Top 250 Tv Shows Like Lock-Up: The Prisoners Of Rikers Island

A stand-up comedian and his three offbeat friends weather the pitfalls and payoffs of life in New York City in the '90s. It's a show about nothing.

In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to convict the perpetrator by proving the person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Working together, these expert teams navigate all sides of the complex criminal justice system to make New York a safer place.

Six young people from New York City, on their own and struggling to survive in the real world, find the companionship, comfort and support they get from each other to be the perfect antidote to the pressures of life.

A trip down memory lane is a strong source of trauma, comedy and moving forward.

Follow the lives of the Roy family as they contemplate their future once their aging father begins to step back from the media and entertainment conglomerate they control.

In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.

The Affair explores the emotional effects of an extramarital relationship between Noah Solloway and Alison Lockhart after the two meet in the resort town of Montauk in Long Island. Noah is a New York City schoolteacher with one novel published (book entitled A Person who Visits a Place) and he is struggling to write a second book. He is happily married with four children, but resents his dependence on his wealthy father-in-law. Alison is a young waitress trying to piece her life and marriage back together in the wake of the tragic death of her child. The story of the affair is told separately, complete with distinct memory biases, from the male and female perspectives.

Barney Miller is an American situation comedy television series set in a New York City police station in Greenwich Village. The series originally was broadcast from January 23, 1975 to May 20, 1982 on ABC. It was created by Danny Arnold and Theodore J. Flicker. Noam Pitlik directed the majority of the episodes.

Meet the Donnelly brothers: Tommy, Jimmy, Kevin and Sean. There is nothing these four Irish brothers wouldn't do to protect each other, and for them that means lying, cheating, stealing and, occasionally, calling the cops. Narrated by wannabe gangster Joey "Ice Cream," this gritty series bears witness to the Donnelly brothers' sudden involvement in organized crime, focusing on how they go from boys to mobsters, and showing how their new life affects their relationships with friends, family and lovers.

Broad City follows two women throughout their daily lives in New York City, making the smallest and mundane events hysterical and disturbing to watch all at the same time.

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.

A self-loathing, alcoholic writer attempts to repair his damaged relationships with his daughter and her mother while combating sex addiction, a budding drug problem, and the seeming inability to avoid making bad decisions.

The misadventures of two of New York's finest in the 53rd precinct in the Bronx. Toody, the short, stocky and dim-witted one, either saves the day or messes things up, much to the chagrin of Muldoon, the tall, lanky and smart one.

Caroline in the City is an American situation comedy that ran on the NBC television network. It stars Lea Thompson as cartoonist Caroline Duffy, who lives in Manhattan in New York City. The series premiered on September 21, 1995 in the "Must See TV" Thursday night block after Seinfeld. The show ran for 97 episodes over four seasons, before it was cancelled; its final episode was broadcast on April 26, 1999.

Follow the investigations of a team of NYPD forensic scientists and police officers identified as "Crime Scene Investigators".

It’s 1882 and the Gilded Age is in full swing when Marian Brook, a young orphaned daughter of a Southern general, moves in with her rigidly conventional aunts in New York City. With the help of Peggy Scott, an African-American woman masquerading as her maid, Marian gets caught up in the dazzling lives of her rich neighbors as she struggles to decide between adhering to the rules or forging her own path.

The assorted humiliations, disasters and rare triumphs of four very different twenty-something girls: Hannah, an aspiring writer; Marnie, an art gallery assistant and cousins Jessa and Shoshanna.

Eight years after the original website went dark, a new generation of New York private school teens are introduced to the social surveillance of Gossip Girl.

Five students at the largest public high school in Brooklyn take on a chaotic world as they fight to succeed, survive, break free and seize the future.

Right out of high school, Sean Finnerty got his girlfriend Claudia pregnant. Now she’s his wife, and at just 32, he’s somehow found himself with 14-year-old daughter Lily, two little boys, and a constant struggle between his need to be responsible and his desperate desire to be irresponsible. His judgmental father Walt and devil-may-care brother Eddie are no help at all. When they all get together, stories always start to fly. Of course, Sean’s family will never let him finish a story; they interrupt, they debate, they derail, they defend themselves; just like any good family would.

