The Best Police TV Shows on Netflix

What it's about: Bored and unhappy as the Lord of Hell, Lucifer Morningstar abandoned his throne and retired to Los Angeles, where he has teamed up with LAPD detective Chloe Decker to take down criminals. But the longer he's away from the underworld, the greater the threat that the worst of humanity could escape.

Where to Watch: 67 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 57 episodes (85%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: Sterling Archer is the world's most daunting spy. He works for ISIS, a spy agency run by his mother. In between dealing with his boss and his co-workers - one of whom is his ex-girlfriend - Archer manages to annoy or seduce everyone that crosses his path. His antics are only excusable because at the end of the day, he still somehow always manages to thwart whatever crises was threatening mankind.

Where to Watch: 101 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & Hulu). 49 episodes (49%) are available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (FX, FOX & Comedy Central). 101 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: An agent in the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit develops profiling techniques as he pursues notorious serial killers and rapists.

Where to Watch: 10 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix).

What it's about: A missing child causes four families to help each other for answers. What they could not imagine is that this mystery would be connected to innumerable other secrets of the small town.

Where to Watch: 10 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix).

What it's about: An anthology series centered around some of history's most famous criminals.

Where to Watch: 19 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 19 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: The murder of a young boy in a small coastal town brings a media frenzy, which threatens to tear the community apart.

Where to Watch: 24 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 24 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: After 250 years on ice, a prisoner returns to life in a new body with one chance to win his freedom: by solving a mind-bending murder.

Where to Watch: 10 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix).

What it's about: A troubled war veteran is assigned to protect a controversial politician who may be the target of a terror plot.

Where to Watch: 6 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix).

What it's about: When the Police Service of Northern Ireland are unable to close a case after 28 days, Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson of the Metropolitan Police Service is called in to review the case. Under her new leadership, the local detectives must track down and stop a serial killer who is terrorising the city of Belfast.

Where to Watch: 17 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 17 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Happy Valley is a dark, funny, multi-layered thriller revolving around the personal and professional life of Catherine, a dedicated, experienced, hard-working copper. She is also a bereaved mother who looks after her orphaned grandchild.

Where to Watch: 12 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 12 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: An elite team of FBI profilers analyze the country's most twisted criminal minds, anticipating their next moves before they strike again. The Behavioral Analysis Unit's most experienced agent is David Rossi, a founding member of the BAU who returns to help the team solve new cases.

Where to Watch: 5 episodes (2%) are available to watch free online (CBS). 293 episodes (93%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & CBS All Access). 312 episodes (99%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: From murder and espionage to terrorism and stolen submarines, a team of special agents investigates any crime that has a shred of evidence connected to Navy and Marine Corps personnel, regardless of rank or position.

Where to Watch: 7 episodes (2%) are available to watch free online (CBS). 380 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & CBS All Access). 25 episodes (7%) are available to stream on a TV everywhere service (USA). 378 episodes (99%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: A drama about a multi-generational family of cops dedicated to New York City law enforcement. Frank Reagan is the New York Police Commissioner and heads both the police force and the Reagan brood. He runs his department as diplomatically as he runs his family, even when dealing with the politics that plagued his unapologetically bold father, Henry, during his stint as Chief.

Where to Watch: 19 episodes (10%) are available to watch free online (CBS, Tubi TV & Yahoo View). 199 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix, Hulu & 1 other). 199 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play, Prime Video & 6 others).

What it's about: The series centers on the conflict between a group of rebels from the year 2077 who time-travel to Vancouver, BC, in 2012, and a police officer who accidentally accompanies them. In spite of being many years early, the rebel group decides to continue its violent campaign to stop corporations of the future from replacing governments, while the police officer endeavours to stop them without revealing to anyone that she and the rebels are from the future.

Where to Watch: 42 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 42 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: Person of Interest follows former CIA paramilitary operative, John Reese, who is presumed dead and teams up with reclusive billionaire Finch to prevent violent crimes in New York City by initiating their own type of justice. With the special training that Reese has had in Covert Operations and Finch's genius software inventing mind, the two are a perfect match for the job that they have to complete. With the help of surveillance equipment, they work "outside the law" and get the right criminal behind bars.

