20 Shows Like Dexter Fans Should Watch Now

Showtime's smash-success crime drama "Dexter" followed the extracurricular activities of the titular blood spatter analyst and serial murderer, Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall). For seven seasons, viewers watched the killer with a code, if not a conscience, carve his way through dangerous criminals in Miami, Florida, trying to keep his cover intact as his horrifying hobbies started to catch up with him. Though the series first several seasons were loved by both critics and audiences alike, "Dexter" Season 6 stumbled, offering too much symbolism and a flimsy Big Bad in the form of the Doomsday Killer, embodied by Professor James Gellar (Edward James Olmos) and his assistant Travis Marshall (Colin Hanks). The sixth season managed a meager 40% critics score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes and audience ratings weren't much better at 55%.

"Dexter" bounced back with a solid seventh season, introducing a new love interest in the form of black widow Hannah McKay (Yvonne Strahovski) and a much better bad guy in Ukrainian mob boss Isaak Sirko (Ray Stevenson). But the show's eighth and final season would get the lowest ratings yet, managing lowly 33% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and failing to give fans closure as the beloved title character vanishes in a storm but ends up alive, living as a lumberjack in Oregon. Fans were given new hope when Showtime announced a limited-series relaunch, "Dexter: New Blood," offering viewers 10 new episodes and a shot at redemption. 

Now that Showtime has closed the book on everyone's favorite serial killer, viewers may find themselves looking for something to watch next. Here are 20 shows like "Dexter" fans should watch now.

It's fair to say a character has staying power when, 40 years after being introduced, new series and intellectual property continue to emerge based on it. Such is the case for cannibalistic psychiatrist and serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter, who first appeared in author Thomas Harris' 1981 novel "Red Dragon." The novel's sequel, "The Silence of the Lambs," was adapted into the 1991 horror-thriller of the same name, featuring Anthony Hopkins in the role of Hannibal Lecter opposite Jodie Foster's FBI agent Clarice Starling. Hopkins reprised the role of Hannibal Lecter twice on the big screen — in the sequel "Hannibal" and the prequel "Red Dragon" — before the "Hannibal Rising" prequel told his origin story.

In 2013, more than three decades after the character's literary debut, NBC premiered "Hannibal," a new series that followed the relationship between the good doctor and his colleagues at the FBI, with Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) serving as psychiatrist to profiler Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) and aiding the bureau's behavioral science unit as they tracked a vicious serial killer in the Chesapeake Ripper — who is, of course, Lecter. Graham's abilities to empathize with demented murderers take their toll on his psyche, but rather than aiding him in dealing with such darkness, Lecter twists his patient's mind to keep the team off his trail, as he continues to kill and cook his victims. "Hannibal" ran for three seasons before its cancelation, enjoying an average critics rating of 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, though its success on Netflix may offer hope for a "Hannibal" Season 4.

Fox's unsettling crime thriller series "The Following" ran for three seasons. Starring Kevin Bacon as FBI agent Ryan Hardy, the show tells the tale of his attempts to track down and capture escaped serial killer and former professor Joe Carroll (James Purefoy) only to find that his fugitive has developed a cult following of fellow murderers. Hardy is aided by greenhorn FBI agent Mike Weston (Shawn Ashmore) in his pursuit of Carroll and his cadre of killers. The situation gets just a little bit more complicated when Carroll's followers kidnap his son from the custody of his ex-wife, Claire Matthews (Natalie Zea), with whom Ryan has a personal history. Eventually they're forced to deal with another cult and come to learn Joe didn't get started killing all on his own, he was the prodigy of his mentor.

"The Following" received mixed reviews over its three-season run. Critics praised the cast but lamented that the show had become predictable in its second season. It still maintains a 58% average critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, with a slightly better 67% audience score. "The Following" was nominated for the Best Network Television Series at the 2013 Saturn Awards — honoring the best in science fiction, fantasy and horror — and Bacon shared the Best Actor on Television award with "Breaking Bad" actor Bryan Cranston, as Variety reported at the time.

