Summary

• Aussie crime series offer a gritty and specific twist on the classic police procedural, showcasing Australia's unique storytelling capabilities.
• Australian crime dramas blend English sardonic tone with American plotlines, set against visually stunning oceanic backdrops for a captivating experience.
• These shows, like Deadloch and Mystery Road, explore diverse narratives with dark humor, societal issues, and captivating mysteries, worth a watch.

A great Aussie crime series features every aspect of what normally goes into a classic police procedural but with a specificity and grittiness that only the country/continent can produce. While thrilling crime drama TV shows as its British and American counterparts.

What Australia offers, besides actors who have dropped their Australian accents for American ones in everything from the MCU to Scorsese movies, is a blend of the sardonic tone of English series with the grimmer plotlines of American shows, making it an interesting mix. Crucial to note, many of these shows, are located near the ocean which provides a consistent yet unique setting compared to other crime shows, making for a visually stunning crime series experience.

10 Blue Heelers (1994-2006)

An Ensemble Cast Takes Care Of Daily Business In Victoria

Blue Heelers follows the small police department in the fictional town of Mount Thomas, Victoria. First premiering in 1994, the series lasted for 13 seasons and boasted a large ensemble cast of police officers at the local station as they dealt with everything from unpaid parking tickets to multiple homicides.

Each member of the police department is given ample screen time throughout the show, making for an enjoyable watch that never feels like a retread because of how many perspectives are considered in the show.

The one constant source of conflict is from police inspector Russell Falcon-Price (Neil Pigot) from the neighboring, and larger, town of St. Davids, who is occasionally called up to help with big cases in Mount Thomas. His efforts to dismantle what he views as a useless department never succeed and offer comedic tension throughout the beloved series.

Watch on Amazon Prime Video

9 Dead Lucky (2018)

A Haunted Detective Tries To Absolve Herself Of A Past Mistake

Rachel Griffiths stars as Detective Grace Gibbs in Dead Lucky, a miniseries from 2018. In the four-episode series, Grace is struggling to handle the recent death of her junior partner at the hands of an at-large murderer. Making the situation worse, the deceased officer's best friend, Charlie Fung (Yoson An), is Grace's new partner, and he holds Grace responsible. When the murderer resurfaces in Sydney, both Grace and Charlie consider apprehending the perpetrator a matter of personal honor.

Griffith is incredible in the role — angry, bitter, and regretful at what she sees as a failure to protect her junior officer. But she's also incredibly proud and doesn't let Charlie know her true feelings, even as he internally, and sometimes externally, rages at her. The Chinese diaspora in Australia is not well-represented in general, but Dead Lucky makes Charlie and Grace's different backgrounds a component of their rocky relationship.

Watch on AcornTV

8 Top Of The Lake (2013-2017)

Jane Campion's Grim And Haunting Detective Series

A lesser-known work of the great Jane Campion, Top of the Lake premiered in 2013, and stars The Handmaid's Tale's Elisabeth Moss as Detective Robin Griffin. Robin is a Sydney detective who specializes in sexual assault.

The first season sees Robin investigating the disappearance of a pregnant 12-year-old in New Zealand, while season 2, released in 2017 and set five years later, finds Robin investigating the death of a girl found on Bondi Beach.

Top of the Lake investigates the darker side of a sleepy, small Australian town. The series intertwines Robin's traumatic personal history, brilliantly portrayed by Moss, with Campion's eerie and off-kilter style, all set in front of gorgeous, breathtaking Australian landscapes. Top of the Lake takes its time, which may be frustrating for some viewers, but the payoff each season is well worth the investment.

Watch on Hulu

7 The Kettering Incident (2016)

A Science Fiction And Eerie Investigation Into A Decades-Old Disappearance

Elizabeth Debicki stars in the one-season The Kettering Incident as Anna Macy. Anna left her Australian hometown in Tasmania when she was 14 after her best friend and paternal half-sister, Gillian Baxter, disappeared. The two were riding bikes through the woods when a mysterious light overcame them.

A few hours later, Anna stumbled out of the woods, bloody and alone with no recollection of what happened to her or where Gillian was. When another girl goes missing 15 years later, just as Anna returns, she sets out to uncover the mystery that's haunted her.

The science fiction and dark noir-like aspects of the show are slowly unveiled throughout the season, only hinted at in earlier episodes before being shockingly brought forth, which keeps up the momentum of the series. It's a haunting show, with an environmentalist slant, that would be even more effective if it wasn't canceled after one season, but The Kettering Incident is still worth the watch, especially for Debicki's performance.

Watch on Amazon Prime Video

6 Deadloch (2023)

A Grim But Funny And Intriguing Multi-Murder Mystery

Deadloch takes place in the titular Tasmanian town, a sleepy village that's thrown into chaos when the body of a local man washes up on the shore, during an arts festival no less. The meticulous and by-the-book senior sergeant of the local police department, Dulcie Collins (Kate Box), is paired with a new arrival from Darwin, the unorthodox and brash Eddie Redcliffe (Madeleine Sami).