Stephen Colbert brings his signature satire and comedy to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the #1 show in late night, where he talks with an eclectic mix of guests about what is new and relevant in the worlds of politics, entertainment, business, music, technology, and more. Featuring bandleader Jon Batiste with his band Stay Human, the Emmy Award-nominated show is broadcast from the historic Ed Sullivan Theater. Stephen Colbert, Chris Licht, Tom Purcell, and Jon Stewart are executive producers. Barry Julien and Denise Rehrig serve as co-executive producers.

The inner workings of the judicial system, beginning with the arraignment, and continuing through the prosecutors' complicated process of building a case, investigating leads and preparing witnesses for trial.

When people think of the hip hop life, they think of the players - the men who shape the music and the blinged-out lifestyle that comes with success. The fact is the hip hop life is different for the women involved: the spouses, girlfriends or artists trying to define themselves in a world where men are still calling the shots.

Given superstrength and durability by a sabotaged experiment, a wrongly accused man escapes prison to become a superhero for hire.

Set in 1960-1970 New York, this sexy, stylized and provocative drama follows the lives of the ruthlessly competitive men and women of Madison Avenue advertising.

Well-educated and upper middle class, Maude Findlay is the archetypal feminist of her generation. She lives in suburban Tuckahoe, New York, with her fourth husband, Walter, their divorced daughter, Carol, and grandson Phillip.

Follows some of Manhattan's most relentless realtors as they close multimillion dollar deals faster than a yellow cab runs a red light.

Oliver Beene is an American sitcom. Set in 1962 and 1963, the show chronicled the trials and tribulations of the 11-to-12-year-old Oliver Beene, in first person perspective. Oliver Beene's other main characters are his parents Jerry and Charlotte Beene, his brother Ted Beene, and his two friends Joyce and Michael. The narrator, an older Oliver reflecting on his experience, is voiced by David Cross. Often in episodes, the story is interrupted by flashbacks and flash-forwards.

A crime she committed in her youthful past sends Piper Chapman to a women's prison, where she trades her comfortable New York life for one of unexpected camaraderie and conflict in an eccentric group of fellow inmates.

Down deep in the Mississippi Delta, Trap music meets film noir in this kaleidoscopic story of a little-strip-club-that-could and the big characters who come through its doors—the hopeful, the lost, the broken, the ballers, the beautiful, and the damned.

Six months after deciding to pull herself together and get sober, Bridget witnesses a murder. Realizing her life is in danger and not trusting the FBI to protect her, she runs to her wealthy twin sister, Siobhan, in New York. Things start out well—with the two patching up a fractured relationship—when Siobhan suddenly goes missing. Bridget assumes her sister's identity, but soon learns that Siobhan's life is not as perfect as it looks and she is no safer than she was before

A young E.R. doctor who, after being wrongly blamed for a patient's death, moves to the Hamptons and becomes the reluctant "doctor for hire" to the rich and famous. When the attractive administrator of the local hospital asks him to treat the town's less fortunate, he finds himself walking the line between doing well for himself and doing good for others.

Based on the bestselling book by Candace Bushnell, Sex and the City tells the story of four best friends, all single and in their late thirties, as they pursue their careers and talk about their sex lives, all while trying to survive the New York social scene. 

Louie De Palma is a cantankerous, acerbic taxi dispatcher in New York City. He tries to maintain order over a collection of varied and strange characters who drive for him. As he bullies and insults them from the safety of his “cage,” they form a special bond among themselves, becoming friends and supporting each other through the inevitable trials and tribulations of life.

Welcome to the Village, an apartment building in Brooklyn that appears like any other from the outside but is quite unique inside. The people who reside here have built a bonded family of friends and neighbors.

A documentary-style look into the daily (or rather, nightly) lives of a group of vampires in Staten Island who have “lived” together for hundreds and hundreds of years.

Police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwined several plots involving an ensemble cast.

A modern-day drama about a crime-solving duo that cracks the NYPD's most impossible cases. Following his fall from grace in London and a stint in rehab, eccentric Sherlock escapes to Manhattan where his wealthy father forces him to live with his worst nightmare - a sober companion, Dr. Watson.

