Top 250 Tv Shows Like The Scarlet Letter

Sex. Lies. Murder.

A list of the best tv shows similar to The Scarlet Letter. If you liked The Scarlet Letter then you may also like: The Wire, Midsomer Murders, True Detective, The Affair, American Gothic and many more great tv shows featured on this list.

A cop's desire for love gets in the way of his job and his professional life. Secret love affairs begin to dangerously collide as he gets assigned to a new homicide case.

The Wire

Told from the points of view of both the Baltimore homicide and narcotics detectives and their targets, the series captures a universe in which the national war on drugs has become a permanent, self-sustaining bureaucracy, and distinctions between good and evil are routinely obliterated.

Midsomer Murders

The peacefulness of the Midsomer community is shattered by violent crimes, suspects are placed under suspicion, and it is up to a veteran DCI and his young sergeant to calmly and diligently eliminate the innocent and ruthlessly pursue the guilty.

True Detective

An American anthology police detective series utilizing multiple timelines in which investigations seem to unearth personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within or outside the law.

The Affair

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.

American Gothic

A prominent Boston family attempts to redefine itself in the wake of a chilling discovery that links their recently deceased patriarch to a string of murders spanning decades — amid the mounting suspicion that one of them may have been his accomplice.

Angie Tribeca

Lone-wolf detective Angie Tribeca and a squad of committed LAPD detectives investigate the most serious cases, from the murder of a ventriloquist to a rash of baker suicides.

Big Sky

Private detective Cassie Dewell partners with ex-cop Jenny Hoyt on a search for two sisters who have been kidnapped by a truck driver on a remote highway in Montana. When they discover that these are not the only girls who have disappeared in the area, they must race against the clock to stop the perpetrator before another woman is taken.

Bloodline

A dramatic thriller that explores the demons lurking beneath the surface of a contemporary American family. The Rayburns are hard-working pillars of their Florida Keys community. But when the black sheep son comes home for the 45th anniversary of his parents' hotel, he threatens to expose the Rayburns' dark secrets and shameful past, pushing his siblings to the limits of family loyalty.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

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.

The Closer

Deputy Police Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson transfers from Atlanta to LA to head up a special unit of the LAPD that handles sensitive, high-profile murder cases. Johnson's quirky personality and hard-nosed approach often rubs her colleagues the wrong way, but her reputation as one of the world's best interrogator eventually wins over even her toughest critics.

Cold Case

The Philadelphia homicide squad's lone female detective finds her calling when she is assigned cases that have never been solved. Detective Lilly Rush combines her natural instincts with the updated technology available today to bring about justice for all the victims she can.

Dexter

Dexter Morgan, a blood spatter pattern analyst for the Miami Metro Police also leads a secret life as a serial killer, hunting down criminals who have slipped through the cracks of justice.

Medical Detectives

Real crimes, disease outbreaks and accidents around the world are solved by experts using scientific laboratory analysis which helps them find previously undetectable evidence. Brilliant scientific work helps convict the guilty and free the innocent.

The Glades

This Crime series follows Matt Passmore as Jim, a Chicago cop who gets kicked off the force after being shot and wrongfully accused by his ex-captain of having an affair with his wife. After receiving his payout, Jim decides to moves to a small Florida town to join the state police.

Grace

Brighton based Detective Superintendent Roy Grace is a hard-working police officer who has given his life to the job, but his career is currently at rock bottom. He’s fixated by the disappearance of his beloved wife, Sandy, and running enquiries into long forgotten cold cases with little prospect of success. Following another reprimand for his unorthodox police methods, Grace is walking a career tightrope and risks being moved from the job he loves most.

Homicide: Life on the Street

An American police procedural chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Police Department's Homicide Unit.

L.A.'s Finest

Syd Burnett has left her complicated past behind to become an LAPD detective. Paired with a new partner, Nancy McKenna, a working mom with an equally complex past, Syd is pushed to examine whether her unapologetic lifestyle might be masking a greater personal secret. These two women don't agree on much, but they find common ground when it comes to taking on the most dangerous criminals in Los Angeles.

Making a Murderer

Filmed over 10 years, this real-life thriller follows a DNA exoneree who, while exposing police corruption, becomes a suspect in a grisly new crime.

