Copyright Screen Rant
Breaking Bad is inarguably one of the greatest TV shows ever, much less one of the greatest crime dramas ever, but the genre is so packed with excellent series that the only shows that can be considered better than Breaking Bad also just so happen to be crime dramas. When Breaking Bad ended in 2013, it almost instantly ended up somewhere on everyone's lists of the best TV shows. A show about a downtrodden chemistry teacher turned drug kingpin was an incredibly rich idea, and with its cast and creative team, it was always destined for enduring acclaim. That Breaking Bad happens to be a crime drama and is highly acclaimed is not a coincidence. Crime dramas are incredibly popular, both with audiences and with showrunners. It seems like the magnum opus for most showrunners is in the genre, leading to shows like these three that outshine even Breaking Bad. The Shield (2002-2008) The Shield often gets forgotten about when we talk about the greatest shows ever, maybe because it was the first prestige series to premiere on the fledgling FX channel, so a lot of people didn't see it. Or maybe it's because it ran around the same time as The Sopranos and TV viewers had their fill of cruel antiheroes. Despite being overshadowed when it premiered, The Shield is an incredible show, widely regarded by critics and fans alike. The series stars Michael Chiklis as Detective Vic Mackey of the LAPD. Mackey is the head of an experimental division in one of LA's most dangerous districts. It's possible he's one of the most dangerous figures in the district as well and uses his power there to "maintain peace" by way of stealing from criminals, coercing information, and generally running his district like a feudal lord. It's intense, bleak, and incredibly entertaining, particularly in how it brings its story to a close. The Wire There might not be a more honest depiction of life in America than in David Simon's The Wire. Simon was a former police reporter after all, and saw firsthand the ins and outs of policing, crime, politics, and all the institutions those citywide organizations infect in one way or another. Every season of The Wire is centered on a different part of Baltimore County in Maryland. The drug trade, ports and unions, schools, politicians, and city media are all put under a critical lens that tells the bad as well as the good, never afraid to shove the reality of a bleak system in the viewer's face. There's a relentlessness to The Wire, and the cyclical nature of Baltimore's institutions suggests these problems will keep repeating only with new names attached to them. Breaking Bad's story ends when the show does (almost), but The Wire's story will keep going as long as people want to cheat the system. The Sopranos (1999-2007) David Chase's The Sopranos is, and always will be, my pick for the greatest television show ever. The series needs no introduction, but if you're one of the rare few people who have never heard of the show, it centers on the Soprano crime family living in modern-day New Jersey, led by the violent, cruel, and charming Tony (James Gandolfini). An ensemble, The Sopranos puts us in the headspace of modern-day mafia members, showing how they make their money, how they justify their lifestyles to themselves and to their loved ones, and how a career in murder, thievery, and lying will eventually tear down your entire world.
