Procedural crime shows mostly revolve around characters who are tasked with solving a new crime in each episode. Even though these characters are often law enforcement officers, they can be ordinary citizens with special skills too. Sometimes there is a key story that connects each episode but the focus always remains on the new cases.
Over the years, procedural crime shows have proven to be very popular with American TV audiences. A good number of the shows have lasted to ten seasons and beyond. Several spinoffs have also been made from the best procedurals. According to IMDb ratings, these are the best and worst procedural crime shows of all time.
Best: Chicago P.D. (8.1)
Chicago P.D. is now part of the vast Chicago franchise. It premiered as a mid-season replacement on NBC on January 8, 2014. It was created as a spinoff to Chicago Fire. The procedural follows patrol officers and intelligence officers in Chicago’s 21st District under the command of Detective Sergeant Hank Voight (Jason Beghe).
The series has been very popular, garnering an average of 10 million viewers each season. Chicago P.D. also led to the creation of another spinoff named Chicago Justice.
Worst: Mrs. Columbo (5.8)
The changing of titles is often a bad sign and that’s exactly what happened with this procedural. First, the ’80s procedural was known as Mrs. Columbo, then it was renamed to Kate Columbo before the network finally settled on Kate The Detective. Except, Kate wasn’t really a detective. She was a journalist, so the name was changed again to Kate Loves A Mystery.
The series revolved around the wife of a Lieutenant named Columbo. Kate was a news reporter who enjoyed solving cases that the police were having a hard time cracking. At the same time, she tried to be a better mother to her daughter.
Best: Criminal Minds (8.1)
Due to its brilliant ratings, Criminal Minds aired for fifteen seasons between September 22, 2005, and February 19, 2020. The series revolved around FBI criminal profilers who worked under the bureau’s Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU). Most of the cases revolved around serial killers.
The show’s success led to three spinoffs. For its first nine seasons, Criminal Minds averaged 12 million viewers. However, by the fifteenth and final season, the viewership figures had dropped to 6 million. It was definitely a good time to end it.
Worst: CSI Cyber (5.4)
The fourth show in the CSI franchise was canceled after only two seasons. Despite having a decent cast that included rapper Bow Wow and popular actress Patricia Arquette, audiences didn’t really connect with the show.
The series revolved around a group of FBI Special Agents whose job was to investigate high-level cybercrimes committed by ordinary citizens in North America. The team based in Washington, D.C. was headed by Deputy Director Avery Ryan. On Rotten Tomatoes, the series had a score of 35%.
Best: Bosch (8.4)
It’s not just viewers who love Bosch. Critics love it even more. Since Season 2, every season of the procedural has had a score of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. Six seasons of the Amazon Prime series have been released so far, totaling to 60 episodes. It was recently announced that the seventh season will be the last.
The series revolves around Harry Bosch, an LAPD detective who is standing trial for the murder of a serial killer. While his case is going he remains relentless at his job and works to solve a new and more complex case every day.
Worst: Holby Blue (5.4)
After the massive success of the medical drama Holby City, the producers decided to make a spinoff named Casualty. That didn’t do so bad either. But then the producers decided that audiences needed more Holby. So they created the procedural Holby Blue as part of the larger Holby Universe.
This time, ratings were dismal. Even with talented actresses such as Kacey Ainsworth and Zoe Lucker in the lead, viewers simply didn’t turn up. This could be blamed on the lack of creative cases to solve. After a couple of episodes were met with poor reviews and ratings, the plug was pulled after Episode 20.
Best: Homicide – Life On The Street (8.5)
Few other police procedurals have managed to match this ’90s classic. Homicide: Life On The Street gave an inner look into the complex police work of a homicide department in the city of Baltimore in Maryland. The show revolved around Detective John Munch, Luitenant. Al Giardello and Det. Meldrick Lewis.
The procedural was initially based on the book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets by David Simon but later seasons took a life of their own. The show was nominated for three Emmys during its run. According to Nielsen ratings, each of its episodes averaged at least 8 million viewers.
Worst: True Justice (4.7)
Despite being a popular action star, nearly all of Steven Seagal’s movies and TV shows haven’t received positive reviews from critics and fans. Simply astonishing, given that he has over 70 movies to his name.
In 2011, Seagal attempted to go the Chuck Norris route by starring in a TV shows as Elijah Kane, the leader of a Seattle task force known as the “Special Investigation Unit.” All episodes were written by Seagal, so there was everything good and bad that viewers had become accustomed to in his movies. True Justice only lasted two seasons.
Best: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (8.8)
Most procedurals tend to treat crime with the seriousness it deserves but Brooklyn Nine-Nine infuses humor to good effect. The series revolves around an easy-going NYPD detective named Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) who serves in the fictional 99th Precinct in Brooklyn.
The cast also includes the hilarious Terry Crews who plays Seargent Terry Jeffords, along with a brilliant comedic cast of characters that fans adore rooting for. The series has been widely praised by critics.
Worst: Cop Rock (4.3)
TV Guide ranked Cop Rock at Position 8 in its list of the “50 Worst TV Shows of All Time”. Perhaps the show’s failure could be blamed on too much ambition. Despite being a procedural, the producers tried to turn into a musical every episode. This made the show have contradictory themes.
ABC canceled Cop Rock after only 11 episodes. Some scenes even had gangsters dancing and singing as they were being arrested by cops. In the final episode, the cast broke character and joined crew members in performing a closing song. The perfect way to end such a polarizing show.
