18 Top-Rated British Crime Dramas on Netflix in December 2023

Netflix has heard our pleas for intrigue and suspense and has delivered a lineup of 18 top-rated British crime dramas that are seriously addictive.

From the gritty realism of 'Marcella' to the twisty tales of 'Inside Man', these shows have it all: brooding detectives, sinister suspects, and enough plot twists to make your head spin.

1. "Stay Close" (2021)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%

When long-buried secrets begin to surface, the lives of a photojournalist, a soccer mom, and a homicide detective are intertwined in a mystery involving disappearing persons and unresolved pasts.

2. "Inside Man" (2022)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 67%

This series juxtaposes the stories of a death row inmate in the U.S. and a vicar in a small English town, whose lives collide in an extraordinary way as they both try to solve and confront complex moral dilemmas.

3. "Bad Surgeon: Love Under the Knife" (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes Audience score: 54%

A chilling dive into the career of Dr. Paolo Macchiarini, once celebrated for his revolutionary work with artificial organs. However, the series reveals a harrowing turn of events as several of his patients die following their surgeries.

4. "Top Boy" (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%

Continuing the story from "Top Boy: Summerhouse," this revival focuses on the high-stakes drug market in London, delving into the lives of Dushane and Sully as they navigate new threats and opportunities.

5. "Top Boy: Summerhouse" (2011)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%

This series follows two drug dealers, Dushane and Sully, in the public housing estates of East London, chronicling their rise in the criminal underworld and the challenges they face to stay on top.

6. "Bodies" (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 81%

A police procedural with a unique twist, based on the graphic novel by Si Spencer. The plot revolves around a body found on Longharvest Lane in London's East End across four different time periods: 1890, 1941, 2023, and 2053. One detective from each period must investigate the case.

7. "Don't Pick Up the Phone" (2022)

Rotten Tomatoes Audience score: 42%

A docuseries on Netflix that explores a series of shocking and abusive hoax calls made to fast-food outlets in Massachusetts and Kentucky in 2004. The show unravels the investigation into these bizarre and abusive calls, the impact they had on the victims, and the subsequent legal repercussions for those involved.

8. "Bodyguard" (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%

A war veteran now working as a Specialist Protection Officer for the London Metropolitan Police is assigned to protect a controversial politician whose politics he despises, leading to a complex web of conspiracy and betrayal.

9. "Safe" (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 71%

After his daughter goes missing, a widowed surgeon begins uncovering dark secrets about the people closest to him in his gated community, questioning everyone and everything he thought he knew.

10. "Paranoid" (2016)

Rotten Tomatoes Audience score: 56%

A group of detectives in a small English town investigates the mysterious murder of a local GP, uncovering an intricate web of secrets and lies that spans across Europe.

11. "White Lines" (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 64%

When the body of a legendary Manchester DJ is discovered twenty years after his mysterious disappearance in Ibiza, his sister returns to the beautiful Spanish island to find out what happened, uncovering a world of dance clubs, lies, and cover-ups.

12. "Giri / Haji" (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%

A Tokyo detective travels to London in search of his long-lost brother, believed to be involved in the Yakuza and implicated in a murder, leading to a dangerous journey through the underworld of both cities.

13. "Kiss Me First" (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 50%

A lonely young woman addicted to a virtual reality game befriends a party girl in the game's virtual world, only to be drawn into a series of real-life events that reveal a hidden conspiracy.

14. "Marcella" (2016)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 70%

A British detective returns to the Metropolitan Police to investigate a serial murder case she left unsolved 11 years earlier, while grappling with blackouts and a troubled personal life.

15. "The One" (2021)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 41%

Set in a world where a DNA test can find your perfect partner, this series follows the founder of a matchmaking service who claims to help people find their soulmates, while hiding her own dark secrets.

16. "Collateral" (2018)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 79%

A four-part British drama thriller that delves into the murder of a pizza delivery man in South London. The investigation, led by Detective Inspector Kip Glaspie, uncovers a complex web of characters and hints at a conspiracy involving more than just a random shooting.

17. "You Don't Know Me" (2021)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%

A young man is accused of murder, and in his closing speech, he tells a story that is radically different from the evidence against him, revealing a tale of love, betrayal, and criminal underworld.

18. "Criminal: UK" (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%

Set within the confines of a police interview suite, this series involves intense psychological games between detectives and suspects, focusing on the mental conflict that ensues.