Police protagonist movies and TV shows

The list contains the best, new and most relevant police protagonist movies ordered by relevance. The recommendation service has sorted out detective, realistic, serious, suspenseful, captivating and tense films and TV shows about / with police protagonist, police, police officer, police investigation, cop, investigation, police detective, law enforcement, police station and murder plots mostly in Crime, Drama and Thriller genres shot in USA, UK, Canada and other countries.
police protagonist
 256
police protagonist movies
TOP 10 movies tagged as police protagonist: Hawaii Five-0 (2010), Southland (2009), Happy Valley (2014), Columbo (1971), Homicide: Life on the Street (1993), Wild Bill (2019), Adam-12 (1968), The Defeated (2020), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Dogs of Berlin (2018).

List of police protagonist movies

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 7.4
 78K
Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 42 min.
TV show
Story: Steve McGarrett returns home to Oahu, in order to find his father's killer. The governor offers him the chance to run his own task force (Five-0). Steve's team is joined by Chin Ho Kelly, Danny "Danno" Williams, and Kono Kalakaua.
Style: exciting, detective, realistic, cliffhanger, action packed ...
Audience: boys' night, adult
Plot: investigation, partners against crime, police protagonist, police, crime investigation, fighting crime, hotshot, teamwork, policewoman, honest law enforcer, police detective, suspicion ...
Time: 2010s, 21st century
Place: hawaii, usa
Is relevant ?
 8.5
 29K
Southland (2009)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 42 min.
TV show
Story: Since premiering in 2009, Southland has redefined the police drama with its raw, authentic look at the lives and work of Los Angeles detectives and beat cops. The show centers on four main characters: Officer John Cooper (Cudlitz), a seasoned cop ...
Style: detective, captivating, serious, realistic, rough ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: lapd, policewoman, police detective, law enforcement, partners against crime, police protagonist, fighting crime, police officer, swat, police, peril, responsibility ...
Time: 21st century
Place: california, southern california, los angeles, usa
Is relevant ?
 8.5
 64K
Happy Valley (2014)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 1059 min.
TV show
Story: Happy Valley is a dark, funny, multi-layered thriller revolving around the personal and professional life of Catherine, a dedicated, experienced, hard-working copper. She is also a bereaved mother who looks after her orphaned grandchild.
Style: serious, tense, detective, realistic, suspenseful ...
Plot: policewoman, police investigation, police, police protagonist, investigator, kidnapping, investigation, british police, whodunit, law enforcement, criminal, police station ...
Time: 2010s, 2020s, 21st century
Place: yorkshire, england, northern england
Is relevant ?
 8.3
 41K
Columbo (1971)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min.
TV show
Story: Columbo is a friendly, verbose, disheveled-looking police detective who is consistently underestimated by his suspects. Despite his unprepossessing appearance and apparent absentmindedness, he shrewdly solves all of his cases and secures all ...
Style: clever, detective, captivating, suspenseful, realistic ...
Audience: kids
Plot: police detective, murder, homicide detective, murder investigation, police protagonist, mind game, police, crime investigation, basset hound, crime solving, riddles and clues, uncover truth ...
Time: 20th century, 70s, 90s, 80s, 2000s
Place: los angeles, usa
Is relevant ?
Related movie lists
Homicide: Life on the Street (1993)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story: Homicide: Life on the Street is an American police procedural television series chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Police Department's Homicide Unit. It ran for seven seasons on NBC from 1993 to 1999, and was succeeded ...
Style: tense, realistic, detective, talky, serious ...
Plot: police detective, police, murder, justice, homicide detective, cop, police protagonist, team, fighting crime, police investigation, workplace, tough law enforcer ...
Time: 20th century, 90s
Place: baltimore, usa
Is relevant ?
 6.9
 3K
Wild Bill (2019)
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 45 min.
TV show
Story: U.S. police chief Bill Hixon lands in the British town of Boston, Lincolnshire, with his 14-year-old daughter Kelsey in tow hoping they can flee their painful recent past. But this unfamiliar, unimpressed community will force Bill to question ...
Style: suspenseful, psychological, disturbing, tense, suspense ...
Plot: protective father, british police, father daughter relationship, police station, american abroad, police protagonist, culture clash, police investigation, chief of police, teenage daughter, russophobia, interrogation ...
Place: england
Is relevant ?
 7.7
 5K
Adam-12 (1968)
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min.
