20 best shows like The Pretender (1996)

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. 

Fun-loving San Francisco Police Department investigator Nash Bridges is part of the elite Special Investigations Unit. He tackles crime using his keen sense of humor and charm. Joe Dominguez comes out of retirement to become Bridges' wisecracking yet more rule-abiding partner.

A vast international plot explodes when a beautiful Jane Doe is discovered naked in Times Square, completely covered in mysterious, intricate tattoos with no memory of who she is or how she got there. But there's one tattoo that is impossible to miss: the name of FBI agent Kurt Weller, emblazoned across her back. "Jane," Agent Weller and the rest of the FBI quickly realize that each mark on her body is a crime to solve, leading them closer to the truth about her identity and the mysteries to be revealed.

Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders is a drama about the specialized International Division of the FBI tasked with solving crimes and coming to the rescue of Americans who find themselves in danger while abroad.

Minority Report follows the unlikely partnership between a man haunted by the future and a cop haunted by her past, as they race to stop the worst crimes of the year 2065 before they happen. Set in Washington, D.C., it is 10 years after the demise of Precrime, a law enforcement agency tasked with identifying and eliminating criminals... before their crimes were committed. To carry out this brand of justice, the agency used three precogs - "precognitives" Dash, Arthur and Agatha - who were able to see the future. Now, in 2065, crime-solving is different, and justice leans more on sophisticated and trusted technology than on the instincts of the precogs.

Ichabod Crane is resurrected and pulled two and a half centuries through time to unravel a mystery that dates all the way back to the founding fathers.

The elite unit of the New York office of the FBI brings to bear all their talents, intellect and technical expertise on major cases in order to keep New York and the country safe.

When a dark secret from this past threatens to be exposed, unorthodox and brilliant medical examiner, Doctor Daniel Harrow, must use all his forensic skills to keep it buried forever.

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.

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.

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.

Nikita will stop at nothing to expose and destroy Division, the secret U.S. agency who trained her as a spy and assassin.

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.

Drive is an American action drama television series set against the backdrop of an illegal cross-country automobile road race, focusing on the willing and unwilling competitors and, as the plot develops, the unseen puppet masters who sponsor the race. Minear has described the show's thematic tone by saying "a secret, illegal, underground road race can be anything from Cannonball Run to The Game to North by Northwest to Magnolia-on-wheels. Ours is all those things."

Before there was Batman, there was GOTHAM. Everyone knows the name Commissioner Gordon. He is one of the crime world's greatest foes, a man whose reputation is synonymous with law and order. But what is known of Gordon's story and his rise from rookie detective to Police Commissioner? What did it take to navigate the multiple layers of corruption that secretly ruled Gotham City, the spawning ground of the world's most iconic villains? And what circumstances created them – the larger-than-life personas who would become Catwoman, The Penguin, The Riddler, Two-Face and The Joker?

A retired FBI serial-profiler joins the mysterious Millennium Group, a team of underground ex-law enforcement experts dedicated to fighting against the ever-growing forces of evil and darkness in the world.

Patrick Jane, a former celebrity psychic medium, uses his razor sharp skills of observation and expertise at "reading" people to solve serious crimes with the California Bureau of Investigation.

After faking his own death, notorious gangster Volkov (Wolf) retires overseas with a new identity. When his parents die in a car accident 20 years later, he secretly returns to his hometown and learns that the nephew of a local mobster is responsible for his parents’ death. After killing the man, a battle between the old-newcomer and local crime bosses unfolds.

Notorious serial killer Joe Carroll, after being found guilty of murdering 14 female students on the Virginia college campus where he taught literature, escapes from death row. The FBI calls former agent Ryan Hardy to consult on the case, as he was the one responsible for Carroll’s capture in 2003. Ryan, working closely with an FBI team, including Mike Weston and FBI Specialist Debra Parker, piece together the ever-growing web of murders orchestrated by the devious Carroll.

What does it take to be a detective in one of America's toughest cities? Follow one homicide unit as Detroit's finest unearth the crisis and revelation, heartbreak and heroism of these inner city cops in Detroit, Michigan.

In a town in southern Spain where racial tensions run high among the workers in its many greenhouses, a cop investigates the murder of a young woman.

When an insidious supernatural force edges its way into a seemingly straightforward investigation into the gruesome murder of a young boy, it leads a seasoned cop and an unorthodox investigator to question everything they believe in.

A drama about a multi-generational family of cops dedicated to New York City law enforcement. Frank Reagan is the New York Police Commissioner and heads both the police force and the Reagan brood. He runs his department as diplomatically as he runs his family, even when dealing with the politics that plagued his unapologetically bold father, Henry, during his stint as Chief.

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".

Plague decimates late 16th century Seville, a crowded city where many have arrived to embark for the New World to seek their fortune.

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 action-packed Las Vegas thriller about a former military operative turned security expert who is drawn into a high-stakes game where an organization of wealthy individuals gamble on his ability to stop some of the biggest crimes imaginable from playing out. Can he take them down from the inside and get revenge for the death of his wife, or is it true what they say: the House always wins.

