Best movies & TV Shows like Automata

Rubber-legged comedian Leon Errol made his talkie starring bow in Paramount's Only Saps Work. Based on a play by Owen Davis Sr., the film casts Errol as James Wilson, a kleptomaniac who starts with picking pockets and ends up robbing a bank. Wilson's friend Lawrence Payne (Richard Arlen) inadvertently aids our hero during one of his heists, ending up in deep doo-doo with the law. Before Wilson is able to extricate Payne from his dilemma for the sake of heroine Barbara Tanner (Mary Brian), he pauses long enough to pose as a private eye -- and even gives bellboy Oscar (Stu Erwin) tips on how to spot a crook! If only all of Leon Errol's feature films had been as consistently hilarious as Only Saps Work.

Two disillusioned New York policemen plan a $10 million robbery to fuel their low pensions, only to run into one debacle after another in the process.

All grown up in post-apocalyptic 2018, John Connor must lead the resistance of humans against the increasingly dominating militaristic robots. But when Marcus Wright appears, his existence confuses the mission as Connor tries to determine whether Wright has come from the future or the past -- and whether he's friend or foe.

Many years after a nuclear war, the human survivors have created a new society where much of the work done by androids, referred to derisively by humans as "clickers". A police official who is concerned that his sister has become involved with an android is sent to investigate a larger rumor that the androids are developing reason and emotion.

Set in a futuristic world where humans live in isolation and interact through surrogate robots, a cop is forced to leave his home for the first time in years in order to investigate the murders of others' surrogates.

New York City, 1957. Lionel Essrog, a private detective living with Tourette syndrome, tries to solve the murder of his mentor and best friend, armed only with vague clues and the strength of his obsessive mind.

When gigantic robots attack New York City, "Sky Captain" uses his private air force to fight them off. His ex-girlfriend, reporter Polly Perkins, has been investigating the recent disappearance of prominent scientists. Suspecting a link between the global robot attacks and missing men, Sky Captain and Polly decide to work together. They fly to the Himalayas in pursuit of the mysterious Dr. Totenkopf, the mastermind behind the robots.

While working on a documentary on his old neighborhood, a young film school graduate shifts the focus of his production onto the disappearance of a local resident and the strange characters who are conducting the search to find him.

In 2008 Brooklyn has become a breeding ground for chaos, and criminal elements such as the mafia and gang lords. NYPD Detectives Christopher Perez and Steve Clarkson will work together as partners trying to restore order and balance back to the streets of Brooklyn. A new figure has emerged in the drug world. A ruthless character named Peskin), leader of a group of men bent on control of all of New York City. Willing to do anything to achieve this goal, Peskin sets out on a war against local gangs, mafia leaders, and the NYPD themselves. Clarkson and Perez must work together with federal agencies, and criminals to bring forth an end to this psychopath's terror.

When one of his patients is found murdered, psychiatrist Dr. Sam Rice is visited by the investigating officer but refuses to give up any information. He's then visited by the patient's mistress, Brooke Reynolds, whom he quickly falls for despite her being a likely murder suspect. As the police pressure on him intensifies, Rice decides to attempt solving the case on his own and soon discovers that someone is trying to kill him as well.

A European royal couple come to New York to sell some of the royal family's crown jewels. A gang of international jewel thieves is planning to steal the gems, so a private detective is assigned to guard them. Unfortunately the private eye turns out to be a bumbling, inept fool--or so everyone thinks.

Gene Reardon (Hauer) is a twice-divorced police detective who lives with his daughter. When a well-heeled local man is kidnapped, the FBI is called in, which introduces Longsworth (played by Paulina Porizkova). Longsworth happens to have been Reardon's first wife. Reardon's police reputation stinks because he botched a high-profile kidnapping case many years ago, which resulted in a baby who was never found. When ransom demands are finally heard, Reardon must try to solve the case without repeating his mistakes.

Two veteran New York City detectives work to identify the possible connection between a recent murder and a case they believe they solved years ago; is there a serial killer on the loose, and did they perhaps put the wrong person behind bars?

A serial killer is stalking New York. Inspector Edward X. Delaney is an NYPD detective, nearing retirement, who is trying to put together the pieces of the case. Are the victims somehow linked? What does the brutal method of death signify?

A time-travel experiment in which a robot probe is sent from the year 2073 to the year 1973 goes terribly wrong thrusting one of the project scientists,into a plague ravaged alternate time-line whose war weary inhabitants are locked in a constant battle with killer robots from the future.

A ruthless, crooked stockbroker is murdered at his luxurious country estate, and detective Philo Vance just happens to be there; he decides to find out who killed him.

Over-the-hill gumshoe in Los Angeles seeks to avenge the killing of an old pal, another detective who had gotten himself involved in a case concerning a murdered broad, stolen stamps, a nickel-plated handgun, a cheating dolly, and a kidnapped pussycat.

