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 Penny Dreadful: City of Angels first
Perry Mason 2020
Series
Set in 1932 Los Angeles, the series focuses on the origin story of famed defense lawyer Perry Mason. Living check-to-check as a low-rent private investigator, Mason is haunted by his wartime experiences in France and suffering the effects of a broken marriage. L.A. is booming while the rest of the country recovers from the Great Depression — but a kidnapping gone very wrong leads to Mason exposing a fractured city as he uncovers the truth of the crime.
The sides of Perry Mason
- A broke private eye in 1932 Los Angeles
- A kidnapping that ends in murder
- A courtroom where Mason finds his calling
Good for you if
- you like a case that drags a whole city's secrets into court.
- you love the oil, churches and dust of Depression-era Los Angeles.
- you like a noir that takes its time before the trial.
Bad for you if
- you can't watch a story that starts with the death of a baby.
- you can't stand grim, bloody crime scenes.
About: justice · war trauma · corruption · faith
L.A. Confidential 1997
Film
Three detectives in the corrupt and brutal L.A. police force of the 1950s use differing methods to uncover a conspiracy behind the shotgun slayings of the patrons at an all-night diner.
The sides of L.A. Confidential
- Three very different cops in 1950s Los Angeles
- A massacre at an all-night diner
- Hollywood glamour and police corruption
Good for you if
- you like a conspiracy that only fits together in the last act.
- you like dirty cops, call girls made up as movie stars and tabloid deals.
- you like 1950s Los Angeles behind the postcard.
Bad for you if
- you can't stand shotgun killings and brutal beatings.
- you lose track when three detectives each follow their own lead.
About: corruption · ambition · justice
Babylon Berlin 2017
Series
Beneath the decadence of 1929 Berlin, lies an underworld city of sin. Police investigator Gereon Rath has been transferred from Cologne to the epicenter of political and social changes in the Golden Twenties.
The sides of Babylon Berlin
- A Cologne detective in 1929 Berlin
- A young typist who wants to join the police
- Nightclubs, drugs and rising Nazis
Good for you if
- you want the Weimar years before the Nazis took power.
- you like 1920s Berlin streets and clubs rebuilt in rich detail.
- you like a detective caught between drug rings, gangs and crooked police.
Bad for you if
- you won't read subtitles for a German series.
- you lose track of police, gangs and political plots across five seasons.
About: decadence · corruption · trauma
Memories of Murder 2003
Film
A sadistic serial rapist and murderer of young women terrorizes a small province in 1980s South Korea. To prevent further crimes, three increasingly desperate detectives with conflicting methods race against time to unravel the violent mind of the killer in a futile effort to solve the case.
The sides of Memories of Murder
- Two rural detectives chasing a serial killer
- 1980s South Korea under military rule
- Crimes based on a real unsolved case of the time
Good for you if
- you like a manhunt in rain soaked fields where every lead slips away.
- you can laugh at clumsy, brutal cops in the middle of a grim case.
- you can take a story where desperation wins over justice.
Bad for you if
- you can't stand police brutality and murdered victims on screen.
- you won't read subtitles for two hours.
- you need a case closed and a killer named.
About: obsession · failure · police brutality · a country in transition
Gangster Squad 2013
Film
Los Angeles, 1949. Ruthless, Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and — if he has his way — every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it all with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians who are under his control. It’s enough to intimidate even the bravest, street-hardened cop… except, perhaps, for the small, secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O’Mara and Jerry Wooters who come together to try to tear Cohen’s world apart.
The sides of Gangster Squad
- Mobster Mickey Cohen ruling Los Angeles in 1949
- A secret squad of cops working off the books
- Tommy guns in fedoras and pinstripes
Good for you if
- you like shootouts with tommy guns in Chinatown.
- you like the look of 1940s Los Angeles.
- you like off-the-books cops going to war on Mickey Cohen's mob.
Bad for you if
- you can't stand brutal mob violence.
- you'd rather follow morally complicated people than clear heroes and villains.
About: corruption · justice · loyalty
Carnival Row 2019
Series
In a mystical and dark city filled with humans, fairies and other creatures, a police detective investigates a series of gruesome murders leveled against the fairy population. During his investigation, the detective becomes the prime suspect and must find the real killer to clear his name.
