What do you want to watch tonight?
Each title says who it's good for, and who it isn't. Tap what you want tonight, or say no to one and why.
Closest to CSI: Crime Scene Investigation first
Criminal Minds 2005
Series
An elite team of FBI profilers analyze the country's most twisted criminal minds, anticipating their next moves before they strike again. The Behavioral Analysis Unit's most experienced agent is David Rossi, a founding member of the BAU who returns to help the team solve new cases.
The sides of Criminal Minds
- An FBI team of profilers
- Serial killers tracked by how they think
- A jet that takes them to each case
Good for you if
- you like working out who the killer is from how he thinks.
- you like racing with the team to stop the next victim.
- you like the BAU as a family, from Reid to Garcia.
Bad for you if
- you can't take on nineteen seasons.
- you can't stand serial killers and what they do to their victims.
About: evil · profiling · teamwork

Bones 2005
Series
Dr. Temperance Brennan and her colleagues at the Jeffersonian's Medico-Legal Lab assist Special Agent Seeley Booth with murder investigations when the remains are so badly decomposed, burned or destroyed that the standard identification methods are useless.
The sides of Bones
- A forensic anthropologist who reads skeletons
- An FBI agent who trusts his gut
- A lab full of scientists solving murders
Good for you if
- you like a murder solved from bones, insects and a chipped tooth.
- you like the sparks between Booth, the FBI agent, and Brennan, the scientist.
- you like the whole Jeffersonian team arguing over the remains.
Bad for you if
- you can't commit to twelve seasons.
- you can't stand close-ups of rotting and burned bodies.
About: science · partnership · love

The Mentalist 2008
Series
Patrick Jane, a former celebrity psychic medium, uses his razor sharp skills of observation and expertise at "reading" people to solve serious crimes with the California Bureau of Investigation.
The sides of The Mentalist
- A fake psychic working with the police
- A serial killer called Red John
- Cases solved by reading people
Good for you if
- you like a weekly case cracked by watching how suspects lie.
- you like Simon Baker's charm as Patrick Jane, smiling while he grieves.
- you want a long hunt for Red John, the killer who took Jane's family.
Bad for you if
- seven seasons of cases is too much for you.
- you want shootouts and chases more than conversations in a room.
About: grief · revenge · deception
Zodiac 2007
Film
In 1970s San Francisco, a cartoonist, a reporter and two police inspectors spend years trying to identify the Zodiac killer, who taunts them with letters and codes.
The sides of Zodiac
- An obsession that eats years of a life
- Real investigation work, step by step
- 1970s San Francisco
- A case that won't close
Good for you if
- you like a cartoonist, a reporter and a detective trying to crack a killer's coded letters.
- you like a long investigation more than a quick chase.
- you can live with questions that never get a full answer.
Bad for you if
- you want chases and shootouts. This one is mostly phone calls and archives.
- two hours and forty minutes is too long for your evening.
About: obsession · the truth · time · journalism
NCIS 2003
Series
From murder and espionage to terrorism and stolen submarines, a team of special agents investigates any crime that has any connection to Navy and Marine Corps personnel, regardless of rank or position.
The sides of NCIS
- Navy crime investigators
- Gibbs and his rules
- A lab, a morgue and a team that jokes
Good for you if
- you like a crime show with jokes, where a goth lab expert and a chatty medical examiner lighten every case.
- you like murders and spy cases tied to the Navy.
- you like the team around Gibbs teasing each other like family.
Bad for you if
- over twenty seasons is too much for you.
- you want a case that takes a whole season to solve.
About: duty · loyalty · justice
Sherlock 2010
Series
A modern update finds the famous sleuth and his doctor partner solving crime in 21st century London.
The sides of Sherlock
- Sherlock Holmes in modern London
- An army doctor back from Afghanistan
- A consulting criminal named Moriarty
Good for you if
- you like watching a genius solve a case from a stranger's shoes.
- you like fast, sharp talk with the deductions written on screen.
- you like a prickly friendship between Sherlock and John Watson.
Bad for you if
- you need every deduction to be something a real detective could make.
- you can't keep up when Sherlock reels off deductions faster than you can read them.
About: friendship · genius · loneliness · obsession
Chicago P.D. 2014
Series
A riveting police drama about the men and women of the Chicago Police Department's District 21 who put it all on the line to serve and protect their community. District 21 is made up of two distinctly different groups: the uniformed cops who patrol the beat and go head-to-head with the city's street crimes and the Intelligence Unit that combats the city's major offenses - organized crime, drug trafficking, high profile murders and beyond.
The sides of Chicago P.D.
- Chicago's District 21
- An Intelligence Unit led by Hank Voight
- Street cops and major cases
Good for you if
- you like a sergeant like Voight who breaks rules to get results.