Masters of Sex

William Masters and Virginia Johnson are real-life pioneers of the science of human sexuality. Their research touched off the sexual revolution and took them from a midwestern teaching hospital to the cover of Time magazine and multiple appearances on Johnny Carson's couch. He is a brilliant scientist out of touch with his own feelings, and she is a single working mother ahead of her time. The series chronicles their unusual lives, romance, and unlikely pop culture trajectory.

MINDHUNTER

An agent in the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit develops profiling techniques as he pursues notorious serial killers and rapists.

Mistresses

Follows the lives of four female friends and their involvement in an array of marital and extramarital relationships.

The Mysteries of Laura

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.

Orange Is the New Black

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.

Profit

Jim Profit is a newly promoted junior-executive at a multinational conglomerate, who uses ruthless methods to climb the corporate ladder. He is not above using blackmail, bribery, extortion, or worse to take down one rival after another.

Sense8

One gunshot, one death, one moment out of time that irrevocably links eight minds in disparate parts of the world, putting them in each other's lives, each other's secrets, and in terrible danger. Ordinary people suddenly reborn as "Sensates."

The Shield

The story of an inner-city Los Angeles police precinct where some of the cops aren't above breaking the rules or working against their associates to both keep the streets safe and their self-interests intact.

The Sinner

In a small New York town, a haunted detective hunts for answers about perplexing crimes while wrestling with his own demons.

Tell Me You Love Me

This riveting and provocative drama series explores issues of intimacy within the lives of three couples and the therapist they share.

Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G.

A chronicle of the two major police investigations by LAPD Detective Greg Kading into the deaths of Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G.

Castle

After a serial killer imitates the plots of his novels, successful mystery novelist Richard "Rick" Castle receives permission from the Mayor of New York City to tag along with an NYPD homicide investigation team for research purposes.

Paradise Falls

Paradise Falls was a weekly soap opera shown nationally on the Showcase channel in Canada, starting in 2001. It is set in a summer cottage community in Central Ontario.

The L Word

A group of lesbian friends struggle with romance and careers in Los Angeles.

Dalziel & Pascoe

British crime drama based on the "Dalziel and Pascoe" series of books by Reginald Hill, set in the fictional Yorkshire town of Wetherton. The unlikely duo of politically incorrect elephant-in-a-china-shop-copper Detective Superintendent Andrew Dalziel (pronounced Dee-ell) and his more sensitive and university educated sidekick Detective Sargent, later Detective Inspector, Peter Pascoe is always on hand to solve the classic murder mystery, while maintaining a down to earth wit and humour.

Bliss

Bliss is a Canadian produced, half hour dramatic television series, produced by Montreal-based Galafilm and Toronto-based Back Alley Films, an anthology of women's erotica. The series ran from 2002 to 2004. The format of the show—short, sensual vignettes adapted for television—aired on Oxygen in the United States and Showcase, TMN and Movie Central in Canada. The series is distributed by Oasis International in Toronto.

Tempo final

One real hour. An hour of suspense. An hour of life and death. After 60 minutes, nothing will be the same as before.

The Line

The Line is a Canadian television drama series, which debuted on Movie Central and The Movie Network on March 16, 2009. Created by George F. Walker and Dani Romain, the series is being produced by The Nightingale Company, and shot by Richmond Street Films. The program was originally announced under the working title The Weight.

The Protector

Gloria Sheppard is an intuitive LAPD homicide detective who juggles her demanding personal and professional lives while raising two sons with the help of her troubled younger brother, Davey.

Vexed

Comedy drama following a mismatched pair of police officers who disagree on everything with their partner, from policing to their personal life.

Erotic Confessions

Anthology series wherein each episode, Jacqueline Stone reads a letter sent in from women recounting their erotic experiences.

Against the Wall

This Chicago-set family drama follows a policewoman who causes a rift with her three cop brothers when she decides to join the department's Internal Affairs division.

Common Law

Travis Marks and Wes Mitchell were LAPD's dream team on the homicide squad, but constant bickering got in the way of their work and the two ended up on probation. To revive their flagging professional relationship, their Captain sends them to couples therapy to help understand and resolve their conflicts.