TV show
Story: Adam-12 is a television police drama that followed two police officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, Pete Malloy and Jim Reed, as they patrolled the streets of Los Angeles in their patrol unit, 1-Adam-12. Created by R. A. Cinader and Jack ...
Style: realistic, serious, stylized, sincere, detective ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: police, lapd, police protagonist, police officer, car, workplace intrigue, police investigation, law enforcement, tough law enforcer, working undercover, price of justice, police detective ...
Time: 20th century, 60s, 70s
Place: los angeles, usa
Is relevant ?
 7.1
 8K
The Defeated (2020)
Genre: Drama, History, Thriller
Country: France, Germany, Canada
Duration: 45 min.
TV show
Story: Max McLaughlin is an American cop who arrives in Berlin in the summer of 1946 to help create a police force in the chaotic aftermath of the war.
Style: tense, suspenseful, thought provoking, serious, captivating ...
Plot: post war germany, nazism, demolished city, police protagonist, murder investigation, political intrigue, world war two, betrayal, intrigue, dishonesty, love and romance, racism ...
Time: 1940s, year 1946, 20th century, post world war two
Place: berlin germany
Is relevant ?
Kindergarten Cop (1990)
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min.
Story: Hard-edged cop John Kimble gets more than he bargained for when he goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher to get the goods on a brutal drug lord while at the same time protecting the man's young son. Pitted against a class of boisterous ...
Style: light, funny, humorous, detective, sincere ...
Audience: kids, family outing, girls' night, teens, chick flick
Plot: teacher, fish out of water, children, kindergarten, police, education, mischievous children, small town, bullying, undercover, elementary school, school ...
Time: 90s, 20th century, year 1990
Place: astoria oregon, california, oregon, los angeles
Is relevant ?
 7.5
 14K
Dogs of Berlin (2018)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Germany
Duration: 542 min.
TV show
Story: A politically sensitive murder forces two disparate detectives into a battle with the Berlin underworld and a confrontation with their own corruption.
Style: tense, suspense, captivating, bleak, detective ...
Plot: football player, investigation, murder, racism, police protagonist, police partner, homicide detective, crime investigation, detective inspector, neo nazi, murder investigation, riot ...
Place: germany
Is relevant ?
 7.6
 31K
Cold Case (2003)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 44 min.
TV show
Story: 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 ...
Style: detective, atmospheric, serious, contemplative, realistic ...
Plot: female detective, police detective, murder investigation, policewoman, mentor, who done it, police, homicide detective, investigation, unsolved crime, police procedural, uncover truth ...
Time: 90s, 70s, 60s, 80s, 1930s ...
Place: philadelphia, usa
Is relevant ?
 7.6
 267K
End of Watch (2012)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min.
Story: Two young officers are marked for death after confiscating a small cache of money and firearms from the members of a notorious cartel during a routine traffic stop.
Style: tense, emotional, suspense, independent film, realistic ...
Audience: boys' night, adult
Plot: latinos, gang member, cop, police, shooting, street gang, friendship, urban ghetto, police investigation, organized crime, police officer, found footage ...
Time: year 2012, 2010s, year 2011, 21st century
Place: los angeles, california, south central los angeles, usa
Is relevant ?
Related movie lists
The Chestnut Man (2021)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Denmark
Duration: 50 min.
TV show
Story: A young woman is found brutally murdered in a Copenhagen playground. Above her hangs a small doll made of chestnuts. Adapted from the acclaimed novel.
Style: brutal, enigmatic, tense, psychological, detective ...
Plot: serial killer, murder, murderer, investigation, murder mystery, murder investigation, forest, police, serial murder, missing person, crime solving, female detective ...
Is relevant ?
 5.5
 6K
The Watch (2020)
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Fantasy
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 381 min.
TV show
Story: A group of misfit cops rise up from decades of helplessness to save their corrupt city from catastrophe. Inspired by the characters created by Sir Terry Pratchett’s famous “Discworld” novels.
Style: captivating, tense, semi serious, suspenseful, disturbing ...
Audience: discworld
Plot: werewolf, supernatural, police officer, police protagonist, police investigation, fantasy world, security guard, serial killer, society, monster, survival, social relations ...
Time: future
Is relevant ?
 8.7
 87K
The Shield (2002)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 47 min.
TV show
Story: 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.
Style: tense, rough, exciting, suspenseful, realistic ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: police corruption, police detective, law enforcement, corrupt cop, dirty cop, cop, police brutality, dishonesty, cruelty, murder, tough law enforcer, peril ...