- you like raids and interrogations against the clock.
- you want chases and shootouts in Chicago streets.
Bad for you if
- over a dozen seasons is too much for you.
- you can't stand shootings and rough interrogations.
About: justice · loyalty · corruption
Elementary 2012
Series
A modern-day drama about a crime-solving duo that cracks the NYPD's most impossible cases. Following his fall from grace in London and a stint in rehab, eccentric Sherlock escapes to Manhattan where his wealthy father forces him to live with his worst nightmare - a sober companion, Dr. Watson.
The sides of Elementary
- Sherlock Holmes fresh out of rehab in New York
- A sober companion named Joan Watson
- A Brooklyn brownstone full of beehives and locks
Good for you if
- you like a new NYPD case cracked every week.
- you like Sherlock and Joan slowly becoming partners.
- you like a detective fighting to stay sober.
Bad for you if
- seven seasons is too much for you.
- you want chases more than deductions.
About: addiction · friendship · recovery
The Batman 2022
Film
In his second year of fighting crime, Batman uncovers corruption in Gotham City that connects to his own family while facing a serial killer known as the Riddler.
The sides of The Batman
- A young Batman as a detective
- A killer leaving riddles
- Gotham drowning in rain
Good for you if
- you like Batman solving a case like a noir detective.
- you like red light, rain and darkness.
- you like a moody, patient investigation.
Bad for you if
- three hours is too much for one evening.
- you want a light superhero film.
About: corruption · revenge · hope

CSI: Miami 2002
Series
The show follows Crime Scene Investigators working for the Miami-Dade Police Department as they use physical evidence, similar to their Las Vegas counterparts, to solve grisly murders. The series mixes deduction, gritty subject matter, and character-driven drama in the same vein as the original series in the CSI franchise, except that the Miami CSIs are cops first, scientists second.
The sides of CSI: Miami
- Crime scene investigators in Miami
- Horatio Caine and his sunglasses
- A new murder solved each episode
Good for you if
- you like a case opened and closed in one episode.
- you like a familiar team in the Miami sun, week after week.
Bad for you if
- ten seasons is too much for you.
- you need lab results that take longer than one scene.
About: justice · forensics · Miami
Prisoners 2013
Film
When his young daughter and her friend disappear on Thanksgiving, a father takes the law into his own hands while a detective works the case.
The sides of Prisoners
- A detective who won't let go
- How far a father will go
- A case built like a maze
- Rain, cold, and grey light
Good for you if
- you like being tense for two and a half hours straight.
- you like collecting clues and trying to get ahead of the detective.
- you like watching an actor go somewhere raw. Hugh Jackman does.
Bad for you if
- a child in danger is too much for you.
- two and a half hours is too long for your evening.
About: faith · revenge · guilt · fatherhood
The Blacklist 2013
Series
Raymond "Red" Reddington, one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives, surrenders in person at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. He claims that he and the FBI have the same interests: bringing down dangerous criminals and terrorists. In the last two decades, he's made a list of criminals and terrorists that matter the most but the FBI cannot find because it does not know they exist. Reddington calls this "The Blacklist". Reddington will co-operate, but insists that he will speak only to Elizabeth Keen, a rookie FBI profiler.
The sides of The Blacklist
- A wanted criminal who turns himself in to the FBI
- A list of criminals nobody knew existed
- A rookie profiler he will only talk to
Good for you if
- you like James Spader's Red Reddington, a hat, a smile and a long story before every threat.
- you like a new criminal from Red's list in almost every episode.
- you want to know why Red chose Elizabeth Keen.
Bad for you if
- ten seasons is too much for you.
- you can't stand regular executions and shootouts.
About: secrets · loyalty · redemption
The Wire 2002
Series
Told from the points of view of both the Baltimore homicide and narcotics detectives and their targets, the series captures a universe in which the national war on drugs has become a permanent, self-sustaining bureaucracy, and distinctions between good and evil are routinely obliterated.
The sides of The Wire
- Baltimore cops wiretapping a drug crew
- The docks, the schools, City Hall and the newspaper
- Dealers and detectives seen from both sides
Good for you if
- you like seeing how police, politics and schools keep a city stuck.
- you like a case built patiently over a whole season.
- you want people like Omar, Stringer Bell and McNulty to stay with you.
Bad for you if
- you lose track with dozens of characters on both sides.
- you need some hope. Baltimore rarely changes here.
About: institutions · the drug war · loyalty
Hawaii Five-0 2010
Series
Steve McGarrett returns home to Oahu, in order to find his father's killer. The governor offers him the chance to run his own task force (Five-0). Steve's team is joined by Chin Ho Kelly, Danny "Danno" Williams, and Kono Kalakaua.
