Sayak Basu
‘Tin Star’ is a crime drama that revolves around a former police officer from London named Jim Worth, who has shifted to Canada and settled somewhere near the Canadian Rockies. He is the new chief of this small Canadian town called Little Big Bear. The reason that Worth has left his job in London is that both he and his wife wanted to leave behind a violent past. Worth suffers from uncontrollable and violent anger when under the influence of alcohol, and this part of him is an alter ego called Jack Devlin. Worth tries really hard to keep his sanity intact, and even attends AA meetings to get rid of his alcohol problems.
The town of Little Big Bear is home to a big oil company called North Stream Oil. When they open up a refinery here, the town gets crowded by new workers, some of whom are quite rough and tough in their appearance. Worth soon finds himself on a collision course with the oil company as a friend of his is murdered and he suspects that the migrant workers of the company are responsible for the deed. Worth realizes that in order to find out the truth about the killer, it is important to bring out Jack Devlin back. Tim Roth plays the leading character in this series. If you are looking for more such gripping shows that explore similar themes and ideas, then you’ve come to the right place. Here’s the list of best shows similar to ‘Tin Star’ that are our recommendations. You can watch several of these series like ‘Tin Star’ on Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime.
8. Happy Valley (2014-)
‘Happy Valley’ centers around a policewoman called Catherine Cawood whose teenage daughter has left her with a son after committing suicide. We come to know that nobody wanted to keep that son since he is a product of rape, but Cawood decided to let him grow and be with her. She even divorced her husband and now lives with her sister Clare to take care of the child. Clare finds out that her daughter’s rapist, Tommy Lee Roth, is in prison for a crime far less serious than what he has actually done. When he comes out of prison, Catherine frames him for murder and sends him to prison for a long time. Later, Cawood’s grandson’s biological father finds out about his son and tries to establish a relationship. Interestingly enough, the son seems eager to let his father be released from prison. The series received huge critical acclaim and even won the BAFTA Award for Best Drama Series.
7. Endeavour (2012-)
This British detective series is a prequel to the famous show ‘Inspector Morse’. Here, we get to meet inspector Endeavour Morse when he is much younger. He begins working as a police constable and then rises up the ranks to become the detective sergeant. Morse operates in Oxford City and being a student of Oxford University, he finds it easier to operate there. In the very first season, we see Morse getting disillusioned with his job, but things change when he is sent along with other officers to investigate the murder of a 15-year-old girl.
6. Save Me (2018-)
This six-part crime drama is created by Lennie James, who also plays the lead character of Nelson “Nelly” Rowe. Nelly is a womanizer who keeps cheating on one woman after the other. His life takes a huge turn when his daughter, 13-year-old Jody, is found missing. The police initially suspect Lennie of committing the crime but he is found innocent. Not waiting for the police to find his daughter, Lennie decides to do so himself, only to end up in a web of mystery from which there is no turning back. The show received widespread critical acclaim and boasts of a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
5. Guerrilla (2017)
This British miniseries is set in the 1970s in England when numerous British black power movements began to surface and the British Black Panther Party became effective. The story follows a couple, both of whom are a part of the movement. They test the strength of their love when they free a political prisoner. The couple Jas Mitra and Marcus Hill are portrayed by Freida Pinto and Babou Ceesay, respectively. The character of Jas Mitra is inspired by a real-life Indian woman who was involved in the movement. The series received positive acclaim from critics, but some complained that there is no representation of black women involved with the British Black Panthers Party in the series.
4. Death In Paradise (2011-)
Created by Robert Thorogood, this British-French crime series is set in the fictional Caribbean island called Saint Marie. On this island, detective Richard Poole is assigned a case where he has to investigate the murder of one of his colleagues. After he is successful in doing so, Poole is asked to stay back on the island and work as one of its detective inspectors. However, by season 3, even he gets killed. As Poole’s replacement, detective Humphrey Goodman arrives at the scene, but soon relieves himself of his duties and goes back to London to stay with his girlfriend. Though the series has strong viewership ratings, it has never been critically acclaimed.
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3. The Tunnel (2013-2018)
In ‘The Tunnel’, one British and one French detective are sent to investigate the murder of a French politician and a British prostitute. When they reach the scene of crime, they see that the killer has left behind the upper half of the man’s body and the lower half of the woman’s body. The police and media have started calling the killer the ‘Truth Terrorist’. He keeps killing and causing havoc between Britain and France to make influential people aware of social problems. The series received huge critical acclaim on its release and also won numerous awards including an International Emmy.
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2. True Detective (2014-)
This anthology crime series by HBO can be regarded as a path-breaking show of its genre. Each season of ‘True Detective‘ deals with separate characters and cases. The first season stars Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson as two experienced detectives who chase a maniacal serial killer. Each episode shows the story from two different timelines, one in 1995 and the other one in 2012 until the stories meet at a point. Hart and Cole, the two characters that these two detectives play, were under the impression that they managed to put the criminal behind bars, only to realize 17 years later that he is still at large. They get back on the case together to try once again to nab this criminal. The second season also boasts of a stunning star cast with Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams, and Vince Vaughn. Here, detectives from three different law enforcement organizations investigate the murder of a corrupt politician and get involved in a much bigger scheme at work. The third season deals with the investigations of two police officials who are looking for two missing children. This season stars two-time Academy Award winner Maharshela Ali. The moody setting and intense storylines have become the hallmark of the show.
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1. Broadchurch (2013-2017)
Just like ‘Tin Star’, ‘Broadchurch is also set in a quaint town full of dark secrets. The show centers around two police detectives and the murder of a small child called Danny Latimer. The two detectives, DI Alec Hardy (David Tennant) and DS Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman) visit this small town in Dorset to investigate the murder which leaves them both baffled. The investigations continue in the second season, where another case from the past also weighs down heavily upon Harvey and haunts him continuously. In the third season, the story concentrates on Danny’s family and how they try to come to terms with the loss while Hardy and Miller try to nab the criminal in a rape case. All three seasons of the series received loud critical acclaim. The show won the BAFTA Award for Best Drama Series while Colman ended up winning the Best Actress award.
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