No matter what’s going on in our lives or the world around us, there’s nothing better than sinking into the sofa (with a beverage of your choice) and getting lost in a good drama. There are plenty of new crime drama releases in 2025 that will bring gripping stories, complex characters and edge-of-your-seat suspense to keep you hooked from start to finish.
Whether you’re searching for a gripping ITV drama packed with suspense and twists or a brand-new BBC series that delivers those unforgettable watercooler moments, this year has plenty to offer. With streaming platforms booming, it’s easier than ever to find a crime drama that fits your mood whether you prefer binge-watching late into the night or catching episodes weekly to savour the suspense.
Best new crime dramas in 2025 (UK)
As a TV writer, I get to watch a fair few shows, and these are the top new crime dramas for 2025 that I'm recommending to everyone who asks me for something to sink their teeth into. These shows are crafted to keep viewers hooked with complex characters, layered storytelling and surprising plot twists, sparking conversations long after the credits roll.
This City Is Ours
Featuring Sean Bean, This City Is Ours explores the moral complexities of a Liverpool crime family, drawing comparisons to The Sopranos. Its sharp dialogue and layered characters have made it a standout in the genre.
Cast: James Nelson-Joyce (Little Boy Blue), Hannah Onslow (Belgravia: The Next Chapter), Sean Bean (Marriage), Julie Graham (The Hardacres), Jack McMullen (Hijack), Saoirse-Monica Jackson (Derry Girls), Laura Aikman (Gavin & Stacey), Kevin Harvey (The Inheritance), Bobby Schofield (SAS Rogue Heroes), Darci Shaw (A Thousand Blows)
Channel: BBC One
Episodes: 8
Release date: Sunday 23rd March 2025
Dept. Q
If you loved Slow Horses, Netflix’s Dept. Q should be next on your watchlist. Adapted by The Queen’s Gambit creator Scott Frank and based on the bestselling Danish novels, this moody crime drama shifts the action to Edinburgh. It follows Detective Carl Mørck (played by Matthew Goode), a deeply troubled cop assigned to a forgotten basement office where he leads a small team tackling cold cases.
Cast: Matthew Goode (Downton Abbey), Chloe Pirrie (The Queen's Gambit), Kelly Macdonald (Line of Duty). Alexej Manvelov (Before We Die), Leah Byrne (The Last Bus), Mark Bonnar (Guilt), Shirley Henderson (The House Across The Street), Katie Dickie (Red Road)
Channel: Netflix
Episodes: 9
Release date: Thursday 29th May 2025
Unforgivable
From acclaimed writer Jimmy McGovern comes Unforgivable, a powerful 90‑minute drama that navigates the devastating ripple effects of grooming and sexual abuse within the Mitchell family where members have
Cast: Anna Friel (Marcella), Anna Maxwell Martin (Motherland), Bobby Schofield [{href='https://www.yours.co.uk/leisure/celebrity-tv/the-suspect/' }), David Threlfall (Shameless), Austin Haynes (Adolescence), Ryan McKen (Bancroft), Ash Tandon (Bodyguard), Mark Womack (Liverpool 1)
Channel: BBC Two
Episodes: 1
Release date: Thursday 24th July 2025
In Flight
Katherine Kelly plays a devoted mother and flight attendant who is forced into the criminal underworld when a gang blackmails her to smuggle drugs after her son is jailed in Bulgaria for a murder he insists he didn’t commit. Set across international hubs - from Bangkok and Istanbul to London - In Flight is a tense, emotional thriller that tests just how far a mother will go to protect her child.
Cast: Katherine Kelly (Innocent), Stuart Martin (Jamestown), Ashley Thomas (Top Boy), Bronagh Waugh (Ridley), Harry Cadby (Dope Girls), Corrina Brown (Heartstopper), Ambreen Razia (Hounslow Diaries)
Channel: Channel 4
Episodes: 6
Release date: TBA
The Cage
Sheridan Smith and Michael Socha star in this gritty, high-energy crime thriller set in a Liverpool casino. Written by The Responder’s Tony Schumacher and directed by Al Mackay, The Cage explores what happens when two employees secretly steal from the same casino safe and collide with each other, the law and dangerous criminals.
Cast: Sheridan Smith (Cilla), Michael Socha (The Gallows Pole), Ian Puleston-Davies (Marcella), Barry Sloane (Passenger), Geraldine James (Black Work), Anton Bibby (Liverpool Narcos), Dave Hart (The Responder), Freya Jones (Bolan's Shoes), Katy Carmichael (The Miniaturist)
Channel: BBC One
Episodes: 5
Release date: TBA
The Hack
Starring David Tennant as investigative journalist Nick Davies, The Hack is a gripping drama from Adolescence and The Virtues writer Jack Thorne. Featuring one of the best casts of 2025, the show focuses on the fight for truth that reshaped British journalism, retracing the explosive 2002–2012 phone-hacking scandal and the parallel investigation into the murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan.
Cast: David Tennant (Broadchurch), Toby Jones (Mr Bates vs The Post Office), Robert Carlyle (COBRA), Cara Theobold (Downton Abbey), Rose Leslie (Miss Austen), Eve Myles (The Crow Girl), Dougray Scott (Crime), Adrian Lester (Life), Katherine Kelly (Mr Selfridge), Lee Ingleby (The Long Shadow), Kevin Doyle (Happy Valley), Lisa McGrillis (Rivals)
Channel: ITV
Episodes: 7
Release date: TBA
The Seven Dials Mystery
A fresh adaptation of Agatha Christie's 1929 novel, The Seven Dials Mystery is penned by Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall. Set in 1925 England, a prank at a country estate leads to a murder, and the unassuming Lady Eileen 'Bundle' Brent (Mia McKenna-Bruce) steps up to solve the case.
Cast: Mia Mckenna Bruce (Persuasion), Helena Bonham Carter (The Crown), Martin Freeman (T_he Responder_), Edward Bluemel (My Lady Jane), Nyasha Hatendi (Swan Song), Guy Siner ('Allo 'Allo!), Alex Macqueen (The Thick of It), Corey Mylchreest (Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story)
Channel: Netflix
Episodes: 3
Release date: TBA
I Fought The Law
I Fought The Law is a powerful, emotionally charged new true crime drama for 2025, telling the real-life story of Ann Ming’s courageous fight to change the British legal system and bring her daughter’s killer to justice.
Cast: Sheridan Smith (Benidorm), Daniel York Loh (Strangers), Olivia Ng (Phoenix Rise), Enzo Clienti (The Serpent Queen), Victoria Wyant (My Fault: London), Aimée Kelly (Hijack), Jake Davies (Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris), Bryony Corrigan (The Walk-In), Marlowe Chan-Reeves (Shetland), Andrew Lancel (The Bill)
Arabella Horspool is a Commercial Content Writer for Yours at Bauer Media. She's a bookworm who is passionate about TV, film and theatre. She had watched hundreds of crime dramas over the years and also enjoys cooking, scrapbooking, playing board games and loves going on walks with her three dogs.