one big three-season-long puzzle that’s incredibly fun (yet entirely impossible) to try and solve. As far as unpredictable television goes, this is the pinnacle of the mountain.

NEXT:The Best Crime Shows of the 21st Century (So Far), Ranked