Together, along with their quirky and somewhat inept department, they investigate the building homicide cases arriving on their shore. The dark humor in Deadloch makes for a laugh-out-loud-worthy show, as long as viewers can handle the profanity-laden script.

It's hysterical one moment and unnerving the next as the link between the different murders becomes more clear. Deadloch offers a colorful and violent story reminiscent of movies like Hot Fuzz and provides a window into real Australian humor.

5 Mystery Road (2018 - Present)

An Aboriginal Detective Solves Crimes In the Outback

Aboriginal detective Jay Swan (Aaron Pederson) leads two seasons of Mystery Road, while the third season is a flashback to a younger Swan (Mark Coles Smith). Also included in the franchise are two films, Mystery Road and Goldstone, which bookend the series despite both being released before the show.

The series sees Jay navigating racial tensions between his white police department and his Aboriginal community, who distrust him for his career choice. Set in a small rural town in the Australian outback, Mystery Road features a unique neo-Western aesthetic and explores broader Australian social issues while maintaining an engrossing and thrilling story about drug trafficking, murder, and disappearances.

It's a beautifully shot film with panoramic vistas of the outback. Pederson (and Smith) play the conflicted nature of the character right up alongside his gun-swinging, leading man's bravado.

4 Rake (2010-2018)

A Rougish Lawyer Defends Criminals In Sydney

In Rake, Cleaver Greene (Richard Roxburgh) is a savvy lawyer who also has a plethora of personal demons including a gambling addiction, issues with drug abuse, and a generally irreverent personality that makes him a blast to watch, but earns him few friends in court. Cleaver works in Sydney, often on cases as over-the-top as he presents himself.

Rake is filled with dry humor, quips, and a darkly funny edge that makes every episode enjoyable. Nearly every week, Cleaver takes on a new client, meaning many notable guest stars have come through the series, including Toni Collette, Sam Neill, Hugo Weaving, Noah Taylor, and John Noble, among many others.

The show lasted for five seasons and inspired an American remake in 2014 starring Greg Kinnear, which only lasted one season. It's a quintessentially Australian show that's binge-able and delightful with some fantastic acting to go along with it.

3 Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (2012-2015)

A Compelling Period Mystery Drama With A Modern Lead Character

Phryne Fisher, played by Essie Davis, is a charismatic Melbourne private detective in the 1920s in Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. Based on the novels by Kerry Greenwood, the series dips in and out of beautifully designed jazz clubs, football pitches, circuses, and society bars, effectively transporting viewers with the sights and sounds of early 20th-century Australia.

There's a well-thought-out mystery every season and Davis is magnetic as Fisher. She embodies a feminist spirit, as Fisher goes where she wants, does what she wants, and sees any man she wants.

The character is reason enough to watch the show, but the mysteries are just as compelling as the character at the center of the frame. Miss Fisher's Muder Mysteries is a period piece for modern audiences and manages to capture the era while livening it up for contemporary viewers.

Watch on AcornTV

2 Wentworth (2013-2021)

A Gripping And Realistic Portrayal Of Life In Australian Women's Prison

Wentworth, as the name implies, is set in the Wentworth Correctional Center. One of the best Australian shows on Netflix and the Australian alternative to Orange is the New Black, Wentworth stars new inmate Bea Smith (Danielle Cormack) as she arrives in the women's facility.

Unlike Orange is the New Black, Wentworth is much more of a gritty and violent drama that portrays the realities of surviving and living within the Australian prison system.

There are certainly moments of levity, but they are sandwiched between dire situations and cruel circumstances that the fantastic ensemble cast must deal with on a daily basis. It's neither exploitative nor unrealistic and is filled with thrilling and intense storytelling that weaves around eight seasons. The main cast frequently changes but the setting and story are powerful enough that each season remains strong.

Watch on Netflix

1 Mr Inbetween (2018-2021)

A Comedic, Violent, And Personal Story About An Australian Hitman

Mr. Inbetween is the quintessential Aussie crime series that premiered in 2018 and ran for three seasons. The series follows Ray Shoesmith (Scott Ryan), a hitman known as "The Magician" who lives a dual life as a cold-blooded assassin and a loving parental figure and family man.

In the suburbs of Syndey, Ray s his various family and carries out hits from his boss without question, occasionally in the same evening. It's a uniquely Australian show, blending comedy, heart, and darkness in one down-under package.

Ryan is particularly notable as Ray. Unlike similar shows like Dexter, Ray isn't a mindless killer who masks his darker tendencies. Ray has a lot of humanity, making his increasingly violent decisions feel particularly devastating. Each episode is packed with gripping story and standout performances from the ing cast. This Aussie crime series is tense and fresh, and the result of a lot of wise decisions and talented people coming together.