20 best shows like The Grifters (1990)

A sexy, suspense-driven legal thriller about a group of ambitious law students and their brilliant, mysterious criminal defense professor. They become entangled in a murder plot and will shake the entire university and change the course of their lives.

A contemporary and culturally resonant drama about a young programmer, Elliot, who suffers from a debilitating anti-social disorder and decides that he can only connect to people by hacking them. He wields his skills as a weapon to protect the people that he cares about. Elliot will find himself in the intersection between a cybersecurity firm he works for and the underworld organizations that are recruiting him to bring down corporate America.

The Killing is an American crime drama television series based upon the Danish television series Forbrydelsen. Set in Seattle, Washington, the series follows the various murder investigations by homicide detectives Sarah Linden and Stephen Holder.

Set during the Cold War period in the 1980s, The Americans is the story of Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, two Soviet KGB officers posing as an American married couple in the suburbs of Washington D.C. and their neighbor, Stan Beeman, an FBI Counterintelligence agent.

Raymond "Red" Reddington, one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives, surrenders in person at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. He claims that he and the FBI have the same interests: bringing down dangerous criminals and terrorists. In the last two decades, he's made a list of criminals and terrorists that matter the most but the FBI cannot find because it does not know they exist. Reddington calls this "The Blacklist". Reddington will co-operate, but insists that he will speak only to Elizabeth Keen, a rookie FBI profiler.

An origins story, beginning in 1947, which follows Ratched's journey and evolution from nurse to full-fledged monster tracking her murderous progression through the mental health care system.

CIA officer Carrie Mathison is tops in her field despite being bipolar, which makes her volatile and unpredictable. With the help of her long-time mentor Saul Berenson, Carrie fearlessly risks everything, including her personal well-being and even sanity, at every turn.

James, a disgraced firefighter turned grifter, seizes a chance, illicit opportunity to reverse his life’s worsening course as he attempts to prey upon Pastor Byron Brown, who turns out to be far more dangerous than he appears.

Elijah Kane is prepping his team for court to convict Nicoli Putin of murder when they're ambushed by Putin's men. The season finale of True Justice Season 1.

A young CIA operative, Annie Walker, is mysteriously summoned to headquarters for duty as a field operative. While Annie believes she's been promoted for her exceptional linguistic skills, there may be something or someone from her past that her CIA bosses are really after. Auggie Anderson is a CIA military intelligence agent who was blinded while on assignment and is Annie's guide in this world of bureaucracy, excitement and intrigue.

In the forgotten town of Carp, Texas, Panic is the only way out. Every summer the graduating seniors risk their lives competing in a series of challenges for the chance to win life-changing money. After the death of two players the stakes—and danger—have never been higher.

The story of Jim Worth, an expat British police officer starting a new life with his family as police chief in Little Big Bear, an idyllic town near the Rocky Mountains. When his small town is overrun by migrant workers from a massive new oil refinery – the wave of drugs, prostitution and organised crime that follows them threatens to sweep away everything in its wake.

As a young associate, Mitchell McDeere brought down the prestigious Memphis law firm of Bendini, Lambert & Locke, which operated as a front for the Chicago mob—and his life was never the same. After a difficult decade, which included a stay in the Federal Witness Protection program, Mitch and his family now emerge from isolation to reclaim their lives and their future—only to find that past dangers are still lurking and new threats are everywhere.

Grace, a morally and emotionally-conflicted undercover detective, is tormented by the possibility that her own actions contributed to her son’s death. Grace’s search for the truth is further complicated by her forbidden relationship with Jimmy, the crime boss who may have played a hand in the crime.

An American anthology police detective series utilizing multiple timelines in which investigations seem to unearth personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within or outside the law.

An elite team of FBI profilers analyze the country's most twisted criminal minds, anticipating their next moves before they strike again. The Behavioral Analysis Unit's most experienced agent is David Rossi, a founding member of the BAU who returns to help the team solve new cases.