Time: 2000s, 21st century
Place: los angeles, california, usa
Is relevant ?
Sledge Hammer! (1986)
Genre: Action, Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min.
TV show
Story: Sledge Hammer! is an American satirical police sitcom produced by New World Television that ran for two seasons on ABC from 1986 to 1988. The series was created by Alan Spencer and stars David Rasche as Inspector Sledge Hammer, a preposterous ...
Style: parody, spoof, detective, sitcom, not serious ...
Audience: boys' night, teens
Plot: police, police officer, police detective, partners against crime, police protagonist, goofy hero, fighting crime, partner, disorder, reluctant partners, law enforcement, police corruption ...
Time: 80s, 20th century
Place: san francisco
Is relevant ?
 7.7
 16K
NYPD Blue (1993)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 45 min.
TV show
Story: NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwined several plots involving an ensemble cast. The show ...
Style: realistic, suspenseful, captivating, serious, rough ...
Plot: police, police detective, murder, partners against crime, nypd, robbery, police protagonist, swat team, law enforcement, partner, human nature, tough law enforcer ...
Time: 20th century, 90s, 2000s, 21st century
Place: new york, usa, new york state
Is relevant ?
 8.6
 1.8M
Se7en (1995)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 127 min.
Story: Two homicide detectives are on a desperate hunt for a serial killer whose crimes are based on the "seven deadly sins" in this dark and haunting film that takes viewers from the tortured remains of one victim to the next. The seasoned Det. ...
Style: detective, surprise ending, suspenseful, disturbing, neo noir ...
Audience: chick flick, adult
Plot: serial killer, investigation, twists and turns, psychopath, police, psychology, mind game, murder, insanity, police investigation, macabre, maniac ...
Time: 90s, year 1995, 20th century
Place: los angeles, america, iran, persia, usa ...
Is relevant ?
Related movie lists
bad cop movies
146
lapd movies
243
cop movies
cop
1995
 6.8
 5K
Humanity (1999)
Genre: Drama, Mystery
Country: France
Duration: 141 min.
Story: When an 11-year-old girl is brutally raped and murdered in a quiet French village, a police detective who has forgotten how to feel emotions--because of the death of his own family in some kind of accident--investigates the crime, which turns out to ...
Style: contemplative, slow cinema, erotic, bleak, disturbing ...
Audience: kids
Plot: small town, masturbation, female nudity, female pubic hair, lust, voyeur, sex, orgasm, murder, dead body, strike, rape ...
Time: year 1999, 90s
Place: france, flanders, europe
Is relevant ?
 7.7
 167K
Dirty Harry (1971)
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min.
Story: When a madman dubbed 'Scorpio' terrorizes San Francisco, hard-nosed cop, Harry Callahan – famous for his take-no-prisoners approach to law enforcement – is tasked with hunting down the psychopath. Harry eventually collars Scorpio in ...
Style: serious, suspense, bleak, suspenseful, tense ...
Audience: manly, boys' night
Plot: serial killer, police, psychopath, gunfight, vigilante, tough law enforcer, urban, investigation, murder, violence, city, urban setting ...
Time: 70s, year 1971, 20th century
Place: san francisco, california, bay area, usa
Is relevant ?
 7.0
 47K
Bad Lieutenant (1992)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min.
Story: While investigating a young nun's rape, a corrupt New York City police detective, with a serious drug and gambling addiction, tries to change his ways and find forgiveness.
Style: neo noir, independent film, disturbing, detective, bleak ...
Audience: boys' night, adult
Plot: gambling, redemption, police, rape, corruption, drug addiction, masturbation, baseball, police corruption, heroin, police lieutenant, nun ...
Time: 90s, year 1992, 20th century
Place: new york, usa
Is relevant ?
 7.4
 81K
The Wailing (2016)
Genre: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: South Korea, USA
Duration: 156 min.
Story: A stranger arrives in a little village and soon after a mysterious sickness starts spreading. A policeman is drawn into the incident and is forced to solve the mystery in order to save his daughter.
Style: art house, atmospheric, disturbing, psychological, psychological thriller ...
Audience: teens
Plot: supernatural, investigation, zombie, curse, murder, police, shaman, small town, ghost, daughter, suspicion, possession ...
Time: year 2016, 2010s
Place: south korea
Is relevant ?