In the mood for a little gallows humor thrown in with your death and dismemberment? Check out HBO series "Barry" for plenty of laughs you'll feel bad about. Actor Bill Hader stars in the title role, a former Marine-turned-professional hitman who travels to Los Angeles to do a job, killing an actor for a Chechen mob boss whose wife the actor slept with. While surveilling the target, Barry follows him to an acting class taught by Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler). Things get awkward when Barry is forced to perform a scene with the guy he's supposed to be killing and the entire class goes out for drinks afterward — talk about a lack of professional boundaries! In addition to a new-found passion, Barry's got eyes for actor Sally Reed (Sarah Goldberg). He's all set to drop his career as a professional killer and take up acting when his handler, Monroe Fuches (Stephen Root) shows up with some bad news: they're both dead meat if Barry doesn't put his target on ice, pronto.

"Barry" is all about the title character's conflict with continuing to kill while also staying off the radar of local law enforcement, which is no easy task considering he's still working for the Chechen mob. The series also features actor Anthony Carrigan as the scene-stealing NoHo Hank, the cheerful right-hand man to mod boss Goran Pazar (Glenn Fleshler). Hader and Winkler each have earned some hardware for the performances in "Barry," with the former grabbing two Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series and the latter winning the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for "Barry" Season 1.

Netflix's psychological thriller "Mindhunter" takes a look inside the twisted mind of American serial killers, meaning "Dexter" fans should feel right at home. Set in the late 1970s and following the work of FBI agents Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and Bill Tench (Holt McCallany), the series tells the story of how the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit begins to adopt the practice of criminal profiling, a subject now found in many modern procedural shows. Though initially met with some resistance and skepticism, Ford and Tench really start getting to the meat of the matter when they interview California serial killer Ed Kemper (Cameron Britton). Ed gives the agents a glimpse into how his mind operates and is one of several a real life serial killers depicted in the show. Others include the BTK killer Dennis Rader (Sonny Valicenti), Son of Sam killer David Berkowitz (Oliver Cooper), and Charles Manson (Damon Herriman), one of the most notorious serial killers in modern America.

Based on the true crime book of the same name, "Mindhunter" enjoys a stellar average critics score of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. Given its success, one may wonder why only two seasons have come out so far. Director David Fincher, the driving creative force behind the series, put a potential "Mindhunter" Season 3 on "indefinite hold" to work on other projects like his film "Mank" and other projects, according to TVLine. The outlet cites a statement from a Netflix rep that says Fincher may return to the project in the future.

Season 1 of Showtime's coming-of-age suspense thriller "Yellowjackets" ran roughly parallel to "Dexter: New Blood" and became the premium cable network's next big thing. The series follows the titular girls high school soccer team as its members survive a plane crash en route to the national championship tournament. "Yellowjackets" splits time between a modern setting and 1996, flashing backward and forward to detail the survivors' stories. Twenty-five years ago, the girls are left to try to survive in the cold and harsh Canadian wilderness after the plane's flight data recorder and transponder are destroyed. In present day, a decidedly smaller group of women survived the ordeal in the wilderness and are still trying to manage their lives. When some of the surviving women receive a mysterious postcard with an all-too-familiar symbol on it, the past everyone wants to keep hidden begins to resurface. Then the blackmail demands start and someone is going to pay, though no one's getting any money.

The cast of "Yellowjackets" features plenty of star power, with Juliette Lewis playing the drug-addicted adult version of Natalie, whose skill with a rifle helps to keep the girls fed after the crash. Tawny Cypress plays the older version of Taissa, a prospective New Jersey state senator who's got plenty of dirty secrets. Christina Ricci plays the adult version of the awkward and more-than-slightly sinister team equipment manager Misty, whose Girl Scout survival knowledge helps her become more useful than any of the other survivors could have expected. Melanie Lynskey plays the adult version of Shauna, the best friend to team captain Jackie (Ella Purnell) who just happens to be sleeping with Jeff, Jackie's boyfriend; Shauna marries Jeff upon her return to civilization.

