10 Perfect Crime Shows With 5 Seasons or Less

A vast majority of television history is based on crime shows, as dramatic presentations evolved out of the tradition of news reports. This would evolve into the procedural format, which was dominant within network shows for decades, and still has a great deal of traction today. However, there’s only so much dramatic potential that can be drawn out of a series with an open-ended premise and no fixed conclusion. It’s the presence of an actual ending that makes these shows valuable and allows them to span the test of time.

It’s remarkable that many of the best shows are carefully structured so as not to overstay their welcome and can conclude before they ruin their opportunities to be considered perfect. Instead of running on for many years beyond their natural ending points, they were wrapped up in five seasons or fewer.

10

‘Boardwalk Empire’ (2010–2014)

Image via HBO

Boardwalk Empire is a period crime epic that took inspiration from great gangster films, making it no surprise that the series was produced by Martin Scorsese, who also directed the pilot episode. Boardwalk Empire is the story of the corrupt Atlantic City treasurer Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi) in the 1920s, who deals with gangsters during the Prohibition era.

Boardwalk Empire is impeccably made in how it recreates a historical era, and often drawn from real history in order to conceive of its various villains. While the rogue’s gallery on Boardwalk Empire was as impressive as that of any crime show, it never failed to deconstruct the character of Nucky himself, who was a ruthless businessman who had made himself impenetrable after a tragic childhood. Buscemi has played many anti-heroes, but Nucky is more layered and complicated than any of the roles he’s ever had.

9

‘Fargo’ (2014–2024)

Image via MGM Television

Fargo seemed like a disastrous idea at first, as the original 1996 film from Joel and Ethan Coen is one of the most perfect masterpieces of its decade, and would seem impossible to remake. Thankfully, showrunner Noah Hawley wasn’t interested in making a straight-up remake, as Fargo became an anthology show that honored the spirit of the Coen brothers by telling similarly dark crime stories that connected in some way to the original town.

Fargo is a unique show because each season tells a completely independent story and introduces an entirely new cast, but there is still connective tissue that binds them together to make it feel like a cohesive story. Although the show’s future is currently unknown, each of the five seasons that have aired is a masterpiece in its own right that contributes to the larger narrative Hawley had been creating.

8

‘Ozark’ (2017–2022)

Steve Dietl /©Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection

Ozark was the perfect psychological crime thriller for Netflix because it is so relentless in its pacing that it requires being watched in a single binge. Although most modern shows in the prestige television era are focused on some sort of anti-hero, there is generally some sort of tragic quality involved in their fall from grace; conversely, Ozark introduces a protagonist in Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman) who is morally repugnant from the beginning, and goes on to explore a nasty criminal underworld that is even worse.

Ozark allowed Bateman to show that he was more than a comedic actor by giving him a rich dramatic role, and he also proved himself to be a talented filmmaker by directing many of the episodes. However, he may have been outshone by his on-screen wife, Wendy (Laura Linney), who truly became the “Lady Macbeth” of the series.

7

‘Tokyo Vice’ (2022–2024)

Image via HBO Max

Tokyo Vice is among the most underrated television shows of the decade, regardless of genre, and will likely go down as a classic because of how nuanced it was in its depiction of crime journalism. The series is based on the novel of the same name by the former newspaper journalist Jake Adelstein, who became the first American writer to serve at a major Japanese publication in Tokyo. Jake is portrayed in the series by Ansel Elgort, and it shows how he was mentored by a Japanese cop (Ken Watanabe) as they developed investigations about the mafia.

Tokyo Vice is thrilling television with an excellent cast and puts its budget to good use with one of the slickest, most beautiful productions ever for an HBO Max show. While it was sadly cancelled after its second season, anyone who considers themself to be a fan of great storytelling deserves to check it out.

6

‘Damages’ (2007–2012)

Image via FX

Damages is a brilliant legal drama from FX that has aged well because of how much better it is than most of the other courtroom thrillers out there. Unlike most crime shows, Damages devoted each of its five seasons to a single case, ensuring that there was time to flesh out and develop all aspects of the trial process. It’s the rare series where each season was equal in terms of quality.

