Rotten Tomatoes Crowns The Best Crime Series Of All Time (And It Isn’t The Sopranos)

Sep 10, 2026 - 01:19

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Rotten Tomatoes Crowns The Best Crime Series Of All Time (And It Isn’t The Sopranos)

Published Sep 9, 2026, 5:00 PM EDT

After 18 months at Screen Rant, Guy became Classic TV Editor in September 2026, and specializes in leading features content about shows from decades gone by. Having written for and editing several TV, film and music publications, his areas of expertise include comedy and satire, animation, crime drama, Westerns, and political thrillers.

When it comes to prestige TV, no genre is more critically revered than crime. Every year, there are several new crime series that capture the imagination of viewers at home, as well as receiving rave reviews from critics. Meanwhile, the very best TV shows in the crime genre are counted among the greatest things ever to grace the small screen.

The usual suspects, of course, are David Chase’s landmark mobster series The Sopranos, David Simon’s immersive, slow-burning procedural thriller The Wire, and Vince Gilligan’s sublime character study Breaking Bad. Then there’s David Lynch and Mark Frost’s surreal murder-mystery saga Twin Peaks. Not quite everyone agrees that these shows are the best of all time, though.

According to the critical aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, the most universally acclaimed live-action crime drama in history isn’t any of the above. Counting only completed releases in the genre which have multiple seasons (and a Tomatometer score for each one of them), the best-reviewed crime series of all time is the BBC’s Life on Mars.

It’s understandable that no reviewer could find fault with this series, and that it also retains a 98% audience score almost 20 years after it ended. Life on Mars is the most perfect of forgotten crime-genre gems, which combines a highly innovative supernatural premise with exquisite period details, irresistible performances, and pinpoint plotting.

Life On Mars Is The Highest-Scoring Crime TV Series On Rotten Tomatoes

Gene Hunt and Sam Tyler standing in the street and leaning against a car in Life on Mars.

With a total of 29 positive reviews across its two seasons resulting in a flawless 100% critical rating, this time-traveling police-procedural drama is the highest-scoring completed crime series on Rotten Tomatoes, excluding one-off miniseries. When the show’s near-perfect audience score is taken into account, it betters every other small-screen crime release in terms of universal acclaim.

Life on Mars is a must-watch for Doctor Who fans, as it features the Master actor John Simm, and the same irreverently British sense of humor. The truly show-stopping performance in the series, however, comes from Philip Glenister, whose portrayal of brash, no-nonsense detective Gene Hunt brings one of TV crime’s best characters to life in formidable fashion.

Top 5 Crime Series On Rotten Tomatoes*	Critics’ Score	Audience Score
Life on Mars (UK)	100%	98%
Paatal Lok	100%	93%
Bosch: Legacy	100%	86%
Prime Suspect	100%	74%
Mindhunter	97%	95%

*Completed, multi-season, live-action drama series only

A maverick from the old school of police investigation, Hunt is the perfect foil for Simm’s protagonist Sam Tyler. In contrast to Tyler’s more measured take on solving crimes, Glenister’s DCI favors intuitive decision-making, physical intimidation, as well as the colorful language and unforgettable catchphrases he employs in his signature florid Lancastrian accent.

Hunt’s lyrical dialogue is complemented by a carefully curated period soundtrack, featuring the likes of Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy, Atomic Rooster, and David Bowie. In fact, the show’s title is based on Bowie’s 1973 single of the same name.

Although the version of crime investigation depicted in Life on Mars doesn’t have much to do with actual British police work back in the 1970s, the show’s stylized approach to its genre immerses us in this time period with total commitment. It also revives the spirit of classic ’70s cop shows, with nostalgic affection as well as modern production values.

Why The Sopranos And The Wire Are Outscored By Life On Mars

Tony Soprano in a promotional picture for The Sopranos

It’s important to place the perfect 100 that Life on Mars has achieved on Rotten Tomatoes in a broader context, which explains why more mainstream all-time greats such as The Sopranos and The Wire haven’t scored as highly. The two-season BBC crime series has accrued 29 reviews and 100% scores across both its seasons.

By comparison, The Sopranos has 51 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes of its first season alone, while The Wire has 58 reviews of its first two seasons combined. Both these series ran for much longer than Life on Mars, too, continuing for six seasons and five seasons, respectively.

With all these reviews across all these seasons, there was always going to be one or two critics who went against the grain in their assessment of these generational crime series. Just a handful of negative reviews bring The Sopranos’ overall score down to 92%, rather than the 100% many feel the show deserves to have on Rotten Tomatoes.

In truth, there are certain episodes of the show, such as season 4’s "Christopher", which warranted the negativity. Meanwhile, you’d be hard-pressed to find a genuinely poor episode of The Wire, but it’s still far easier to achieve a perfect critical rating with 16 episodes than with 60. Life of Mars unquestionably reaps the benefits of quality over quantity.