There are some stellar British crime thrillers to binge on Netflix these days. A few were released under the radar, but have since gone on to garner plenty of praise from critics and audiences alike. Some are Netflix originals, while others have landed on the streaming service via other avenues in the past few years.
Whether you’re looking for a multi-season series or a brief but propulsive miniseries, there’s something for everyone. The shortest binge on this list is four hours, and the longest is over 1,000 hours. These British crime thrillers range from slow-burns to procedurals to genre-bending adventures to mysteries with puzzle-box premises. The common denominator? Once you start watching, you won’t want to stop.
Here are 12 addictive British TV crime thrillers to binge on Netflix.
‘Inside Man’ (2022)
Don’t confuse this one with the 2006 Spike Lee movie with the same title. Inside Man is a four-part BBC One miniseries created by Sherlock co-creator Steven Moffat. David Tennant (Dr. Who) stars as Harry Watling, a British vicar who takes a dark turn after a troubled man’s thumb drive featuring criminal content is mistaken for his own by his son’s math tutor, Janice Fife (Dolly Wells). What starts as a misunderstanding spirals into a desperate situation. The cast includes Lydia West (He Had it Coming), Lyndsey Marshal (Rome), Louis Oliver (Sherlock), and Stanley Tucci (Conclave).
Unearthing a Dark Secret
Inside Man aired on BBC in September 2022 and was released internationally on Netflix that same year. Each episode is roughly 60 minutes in length. Reviews have been somewhat uneven, but the performances are undeniably riveting. Tennant and Tucci in particular shine as they explore the varied dark facets of the human condition.
‘Bodyguard’ (2018)
Jed Mercurio (Line of Duty) created this political thriller, which aired on BBC in 2018 and arrived on Netflix that same year. Richard Madden, who became a household name playing Robb Stark on Game of Thrones five years earlier, stars as Police Sergeant David Budd, an Afghanistan War veteran who stops a bomb from going off on a London train. His heroism leads to a job protecting controversial Home Secretary Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes), even as Budd and Montague’s personal relationships begin to break down.
A Critically Praised Thriller
Bodyguard was well-received by critics. It earned two 2019 Primetime Emmy Award nominations and Richard Madden won the Golden Globe that year for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series in the drama category. The miniseries holds a 93% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
‘Black Doves’ (2024)
Black Doves is a Netflix original series created by Joe Barton (Giri/Haji). Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game) and Ben Whishaw (A Very English Scandal) star as spies Helen Webb and Sam Young, whose shared past means they can only trust each other when Helen’s lover turns up dead. The writing is incredibly sharp. The performances are phenomenal, with a supporting cast that includes Sarah Lancashire (Happy Valley), Andrew Buchan (Broadchurch), Omari Douglas (It’s a Sin), and Ella Lily Hyland (Towards Zero).
Netflix’s Gathering of Talent for a Fan-Favorite Thriller
The crime thriller debuted on Netflix in December 2024 to strong reviews, garnering Critics Choice Award and GLAAD Media Award nominations. Knightley earned a Golden Globe nomination for her performance and Wishaw won a Gotham TV Award for his. Critics also note that Hyland gives a “breakout” performance as the assassin known as Williams. Black Doves has been renewed for a second season, an announcement that was made before the first season even aired.
‘Bodies’ (2023)
Viewers who like a fair share of sci-fi or period piece drama with their thrillers will love Bodies. Created by Paul Tomalin (The Frankenstein Chronicles) and based on the graphic novel written by Si Spencer (Hellblazer: City of Demons), Bodies spans two centuries as detectives in 1890, 1941, 2023, and 2053 all try to identify the same mysterious body discovered on a lone street in Whitechapel. The series was created for Netflix and released in October 2023.
A Generation-Spanning Mystery
Bodies is a fast-paced time-travel mystery with standout performances from Amaka Okafor (Greatest Days), Tom Mothersdale (Wolf Hall), Shira Haas (Unorthodox), and Stephen Graham (Adolescence). It scored a BAFTA nomination and a GLAAD Media Award nomination for Outstanding Limited Series. Initially developed as a miniseries, Bodies has the potential for a second season, though no plans are in the works at this time. That said, the show works beautifully as a stand-alone series.
‘Giri/Haji’ (2019)
Giri/Haji is a crime drama written and created by Joe Barton (Black Doves) for BBC Two in 2019. Takehiro Hira (The Amateur) stars as Kenzo Mori, a Tokyo police detective scouring London for his missing brother. The cast features Kelly Macdonald (Department Q), Yōsuke Kubozuka (Tokyo Vice), and Will Sharpe (The White Lotus). The series made its debut on Netflix in 2020.