Considered by many to be the best TV series of all time, "Breaking Bad" gave viewers five gripping seasons of must-see TV from its 2008 premiere to its 2013 finale. Like "Dexter," the show is unique in getting viewers to actively root for a bad guy. While there's no denying that the situation lead character Walter White (Bryan Cranston) falls into is tragic — underpaid, underappreciated, and unable to pay the medical bills he racks up after being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer — turning to a life of crime and profiting on the misery of others by manufacturing methamphetamine is not the way to fix things. He eventually comes to care more about the purity of his process than the wellbeing of his family, which is why he's upset to learn in Season 2 that his cancer is in remission; he can no longer excuse the evil deeds he's come to enjoy by pretending he needs to do them for his family's sake.

Walter drags multiple parties along with him as he descends into darkness, chief among whom is his partner in crime and former student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), a low-level lowlife who's already in the business of slinging meth. But how can Walter hide this illicit enterprise from his wife, Skyler (Anna Gunn), son Walter Jr. (RJ Mitte), and brother-in-law Hank (Dean Norris), who just so happens to be an agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration. Worse yet, how's he going to stay off the radar of other players in the drug trade to stay out of danger? Spoiler alert: Walter becomes the danger.

The A&E thriller series "Bates Motel" takes a look at the lives of the principal character from Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece "Psycho" before the events of the film. Freddie Highmore stars as the meek and timid Norman Bates in the prequel series, with Vera Farmiga taking on the role of his overbearing mother, Norma. Following the death of Norman's father, his mother purchases a motel for them to run, but conflict is quick to come when the former owner breaks in and assaults her. Preferring to stay off police radars, let's just say the Bateses handle things in house. The series features more than one murder investigation by local law enforcement, with Norman's mind becoming progressively more fractured as each season unfolds and the Bates family deals with even more threats to their livelihood. Of course, the increasing interest Sheriff Alex Romero (Nestor Carbonell) shows in their lives doesn't make things any easier. The show's fifth and final series draws from the plot of its inspiration, "Psycho," with Rihanna taking on the role of Marion Crane.

"Bates Motel" earned an impressive 93% average critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes across its five-season run, with the final two seasons each boasting a perfect 100%. Farmiga received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series at the 2013 Primetime Emmy Awards. She and Highmore each won at the 2016 People's Choice Awards, taking home the Favorite Cable TV Actress and Favorite Cable TV Actor awards, respectively.

FX's gritty crime drama "The Shield" is another series that gets you to root for the bad guy in law enforcement. Unlike Dexter Morgan, who kills in the shadows to satisfy his dark urges, Detective Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) commits his crimes in broad daylight with a gun in one hand and a badge in the other because he's as corrupt as cops come. Vic's the head of the controversial Strike Team unit of the Farmington division of the LAPD, a group of plainclothes officers who strong-arm criminals and use various other tactics of a questionable nature to get results. And while the team's results are undeniable, so is Vic's extreme corruption, evident in just the first episode when he kills Terry Crowley (Reed Diamond), a member of the Strike Team that he's not sure he can trust. As a loving husband and caring father, Vic is presented as a complex character with many facets.

Joining Vic on the strike team is right-hand man Shane Vendrell (Walton Goggins) and fellow hard cases Curtis Lemansky (Kenny Johnson), and Ronnie Gardocki (David Rees Snell), whose loyalties are never in question, though they seem decidedly less bent than their leader. They all work under Captain David Aceveda (Benito Martinez), alongside by-the-book detectives like Dutch Wagenbavh (Jay Karnes) and Claudette Wyms (CCH Pounder). For Season 4, Glenn Close joined the cast of "The Shield" as Captain Monica Rawling, who tries hard to rein Vic and the Strike Team in after Aceveda fails upward to the L.A. city council.

"The Shield" has an average critics score of 90%, with three of its seven seasons scoring 95% or higher on Rotten Tomatoes.