Gigolos

Make a date with the Gigolos. An extremely rare and uncensored look into the personal and professional lives of five hot guys in Vegas who like to hang out, have fun and get girls, but in their case they get paid for it. They find themselves in some unexpected positions as they balance relationships, friends and family with the demands of their female clientele. A reality series like no other, Gigolos is not only provocative but also surprisingly heartfelt. It's a wild ride for these real-life escorts who never miss a trick.

Unforgettable

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.

Banshee

Banshee is an American drama television series set in a small town in Pennsylvania Amish country and features an enigmatic ex-con posing as a murdered sheriff who imposes his own brand of justice while also cooking up plans that serve his own interests.

Portrait of a Marriage

The remarkable true story of Edwardian writer Vita Sackville-West and her husband Harold Nicolson.

Top of the Lake

A woman haunted by her past, Detective Robin Griffin, investigates complex and unsettling cases.

Rogue

Grace, a morally and emotionally-conflicted undercover detective, is tormented by the possibility that her own actions contributed to her son’s death. Grace’s search for the truth is further complicated by her forbidden relationship with Jimmy, the crime boss who may have played a hand in the crime.

Bosch

Based on Michael Connelly's best-selling novels, these are the stories of relentless LAPD homicide Detective Harry Bosch who pursues justice at all costs. But behind his tireless momentum is a man who is haunted by his past and struggles to remain loyal to his personal code: “Everybody counts or nobody counts.”

Hinterland

Tom Mathias comes to Aberystwyth having abandoned his life in London. He's a brilliant but troubled man. Despite his faults he is an excellent detective, who knows that the key to solving the crime lies not in where you look for truth, but how you look.

Skin to the Max

The adult documentary series takes viewers on an international journey to the hot and erotic world of real sex clubs, exposing the practices and fetishes of real people worldwide.

19-2

The day-to-day life of two unwilling partners of the Montreal Police Department, Officers Nick Barron and Ben Chartier. These two beat cops patrol the urban sprawl of downtown's 19th district, in cruiser No. 2. 19-2 is about the tensions and bonds that develop between two incompatible men of very different temperaments and life experiences. Over time, Nick and Ben's mistrust and antagonism for each other give way to moments of mutual respect and a wavering chance at a true partnership.

The Sculptress

When author Rosalind Leigh is assigned to write a book about the life of Olive Martin, a woman sentenced to life in prison for killing her mother and sister, she develops a relationship with Olive and is soon convinced of her innocence. With the help of restaurant owner and former policeman Hal Hawksley, she sets out to prove it and undo what she sees as a miscarriage of justice.

Sex & Violence

Follows the lives of a social worker, a victims' advocate and four others who provide support to victims of violence.

Unforgotten

London police detectives Cassie Stuart and Sunny Khan investigate historic cold cases involving missing persons, murder and long-hidden secrets.

You Me Her

An unusual, real-world romance involving relatable people, with one catch - there are three of them! You Me Her infuses the sensibilities of a smart, grounded indie rom-com with a distinctive twist: one of the two parties just happens to be a suburban married couple.

Submission

Beautiful but unfulfilled Ashley has her eyes opened to the tantalizing possibilities of BDSM when she discovers the popular erotic novel SLAVE by Nolan Keats. But her fascination with the mysterious Mr. Keats leads her into a sexy but dangerous love triangle, and tests the boundaries of her own sexual limitations.

Easy

This eclectic, star-studded anthology follows diverse Chicagoans fumbling through the modern maze of love, sex, technology and culture. First dates, friends with benefits, couples with kids. Whatever your relationship status is, it's always complicated.

I Love Dick

Adapted from the lauded feminist novel and set in a colorful academic community in Marfa, Texas, this is the story of a struggling married couple, Chris and Sylvere, and their obsession with a charismatic professor named Dick. Told in Rashomon-style shifts of POV, the series charts the unraveling of a marriage, the awakening of an artist and the deification of a reluctant messiah.

Case

A dramatic thriller about a broken lawyer who seeks redemption through his investigation into the suspicious suicide of a teenage ballet prodigy.