Reunion is an American television series that aired on FOX in late 2005. The series was intended to chronicle 20 years in the lives of a group of six high school friends from Bedford, New York, with each episode following one year in the lives of the six, beginning with their high school graduation year 1986. Each episode also featured scenes in the present where Detective Marjorino is investigating the brutal murder of one of the group during the night of their 20-year class reunion in 2006. The identity of the murder victim was not revealed until the fifth episode, "1990". Due to low ratings, the series was canceled after only nine episodes, and the identity of the killer remained unrevealed in the aired episodes.

The office politics and interpersonal relationships among the staff of WNYX NewsRadio, New York's #2 news radio station.

Lockup explore prison facilities throughout the United States, profiling notable inmates, incidents, and prison operations.

The Lawless Years is an American crime drama series that aired on NBC from April 16 1959, to September 22, 1961. The series is the first of its kind set set during the Roaring 20s, having predated ABC's far more successful The Untouchables by six months. The series stars James Gregory and Robert Karnes.

Hot Properties is an ensemble ABC comedy featuring four women working together in a Manhattan real estate office. It was first aired on October 7, 2005. Often compared to Sex and the City and the CBS situation comedy Designing Women, this show features four single women professionals, each with distinct personalities that contribute in their failure to secure dates. The comparison to these shows led many critics to describe the show as unoriginal. The women share a passion for Oprah. On November 29, 2005, ABC announced that the show would not be extended more than 13 episodes, which is usually a sign of impending cancellation. The series finale aired on Friday, December 30, 2005.

In 1985, two couples' relationships dissolve amidst the backdrop of Reagan era politics, the spreading AIDS epidemic, and a rapidly changing social and political climate.

True Life is a documentary series running on MTV since March 24, 1998. Each episode follows a particular topic, such as heroin addiction as in the first episode, "Fatal Dose." The show is created by following a series of subjects by a camera crew through a certain part of their lives.

13 Queens Boulevard is an American sitcom that aired from March 20 until July 24, 1979.

Mr. & Mrs. North is an American comedy/mystery television series that aired on CBS from October 3, 1952 to May 25, 1954. The series centers on Jerry North, a mystery magazine publisher who thinks he is a good amateur detective, and his wife, Pamela, as they solve crimes in New York City.

Trying to make a name for themselves in New York's competitive fashion scene, Ben Epstein and his friend and business partner Cam Calderon use their street knowledge and connections to bring their ambitions to fruition. With the help of Cam's cousin Rene, who is trying to market his own high-energy drink, and their well-connected friend Domingo, the burgeoning entrepreneurs set out to make it big, encountering obstacles along the way that will require all their ingenuity to overcome.

Without warning, an earthquake rips through the "City That Never Sleeps," turning it into a vulnerable state of chaos: skyscrapers topple, subways are buried in the rubble, countless lives are lost and loved ones are torn apart. As turmoil reigns in the screaming streets, Mayor Bruce Lincoln and former Fire Chief Thomas Ahearn race against time to enact a city-wide emergency plan.

John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show is a stand-up comedy television series that currently airs on Comedy Central in the United States. Hosted by British comedian John Oliver, who is best known for his work on The Daily Show, the show features new material by both up-and-coming and established comedians. Each episode features four performers, including the headliner but not Oliver.

This two part mini-series shows the trials and tribulations all the participants endured to be a part of the very first Olympic Games in Athens in 1896. It focuses on the individuals from the many countries around the world that joined together to lay the foundation of the modern Summer Olympic Games.

The story of New York farmer, Abe Woodhull, who bands together with a group of childhood friends to form The Culper Ring, an unlikely group of spies who turn the tide in America’s fight for independence.

Elena Micheals thought she left the world of supernatural behind when she left Stonehaven behind 'for good this time' she thought. Until the night she got the mysterious call from her pack leader asking her to come back. So now she is heading back, leaving her life as a normal photographer in Toronto for the moment to re-enter the world of werewolves, rules about protect the pack and a man she has spent years trying to get out of her system. Oh and did she mention she was the only living female werewolf in existence?