To say Elliot Alderson (Rami Malek) — the lead character on the techno thriller series "Mr. Robot" — has mental health issues is to make a woeful understatement. The cybersecurity expert-turned-hacker deals with depression, severe social anxiety, substance abuse as a form of self-medication, and other spoilerific pathology that make it clear the war he's fighting inside his own head is no easy battle. Though maybe they help explain why and how he's so easily drawn into the hacktivist collective known as fsociety by the mysterious title character, Mr. Robot (Christian Slater), whose videos mirror those of the real life hacker collective Anonymous. As part of fsociety, Elliot is joined by his younger sister Darlene (Carly Chaikin) and a host of other like-minded individuals, helping to expose corporate secrets and other information they deem benefits the public good.

Though the actor was already well known, "Mr. Robot" served as Malek's breakthrough role, elevating him to superstardom. The show's subversive themes of anarchism, anti-capitalism and anti-consumerism echoed those seen in movies like "Fight Club," provoking critical analysis of modern society on behalf of viewers. "Mr. Robot" was also a critical darling, enjoying a 93% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, with all four seasons Certified Fresh. Malek was nominated three times during the show's run for the Golden Globe for Best Actor – Television Series Drama and won a Primetime Emmy in 2016 for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series. Slater, meanwhile, won the 2016 Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor, TV Series.

Fox's dark procedural drama "Prodigal Son" takes an interesting, though slightly familiar, twist on the world of criminal profiling. Lead character Malcolm Bright (Tom Payne) is a brilliant profiler who used to work for the FBI, now lending his insights to the NYPD. Much like Will Graham from "Hannibal," Malcolm is able to empathize with killers and see a crime scene from their perspective, enabling him to pick up details most analysts would miss entirely. Like Will, he's concerned that his talent and abilities will one day lead him down a dark path. Unlike Will, however, he's got someone else entirely haunting his psyche: his father, Martin Whitly (Michael Sheen). Malcolm's dad is currently incarcerated in a criminal psych ward for committing 23 grisly murders, not exactly father of the year material. Fortunately Malcolm has NYPD lieutenant Gil Arroyo (Lou Diamond Phillips) looking out for him. The arresting officer who helped put Martin behind bars — with help from young Malcolm himself — Gil has always had a soft spot for the young man and is responsible for his current gig with the NYPD after being canned by the Bureau. When Malcolm visits his father hoping for insight into the killings he's helping to investigate, combustible elements abound.

Mixing in various themes and dynamics from "Red Dragon," "The Silence of the Lambs," and even its recent predecessor "Hannibal," "Prodigal Son" received mixed reviews, earning a middling 58% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. It did, however, resonate better with viewers, resulting in an 87% audience score.

AMC's "The Killing" was a bit of a slow burn, when it comes to crime dramas. It follows the investigations of detectives Stephen Holder (Joel Kinnaman) and Sarah Linden (Mireille Enos), as they look into the death of teenaged girl Rosie Larsen (Katie Findlay). While most procedural crime dramas typically focus on a case-of-the-week model, the first season of "The Killing" took a much more in-depth look and encompassed only the first two weeks of the Larsen investigation, with the detectives forced to start all over and hone in on a new suspect. The plot then continued into the second season of "The Killing" for its resolution, with members of Rosie's family in for a shock when the perpetrator is finally arrested. Following the Larsen case, Stephen investigates a missing child that's somehow tied to some of Sarah's old cases while she sits on the sidelines

The first season of "The Killing" sports an impressive 94% critics score and Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, though later seasons bring its average critics score down to a still-solid 68%. Despite what the name would suggest, "The Killing" was a series that seemingly would not die. AMC originally canceled the show after its second season but gave it new life after negotiations with Fox, as The Wrap reported at the time. Following its third season, AMC once again canceled "The Killing," as reported by Deadline, before Netflix ordered and abbreviated fourth season to run on its streaming platform (via TVLine).