Cardinal

Detective John Cardinal attempts to uncover the mystery of what happened to the missing 13-year-old girl whose body is discovered in the shaft-head of an abandoned mine. At the same time, he comes under investigation by his new partner, Lise Delorme, a tough investigator in her own right.

Paula

A chemistry teacher's life is turned upside down after a one-night stand with James. They become locked in a dance of destruction. Only one can survive.

The Alienist

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.

Dateline: Secrets Uncovered

For more than 25 years, Dateline has brought viewers investigations into some of biggest mysteries in America. This entry in the franchise takes a second look at some of the most mysterious cases of recent history. It explores the stories through firsthand accounts told by people who are close to the crime, including investigators who dedicated their time to the cases and family members who are still trying to confront the tragedies that befell their loved ones.

Bang

Loner Sam's life is transformed when he comes into possession of a gun and starts to break the law. His ambitious policewoman sister Gina is paid to uphold it and makes it her mission to find the owner of the weapon. The family saga plays out against an inquiry into the shooting of a local businessman that raises questions for Sam and Gina about their father's murder when they were young children.

The Secret Life of Couples

Sexologist and therapist Sofia Prado, director of an institute of alternative therapies, has to deal with her own emotional disorders, which she hides from everyone. From the revelation of one of her patients, the specialist becomes involved in a dangerous network of corruption.

Vida

Two Mexican-American sisters from the Eastside of Los Angeles who couldn't be more different or distanced from each other are forced to return to their old neighborhood, where they are confronted by the past and surprising truth about their mother’s identity.

Innocent

After seven years in prison, David Collins is acquitted of the murder of his wife. Now, he must fight to rebuild his shattered life while police search for the real murderer.

Hidden

DI Cadi John and DC Owen Vaughan try to solve a case involving Mali Pryce, a young woman whose body was discovered in a stream in the woods.

Safe

After his daughter goes missing, a widower begins uncovering the dark secrets of the people closest to him.

Pamela Smart: An American Murder Mystery

Sex, lies and a tale too twisted to be real surround the murder of Gregg Smart. Who Killed Him? And why? On May 1, 1990, 22-year-old teacher Pamela Smart finds her husband Gregg dead on the floor of their southern New Hampshire condo, leaving the town of Derry stunned. Scouring the region for clues, police shift their attention to Gregg's grieving widow, Pamela Smart, who has been making curious television appearances publicizing her plight. When investigators discover Pamela has been having a sordid affair with high school student, Billy Flynn, a complicated web of lies and deceit unravel, revealing one of the most scandalous crimes of the century. Now, leading true crime network Investigation Discovery (ID) delves into the case in Pamela Smart: An American Murder Mystery. From the tawdry affair, to teenage assassins, to the explosive nationally televised trial, this case transfixed the entire nation as Pamela Smart emerged as the original Black Widow.

The Undoing

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.

Hightown

Amid the drug trade on Cape Cod, a body washes ashore and is discovered by an irreverent National Marine Fisheries Service officer, Jackie Quinones, who is determined to help solve the murder even if the state cops want her nowhere near the case.

Mare of Easttown

A detective in a small Pennsylvania town investigates a local murder while trying to keep her life from falling apart.

The Stranger

A web of secrets sends family man Adam Price on a desperate quest to uncover the truth about the people closest to him.

Happily Married

In 1974, in the quiet suburb of Sainte-Foy, two discontented couples bring their kids to summer camp. Once home, they must face the pitiful state their marriages are in. Unable to deal with their problems, they become the most infamous criminals in the history of organized crime in Quebec City.

Sex/Life

A woman's daring sexual past collides with her married-with-kids present when the bad-boy ex she can't stop fantasizing about crashes back into her life.

When the Streetlights Go On

A double-homicide in a small midwestern suburb rattles the lives of a group of teenagers and sends investigators searching for answers in the fall of 1995. A meditation on growing up, the passing of time, and the insidious violence that lurks in the suburbs.

Clickbait

When family man Nick Brewer is abducted in a crime with a sinister online twist, those closest to him race to uncover who is behind it and why.

White Lines

Zoe Walker leaves her quiet life behind to investigate her brother's disappearance in Ibiza, where she quickly heads down a decadent and dangerous path.

