Waking the Dead

Series Similar to Waking the Dead

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

1. Cold Case

   2003 · Drama, Crime · ended99% match

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

   Cold Case is a drama about Lilly Rush, an enigmatic and highly effective detective on the Philadelphia Homicide Squad. Rush's instinctive understanding of the criminal mind and her singular passion for uncovering the truth makes her the perfect fit for investigating cold cases, yester-crimes that have remained unsolved - some only a few months old, others going back decades. Rush and her team use their wits to take on aging evidence and witnesses with buried secrets, uncovering fresh clues, digging into old wounds and doggedly pursuing the truth.

2. Unforgotten

   2015 · Drama, Crime · returning94% match

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

   Unforgotten focuses on ‘cold' murder cases. Each series deals with a new case, introducing seemingly unconnected characters who are gradually revealed to have some relationship with the victim. As the murder mystery unfolds, the emotional ramifications of the crime on the lives of those affected are also explored. 

3. Prodigal Son

   2019 · Drama, Crime · ended94% match

   Recommended for similar Crime profile.

   Prodigal Son centers on Malcolm Bright who has a gift. He knows how killers think, how their minds work. Why? Back in the ‘90s, his father was one of the worst–a notorious serial killer called "The Surgeon." That's why Bright is the best criminal psychologist around; murder is the family business. Bright uses his twisted genius to help the NYPD solve crimes and stop killers, all while dealing with a manipulative mother, annoyingly normal sister, a homicidal father still looking to bond with his prodigal son, and his own constantly evolving neuroses.

4. The Sopranos

   1999 · Drama, Crime · ended93% 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. The Wire

   2002 · Drama, Crime · ended93% 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.

6. Thorne

   2010 · Drama, Crime · ended93% 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. River

   2015 · Drama, Crime · ended93% match

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

   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. Police crime drama, starring Stellan Skarsgard.

8. Silent Witness

   1996 · Drama, Crime · returning92% match

   Recommended for similar Crime profile.

   Expert forensic pathologists speak on behalf of the voiceless in this compelling crime drama.

9. Oz

   1997 · Drama, Crime · ended92% 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.

10. Five Daughters

    2010 · Drama, Crime · ended92% match

    Recommended for similar Crime profile, also on BBC One.

    Factually-based drama telling the stories of five young women who were tragically murdered in Ipswich in 2006.