The Shield

Series Similar to The Shield

If you enjoyed The Shield, these series share similar themes, tone, and quality. Each recommendation is scored on genre overlap, tonal match, and critical acclaim.

1. Snowfall

   2017 · Drama, Crime · ended99% match

   Recommended for similar Crime profile, highly rated (8), also on FX.

   Los Angeles, 1983. A storm is coming and it's name is crack. Snowfall is a one-hour drama set against the infancy of the crack cocaine epidemic and it's ultimate radical impact on the culture as we know it. The story follows three characters on a violent collision course: Franklin Saint, young street entrepreneur on a quest for power; Gustavo "El Oso" Zapata, a Mexican wrestler caught up in a power struggle within a crime family; Teddy McDonald, a CIA operative running from a dark past who begins an off-book operation to fund the Nicaraguan Contras and Lucia Villanueva, the self-possessed daughter of a Mexican crime lord.

2. MobLand

   2025 · Drama, Crime · returning98% match

   Recommended for similar Crime profile, highly rated (8).

   With the most powerful clients in Europe, MobLand will see family fortunes and reputations at risk, odd alliances unfold, and betrayal around every corner; and while the family might be London's most elite fixers today, the nature of their business means there is no guarantee what's in store tomorrow.MobLand follows two generations of gangsters, the businesses they run, the complex relationships they weave and the man they call upon to fix their problem.

3. The Wire

   2002 · Drama, Crime · ended98% match

   Recommended for similar Crime profile, highly rated (8.9).

   The first season of The Wire (2002) concentrated on the often-futile efforts of police to infiltrate a West Baltimore drug ring headed by Avon Barksdale and his lieutenant, Stringer Bell. In Seasons Two and Three, as the Barksdale investigation escalated, new storylines involving pressures on the working class and the city's political leadership were introduced. Season Four focused on the stories of several young boys in the public school system, struggling with problems at home and the lure of the corner - set against the rise of a new drug empire in West Baltimore and a new Mayor in City Hall. The fifth and final season of The Wire centers on the media's role in addressing - or failing to address - the fundamental political, economic and social realities depicted over the course of the series, while also resolving storylines of the numerous characters woven throughout the narrative arc of the show.

4. The Sopranos

   1999 · Drama, Crime · ended96% match

   Recommended for similar Crime profile, highly rated (8.9).

   The Sopranos, writer-producer-director David Chase's extraordinary television series, is nominally an urban gangster drama, but its true impact strikes closer to home: Like 1999's other screen touchstone, American Beauty, the HBO series chronicles a dysfunctional, suburban American family in bold relief. And for protagonist Tony Soprano, there's the added complexity posed by heading twin families, his collegial mob clan and his own, nouveau riche brood.

5. Oz

   1997 · Drama, Crime · ended95% match

   Recommended for similar Crime profile, highly rated (8.7).

   HBO's violent men-behind-bars drama is an addictive, testosterone-driven soap opera for guys. The eight episodes of the first season set the style for the show: a massive cast of a vivid characters on both sides of the bars, four or five stories unleashed at a breakneck pace and framed by angry, oddball introductions, and a soaring casualty rate. Created by Homicide producer Tom Fontana, this drama quickly earned its rightful reputation as the most brutal show on TV. It's simple chemistry: combine volatile ingredients in a confined space, shut tight, and shake.

6. Thorne

   2010 · Drama, Crime · ended95% match

   Recommended for similar Crime profile, highly rated (8), hidden gem.

   Thorne, a television drama series which debuted on Sky1 in the UK on 10 October 2010, is based on crime writer Mark Billingham's novels. The series stars David Morrissey in the title role of Detective Inspector Tom Thorne, and includes Aidan Gillen, Eddie Marsan, and Natascha McElhone as supporting cast members.

7. Line of Duty

   2012 · Drama, Crime, Thriller · returning94% match

   Recommended for similar Crime profile, highly rated (8.5).

   A drama about the investigations of AC-12, a controversial Police Anti-Corruption Unit.

8. Boardwalk Empire

   2010 · Drama, Crime · ended93% match

   Recommended for similar Crime profile, highly rated (8.4).

   As the country struggles to cope with the Great Depression and the end of Prohibition looms, Nucky Thompson looks to legitimize himself through alliances with liquor producers, while rivals Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky seek to consolidate their power in the wake of Arnold Rothstein's death and eliminate all competition - by any means necessary on Boardwalk Empire.

9. Life

   2007 · Drama, Crime · ended93% match

   Recommended for similar Crime profile, highly rated (8).

   A detective gets a second chance after serving twelve years in prison for a crime he did not commit. 

10. The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies

    2014 · Drama, Crime · ended92% match

    Recommended for similar Crime profile, highly rated (8), hidden gem.

    This drama tells the real-life story of retired schoolteacher Christopher Jefferies who was initially questioned by police as a suspect in the murder of Jo Yeates who rented a flat from him. He was vilified by the press, partly on account of his eccentric appearance and long flowing hair, even after he had been released on bail by the police.