Crime Thriller at Its Finest
Giri/Haji has received rave reviews, with some critics considering it to be a perfect piece of television. It earned three BAFTA nominations in 2020, with Will Sharpe winning in the Supporting Actor category. It has a 100% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes. A second season had been planned but, despite stellar reviews, Giri/Haji was not renewed after Season 1.
‘Safe’ (2018)
Want to hear Dexter with a British accent? Look no further than this Netflix original. Safe is based on the Harlan Coben novel of the same name, with Dexter star Michael C. Hall as pediatric surgeon and widowed father of two, Tom Delaney. When Tom’s teenage daughter, Jenny (Amy James-Kelly), goes missing, Tom embarks on a search that will make him question everything he thought he knew about those he loves most.
Striking Close to Home
Safe uses twists and turns in a way that Coben has truly mastered, with a great supporting cast that includes Isabelle Allen (Les Misérables), Amanda Abbington (Sherlock), Marc Warren (Missing You), Audrey Fleurot (Women at War), and Hannah Arterton (The Five). Actors like Warren and Arterton appear as different characters in multiple Coben projects, which makes for a fun who’s-who game from one Coben series to the next.
‘Department Q’ (2025)
Department Q was released quietly on Netflix in May and is already a hit. The crime thriller was developed by Scott Frank (The Queen’s Gambit) and Chandni Lakhani (Vigil) and it is based on the novel by Jussi Adler-Olsen. Matthew Goode stars as Carl Morck, a troubled detective who is back on the job after a shooting that injured him, paralyzed his partner, and killed another officer. Morck is given control of a new cold case department, where he and former Syrian police officer Akram Salim (Alexej Manvelov) take on the case of missing prosecutor Merritt Lingard (Chloe Pirrie).
A phenomenally Cast Thriller
There’s some great acting in Department Q by the leads and well as a top-tier supporting cast that features Kelly Macdonald (Giri/Haji), Leah Byrne (Call the Midwife), and Kate Dickie (Game of Thrones). The show is compulsively binge-worthy, with a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Thankfully for fans, plans for a second season were announced in August 2025.
‘Top Boy’ (2011)
Created by Ronan Bennett (The Day of the Jackal), this crime thriller ran for five seasons. Top Boy started out on Channel 4 in 2011 and had two seasons. Then, it was revived by Netflix in 2019, with the storyline picking up five years after the events of the original run. As a result, the show is listed on Netflix as two separate projects, Top Boy: Summerhouse (first two seasons) and Top Boy (last three seasons). Ashley Walters and Kane Robinson are the only two actors to appear across all five seasons, starring as drug dealers Dushane Hill and Gerard “Sully” Sullivan.
Canceled to Early Crime-Thriller That Still Packs a Punch
Malcolm Kamulete (Champion) also stars in the first two seasons, with reoccurring characters played by Sharon Duncan-Brewster (Enola Holmes 2), Letitia Wright (Black Panther), and Benedict Wong (Doctor Strange). Despite Top Boy‘s initial cancellation after Season 2, the show has garnered positive reviews across the board. It received 13 BAFTA nominations and won four of them, including Best Drama Series in 2024. It has an impressive 97% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
‘Marcella’ (2016)
Having previously given up her career as a detective to commit her time to her husband and their two children, a now single Marcella Backland (Anna Friel) tries to thrust herself back into her work to keep her mind busy. It is here that she becomes involved in a cold case where a murderer’s crimes eerily mimic those of a case that she was working on before she left. As she delves deeper into the case, Marcella begins to experience flashbacks and gaps in her memory, balancing hidden secrets that may tie her close to the case while dealing with a troubled personal life.
A Chilling British Crime Thriller with Nordic Nods
While a British production, Marcella would tap acclaimed Swedish screenwriter Hans Rosenfeldt, who worked on favored Nordic Noir series The Bridge (2011) and The Tunnel (2013). Marcella would run for three seasons across 24 episodes, and would find praise in Anna Friel’s compelling performance and the dark, atmospheric storytelling that made for a highly addictive crime thriller.
‘Peaky Blinders’ (2013)
Following the rise of the Shelby Family in Birmingham, England, in the aftermath of World War I, Peaky Blinders centered its story around Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy), an ambitious gang leader who navigates the violent and changing criminal landscape. Across six seasons, Tommy would expand the gang’s power through risky alliances and battling against law enforcement. The show was created by English playwright and filmmaker Steven Knight (Locke, Dirty Pretty Things, Eastern Promises).
One of the Greatest Crime Thriller TV Series of the 21st Century
Peaky Blinders would give Cillian Murphy the (arguably) definitive role of his career, bringing a great deal of depth to the ruthless gang leader pushing through personal struggles to build his empire. Combining Murphy’s performance, along with a phenomenal ensemble cast of British actors, with a sleek visual direction and fully immersive period aesthetic, Peaky Blinders would become a modern classic crime-thriller. Peaky Blinders would give fans six seasons of pure perfection.
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