NYPD Detective Mike Logan, who was demoted to a beat on Staten Island after punching a corrupt politician, seeks to solve the grisly murder of a prostitute and thereby help regain his old job in Manhattan.

Allegedly based on a true story, this film follows the life of Toshi, a Japanese man living in America and working with the New York City police. After being recommended for undercover work, Toshi decides to go after a gang lead by Hawk. Hawk and Toshi soon become friends, although Hawk's second-in-command, Tito, is suspicious of the newcomer. Will Toshi be able to bring the gang down, or will his cover be blown before he can finish the assignment?

A shocking serial murder case terrorized New York 40 years ago. Surviving victims, families of the deceased, and the detectives who worked on the case recount their stories.

New York City cop becomes partners with a rodeo cowboy from Montana on the City's Mounted Police Department.

A gang of four eyed crooks led by Kurt Bishop (McCarthy) are ripping off top dollar computer chips from a list of factories. The night they hit Dynaphase Systems, two dirty employees are staying late using company resources to develop their own plans for a security microchip worth millions of dollars. Psychopathic Bishop raids the Dynaphase facility and downloads the mainframe before the employees have a chance to completely erase their work from it. When Bishop discovers the value of the stolen, but partially erased information, he sets out after the rest of the chip design, letting nothing stand in his way.

A private eye and her sidekick solve the case of a dead client.

This documentary pays tribute to a group of Canadians who took racism to court. They are Canada's unsung heroes in the fight for Black civil rights. Focusing on the 1930s to the 1950s, this film documents the struggle of 6 people who refused to accept inequality. Featured here, among others, are Viola Desmond, a woman who insisted on keeping her seat at the Roseland movie theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia in 1946 rather than moving to the section normally reserved for the city's Black population, and Fred Christie, who took his case to the Supreme Court after being denied service at a Montreal tavern in 1936. These brave pioneers helped secure justice for all Canadians. Their stories deserve to be told.

After four years, Jake Cardigan is prematurely awoken from his fifteen year cryogenic punishment to a world very different than the one he knew. Much more than before 'Tek', the highly-addictive electronic designer narcotic of the 21st century, seems to be prevalent. His wife has divorced him and disappeared together with their son. He wants them back and he wants justice for those undercover policemen who were murdered by unknown conspirators which led to his imprisonment for a crime he did not commit.

Over the last ten years, technology has transformed almost every aspect of our lives before we've had time to stop and question it. In every home; on every desk; in every palm - a plasma screen; a monitor; a smartphone - a black mirror of our 21st Century existence.

The year is 2048. By mandate, every cop must partner with a robot. Detective John Kennex returns to work after waking up from a 17-month coma. As he adjusts to working with his new partner, Dorian, a discontinued android with unexpected emotional responses, John also must learn to get along with his new colleagues.

The Beat delves into the personal and professional lives of two young police recruits who patrol New York's streets. The city's daily machinations are seen through the often bloodshot eyes of Officers Mike Dorigan and Zane Marinelli, two youthful, irreverent partners who are truly products of their generation and unique urban environment. Issues of race, excessive police force – and the unpredictable quirkiness of New York's outspoken locals – compel both men to rely on their sense of humor just to make it to the end of their shift.

A single-camera ensemble comedy following the lives of an eclectic group of detectives in a New York precinct, including one slacker who is forced to shape up when he gets a new boss.

Civil Wars is an American legal drama that aired on ABC from November 1991 to March 1993. The series was produced by Steven Bochco, known for his work on NYPD Blue, L.A. Law and Hill Street Blues. After a brief syndicated run on the FX Network in the mid 90s, the series has not aired since.

Robert McCall is a former agent of a secret government agency who is now running his own private crime fighting operation where he fashions himself as "The Equalizer." It is a service for victims of the system who have exhausted all possible means of seeking justice and have nowhere to go. McCall promises to even out the odds for them.

Falling Skies opens in the chaotic aftermath of an alien attack that has left most of the world completely incapacitated. In the six months since the initial invasion, the few survivors have banded together outside major cities to begin the difficult task of fighting back. Each day is a test of survival as citizen soldiers work to protect the people in their care while also engaging in an insurgency campaign against the occupying alien force.

In a parallel present where the latest must-have gadget for any busy family is a 'Synth' - a highly-developed robotic servant that's so similar to a real human it's transforming the way we live.

The third installment of the “Law & Order” franchise takes viewers deep into the minds of its criminals while following the intense psychological approaches the Major Case Squad uses to solve its crimes.

Megas XLR is a series about an overweight couch potato named Coop who stumbles across a giant robot in a junkyard. He soon discovers that the robot was sent from the future when a woman named Kiva returns to the past to claim what is rightfully hers, though Coop made so many modification to the machine so he's the only one who can fully operate it. Things also heat up when Coop learns that an alien race called the Glorft are also after his MEGAS robot, so he teams up with Kiva and his best friend Jamie to fight them off, though mostly so he can keep his new toy.

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.

John Reese, former CIA paramilitary operative, 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. 