FBI agent Audrey Parker arrives in the small town of Haven, Maine to solve a murder and soon discovers the town's many secrets—which also hold the key to unlocking the mysteries of her lost past.

CSI: NY is an American police procedural television series that ran on CBS from September 22, 2004 to February 22, 2013 for a total of nine seasons and 197 original episodes. The show follows the investigations of a team of NYPD forensic scientists and police officers identified as "Crime Scene Investigators".

Follow a disillusioned teen recruited into a storied high school for assassins. Maintaining his moral code while surviving a ruthless curriculum, vicious social cliques, and his own adolescent uncertainties may prove fatal.

Person of Interest follows former CIA paramilitary operative, John Reese, who is presumed dead and teams up with reclusive billionaire Finch to prevent violent crimes in New York City by initiating their own type of justice. With the special training that Reese has had in Covert Operations and Finch's genius software inventing mind, the two are a perfect match for the job that they have to complete. With the help of surveillance equipment, they work "outside the law" and get the right criminal behind bars. 

Dr. Dylan Reinhart, a gifted author, university professor and former CIA operative is lured back to his old life by tenacious top NYPD Detective Lizzie Needham. Though Dylan and Lizzie initially clash, when it comes to catching killers, they make an ideal team.

The story of Ben Clemens, who after 32 years as a border patrol agent is forced to work for the very people he spent his career trying to keep out of the United States. Now exposed to life on the other side of the wall, Ben will start to question his black and white views of the world, challenging his ideology and his loyalties.

In a mystical and dark city filled with humans, fairies and other creatures, a police detective investigates a series of gruesome murders leveled against the fairy population. During his investigation, the detective becomes the prime suspect and must find the real killer to clear his name.

In the gritty world of the NYPD, no one's tougher than Detective Robert Ironside. He and his trusted, handpicked team of specialists will do whatever it takes to solve New York's most difficult and notorious crimes - even if it means breaking the rules. As a detective, his instincts are second to none, and those around him have to stay on their toes if they want to keep up...because when his spine was shattered by a bullet two years ago, Ironside swore he'd never let a damn wheelchair slow him down.

Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior was a short-lived American police procedural drama that aired on CBS. The show debuted in 2011 as a spin-off from the successful Criminal Minds, which had premiered in 2005. This edition's profiling team also worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Behavioral Analysis Unit in Quantico, Virginia. In an April 2010 episode of Criminal Minds, during the show's fifth season, the original team met the new team and worked with them to find a San Francisco serial killer. This episode served as the new series' backdoor pilot. Just like the parent series, CBS owned the underlying North American rights, while ABC owned the international rights. The series premiered on February 16, 2011, and filled the Wednesday 10 pm time slot, airing immediately after the original Criminal Minds. CBS cancelled the series on May 17, 2011. The series ends with a cliffhanger. On September 6, 2011 CBS DVD released the complete series as a 4 disc-set. It is packaged as "The DVD Edition". There are numerous special features and two episode commentaries with the cast and crew. The set includes the backdoor pilot from season five of the original show.

On Christmas Eve, a hit-man enters a church to confess his sins to a priest. While at first the Confessor seems to be an evil, cold-blooded killing machine and the Priest the ultimate arbiter of good, as the Confessor’s journey is revealed, it becomes clear that both men are much more complicated than either could have suspected.

DI Cadi John and DC Owen Vaughan try to solve a case involving Mali Pryce, a young woman whose body was discovered in a stream in the woods.

Dogged investigator Allegra Dill returns to her border-town Texas home after her sister is murdered. What begins as a search for a killer turns into an all-consuming fight to bring her corrupt hometown to its knees.

The black sheep of the Argyll family, Jack Argyll, was accused of murdering their matriarch a year ago, but now a man shows up on their doorstep claiming Jack’s innocence. The family must come to terms with this news and the fact that the real killer might still be among them.