Netflix's "The Punisher" sees the titular Marvel antihero brought to life on the small screen, serving as a spinoff from the platform's first Marvel series, "Daredevil." Actor Jon Bernthal takes on the role of Frank Castle a.k.a. the Punisher, a character previously played by Dolph Lundgren, Thomas Jane, and Ray Stevenson on the big screen. When it comes to stopping crime, Frank takes a different approach to the whole vigilante thing than his costumed counterparts like Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), a.k.a. Daredevil; the idea of justice is a secondary aim at best, maybe more of a fortunate coincidence. Like the name suggests, the former Force Recon Marine — who was set on a mission of mayhem after his family was killed — cares only about punishing those who commit crimes, often serving as judge, jury, and executioner.

Season 1 of "The Punisher" introduces Frank's former comrade, pretty boy Billy Russo (Ben Barnes) — known as the villainous Jigsaw in the source material — as an antagonist, with an awkward simpatico character in Special Agent Dinah Madani (Amber Rose Revah). Frank is also joined by a comrade from Marvel Comics: David Lieberman (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) a.k.a. Micro, though he's far more formidable in the Netflix version of the character than in the source material.

"Marvel's The Punisher" sports a decent 64% average critics score across its two-season run, though it gets more love from viewers in the form of a 77% average audience score. All of Marvel's Netflix series — including "Iron Fist," "Jessica Jones," "Luke Cage," and "The Defenders" — got the axe in 2019, as parent company Disney prepared to launch its own streaming service, Disney+.

Acclaimed anthology horror series "American Horror Story" has been bringing fight fans plenty of scares for more than a decade. Debuting in 2011, Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk's FX series tells a new story each season — some of which intertwine into a greater overall schema — and often brings back the same performers to appear in new roles, creating a modern horror troupe for the small screen. Its debut season follows the Harmon family as they move into and are haunted by the ghosts of the Murder House, with their family dynamic further disrupted by father Ben Harmon's (Dylan McDermott) psychiatry patient Tate Langdon (Evan Peters), who becomes involved with Ben's daughter Violet (Taissa Farmiga) and has a terrifying encounter with Ben's wife Vivien (Connie Britton). 

Following its debut season, "AHS" has gone on to tell of the twisted goings on in the Briarcliff Manor mental hospital in "Asylum"; the goings on at a North Carolina home built where a former English colony disappeared in "Roanoke"; the members of a Florida carnival sideshow in "Freak Show"; and the collapse of society following nuclear war in "Apocalypse," among other stories. Jessica Lange won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress and the Outstanding Supporting Actress at the 2012 Primetime Emmy Awards for her performance as Tate's mother, Constance Langdon, in the show's debut season. She won another Emmy in 2014 for her role as Fiona Goode, the most powerful witch of her generation, in the show's third season, "American Horror Story: Coven."

"American Horror Story" enjoys a solid 77% average critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and led to the spinoff "American Horror Stories," in which each episode follows a self-contained plot.

Most TV shows that get you to root for the bad guy don't have a villain anywhere near as charming and likable as the one you'll find on "The Blacklist." International criminal mastermind Raymond Reddington (James Spader) has been on the run for decades after going rogue and selling U.S. military sequence while part of the Navy's intelligence apparatus. In that time, he's cultivated an underworld empire and apparently mastered the art of wit. For reasons not immediately clear, Reddington walks into the FBI's headquarters and surrenders himself; he then offers to become the world's greatest confidential informant, helping the Bureau track down some of the world's worst criminals. Of course, there's a catch: he'll only work with Elizabeth Keen (Megan Boone), a daisy-fresh rookie FBI profiler who's about to start her very first day on the job.

The FBI's Assistant Director Harold Cooper (Harry Lennix) forms a task force to work with Reddington, staffing it with the by-the-book Special Agent Donald Ressler (Diego Klattenhoff) who's been unsuccessfully working to apprehend Reddington for years. Unraveling Reddington's interest in Keen is almost as entertaining as catching the bad guys, some of whom the task force didn't even know existed. Regardless of his motives, the "concierge of crime" makes one thing abundantly clear to Keen: she should not trust her husband Tom (Ryan Eggold), who he says is not who she thinks he is. We're sure that's not at all awkward to hear from an international fugitive and criminal mastermind you just met.

