15. The Wire (2002–2008)
> IMDB quality score: 9.3/10
> Cast: Dominic West, Lance Reddick, Sonja Sohn, Wendell Pierce
With an IMDb user rating of 9.3/10, “The Wire” ranks as the best detective show in TV history. The HBO drama follows Baltimore detectives as well as the drug dealers they pursue.
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14. Banshee (2013–2016)
> IMDB quality score: 8.4/10
> Cast: Antony Starr, Ivana Milicevic, Ulrich Thomsen, Frankie Faison
Cinemax’s “Banshee” is another gripping series that received increasingly positive reviews over its four-season run. The series tells the story of a criminal, who pretends to be the murdered sheriff of the small town of Banshee, Pennsylvania.
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13. Daredevil (2015–2018)
> IMDB quality score: 8.6/10
> Cast: Charlie Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson
Though this may not be a traditional detective show, “Daredevil” does feature people doggedly pursuing criminals. Matt Murdock is a lawyer by day and a superhero vigilante by night.
12. Criminal Minds (2005–2020)
> IMDB quality score: 8.1/10
> Cast: Matthew Gray Gubler, Kirsten Vangsness, A.J. Cook, Joe Mantegna
In this police procedural drama, a group of FBI agents who work as profilers investigate heinous crimes using behavioral analysis.
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11. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–)
> IMDB quality score: 8.1/10
> Cast: Mariska Hargitay, Christopher Meloni, Ice-T, Dann Florek
Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni play specially trained detectives Benson and Stabler, who investigate sexually related crimes in New York City and have each other’s backs in their private lives. Theirs is a complicated relationship that remained platonic during the course of the long-running NBC show, which has won six Emmys.
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