The sides of Hawaii Five-0
- A Navy SEAL hunting his father's killer
- A task force run from Honolulu
- Beaches, car chases and cargo shorts
Good for you if
- you like a chase or a shootout in every episode.
- you like a new case on Oahu every week.
- you like McGarrett and Danno bickering in the car.
Bad for you if
- ten seasons is too much for you.
- you want a case you have to work hard to solve.
About: family · loyalty · justice
True Detective 2014
Series
Each season, different detectives work one murder case. The first follows two Louisiana detectives on a ritual killing that stays with them for seventeen years.
The sides of True Detective
- Two detectives, conversation as tension
- An obsession with a case that won't close
- A place that feels haunted
Good for you if
- you like long conversations in a car more than shootouts.
- you like a case that takes its time and a mood that settles in.
- you like dark ideas and darker places.
Bad for you if
- you'd rather not keep track of one case told across two or three timelines.
- you can't take disturbing images of murder victims.
About: time · evil · faith · partnership
Grimm 2011
Series
After Portland homicide detective Nick Burkhardt discovers he's descended from an elite line of criminal profilers known as "Grimms," he increasingly finds his responsibilities as a detective at odds with his new responsibilities as a Grimm.
The sides of Grimm
- A Portland homicide detective who sees monsters
- Fairy-tale creatures hiding among people
- A reformed big bad wolf on his side
Good for you if
- you like Grimm fairy tales turned into creatures living secretly in Portland.
- you like a murder case that turns out to have a creature behind it.
- you like Nick and Monroe, the detective and the clockmaker wolf who helps him.
Bad for you if
- six seasons is too much for you.
- you can't stand creature attacks and beheadings.
About: duty · secrets · friendship
The Rookie 2018
Series
Starting over isn't easy, especially for small-town guy John Nolan who, after a life-altering incident, is pursuing his dream of being an LAPD officer. As the force's oldest rookie, he's met with skepticism from some higher-ups who see him as just a walking midlife crisis.
The sides of The Rookie
- The oldest rookie in the LAPD
- Training officers who doubt him
- Calls across Los Angeles
Good for you if
- you like car chases and patrol calls that go wrong in every episode.
- you like following a whole precinct of rookies and their training officers.
- you like a small-town man in midlife starting over as the LAPD's oldest rookie.
Bad for you if
- nine seasons is too much for you.
- you roll your eyes at heartfelt talks between partners after every case.
About: second chances · duty · age
iZombie 2015
Series
A medical student who becomes a zombie joins a Coroner's Office in order to gain access to the brains she must reluctantly eat so that she can maintain her humanity. But every brain she eats, she also inherits their memories and must now solve their deaths with help from the Medical examiner and a police detective.
The sides of iZombie
- A zombie working at a Seattle morgue
- Brains that hand over their memories
- A murder solved every episode
Good for you if
- you like a murder of the week solved through the victim's memories.
- you like Liv picking up a new personality with every brain she eats.
- you like Liv, Ravi and Clive working cases together.
Bad for you if
- your stomach turns at brain eating, even cooked.
- you want a zombie story that actually scares you.
About: identity · death · second chances
Blindspot 2015
Series
A vast international plot explodes when a beautiful Jane Doe is discovered naked in Times Square, completely covered in mysterious, intricate tattoos with no memory of who she is or how she got there. But there's one tattoo that is impossible to miss: the name of FBI agent Kurt Weller, emblazoned across her back. "Jane," Agent Weller and the rest of the FBI quickly realize that each mark on her body is a crime to solve, leading them closer to the truth about her identity and the mysteries to be revealed.
The sides of Blindspot
- A woman found in Times Square with no memory
- Tattoos covering her whole body
- An FBI agent's name on her back
Good for you if
- you like a tattoo decoded each week that leads to a crime.
- you want to know who Jane really is.
- you want FBI raids and fights in every episode.
Bad for you if
- you need a conspiracy that could really happen.
- five seasons is too much for you.
About: identity · memory · trust
Castle 2009
Series
After a serial killer imitates the plots of his novels, successful mystery novelist Richard "Rick" Castle receives permission from the Mayor of New York City to tag along with an NYPD homicide investigation team for research purposes.
The sides of Castle
- A crime novelist following a New York homicide detective
- A new murder case in every episode
- A teenage daughter and a mother at home
Good for you if
- you like a murder to solve every episode.
- you like Castle and Beckett taking years to get together.
- you like a writer joking his way through crime scenes.
Bad for you if
- eight seasons is too much for you.
- you need police work that could really happen, not a novelist on every case.
About: love · family · justice