Cop and a Half: New Recruit (2017)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Family, Mystery
Country: Canada
Duration: 97 min.
Story: In this family-friendly action reboot of the 1993 film, Karina Foley, an ambitious and spunky 12-year-old, inserts herself in a police investigation of the Badge Bandit, led by the grizzled, veteran detective Mark Simmons. Much to Simmons' ...
Style: humorous, captivating, feel good, entertaining
Audience: family outing, kids
Plot: buddy cop, child, drone, police protagonist, partner, police investigation, police academy, school, police station, chase, secret service, cop ...
Is relevant ?
Related movie lists
Starsky & Hutch (1975)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story: Starsky & Hutch is a 1970s American cop thriller television series, which consisted of a 70-minute pilot movie and 92 episodes of 50 minutes each. The show was created by William Blinn, produced by Spelling-Goldberg Productions, and broadcast ...
Style: detective, exciting, realistic, semi serious, rough ...
Audience: boys' night, teens
Plot: police detective, partners against crime, police, undercover, police investigation, buddies, law enforcement, unlikely partners, society, working undercover, car chase, police protagonist ...
Time: 70s, 20th century
Place: usa, southern california, california
Is relevant ?
 6.3
 2K
Code 404 (2020)
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 25 min.
TV show
Story: In the near future, an undercover Detective Inspector gunned down and killed during a botched sting is brought back via an experimental Artificial Intelligence project. Full of glitches, he’s got to track down the person who shot him, prove ...
Style: humorous, semi serious, satirical, captivating, entertaining ...
Plot: artificial intelligence, police, police investigation, police protagonist, police partner, unhappy wife, buddy cop, guilty conscience, fighting crime, crime solving, investigation, murder investigation ...
Place: london
Is relevant ?
 5.2
 19K
Hangman (2017)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min.
Story: A homicide detective teams up with a criminal profiler to catch a serial killer whose crimes are inspired by the children's game, Hangman.
Style: suspense, psychological, suspenseful, captivating, crime drama ...
Plot: serial killer, game of death, homicide detective, psycho killer, clue, police partner, revenge, violence, forensics, police investigation, police protagonist, retirement ...
Is relevant ?
 8.0
 6K
No Offence (2015)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 42 min.
TV show
Story: Keeping these streets clean is a Herculean task, enough to demoralize even the keenest rookie – but there’s a reason why this hotchpotch of committed cops are on this force, on this side of town. Drug labs, arsonists, neo-Nazis and notorious ...
Style: semi serious, realistic, humorous, detective, dark comedy ...
Plot: detective inspector, policewoman, british police, police station, serial killer, workplace, workplace situations, police, murder investigation, law enforcement, fighting crime, police investigation ...
Time: 2010s, 21st century
Place: northern england, england, manchester
Is relevant ?
Internal Affairs (1990)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 115 min.
Story: Keen young Raymold Avila joins the Internal Affairs Department of the Los Angeles police. He and partner Amy Wallace are soon looking closely at the activities of cop Dennis Peck whose financial holdings start to suggest something shady. Indeed Peck ...
Style: suspense, neo noir, suspenseful, intense, atmospheric ...
Plot: police corruption, internal affairs, corrupt cop, police investigation, corruption, manipulation, psychopath, police, abusive husband, rivalry, law enforcement, dishonesty ...
Time: 80s, 20th century, 90s
Place: los angeles, usa
Is relevant ?
Hawaii Five-O (1968)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story: Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for 12 seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. Jack Lord portrayed Detective Lieutenant ...
Style: captivating, tense, stylized, realistic, suspenseful ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: police, police detective, law enforcement, partners against crime, fighting crime, multiple suspects, workplace, investigation, police protagonist, police officer, honor, suspect ...
Time: 60s, 20th century, 70s, 80s
Place: hawaii, usa, oceania
Is relevant ?
 7.7
 47K
Blue Bloods (2010)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min.
TV show
Story: A drama about a multi-generational family of cops dedicated to New York City law enforcement. Frank Reagan is the New York Police Commissioner and heads both the police force and the Reagan brood. He runs his department as diplomatically as he runs ...
Style: captivating, serious, suspenseful, exciting, detective ...
Audience: boys' night, adult
Plot: police commissioner, police detective, family tradition, law enforcement, investigation, family life, police procedural, price of justice, chief of police, police, nypd, female detective ...
Time: 21st century
Place: new york, usa
Is relevant ?
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