Perhaps best known for her role as intrepid FBI agent Dana Scully in the popular sci-fi series "The X-Files," actor Gillian Anderson took on the lead role in the UK crime drama series "The Fall." The series follows the investigation of Metropolitan Police Superintendent Stella Gibson (Anderson) as she looks into an apparent serial killer in the Northern Ireland capital of Belfast. She gets support from Assistant Chief Constable Jim Burns (John Lynch), with whom she shares a sordid history. "The Fall" tells the story in parallel narratives, alternately following Gibson's investigation with the acts of perpetrator Paul Spector (Jamie Dornan), who works as a bereavement counselor and also causes grief in his role as the killer the local media come to call the "Belfast Strangler." 

"The Fall" ran for three seasons and a total of 18 episodes, garnering increasing acclaim along the way. It holds a praiseworthy 84% average critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, though it's worth considering that its first two installments averaged 94% and its 64% score for the third season is ultimately what brings the average down. The series won various UK press awards and Dornan was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Leading Actor. Series creator Allan Cubitt left the door open for further adventures in the series when speaking to the press in 2016 (via Digital Spy). As to potentially returning to the character further down the road, Anderson expressed her interest, saying "I'm excited by the idea of potentially revisiting it in a few years, to see what transpires in Stella's life afterwards."

The BBC's period crime drama "The Serpent" follows an investigation into the titular killer's brutal murder of international travelers in Southeast Asia. Real life serial killer Charles Sobhraj (Tahar Rahim), active in the 1970s, frequently targets the free spirits backpacking through Bangkok, Thailand, along an overland route known as "The Hippie Trail" that begins in Europe. Much like prolific serial killer Ted Bundy, Sobhraj relies on his good looks and charm — often posing as a gemstone salesman — to befriend his potential victims, endearing himself to hi marks before killing and robbing them and also using their identities to further support his illicit activities. He's accompanied by girlfriend Marie-Andrée Leclerc (Jenna Coleman), who somehow madly in love with him and able to look past his horrible misdeeds. The evidence against him was never pieced together until a Dutch diplomat named Herman Knippenberg (Billy Howle) began looking into the disappearances of Dutch tourists whose last known appearances were at Sobhraj's home.

According to the Bangkok Post, the real-life Sobhraj was dubbed "The Serpent" as a result of his "snake-like ability to avoid detection by authorities." The outlet reports that he's believed to be responsible for the deaths of at least 20 tourists. Though he was initially imprisoned in India, Sobhraj was released in 1997; the Bangkok post reports that Sobhraj returned to Nepal and was subsequently imprisoned, currently incarcerated in Kathmandu. "The Serpent," which arrived on Netflix in 2021, enjoys a solid 70% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and Rahim received particular praise for his performance in the title role.

Prior to winning an Emmy for her performance as in the role of June Osborne in the dystopian drama "The Handmaid's Tale," acclaimed actor Elisabeth Moss won a Golden Globe for her work on "Top of the Lake." Moss stars as Robin Griffin, a detective living in Sydney, Australia. When she visits her hometown of Laketop, New Zealand, Robin is drawn tot he case of a missing girl and ends up looking into the disappearance of a pregnant 12-year-old girl named Tui Angel Mitcham (Jacqueline Joe). She's not the only one, of course; Tui's gruff and fearsome father, Matt Mitcham (Peter Mullan), surely wants answers as well. Robin gets counsel from Queenstown detective Al Parker (David Wenham), who thinks she's gotten too invested in Tui's disappearance as a result of her own rape at the age of 15.

While the limited series has a natural ending point, it's followed up by "Top of the Lake: China Girl," with Moss reprising her role. In the second installment, she's back in Sydney and paired with a new partner: Constable Miranda Hilmarson (Gwendoline Christie). Still dealing with some residual fallout from the first series, Robin's personal life begins to be a source of drama as well, including from her estranged daughter, Mary (Alice Englert), whose 42-year-old boyfriend Alexander "Puss" Braun (David Dencik) is alarming for more than just his age.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

In 2014, premium cable network HBO premiered a new crime drama called "True Detective." The first season of the anthology series follows the work of two Louisiana State Police detectives, splitting time between 2012 and 1995 as they look back into the murder of a prostitute that they'd previously investigated 17 years prior. Detective Rustin Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) and Detective Marty Hart (Woody Harrelson) offer snapshots of their personalities at completely different times in their lives, as time and their careers have each taken their respective tolls on the men. 