Where to Watch: 103 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 103 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play & 6 others).

What it's about: A link in their pasts leads an honest cop to a fugitive gang boss, whose cryptic warning spurs the officer on a quest to save Mumbai from cataclysm.

Where to Watch: 8 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix).

What it's about: Respected police officer John River, a gifted cop with a troubled mind, struggles to come to terms with the recent loss of a close colleague, and chases a potential suspect across London - with tragic consequences. Now at odds with authorities both within and outside of the police service, River finds himself in a precarious position as he seeks to bring closure to the mother of murdered teenager Erin Fielding, who blames him for failing to keep his promise to bring her daughter back alive.

Where to Watch: 6 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix).

What it's about: A drama set in the East End of London in 1889, during the aftermath of the "Ripper" murders. The action centres around the notorious H Division – the police precinct from hell – which is charged with keeping order in the chaotic streets of Whitechapel. Ripper Street explores the lives of characters trying to recover from the Ripper's legacy, from crimes that have not only irretrievably altered their lives, but the very fabric of their city. At the drama's heart our detectives try to bring a little light into the dark world they inhabit.

Where to Watch: 38 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 38 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 7 services (iTunes, Google Play & 5 others).

What it's about: In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.

Where to Watch: 19 episodes (4%) are available to watch free online (NBC, USA & Yahoo View). 461 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & Hulu). 45 episodes (10%) are available to stream on a TV everywhere service (NBC & USA). 460 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 8 services (iTunes, Google Play, Prime Video & 6 others).

What it's about: FBI agent Audrey Parker arrives in the small town of Haven, Maine to solve a murder and soon discovers the town's many secrets—which also hold the key to unlocking the mysteries of her lost past.

Where to Watch: 78 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 78 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Detective Inspector Richard Poole is transferred to Sainte Marie, an island in the Caribbean. Totally unsuited to the Caribbean way of life, Richard hates the sun, sea and sand and isn't used to the Sainte Marie style of policing. Working with the exotic Camille each week Richard investigates intricate and intriguing murders.

Where to Watch: 56 episodes (88%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 56 episodes (88%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Marcella is shocked to the core of her being when her husband Jason leaves her unexpectedly, confessing he no longer loves her. Heartbroken, Marcella returns to the Met’s Murder Squad. Ten years ago Marcella gave up her fast-tracked police career to marry and devote her life to her family. With the abrupt end to her marriage and isolated from her 13 year old daughter and 10 year old son, Marcella throws herself into work to stop herself from falling apart.

Where to Watch: 16 episodes (67%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix).

What it's about: Bob Lee Swagger is an expert marksman living in exile who is coaxed back into action after learning of a plot to kill the president. Based on the best-selling Bob Lee Swagger novel by Stephen Hunter, Point of Impact, and the 2007 Paramount film starring Mark Wahlberg.

Where to Watch: 18 episodes (58%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 5 episodes (16%) are available to stream on a TV everywhere service (USA). 31 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Detective Raimy Sullivan is stunned when a voice suddenly crackles through her father’s old, long-broken ham radio – it’s Frank Sullivan, somehow transmitting over the airwaves and through the decades from 1996. Separated by twenty years, father and daughter have reunited on a frequency only they can hear, but can they rewrite the story of their lives without risking everyone they love?

Where to Watch: 13 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 13 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: The series follows officers of the Chicago Police Department as they fight crime on the streets and try to expose political corruption within the city.

Where to Watch: 13 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 13 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Prime Video & FandangoNOW).

What it's about: This drama follows Inspector Kurt Wallander – a middle-aged everyman – as he struggles against a rising tide of violence in the apparently sleepy backwaters in and around Ystad in Skane, southern Sweden. Based on the international best-selling books by Henning Mankell.

Where to Watch: 68 episodes (84%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix, Hulu & MHz Choice). 35 episodes (43%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).

What it's about: Twenty years after a devastating terrorist attack in 1983 that halted the course of Poland’s liberation and the subsequent downfall of the Soviet Union, an idealistic law student Kajetan and a disgraced police investigator Anatol stumble upon a conspiracy that has kept the Iron Curtain standing and Poland living under a repressive police state.

