Only 7 Crime Shows of 2023 Earned Rare 100% Rotten Tomatoes Score

1. Dear Child

Where to Watch: Netflix

Based on the bestselling thriller by Romy Hausman, this German-language series made it onto Netflix top ten charts around the world.

After a hit-and-run, a mysterious woman and her young child are found in the forest. She is severely injured: the child doesn’t have a scratch on her. Over the next six episodes, the story of the pair is linked with a 13-year-old missing persons case and woven into flashbacks of their captivity at the hands of a sadistic man. But who exactly is this woman, and what is her relationship to the children? The answer is more twisty and turny than you might expect.

2. Deadloch

Where to Watch: Prime Video

If you like your mysteries with a touch of black comedy, be sure to check out Deadloch. In this sleepy Tasmanian town, locals are shocked when a dead body turns up on the beach. The case is taken on by two female cops: the by-the-book sergeant Dulcie Collins and her reckless partner Eddie Redcliffe.

The two women struggle with their clashing personalities as they investigate the man’s death and start to uncover secrets lurking beneath their town’s quiet facade.

3. Black Snow

Where to Watch: Prime Video

Brisbane-based detective James Cormack (Travis Fimmel) is following a cold case that brings him north to the town of Ashford. He’s investigating the death of a 17-year-old girl who died in 1994, but his investigation into Ashford reveals not only details of her death but of the area’s shameful history.

4. The Snow Girl

Where to Watch: Netflix

Based on the novel by Javier Castillo, The Snow Girl follows a young journalist who becomes obsessed with the case of a missing girl. 5-year-old Amaya disappeared during a parade, and the journalist, Miren, thinks that perhaps her own past trauma might give her insight into the case.

This Spanish-language series was released on Netflix in January 2023. Critics praised the adaptation, which they say is one of those rare times where a television adaptation actually surpasses its source material.

5. Kohrra

Where to Watch: Netflix

Just days after his wedding, a groom is found dead in a field. The cops don’t hesitate to get heavy-fisted with the person who found the body – this is an area where the idea of thrashing suspects is still in vogue.

Kohrra was a massive hit in India, but deserves to be seen by a far wider audience. Put this one at the top of your list if you’re tired of the standard American and British thrillers, where the twists are somehow predictable and absurd all at the same time.

6. The Law According To Lidia Poët

Where to Watch: Netflix

Loosely based on the true story of Italy’s first female lawyer, this series starts with Lydia Poët a newly minted member of the bar – but she is quickly kicked out of her profession due to her sex.

Poët fights to be allowed a place in the courtroom while helping her brother’s law firm investigate ongoing cases. The Law According To Lidia Poët is a fun crime drama for those looking for a romp on the lighter side of the genre.

7. Murder in Boston: Roots, Rampage, and Reckoning

Where to Watch: Crave, Prime Video

In 1989, the police received a frantic 911 call from Charles Stuart. He and his wife had been attacked by a car jacker and shot, and as Stuart tried to direct the police to the vehicle his wife was slowly bleeding out beside him. She died en route to the hospital.

Stuart, a white man, told the police that they had been shot by a black thief. The investigation that followed cracked open the seething racial tensions in Boston, leading to hysteria and one of the most shocking conclusions in true crime history.

This documentary charts the story of Charles Stuart, his wife Carol, and the investigation that brought a city to its knees. If you don’t know how the story ends, don’t google it – it’s better without spoilers.