The sides of Carnival Row
- A detective hunting the killer of fairies
- Fae refugees crowded into one city
- A Victorian city with wings and factories
Good for you if
- you like a Victorian city where fairies and fauns live crammed together.
- you like following a detective who ends up the prime suspect.
- you watch for costume, fog and lamplight.
Bad for you if
- you can't sit through gruesome murders.
- you want something warm and low on stakes.
About: prejudice · exile · class
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
Fargo 2014
Series
A close-knit anthology series dealing with stories involving malice, violence and murder based in and around Minnesota.
The sides of Fargo
- A new crime story in every season
- Small-town cops in the Midwest snow
- Ordinary people who make one bad choice
Good for you if
- you laugh at polite Minnesotans caught up in murder.
- you like waiting for a stranger like Lorne Malvo to decide what to do next.
- you like small-town crimes that snowball out of one bad decision.
Bad for you if
- you can't stand sudden, bloody killings in quiet places.
- you can't stand odd moments, like a UFO in the middle of a crime story.
About: fate · good and evil · greed
Sleepy Hollow 1999
Film
Skeptical young detective Ichabod Crane gets transferred to the hamlet of Sleepy Hollow, New York, where he is tasked with investigating the decapitations of three people – murders the townsfolk attribute to a legendary specter, The Headless Horseman.
The sides of Sleepy Hollow
- A rational constable in a superstitious village
- A headless horseman
- Misty woods in autumn
Good for you if
- you like a grey, gothic world drained of colour.
- you like a murder mystery with a supernatural killer.
- you like Tim Burton's dark fairy tales.
Bad for you if
- lots of decapitations ruin it for you.
- a headless rider swinging a sword through dark woods is too scary for you.
About: reason · superstition · revenge
Under the Banner of Heaven 2022
Series
A devout detective's faith is tested as he investigates a brutal murder that seems to be connected to an esteemed Utah family's spiral into LDS fundamentalism and their distrust in the government.
The sides of Under the Banner of Heaven
- A Mormon detective investigating a murder
- A young mother and her baby killed in 1984 Utah
- A family's turn to fundamentalism
Good for you if
- you want a careful look at the real 1984 killing of Brenda Lafferty and her daughter.
- you like Andrew Garfield as a believer whose faith starts to crack.
- you like an investigation that takes its time with a family's history.
Bad for you if
- you can't watch a story built around the murder of a mother and her baby.
- you lose track of a big family of brothers and flashbacks to the church's early days.
About: faith · doubt · family · fundamentalism
Chinatown 1974
Film
Private eye Jake Gittes lives off of the murky moral climate of sunbaked, pre-World War II Southern California. Hired by a beautiful socialite to investigate her husband's extra-marital affair, Gittes is swept into a maelstrom of double dealings and deadly deceits, uncovering a web of personal and political scandals that come crashing together.
The sides of Chinatown
- A private eye hired to catch a cheating husband
- Water stolen from Los Angeles
- A widow with a secret
Good for you if
- you like a case that grows from an affair into a city's dirty secret.
- you can take an ending where the wrong people win.
- you like Jack Nicholson as Jake Gittes, nose bandaged and all.
Bad for you if
- you can't take a mystery whose last secret is deeply disturbing.
- you need momentum and a patient investigation loses you.
About: corruption · power · the past
Bosch 2015
Series
Harry Bosch, an LAPD homicide detective, stands trial for the fatal shooting of a serial murder suspect. A cold case involving the remains of a missing boy forces Bosch to confront his past. As daring recruit Julia Brasher catches his eye and departmental politics heat up, Bosch will pursue justice at all costs.
The sides of Bosch
- An LAPD homicide detective in Los Angeles
- Cold cases and departmental politics
- A detective and his teenage daughter
Good for you if
- you like a murder case that takes a whole season to solve.
- you like patient police work over shootouts.
- you like Harry Bosch, a stubborn detective with a jazz record collection.
Bad for you if
- seven seasons is too much for you.
- you want chases and gunfights in a cop show.