Where to Watch: 8 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix).

What it's about: The son of a world famous mystery writer, Jimmy Kudo, has achieved his own notoriety by assisting the local police as a student detective. He has always been able to solve the most difficult of criminal cases using his wits and power of reason.

Where to Watch: 132 episodes (7%) are available to watch free online (Crunchyroll). 54 episodes (3%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix, Hulu & Crunchyroll). 122 episodes (6%) are available to rent or buy from $0.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Prime Video & Vudu).

What it's about: The peacefulness of the Midsomer community is shattered by violent crimes, suspects are placed under suspicion, and it is up to a veteran DCI and his young sergeant to calmly and diligently eliminate the innocent and ruthlessly pursue the guilty.

Where to Watch: 123 episodes (99%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix, Prime Video, AcornTV & 1 other). 123 episodes (99%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Google Play & YouTube).

What it's about: In the late 1960s, a Los Angeles police sergeant with a complicated personal life starts tracking a small-time criminal and budding cult leader seeking out vulnerable women to join his “cause.” The name of that man is Charles Manson.

Where to Watch: 27 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 26 episodes (96%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 1 service (iTunes).

What it's about: Over a two-year period, filmmakers embedded with cops in Flint, Michigan, reveal a department grappling with volatile issues in untenable conditions.

Where to Watch: 8 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix).

What it's about: In this mismatched buddy cop dramedy, an amazingly handsome, happy-go-lucky FBI agent is paired with a local, hard scrabble Michigan homicide detective. As they solve crimes together, their polar opposite methods only slightly outweigh their disdain for each other.

Where to Watch: 13 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 13 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $0.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Detective Catherine Chandler is a smart, no-nonsense homicide detective. When she was a teenager, she witnessed the murder of her mother at the hands of two gunmen and herself was saved by someone – or something. Years have passed and while investigating a murder, Catherine discovers a clue that leads her to Vincent Keller, who was reportedly killed in 2002. Catherine learns that Vincent is actually still alive and that it was he who saved her many years before. For mysterious reasons that have forced him to live outside of traditional society, Vincent has been in hiding for the past 10 years to guard his secret – when he is enraged, he becomes a terrifying beast, unable to control his super-strength and heightened senses.

Where to Watch: 70 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & CBS All Access). 14 episodes (20%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play, Prime Video & 3 others).

What it's about: CSI: Miami follows Crime Scene Investigators working for the Miami-Dade Police Department as they use physical evidence, similar to their Las Vegas counterparts, to solve grisly murders. The series mixes deduction, gritty subject matter, and character-driven drama in the same vein as the original series in the CSI franchise, except that the Miami CSIs are cops first, scientists second.

Where to Watch: 10 episodes (4%) are available to watch free online (CBS). 234 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu & 1 other). 234 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $0.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Prime Video & Vudu).

What it's about: In this genre-bending tale, Errol Morris explores the mysterious death of a U.S. scientist entangled in a secret Cold War program known as MK-Ultra.

Where to Watch: 6 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix).

What it's about: The origin story of younger, hungrier, former Green Beret Bryan Mills as he deals with a personal tragedy that shakes his world. As he fights to overcome the incident and exact revenge, Mills is pulled into a career as a deadly CIA operative, a job that awakens his very particular, and very dangerous, set of skills.

Where to Watch: 6 episodes (23%) are available to watch free online (NBC & Yahoo View). 25 episodes (96%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & Hulu). 9 episodes (35%) are available to stream on a TV everywhere service (NBC). 25 episodes (96%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: Undercover agents infiltrate a drug kingpin's operation by posing as a couple at the campground where he spends his weekends. Inspired by real events.

Where to Watch: 10 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix).

What it's about: Tom Mathias comes to Aberystwyth having abandoned his life in London. He's a brilliant but troubled man. Despite his faults he is an excellent detective, who knows that the key to solving the crime lies not in where you look for truth, but how you look. From the windswept sand dunes of the coastline to the badlands of the hinterland, Y Gwyll is a series of four two-hour stories that are original and local, yet timeless and universal.

Where to Watch: 13 episodes (54%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & AcornTV). 4 episodes (17%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Google Play & YouTube).

