Five Totally Awesome Things You Missed the First Time Around – Crime Dramas

Five Totally Awesome Things You Missed the First Time Around — Crime Dramas

 Crime! Nothing can be more fun than a crime story. If you are a fan of solving it or committing it, the following shows are for you!

The grifter, the hitter, the mastermind, the thief, and the hacker

1) Leverage

Stats: Four seasons thus far with a total of 62 episodes. A fifth season has been commissioned.

Starring: Timothy Hutton, Gina Bellman, Aldis Hodge, Christian Kane, Beth Riesgraf

Why you might have missed it: It airs on TNT and has split seasons where part of the season is shown in the summer and the rest in the winter. It also moved time slots a bit.

Summary: Sometimes the bad guys make the best good guys. Nate Ford is an ex-insurance agent who, through various means, ends up the head of a five man team consisting of a thief (Parker), a hacker (Hardison), a grifter (Sophie) and a retrieval specialist (Eliot). These five act as a modern-day Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. They help everyday people to take on big corporations or other individuals deemed untouchable by normal means. They provide leverage.

Why it is AWESOME: This is awesome for so many reasons. First, you have Oscar winner Timothy Hutton at the helm. Second, you have five seemingly disparate personalities working together to help the little guy. The shows are a little formulaic but it is fun to see how the different cons work from different angles. The characters are quirky especially Parker which makes the storytelling richer. If you like cons and karmic justice then this show is for you.

How can you see it?:   You can get the DVDs through Netflix. You can also see clips on Hulu and full episodes if you log in via your cable provider on the TNT website.

2) Psych

Stats: Six seasons thus far with a total 90 episodes. A seventh season has been commissioned.

Fake psychic detectives? I'm in!

Starring: James Roday, Dule Hill, Timothy Omundson, Maggie Lawson, Kristen Nelson, Corbin Bernsen

Why you might have missed it: It airs on USA network though it is the network’s longest running original program. It also does the split season thing like Leverage above and has moved around time slots.

Summary: Shawn Spencer is an observational genius who, after calling in too many tips to the police, gets hauled in as a suspect. To keep from being thrown in jail, Shawn pretends to be psychic. After helping the police solve some crimes, Shawn and his best friend Gus, open a psychic detective agency called Psych. Together, and with the help of Shawn’s father and two police detectives from the Santa Barbara PD, Shawn and Gus solve crime after crime usually in hilarious and over-the-top fashion complete with 80’s pop culture references.

Why it is AWESOME: This show does not take itself seriously at all which is all a part of its charm. Shawn and Gus are quintessential best friends. They make numerous references to the 1980’s, the era in which they grew up. This one is one of my favorites. They have to keep a balance between solving the crimes, keeping the police in the dark and keeping themselves safe. There is a pineapple in every episode. Also, Corbin Bernsen as Shawn’s dad is perfect.

How can you see it?: Five of the six seasons are streaming on Netflix.