"True Detective" Season 2 explores the murder of a corrupt California bureaucrat, whose body is discovered by California Highway Patrol officer Paul Woodrugh (Taylor Kitsch). Corrupt detective Ray Velcoro (Colin Farrell) of the fictional Vinci, California, police department is tasked with looking investigating the death, as is Detective Ani Bezzerides (Rachel McAdams) of the Ventura County Sheriff's office, though you can bet the former's mob connections fuel his interest in the case. 

Season 3 of "True Detective" takes the nonlinear storytelling to another level, alternating between 1980, 1990, and 2015. Season 3 follows the work of Detective Wayne Hays (Mahershala Ali) and his partner Roland West (Stephen Dorff) as they look into the disappearance of brother and sister Will and Julie Purcell. Ten years later, the case is reopened when Julie's prints are found and 35 years after the initial disappearance, it serves as the subject for a crime documentary.

"True Detective" sports a solid 78% average critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and proved so popular with viewers that users crashed the HBO Go streaming app during the finale of Season 1 (via Rolling Stone).

Fans of police procedurals got a unique entry in the genre in the form of "Criminal," a Netflix anthology series that offers episodes set in four different countries. The show's producers were able to shoot footage for "Criminal: France," Criminal: Germany," "Criminal: Spain," and "Criminal: UK" in the same location because each episode tells a self-contained episode that takes place in only three locations within a police station. Viewers get to see suspects grilled by detectives and receive advice from their lawyers in the set's interrogation room, while fellow members of law enforcement look on through the room's two-way mirror from an observation room. Detectives are also able to discuss the case in the hallway between the other two locations.

"Criminal: UK" follows the work of Detective Chief Inspector Natalie Hobbs (Katherine Kelley), who's in charge of investigations, and her colleagues Detective Inspector Tony Myerscough (Lee Ingleby), and Detective Constables Hugo Duffy (Mark Stanley), Vanessa Warren (Rochenda Sandall), and Kyle Petit (Shubham Saraf). The show features popular actors in guest roles as suspects, including David Tennant as rape and murder suspect Edgar Fallon; Kit Harington as Alex, accused of rape; and Hayley Atwell as Stacey Doyle, accused of murder. The only of the franchise's four brands to receive a second season, "Criminal: UK" boasts an impressive 95% average critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, with its second season scoring a perfect 100%.

Sorry Jack, Chucky's back! The pint-sized terror has made his way to the small screen in "Chucky," a series airing on USA and Syfy. When teenager Jake Wheeler (Zackary Arthur) buys a Good Guy doll at a garage sale, hoping to make use of it for an art project, he does more than win further disapproval from his father Lucas (Devon Sawa); he unwittingly sets a monster loose in his New Jersey hometown. Let's just say the city of Hackensack is about to become the city of hack and slash. Fans of the "Child's Play" film franchise know that this particular plaything is possessed by the soul of fictional serial killer Charles Lee Ray, who goes by Chucky (Brad Dourif). Jake even receives a call from original "Child's Play" protagonist Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent), who warns him the take extreme care with Chucky. Unfortunately, like always, it's too late: Chucky is on the loose.

"Chucky" is set canonically after the events of the seventh film in the "Child's Play" franchise, "Cult of Chucky." The first season of "Chucky" enjoys a 91% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. Following its eight-episode first installment, "Chucky" Season 2 got the green light and is expected to premiere in 2022, according to Deadline. "We're thrilled to start pulling the strings on a second season of puppet mayhem with Chucky," series creator Don Mancini said. "Many thanks to our partners at USA, Syfy and UCP for their incredible support and guidance bringing 'Chucky' to the small screen, bigger than ever."