These seven gripping police detective dramas are inspired by real-life criminal cases. The demand for real-life crime dramas has surged dramatically over the past two decades. While factual drama adaptations are nothing new to audiences, they have soared in popularity across both traditional television and streaming platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
Over the last 20 years, viewers have become captivated by programmes examining genuine criminal cases and the subsequent police investigations. We've therefore compiled seven series well worth watching, including Des, which broadcast on ITV in 2020.
Des
David Tennant takes on the role of infamous serial killer Dennis Nilsen in the haunting three-part drama that chronicles the arrest and trial of the Scottish murderer who killed boys and young men across London during the 1970s and 80s. Nilsen would encounter and befriend his victims before inviting them back to his North London flat for food or accommodation for the night. He would then go on to kill them.
His horrific spree came to an end when the appalling stench of decomposing bodies in Nilsen's residence began to raise suspicions amongst his neighbours, and the body parts caused blockages in the local plumbing. He admitted to his crimes following his arrest, which prompted police to launch a major investigation to identify the victims and secure justice. Nilsen was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1983 and was serving his term at Full Sutton Prison, Yorkshire, when he passed away in 2018. Des is available to stream on ITVX and Netflix.
Unbelievable
Unbelievable recounts the harrowing story of teenager Marie Adler, an 18-year-old who reported being raped at knifepoint in 2008. However, police officers and those around her questioned her account, and Adler subsequently withdrew her statement, admitting to authorities she had fabricated the incident. While Adler, portrayed by Kaitlyn Dever in the drama, endured this horrific experience, hundreds of miles away, detectives Grace Rasmussen (Toni Collette) and Karen Duvall (Merritt Wever) crossed paths while investigating two strikingly similar intruder rapes and joined forces to apprehend what they believed was a serial rapist.
The eight-part series draws inspiration from actual events detailed in The Marshall Project and ProPublica's Pulitzer Prize-winning piece, "An Unbelievable Story of Rape", written by T. Christian Miller and Ken Armstrong, which also featured in the This American Life radio episode "Anatomy of Doubt". The drama has achieved an exceptional 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. One viewer remarked, "What is most shocking about Unbelievable is entirely based on true events", while another added, "Unbelievable is the best, most human, most complex police procedural I've seen in a long, long time." First launched on Netflix in September 2019, all eight episodes of the series remain available on the streaming platform.
Manhunt
Former police detective Colin Sutton apprehended notorious killer Levi Bellfield following the murders of women in London, and Manhunt chronicles precisely how he achieved it. The BAFTA-nominated police procedural drama spans two series, with the first examining the pursuit of Levi Bellfield, while the second centres on the operation to apprehend South London's Delroy Grant. DCI Sutton served as a senior investigating officer within the Met Police from January 2003 to January 2011, spearheading over 30 successful murder investigations, most notably the Amélie Delagrange murder case.
The French student was visiting Britain when she was murdered at Twickenham Green, London, while making her way home after an evening out with friends. She was discovered in the park on the evening of 19th August 2004 with severe head injuries, and tragically died in hospital that same night. Sutton, portrayed by Martin Clunes in the ITV series, was immediately assigned to the murder investigation and devoted himself to bringing Amélie's killer to justice. Alongside his team, he cracked the cases of both Amélie and Marsha McDonnell, who were both brutally murdered by Levi Bellfield. The Manhunt series is adapted from Colin Sutton's book of the same title, and first aired in 2019. The series is available to stream now on ITVX.
The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies
The perils of trial by media are starkly exposed in ITV's drama The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies, which is based on a real-life case. When Christopher Jefferies (portrayed by Jason Watkins in the ITV drama) was arrested in 2010, he was an ex-English teacher and landlord living alone, who was taken into custody on suspicion of murdering his female tenant, Joanna Yeates. Bristol-based landscape artist Joanna was found dead on Christmas Day 2010, and it quickly emerged that she had been killed. Both the police and the tabloid press initially pointed the finger at Yeates' "eccentric" landlord, Jefferies, who resided in a separate flat in the same Bristol building.
The press were swift to scrutinise his appearance and label his behaviour as "strange," hounding him relentlessly even after he was released on bail. Christopher Jefferies was ultimately freed without charge, and fellow tenant Vincent Tabak, a Dutch engineer, was later convicted of Joanna Yeates' murder. The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies originally aired on ITV across two consecutive nights, with Part 1 making its debut on 10th December 2014. "I am speechless...what a movie", wrote one viewer on IMDb, while another simply called it a "great drama". The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies is available to stream on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video.
The Hunt for Raoul Moat
True crime drama The Hunt for Raoul Moat chronicles Britain's largest ever manhunt, which unfolded in 2010 after Moat shot three people just days following his release from prison. On 1st July 2010, the 37-year-old former bodybuilder walked free from prison, and just two days later, he arrived at a property in Gateshead where his ex-girlfriend and mother of his daughter, Samantha Stobbart, was staying with her new partner, Christopher Brown. It was at this location that Moat shot Brown at point-blank range with a shotgun, killing him. He also discharged his weapon into the property, striking Stobbart in the arm and abdomen. Her injuries were not life-threatening, and she pulled through. He also shot PC David Rathband twice in the face.
The three-part drama centres on the three innocent victims of Moat's appalling crimes, played by Matt Stokoe in the series: Christopher Brown (Josef Davies), Samantha Stobbart (Sally Messham), and PC David Rathband (Dan Renton Skinner). The narrative also concentrates on the police officers who risked their lives in their mission to apprehend Moat, and the local journalist who attempted to uncover Moat's true story. The Hunt for Raoul Moat was first broadcast in April 2023 on ITV and is now available to stream on ITVX.
The Pembrokeshire Murders
The Pembrokeshire Murders, which first aired on ITV in 2021 before landing on Netflix in December 2024. In 1985, siblings Richard and Helen Thomas were fatally shot, and four years later, in 1989, Peter and Gwenda Dixon were shot at close range while walking along the coastal path in Pembrokeshire. Investigators were baffled by the killings, with the only concrete link being that the same shotgun had been used in both attacks. It was not until 2006, when Detective Superintendent Steve Wilkins reopened the Thomas and Dixon double murder cases, that notorious serial killer John Cooper was finally brought to justice.
Welsh actor Luke Evans takes on the role of the lead detective, while the infamous killer Cooper is portrayed by Robin Hood and The Body Farm star Keith Allen, who is also well known as singer Lily Allen's father. The Pembrokeshire Murders is available to watch on ITVX.
Little Boy Blue
Little Boy Blue charts the devastating impact on a family following the murder of 11-year-old Rhys Jones on a Liverpool estate in 2007, and the painstaking investigation that followed to track down his killer. Rhys was a passionate young Everton supporter with a love of football. He was making his way home from football training on 22 August 2007 when he was shot and fatally wounded in the car park of a pub on Liverpool's Croxteth Park estate. Paramedics and staff at Alder Hey Children's Hospital fought tirelessly for 90 minutes in a bid to save Rhys, but he was pronounced dead at 8.46pm.
Stephen Graham portrays Detective Superintendent Dave Kelly in the four-part series, the officer who spearheaded the investigation into Rhys Jones's murder. Little Boy Blue is available to watch on ITVX and Amazon Prime Video.