Black Narcissus

Himalayas, 1934. A remote clifftop palace once known as the ‘House of Women’ holds many dark secrets. When the young nuns of St. Faith attempt to establish a mission there, its haunting mysteries awaken forbidden desires that seem destined to repeat a terrible tragedy. Adaptation of the 1939 novel by Rumer Godden.

PIECES OF HER

A woman pieces together her mother's dark past after a violent attack in their small town brings hidden threats and deadly secrets to light.

Conversations with Friends

Two college students, Frances and Bobbi, forge a strange and unexpected relationship with a married couple.

Whitstable Pearl

With her son grown up, single mom Pearl Nolan decides to pursue her lifelong dream and launches a private detective agency, which she runs from her family's restaurant in the coastal town of Whitstable. Drawn by her caring nature, locals soon flock to her with all manner of cases. But when an old friend dies suspiciously, Pearl finds herself in conflict with gruff new cop in town, DCI Mike McGuire.

Face to Face

Bjørn investigates the killing of his daughter. People around him believe she might have committed suicide, but he doesn't accept that. Both the stakes and the suspense rise relentlessly as Bjørn inches closer to the truth.

Leopard Skin

A criminal gang fleeing a botched jewelry heist is forced to hide out in a beach side estate where two women live in seclusion. Their world turns into a tension filled hothouse of secrets, betrayal and desire.

The Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness

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.

American Gigolo

Julian Kaye has always been an object of desire, so much so that people are willing to destroy him in order to have him. Exonerated, after 15 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit, he now faces the challenge of picking up the pieces as the detective who put him behind bars tries to unravel the mystery that led to his wrongful incarceration.

Love & Death

Candy and Pat Montgomery and Betty and Allan Gore — two churchgoing couples — enjoy their small town Texas life… until an extramarital affair leads somebody to pick up an axe.

Annika

The sharp, witty and enigmatic DI Annika Strandhed, as she heads up a new specialist Marine Homicide Unit (MHU) that is tasked with investigating the unexplained, brutal, and seemingly unfathomable murders.

Ridley

Retired Detective Inspector Alex Ridley is lured back into service as a consultant detective when his former protégée, Carol Farman, needs help cracking a complex murder case.

Magpie Murders

An editor gets drawn into a web of intrigue and murder when she receives an unfinished manuscript.

Justified: City Primeval

Having left the hollers of Kentucky 15 years ago, Raylan Givens is now based in Miami, balancing life as a marshal and part-time father of a 15-year-old girl. A chance encounter on a Florida highway sends him to Detroit and he crosses paths with Clement Mansell, aka The Oklahoma Wildman, a violent sociopath who’s already slipped through the fingers of Detroit’s finest once and wants to do so again.

Jazmin's Touch

Inside her villa in Argentina, Jazmin is able to awaken her guests' sexual desires with a simple touch. People come and go but never forget their experience with her.

Dead Ringers

Elliot and Beverly Mantle are twins who share everything: drugs, lovers, and an unapologetic desire to do whatever it takes — including pushing the boundaries on medical ethics — in an effort to challenge antiquated practices and bring women’s healthcare to the forefront.

Fellow Travelers

Decades-long chronicle of the risky, volatile and steamy relationship between the charismatic and ambitious Hawk and the pious and idealistic Tim, two political staffers who fall in love at the height of the 1950s Lavender Scare. Through the Vietnam War protests of the 1960s, the drug-fueled disco culture of the 1970s and the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, the two men’s fiery affair only intensifies despite the constant threat of being exposed and losing everything.

Saint X

A young woman's mysterious death during an idyllic Caribbean vacation creates a traumatic ripple effect that eventually pulls her surviving sister into a dangerous pursuit of the truth.

Swarm

A young woman's obsession with a pop star takes a dark turn.

Obsession

A respected London surgeon's affair with his son's fiancée turns into an erotic infatuation that threatens to change their lives forever.

The Couple Next Door

Evie and Pete move into an upscale neighborhood and find themselves in a world of curtain twitching and status anxiety. They find friendship in the shape of the couple next door, alpha traffic cop Danny and his wife, glamorous yoga instructor Becka, but after Danny and Evie share a passionate night together there is trouble ahead.

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