Detective Jane Timoney finds that being a homicide detective in New York City is tough enough and having to contend with a male-dominated police department to get respect makes it that much tougher. She's an outsider who has just transferred to a new precinct dominated by an impenetrable clique of a boys' club. Timoney has her own vices too – with a questionable past – and she tends to be forceful, rude and reckless. But she's also a brilliant cop who keeps her eye on one thing: the prime suspect.

Dick Spanner, P.I. is a 1986 British stop-motion animated comedy series which parodied Chandleresque detective shows. The title character and main protagonist was Dick Spanner, voiced by Shane Rimmer, a robotic private detective who works cases in a futuristic urban setting. The show made frequent use of puns and visual gags. The series consisted of 22 six-minute episodes, covering two story arcs of equal length: "The Case Of The Human Cannonball" and "The Case Of The Maltese Parrot". The programme was originally broadcast in the United Kingdom as a segment of the Sunday morning show Network 7 on Channel 4, and was later repeated on the same channel in a late night spot. Produced by Thunderbirds creator Gerry Anderson, the series was created and written by Terry Adlam, who had previously worked on effects for Anderson's Terrahawks. It was also the basis for the Anderson-created Tennants Pilsner advertising campaign using the Lou Tennant character.

Kindred: The Embraced is an American television series produced by John Leekley Productions and Spelling Television. Loosely based on the role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade, the series premiered on Fox on April 2, 1996, and ran for eight episodes before it was canceled on May 9, 1996. The series focused on San Francisco Police Detective Frank Kohanek who discovers his city is home to numerous vampires while investigating alleged mobster, Julian Luna. Julian is the "prince" of the city, ruler of five groups of vampires in the city, collectively called "The Kindred". The vampires survive through the "masquerade", disguising themselves as humans, and Julian strictly enforces the laws that govern them to protect their anonymity. Julian and Frank form an uneasy bond as they work together to try to prevent a vampire war and Julian struggles with his romantic feelings for human reporter Caitlin Byrne. The eight episodes of the series have been released on VHS and DVD.

Blind Justice is an American television series created by Steven Bochco about a blind New York City police detective. It was introduced mid-season in March 8, 2005 to fill the time slot left by Bochco's highly successful NYPD Blue, which had just aired its final episode after a 12-year run. The show ran for only one season, with 13 episodes broadcast.

Charlie Grace is a Los Angeles private eye with a daughter named Jenny, works along with other cops, including his partner - Crawford - to solve different multiple mystery cases in each episode.

Buddy Faro was the best private detective in the business, until he disappeared in 1978 after a case went bad. Twenty years later, he's brought back to Los Angeles by private detective Bob Jones and they reopen Buddy Faro Investigations.

Former Syracuse, New York, police detective Carrie Wells has hyperthymesia, a rare medical condition that gives her the ability to visually remember everything. She reluctantly joins the New York City Police Department's Queens homicide unit after her former boyfriend and partner asks for help with solving a case. The move allows her to try to find out the one thing she has been unable to remember, which is what happened the day her sister was murdered.

Caitlin "Cat" Sullivan is an NYPD detective working in Brooklyn. After her driving privileges are suspended, she relies on Leo Romba, a highly skilled Brooklyn cab driver from France. Leo becomes Cat's driver and a consultant on her cases. While solving crimes with Leo, Cat is also running her own unauthorized investigation into the death of her father, an NYPD detective thought to have been executed by the Capella crime family. In doing so, she clashes with her boss, Captain Baker, and her ex-husband Gregg, who has picked up the case for the FBI.

Detective Elliot Stabler returns to the NYPD to battle organized crime after a devastating personal loss. Stabler journeys to find absolution and rebuild his life, while leading a new elite task force that is taking apart the city’s most powerful criminal syndicates one by one.

Wednesday Addams is sent to Nevermore Academy, a bizarre boarding school where she attempts to master her psychic powers, stop a monstrous killing spree of the town citizens, and solve the supernatural mystery that affected her family 25 years ago — all while navigating her new relationships.

The Son of Sam case grew into a lifelong obsession for journalist Maury Terry, who became convinced that the murders were linked to a satanic cult.

There are over 100,000 cold cases in America, and only about 1% are ever solved. With recent advancements in technology and the methods used to solve these cases, as well as the unwavering dedication of victims’ families, law enforcement and the public, “Cold Case Files” explores the cases that defied the odds. Each episode of the Emmy-nominated series examines the twists and turns of one murder case that remained unsolved for years, and the critical element that heated it up, leading to the evidence that finally solved it. Featuring interviews with family members, friends, detectives, and others close to the cases, the refreshed classic series examines all facets of the crime and shines a light on a range of voices and victims.

A deep dive into some of the most chilling murder cases in New York City's recent history. New York City is a shining beacon of opportunity for people across the world and a true melting pot. It's a city with a gritty core, where tensions run high. A series of details to the brazen crimes that could only happen in New York and the intense work by law enforcement and civilians who race to take murderers off the streets.