Skeptical female clinical psychologist Kristen Benoist joins a priest-in-training and a blue-collar contractor as they investigate supposed miracles, demonic possessions, and other extraordinary occurrences to see if there’s a scientific explanation or if something truly supernatural is at work.

In a violent, alternate reality of New York City besieged by race riots, financial collapse, and a surging crime wave , an underworld economy of illegal nightclubs is thriving. Detective Santiago is tasked to crack down on these clubs. When he meets his new partner, Everett More, Santiago discovers there are numerous government agencies and crime organizations circling NYC and vying for control.

Laura Holt, a licensed private detective, opens a detective agency but finds that potential clients refuse to hire a woman, however qualified. To solve the problem, Laura invents a fictitious male superior whom she names Remington Steele. Through a series of events that unfold in the first episode, "License to Steele," a former thief and con man, whose real name is never revealed, assumes the identity of Remington Steele. Behind the scenes, Laura remains firmly in charge.

The story of the Miami Police Department's vice squad and its efforts to end drug trafficking and prostitution, centered on the unlikely partnership of Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs - who first meet when Tubbs is undercover in a drug cartel.

Both a gift and a curse, Graham has the extraordinary ability to think like his prey—he sees what they see, feels what they feel. But while Graham is pursuing an especially troubling, cannibalistic murderer, Special Agent Jack Crawford teams him with a highly respected psychiatrist – a man with a taste for the criminal minded – Dr. Hannibal Lecter.

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

A politically sensitive murder forces two disparate detectives into a battle with the Berlin underworld and a confrontation with their own corruption.

Robert McCall is a former agent of a secret government agency who is now running his own private crime fighting operation where he fashions himself as "The Equalizer." It is a service for victims of the system who have exhausted all possible means of seeking justice and have nowhere to go. McCall promises to even out the odds for them.

Those Who Kill is a Danish crime TV series from 2011, which follows a fictitious unit within Copenhagen Police which specialises in investigating serial murders. The series was aired as five two-part stories in Denmark, but has aired as five feature film length episodes in most other countries. A separate 92 minutes feature film, Fortidens skygge, which forms a continuation and ending of the series, premiered in Danish cinemas on 15 March 2012, and is being aired as a final, sixth episode of the series in many other countries, such as the UK and Germany. The series is created and written by Elsebeth Egholm and Stefan Jaworski, with various other screenwriters helping out as episode writers, among them Siv Rajendram, Rikke De Fine Licht and Morten Dragsted. Directors have been Birger Larsen, Niels Nørløv and Kasper Barfoed. The series is a Danish-German-Swedish-Norwegian co-production. Although originally planned to run for several seasons, Danish TV2 announced in October 2011 that there would be no further seasons made, due to falling viewer shares after the first few episodes. TV2 programming manager Keld Reinicke stated that, "We have no plans to continue the series as it never gave us the audience share we expected in Denmark."

A formerly blacklisted spy uses his unique skills and training to help people in desperate situations.

In early 90s Boston, an African-American District Attorney comes in from Brooklyn advocating change and forms an unlikely alliance with a corrupt yet venerated FBI veteran invested in maintaining the status quo. Together they take on a family of armored car robbers from Charlestown in a case that grows to encompass and eventually upend Boston’s city-wide criminal justice system.

After a tragic ending to her short-lived super hero stint, Jessica Jones is rebuilding her personal life and career as a detective who gets pulled into cases involving people with extraordinary abilities in New York City.

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.

A character drama based on the 2001 Elmore Leonard short story "Fire in the Hole." Leonard's tale centers around U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens of Kentucky, a quiet but strong-willed official of the law. The tale covers his high-stakes job, as well as his strained relationships with his ex-wife and father.

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.

Rooted in the conflict between characters connected to the deity Santa Muerte and others allied with the Devil, this saga explores an exciting mix of the supernatural and the combustible reality of 1938 Los Angeles, a time and place deeply infused with Mexican-American folklore and social tension.

The disastrous meltdown of a nuclear power plant in Northern Spain created a contaminated no-go zone and left the nearby provincial city and inhabitants in a state of shock and mourning. Three years later, while the city prepares for the commemoration ceremony, a mutilated body is found in a warehouse. Police inspector Hector Uria's search for the murderer takes him deep into the no-go zone and into his own past.

Philip Marlowe, Private Eye is a British mystery series that aired on ITV in the United Kingdom under the shorter title 'Marlowe, Private Eye' and on HBO in the United States from April 16, 1983 through June 3, 1986. The series features Powers Boothe as Raymond Chandler's titular character, and was the first drama produced for HBO.

A missing child causes four families to help each other for answers. What they could not imagine is that this mystery would be connected to innumerable other secrets of the small town.

The Event is an emotional, high-octane conspiracy thriller that follows Sean Walker, an everyman who investigates the mysterious disappearance of his would-be fiancée Leila, and unwittingly begins to expose the biggest cover-up in U.S. history.

Banshee: Origins is a series of webisodes based on the American drama television series produced by Cinemax called Banshee. The series offers flashbacks in-between the time where Lucas Hood was arrested and when Sheriff Lucas Hood first arrived in Banshee.

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.

Robyn McCall, an enigmatic former CIA operative with a mysterious background, uses her extensive skills to help those with nowhere else to turn.