A massive effort is currently under way to reshape ground zero into an expansive 16-acre complex the likes of which has never been seen before. To document this historic effort, we are on the ground alongside the men and women who are making this vision a reality until the nationally televised unveiling of the new ground zero with President Barack Obama on Sept. 11, 2011.

Hunting Season is an American LGBT-themed comedy-drama web series created by Jon Marcus. Following the romantic and sexual exploits of Alex and his small group of friends in New York City, the story was inspired by and largely based on the 2005–08 blog The Great Cock Hunt and the 2008 novel of the same name published by Kensington Books.

Look past the bricks and mortar and discover the history of some of the most famous buildings on Blueprint NYC. Each episode offers a nuts-and-bolts perspective behind storied sites, like the Wonder Theaters and the Highline, with walking tours and interviews with experts who have a passion for the history and architecture of New York City.

For two friends on the brink of losing everything, a dusty pipe dream of opening up an upscale restaurant in their hometown of the Bronx is all they have left to turn their lives around. Together, they take on the insanity of the New York restaurant world, and navigate its underbelly of petty criminals, corrupt officials and violent mobsters.

Crime journalist Raphael Rowe goes behind the bars of some of the world’s most notorious and toughest prisons. Immersing himself in maximum security facilities around the world to live as a prisoner, he encounters the inmates locked up for their crimes and meets the men and women on the right side of law tasked with keeping the criminals behind bars.

Jump into the daily routines of a diverse group of New Yorkers and how they light things up. “The Guy” is a nameless pot deliveryman whose client base includes an eccentric group of characters with neuroses as diverse as the city.

The story of the legalization and subsequent rise of the porn industry in New York’s Times Square from the early ’70s through the mid ’80s, exploring the rough-and-tumble world that existed there until the rise of HIV, the violence of the cocaine epidemic and the renewed real estate market ended the bawdy turbulence of the area.

New York, 1896. Police commissioner Theodore Roosevelt brings together criminal psychologist Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, newspaper illustrator John Moore and secretary Sara Howard to investigate several murders of male prostitutes.

Nola Darling struggles to define herself and divide her time among her friends, job and three lovers. A new take on Spike Lee's film, in 10 episodes.

An ex-felon is shocked to see just how much the world has changed when he is released from prison for good behavior after a 15-year stint and returns to his newly gentrified Brooklyn neighborhood.

Louis takes an in-depth look at Miami's jail system, a vast holding pen for the unconvicted where most inmates are awaiting trial.

William Miles’s landmark epic documents the early settlement of the Village of Harlem in the 17th century to the specter of urban renewal and redevelopment in the 1970s. The film chronicles the centuries of change and political and artistic expression that has made this complex hamlet the capital of urban America.

Travel back to October 19, 1987 – aka Black Monday, the worst stock market crash in Wall Street history – this is the story of how a group of outsiders took on the blue-blood, old-boys club of Wall Street and ended up crashing the world’s largest financial system, a Lamborghini limousine, Don Henley’s birthday party and the glass ceiling.

Lia Haddock, a journalist for American Public Radio, unravels the mystery behind the disappearance of over 300 people at a research community in Tennessee.

Mark and his 12-year-old daughter’s lives were changed forever 10 years earlier when she was turned into a vampire. Locked in at age 12, perhaps forever, Eleanor lives a closed-in life, able to go out only at night, while her father does his best to provide her with the minimal amount of human blood she needs to stay alive.

A unique look inside the mind of an infamous serial killer with this cinematic self-portrait crafted from statements made by Ted Bundy, including present-day interviews, archival footage and audio recordings from death row.

A behind-the-scenes look at the lives of the people who help America wake up in the morning, exploring the unique challenges faced by the men and women who carry out this daily televised ritual.

Loosely based on infamous crime boss Bumpy Johnson, who in the early 1960s returned from ten years in prison to find the neighborhood he once ruled in shambles. With the streets controlled by the Italian mob, Bumpy attempts to regain his piece of Harlem.

Grace and Jonathan Fraser are living the only lives they ever wanted. Overnight a chasm opens in their lives: a violent death and a chain of terrible revelations. Left behind in the wake of a spreading and very public disaster, Grace must dismantle one life and create another for her child and her family.

