7 Unflinching Crime Dramas to Watch if You Loved ‘Adolescence’

“The Wire” (2002)

When it comes to pace and style, “The Wire” could not be any more different from “Adolescence.” The seminal HBO drama from creator David Simon is neither propulsive nor interested in the kind of flashy oners and camera tricks that are at the forefront of “Adolescence.” Across its five seasons, “The Wire” explores the actual infrastructure of modern American life in a way that no other scripted TV series ever really has. Each of its seasons focus on different layers and sectors of Baltimore, Maryland — from its illegal drug trade to its education system, journalist industry and local government.

The brutal truths of unequal urban life are laid completely bare as the show’s criminals, cops and normal, everyday characters cross paths and find themselves walking down paths they feel forced to follow. On paper, it may seem like another typical cop show, but it is so much more than that. Fans of “Adolescence” who are interested in watching something with similar, socially-minded ideas but a far larger scope and runtime should add it to their watchlists ASAP. — Alex Welch

“Broadchurch” (2013)

It should be said upfront that the second and third seasons of “Broadchurch” are not nearly as good as its first. The debut season of this British crime drama from creator Chris Chibnall, though, is a must-see TV effort for anyone who at all enjoys watching detective thrillers or crime mysteries. Set in a fictional coastal town in England, the series’ first season follows Alec Hardy (David Tennant) and Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman), a pair of mismatched police detectives, as they investigate the murder of a local, 11-year-old boy while the impact of his death ripples throughout the small town.

Featuring simple, stunning cinematography and a pair of powerhouse performances from Colman and Tennant, the first season of “Broadchurch” is a compelling thriller that strives to make the most horrific of crimes seem as personal as possible. It has that in common with “Adolescence,” and should satisfy any viewers who turn it on hoping for an experience that stands on its own and yet is just as rewarding as what the Netflix series has to offer. — AW

“True Detective” (2014)

Like “Broadchurch,” it is truly the first season of “True Detective” that is worth seeking out. Its second season is a mixed bag, while its third and fourth are more successful endeavors that still do not match the heights of its first. “True Detective” Season 1, however, remains one of the most technically impressive, cinematic seasons of television that HBO or any other distributor has ever crafted. Like “Adolescence,” the season has an immersive power that is difficult to describe, as well as a propulsive quality that gradually gains moment despite the show’s winding, detour-filled narrative structure.

Featuring two commanding lead performances from Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey, “True Detective” Season 1 is like catnip for fans of detective fiction. While it ventures into more spectacular, fantastic territory than “Adolescence, it never loses its distinct edge of Southern grit and seediness. It does not ever shed the human darkness at the center of its story, either, even when it also strives to still find a reason for hope. — AW

“The Night Of” (2016)

There may not be a single episode of television more stressful than the first installment of HBO’s “The Night Of.” The crime drama from writers Steven Zailian (“Ripley”) and Richard Price (“Clockers”) follows Naz Khan (Riz Ahmed), a Pakistani-American college student whose life is torn to shreds when a one-night stand with an attractive woman ends with him waking up next to her murdered body and his subsequent arrest. The limited series’ remaining seven episodes follow Naz as his outlook, personality and habits are all negatively reshaped by his time in prison, all while his lawyer, John Stone (John Turturro), tries to prove his innocence and free him.

“The Night Of” is not quite as stylistically in-your face as “Adolescence,” but it is no less hard-hitting. It can, in fact, be just as uncomfortable at times as the hit Netflix series. Like “Adolescence,” “The Night Of” isn’t afraid to present a clear-eyed, if distressing, look at the world and the way our societal systems tend to trap, hurt and — in some cases — doom us. It is not a happy watch, but neither is “Adolescence,” and it is just as impressive and important. — AW

“Criminal” (2019)

There were a number of versions of this excellent Netflix limited series, which focuses on police from different countries — including the UK, Spain, Germany and France — as they interrogate suspects. In some cases, the episodes dramatize the cops’ last chance to get a confession or uncover key evidence. Of course, there is also the ongoing drama unfolding place among the show’s different police officers. The series’ standout chapters include the “Criminal: Germany” episodes featuring “Tár” star Nina Hoss as the girlfriend of a serial killer and the “Criminal: UK” installments starring David Tennant as an arrogant doctor who emphatically denies killing a young girl. — Sharon Knolle

“Unbelievable” (2019)

If there is any crime show on this list that lives up to the term “unflinching,” it is “Unbelievable.” The masterful, underrated Netflix limited series from co-creators Susannah Grant, Ayelet Waldman and Michael Chabon is a true-crime drama that handles its difficult, traumatic subject matter with delicacy and grace. Based on true events, the show follows a young woman (Kaitlyn Dever) whose account of being raped in the middle of the night is doubted so forcefully by her family members, friends and the two male cops assigned to her case that she eventually retracts her story.

Three years later and several states away, two female Colorado detectives (Merritt Wever and Toni Collette) begin to investigate a serial rapist who turns out to be the man responsible for assaulting Dever’s Marie. The “Unbelievable” premiere follows Dever’s character as she experiences little sympathy in the wake of her rape, and the show does not offer viewers a ray of hope until Wever and Collette’s kind-hearted, determined investigators arrive in its second episode. As difficult as its first installment is to watch, the effect that this approach achieves is worth it. The rage and heartbreak “Unbelievable” immediately instills in viewers powers its remaining episodes — leading to a conclusion that is frustrating and satisfying in equal measure. The 2019 series is about as powerful as a true-crime show can get and the messages it delivers are, to put it mildly, necessary. — AW

“Mare of Easttown” (2021)

Few shows explore how death and crime can affect a community the way “Mare of Easttown” does. Created by Brad Ingelsby, the HBO drama follows Mare Sheehan (a career-best Kate Winslet), a police detective charged with investigating the murder of a young girl (Cailee Spaeny) in her small Pennsylvania town. Across its seven episodes, the series dutifully sticks by Mare’s side as her investigation leads her down sometimes dangerous, sometimes anti-climactic roads, but it also takes a much more expansive view on its story than most crime dramas do.

It spends time fleshing out the other characters and lives of its eponymous town’s citizens — revealing how interconnected and dependent they are on each other. This approach not only gives “Mare of Easttown” a satisfying, lived-in feel but also pays off in the series’ heart-wrenching first and final episodes. Ultimately, the show emerges as a crime thriller about the importance of looking at our demons and ghosts head-on — no matter how much it hurts. That makes it a fitting companion piece to a drama like “Adolescence.” — AW