About: justice · the past · fatherhood
The Killing 2011
Series
The Killing is an American crime drama television series based upon the Danish television series Forbrydelsen. Set in Seattle, Washington, the series follows the various murder investigations by homicide detectives Sarah Linden and Stephen Holder.
The sides of The Killing
- Two detectives on the murder of Rosie Larsen
- A grey and rainy Seattle
- A mayoral campaign caught up in the investigation
Good for you if
- you like one murder investigated over two whole seasons.
- you like long rainy silences and a patient investigation.
- you can take a story about grief that stays dark.
Bad for you if
- you want shootouts and chases more than interrogations.
- you lose track when the story splits between the detectives, the grieving family and a mayoral race.
About: grief · guilt · obsession
The Irregulars 2021
Series
In Victorian London, a gang of troubled street teens are manipulated into solving crimes for the sinister Doctor Watson and his mysterious business partner, the elusive Sherlock Holmes. As the crimes take on a horrifying supernatural edge and a dark power emerges, it'll be up to the Irregulars to come together to save not only London but the entire world.
The sides of The Irregulars
- Street teens in Victorian London
- Doctor Watson handing them cases
- Supernatural crimes in the fog
Good for you if
- you like a found family of street kids sticking together.
- you like Sherlock Holmes told from the kids in the background.
- you like Victorian cases that turn supernatural.
Bad for you if
- you can't stand horror scenes and creepy monsters.
- you can't stand gory deaths on screen.
About: found family · trauma · loyalty
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
The Outsider 2020
Series
When an insidious supernatural force edges its way into a seemingly straightforward investigation into the gruesome murder of a young boy, it leads a seasoned cop and an unorthodox investigator to question everything they believe in.
The sides of The Outsider
- A boy's murder in a Georgia town
- A suspect seen in two places at once
- An investigator who sees what others miss
Good for you if
- you like dread that builds in quiet rooms and dark caves.
- you like a case with proof that a man was in two places at once.
- you like a patient story that takes its time with grief.
Bad for you if
- the murder of a child and a grieving family are too much for you.
- you need a crime explained without anything supernatural.
About: grief · belief · evil

Line of Duty 2012
Series
A drama about the investigations of AC-12, a controversial police anticorruption unit.
The sides of Line of Duty
- A police anti-corruption unit
- Interrogations that last a whole episode
- A hunt for the officer behind organised crime
Good for you if
- you like interrogation rooms that feel like a battlefield.
- you like Ted Hastings, Steve Arnott and Kate Fleming cornering a suspect with words.
- you like following a conspiracy that grows across seasons.
Bad for you if
- you'd rather not commit to several seasons of one conspiracy.
- you lose track of names, ranks and police acronyms.
About: corruption · loyalty · truth
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
La jauría 2020
Series
Blanca, student leader of the feminist movement in an occupied school, goes missing: hours later, a video of a group raping the girl goes viral. In their aim to find her, a police squad formed by three women puts their lives and that of their families at risk. As they look for Blanca and investigate, they will find out that behind this gender crime there is much more than just one offender.
The sides of La jauría
- A student leader who disappears in Santiago
- Three women police officers searching for her
- A network of abusers hidden behind an online game
Good for you if
- you like a race against the clock to find a missing girl.
- you like an investigation that keeps going deeper than one culprit.
- you want a story about how men protect each other at the top.
Bad for you if
- you can't watch a story built around sexual violence.
- you won't read subtitles for a Chilean series.
- you lose track when three detectives, their families and several suspects share the story.
About: gender violence · impunity · justice
Gone Baby Gone 2007
Film
When 4 year old Amanda McCready disappears from her home and the police make little headway in solving the case, the girl's aunt, Beatrice McCready hires two private detectives, Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro. The detectives freely admit that they have little experience with this type of case, but the family wants them for two reasons—they're not cops and they know the tough neighborhood in which they all live.
The sides of Gone Baby Gone
- A four-year-old missing in Boston
- Two private detectives from the neighborhood
- A choice between the law and what is right
Good for you if
- you like a missing-child case that keeps changing shape.
- you like a tense thriller in the bars and streets of Boston.
- you like an ending that leaves you asking what you would have done.
Bad for you if
- a missing child, drugs and abuse are too much for you.
- you need an ending that leaves you some hope.
About: justice · parenthood · corruption