Nora Lin leans on her family as she navigates life and young adulthood in outer borough-NYC.

As the world's first generation of superheroes (who received their powers in the 1930s) become the revered elder guard in the present, their superpowered children struggle to live up to the legendary feats of their parents.

A journalist with a lot to prove investigates the case of Anna Delvey, the Instagram-legendary German heiress who stole the hearts of New York’s social scene – and stole their money as well.

Via interviews with friends, players and insiders, this docuseries examines how Aaron Hernandez went from an NFL star to a convicted killer.

Some of the New York City's most dramatic true-crime stories from the perspective of the New York Post journalists who covered the cases.

Two New York artists become hired killers to make ends meet in this dark humor web series.

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.

A bunch of unknown actors create a TV show about themselves. Taking on the inevitable collapse and defeat of their show in the summer of a new era.

An archivist takes a job restoring damaged videotapes and gets pulled into the vortex of a mystery involving the missing director and a demonic cult.

Recently separated forty-something Toby Fleishman dives into the brave new world of app-based dating with the kind of success he never had dating in his youth. But just at the start of his first summer of sexual freedom, his ex-wife disappears, leaving him with the kids and no hint of where she is or whether she plans to return.

This is the incredible story behind Sweden's most notorious gangster, Clark Olofsson, whose infamous crimes gave rise to the term "Stockholm Syndrome".

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.

After influencing global events for centuries, a secret society faces a dangerous threat from within. Can a Canadian reporter save them — and the world?

Arlo and his newfound crew set up shop in an abandoned seaside neighborhood and help bring it back to life.

A prisoner on death row in the US, a vicar in a quiet English town, and a maths teacher trapped in a cellar cross paths in the most unexpected way.

Explore the wild, tragic and controversial life and career of heavyweight champion Mike Tyson - one of the most polarizing figures in sports culture.

This series charts the exclusive inside story of the 8-billion-dollar race to build America’s first major new airport in 25 years. 30 million passengers a year pass through LaGuardia Airport in New York, but this critical hub is run down and over capacity, causing delays. Over the course of 9 years, 7000 architects, engineers and construction workers must attempt the impossible; rebuild the entire airport from the ground up, to create a state-of-the-art, fully unified facility, without affecting its operation.

In 1970s NYC, the “Torso Killer” preys on women to fulfill his grotesque fantasies while eluding police. A docuseries dive into crime’s darkest places.

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.

Maggie and Negan travel to post-apocalyptic Manhattan - long ago cut off from the mainland. The crumbling city is filled with the dead and denizens who have made it a world full of anarchy, danger, beauty, and terror.

Elena Santos, a young woman with a complicated past, maneuvers her way into working as a live-in nanny for an affluent family in Manhattan. She quickly learns that everyone in the mysterious building has deadly secrets and ulterior motives. What they don't know, however, is that Elena has some shocking secrets of her own.

After a night of partying with a female stranger, a man wakes up to find her stabbed to death and is charged with her murder.

Count Alexander Rostov finds himself going from riches to rags following the Russian revolution. A Soviet tribunal banishes him to the attic room of an opulent hotel, where, oblivious to the world outside, he discovers the true value of friendship, family and love.

After an unjust 16-year prison sentence, Dolores Roach returns to a gentrified Washington Heights, where she reunites with an old stoner friend, Luis, who lets her live and work as a masseuse in the basement under his empanada shop. When the promise of her newfound stability is quickly threatened, “Magic Hands” Dolores is driven to shocking extremes to survive.

Set in New York City in 1999, Lindsay and Miguel fall in love and discover that the single greatest obstacle to finding happiness together might just be themselves — and the memories, obsessions, fears, and fantasies that lives inside their heads.

OM CITY is the critically acclaimed, award-winning original series that follows the harried life of Grace (Jessie Barr), a yoga teacher in NYC, and her attempts to bring the humans of New York OM.

Colin McLaren shares stories about his undercover work inside organized crime families; chilling firsthand details about how mafia families operate and why their ruthlessness was often their downfall.