If there’s one thing more comforting for me than anything else, it’s a good procedural crime drama. It was pretty much the only thing I watched with my parents growing up, so part of my love for the shows comes from nostalgia. However, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that not a lot of people have heard of these shows. There are so many shows in this genre that deserve more hype, and today we’re going to visit six of them.
A procedural crime drama is a show where each episode solves a murder mystery, starting with the crime occurring and ending with an arrest. It typically follows someone outside a law enforcement job and an actual detective who work together. Each episode is self-contained, meaning that generally the mysteries are unrelated to each other. However, most of the shows also have an overall plot line that extends over either a season or the entire show’s runtime.
Now, let’s get into the shows!
Castle (2009-2016): 8 seasons
The main plot follows Richard Castle, famous mystery novelist, and Kate Beckett, NYPD detective as they work together as partners to solve murder mysteries in New York. The subplot is centered around Castle trying to figure out what happened to Beckett’s mother, a lawyer who was murderer. This subsequently opens up a lot of other little subplots throughout the show’s runtime.
High Potential (Since 2024): 2 seasons
The main plot follows Morgan Gillroy, single mom who worked as a janitor for the police department, and Adam Karadec, LAPD detective as she consults on cases for the departments. The subplot is centered around Morgan is looking for her missing ex-boyfriend, who was presumed to have simply walked out on her and their daughter from the initial investigations into his disappearance. However, Morgan is convinced something more sinister happened and agrees to work for the department if Chief Soto will investigate the cold case.
The Mentalist: (2008-2015): 7 seasons
The main plot follows Patrick Jane, ex-phony psychic, and Teresa Lisbon, CBI detective as they work together on cases throughout California. The subplot is centered around Jane’s late wife and daughter who were killed by a serial killer known as Red John, which propels him to work for the CBI in order to catch him and exact his revenge.
Bones (2005-2017): 12 seasons
The main plot follows Dr. Temperance Brennan, a forensic anthropologist, and Seeley Booth, an FBI special agent as they work on unusual cases in the D.C. area. This show has many subplots, so I’ll go over the two beginning ones. The first subplot is centered around the mysterious disappearance of Brennan’s parents when she was young, and figuring out what happened to them. The second subplot is centered around catching a serial killer that has someone working on the inside of their team.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013-2021): 8 seasons
The main plot follows Jake Peralta, an NYPD detective that solves crime with the 99th precinct crew, often getting involved in crazy antics along the way. This show is different from the others on the list because it’s not a murder mystery, but it’s too iconic to be left off. This show has less actual subplots and more running jokes, so I’ll go over two of the famous running jokes and call them subplots for continuity! The first subplot is centered around the Halloween Heists, where Jake, Captain Holt, and later the other members of the precinct compete for the title of “Ultimate Human/Genius”. The second subplot is centered around the unlikely friendship between Jake and a criminal known as the Pontiac Bandit/Doug Judy, who always is a step ahead of Jake.
Psych (2006-2014): 8 seasons
The main Plot follows Shawn Spencer, a fake psychic detective, and his best friend Burton Guster, a pharmaceutical salesman, as they consult on wacky cases for the LAPD. The subplot is centered around the duo is constantly trying to cover up the fact that Shawn is not actually psychic, which runs pretty much throughout the entire show. It is also probably the best show on this list at developing all of their interpersonal relationships with each other.
I hope that you have enjoyed my six noteworthy crime dramas! Thank you for reading! We greatly appreciate your support!