When a pizza delivery driver is shot dead in south London, a tenacious detective goes after the people traffickers behind his murder and unravels a conspiracy that goes to the top.

The murder of a teenager and the hunt for a serial killer in a suburban Northern California town sets two fathers on a course of mutual destruction that will reverberate through their quiet community. Starring Sam Trammell and Aden Young.

A modern update finds the famous sleuth and his doctor partner solving crime in 21st century London.

An anthology series that delves into the players, the crime and the media circus, detailing the day-to-day battles of the trial and unveiling the shocking truth of what really went down when the cameras stopped rolling.

Cameron Black is the world's greatest illusionist. At least, that's what people used to call him - before his greatest secret was exposed and his career destroyed. Even worse, Cameron has good reason to believe this was no accident.

Descend into the world of true-crime podcasts. New evidence compels podcaster Poppy Parnell to reopen the murder case that made her a media sensation.

Law & Order: LA, originally titled Law & Order: Los Angeles, is an American police procedural and legal drama television series set in Los Angeles, where it was produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and developed by Blake Masters, it premiered on NBC on September 29, 2010, as a spin-off of Wolf's successful crime drama Law & Order.The show received a full season pickup on October 18, 2010. On January 18, 2011, however, NBC announced that it was putting the series on hold indefinitely. According to a representative of the show, the scheduling change was not caused entirely by the recent cast shake-up. The network later announced a return date for the series, April 11, 2011; and the final episode scheduled for July 11, 2011.Law & Order: LA was canceled by NBC on May 13, 2011.

Ex-cop and recovering alcoholic Hank Dolworth partners with his best friend, former criminal Britt Pollack, in an unlicensed private investigation business. The series is set in Ocean Beach, San Diego, California, although it is portrayed as a distinct town, with Dolworth having once been a member of the fictional Ocean Beach Police Department.

The Fugitive Task Force relentlessly tracks and captures the notorious criminals on the Bureau’s Most Wanted list. Seasoned agent Jess LaCroix oversees the highly skilled team that functions as a mobile undercover unit that is always out in the field, pursuing those who are most desperate to elude justice.

Follow Jim Fitzgerald, the FBI agent who tracked down Ted Kaczynksi, aka the “Unabomber,” and brought him to justice through his expertise in profiling and linguistics.

For most physicians, the Hippocratic oath is sacred. But for one Chicago doctor, who is indebted to the mafia, saving lives isn’t her only concern. The Mob Doctor is a fast-paced medical drama focusing on a young female surgeon caught between two worlds as she juggles her promising medical career with her family’s debt to Chicago’s Southside mob.

A woman haunted by her past, Detective Robin Griffin, investigates complex and unsettling cases.

An accidental killing leads a man down a dark hole of intrigue and murder. Just as he finds love and freedom, one phone call brings back the nightmare.

Set in 15th century Italy at the height of the Renaissance, The Borgias chronicles the corrupt rise of patriarch Rodrigo Borgia to the papacy, where he proceeds to commit every sin in the book to amass and retain power, influence and enormous wealth for himself and his family.

Dr. Daniel Pierce, a neuroscientist and professor, is recruited to help the federal government crack difficult cases. His intimate knowledge of human behavior and masterful understanding of the mind give him an extraordinary ability to read people, but his eccentric view of the world and less-than-stellar social skills can often interfere with his work.

In 1993, six months after the events of The Silence of the Lambs, FBI Agent Clarice Starling returns to the field to pursue serial murderers and sexual predators while navigating the high stakes political world of Washington, D.C.

After years of blood, sweat and tears, a woman of humble origin ends up becoming a drug trafficking legend, with all that that means...

The son of a notorious serial killer becomes an acclaimed criminal psychologist who uses his unique insight into how killers think to help the NYPD.

Fresh out of prison, world-class thief Daisy ”Jett” Kowalski is forced back into doing what she does best by dangerous and eccentric criminals determined to exploit her skills for their own ends.