Damages is perhaps best known for its cast, as it featured Rose Byrne in her breakout role and Glenn Close in a performance that might be her very best, even when compared to her eight Oscar-nominated film parts. It’s also a series that featured major A-list guest stars in every season, with Martin Short in particular being a standout by giving one of the few dramatic performances of his career.

5

‘Mr. Robot’ (2015–2019)

Image via USA Network

Mr. Robot is a twisty modern crime thriller that looks into the world of hacking activist groups as they start to gain traction on the global political stage. Although Mr. Robot aired on the USA Network, which hadn’t previously been known for telling avant-garde stories, creator Sam Esmail based the show on what he had imagined as a film script and drew heavy inspiration from classics of cinema; Esmail became one of the most singular auteurs on television and directed every single episode in the last three seasons.

Mr. Robot featured an all-time great television performance from Rami Malek as Elliot Alderson, a young hacker who ends up becoming the face of a movement. The slow study of Elliot’s childhood, his mental illness, and his self-actualization made for an emotionally powerful character arc that was beautifully wrapped up by the time that the series ended.

4

‘The Wire’ (2002–2008)

Image via HBO Max

The Wire is the definition of a show that was ahead of its time, as the series didn’t attract high ratings or major award nominations for HBO when it was airing, even though it was clearly a masterpiece in the making. The series was developed by David Simon, a former journalist who had spent over a decade reporting the crime beat in Baltimore, which served as an inspiration for what he would do with The Wire.

The Wire was unlike any other drama show because it included a massive, sprawling ensemble that grew more complex with each season, as Simon added more infrastructure and nuance as it continued. The result was a powerful examination of how the drug trade has devastated all levels of American life, as The Wire is both acclaimed by television critics and cited as being accurate by real reporters and law enforcement.

3

‘Mindhunter’ (2017–2019)

Image via Patrick Harbron / ©Netflix / courtesy Everett Collection

Mindhunter is one of the greatest “what-if” shows in television history because it was denied the chance to expand upon its two perfect seasons. There isn’t a filmmaker out there who has made more great serial killer films than David Fincher, and he developed a show that intertwined real history to explore the first serious investigation into psychological criminals for the FBI. The character Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) was based on the real FBI Agent John Douglas, who was himself the inspiration for the character Will Graham in The Silence of the Lambs.

Mindhunter is a fascinating character study that combines prolonged investigations with a probing exploration of Holden’s consciousness as he begins to delve too deeply into the killers and their minds. Although Netflix didn’t renew the show beyond Season 2, it’s among the best that they’ve ever made.

2

‘Twin Peaks’ (1990–2017)

Image via ABC

Twin Peaks is perhaps the most influential show of all-time, and managed to wrap itself up within three seasons, albeit in a roundabout way. The series was created by the legendary surrealist filmmaker David Lynch, who aimed to subvert what a procedural mystery looked like by expanding upon one case and exploring its impacts upon a broader community. Lynch began to get cagey about the show’s future when ABC enforced changes within Season 2, but he returned to direct the season finale after it was cancelled.

Lynch returned to Twin Peaks in 2017 to make a groundbreaking third season that bucked all conventions by taking a meta approach, which recontextualized the events of the series as being part of an existential battle between good and evil. It’s one of the most ambitious works of filmmaking ever and something only Lynch would have been capable of.

1

‘Breaking Bad’ (2008–2013)

Image via Netflix

Breaking Bad is the indisputable series that helped to coin the “prestige television” era because it was a perfectly conceived story by Vince Gilligan, one of the most brilliant living writers. Five seasons made perfect sense for Breaking Bad because it was based on the structure of a William Shakespeare tragedy, with each season corresponding to one of the five acts in his plays. While it introduces Bryan Cranston’s Walter White as a sympathetic man who is pushed to the edge as he tries to protect his family, he slowly transforms into the ruthless drug kingpin “Heisenberg.”

Breaking Bad was a showcase for Cranston, but it also featured one of the most impressive ensembles in television history, with many of the cast members returning for the prequel series Better Call Saul, which ran for six great seasons of its own.