What it's about: Through globalization, many countries have been opened and barriers removed to ensure easy trade, travel and cultural diversity. However, this openness has given opportunities to criminals looking to exploit the system and ultimately threaten our global safety. As Europe has become a "safe house" for criminals eluding law enforcers, a special kind of law enforcement team is needed to handle specific ongoing crimes on a global level. "Crossing Lines" is the story of one such team, made up of five international cops, headed by Captain Daniel. The team - comprised of individuals who have little in common - must learn to live and work under the most dangerous and potentially deadly conditions. Housed in an unused storage section underneath the ICC, this mismatched team faces bureaucratic, jurisdictional and cultural obstacles while traversing continents in pursuit of justice.

Where to Watch: 34 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 10 episodes (29%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: Inspector Gadget is an animated television series that revolves around the adventures of a clumsy, dim-witted cyborg detective named lnspector Gadget – a human being with various bionic gadgets built into his body. Gadget's arch-nemesis is Dr. Claw, the leader of an evil organization, known as "M.A.D."This is the first syndicated cartoon show from DIC Entertainment. lt originally ran from 1983 to 1986 and remained in syndication into the late 1990s. It continues to air successfully in reruns around the world.The series was produced by companies in France, Canada, the United States, Taiwan, and Japan. It was a co-production between DIC Entertainment in France and Nelvana in Canada; the animation work was outsourced to foreign studios such as Tokyo Movie Shinsha in Japan and Cuckoo's Nest Studio in Taiwan. It was the first animated television series to be presented in stereo.

Where to Watch: 20 episodes (20%) are available to watch free online (Tubi TV). 99 episodes (99%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix, Hulu & Starz). 85 episodes (85%) are available to stream on a popular TV everywhere service (Starz). 86 episodes (86%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Prime Video & Vudu).

What it's about: Laura Diamond, a brilliant NYPD homicide detective balances her “Columbo” day job with a crazy family life that includes two unruly twin boys and a soon-to-be ex-husband — also a cop — who just can't seem to sign the divorce papers. Between cleaning up after her boys and cleaning up the streets, she’d be the first to admit she has her “hot mess” moments in this hilariously authentic look at what it really means to be a “working mom” today. Somehow, she makes it all work with the help of her sexy and understanding partner, and things becomes even more complicated when her husband, ironically, becomes her boss at the precinct. For Laura, every day is a high-wire balancing act.

Where to Watch: 16 episodes (42%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 22 episodes (58%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 2 services (Google Play & YouTube).

What it's about: 1985 serves as the backdrop to the final showdown of the Cold War when Sandy and her partner Jeanne Vertefeuille vowed to find the mole that would turn out to be the most notorious traitor in US History, Aldrich Ames. Sandy is in a race against time to save the Soviet intelligence officers from being caught and killed. Living her own double life at home, this beautiful wife and mother vowed to stop at nothing until she uncovered the truth.

Where to Watch: 9 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 9 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).

What it's about: The story is set in a small village in the Ardennes, where a young African footballer is found dead. If all clues lead first to suicide, a police officer just arrived from Brussels does not take long to discover that this is a murder.

Where to Watch: 20 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix).

What it's about: Turkey in the spring of 2014. A time when the enemies are growing on the border, the circle of danger inside is becoming narrower. The Republic of Turkey faces the greatest threats of recent history. BÖRÜ tells the story of heroic heroes who are touched by love. They are the last castle.

Where to Watch: 6 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix).

What it's about: The murder of a female GP in a rural playground in front of numerous witnesses draws a group of detectives into an ever-darkening mystery that takes them across Europe, aided by mysterious notes sent by the "Ghost Detective".

Where to Watch: 8 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix).

What it's about: Comedy drama following a mismatched pair of police officers who disagree on everything with their partner, from policing to their personal life.

Where to Watch: 9 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix & AcornTV). 9 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).

What it's about: A young female detective is put in charge of a case and must delve into her partner's mysterious past in order to solve it.

Where to Watch: 8 episodes (57%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (Netflix). 8 episodes (57%) are available to rent or buy from $1.99 on 1 service (iTunes).