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Unspeakable Crimes The Best 1960s Crime Drama TV Shows

913 votes 313 voters 22.2k views

List Rules Vote up your favorite crime dramas that aired in the '60s

These are the best 1960s crime drama TV shows, ranked by user votes. Some of these good 60s crime drama series follow law enforcement agents as they attempt to catch criminals, while others are about the lawyers who put the bad guys away for good. And many other things! Television is diverse! Some of the top 1960s crime shows even have undercover agents. Wow!

What shows will you find on this best 1960s crime drama TV shows list? When it comes to making sure the right person pays for a crime, no one does it better than Perry Mason. This great 60s crime series ran from 1957-1966. The Fugitive is another good crime drama show that aired in the 1960s.

Mission: Impossible called to the elite members of the IMF to stop crime on the highest of levels during its seven season run. Other good shows that appear on this top 1960s crime drama TV shows list include The Mod Squad, The Avengers and Adam-12.

Which 60s crime show is the best? Vote for your favorites!

1
51 14

Perry Mason Raymond Burr, Barbara Hale, William Hopper Perry Mason is an American legal drama series originally broadcast on CBS television from September 21, 1957, to May 22, 1966. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los ...more

2
53 16

The Fugitive William Conrad, Richard Anderson, David Janssen This film is an American drama series created by Roy Huggins and produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen stars as Richard ...more

3
47 12

Mission: Impossible Peter Graves, Barbara Bain, Greg Morris Mission: Impossible is an American television series that was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicles the missions of a team of secret government agents known as the ...more

4
50 15

Hawaii Five-O Jack Lord, James MacArthur, Kam Fong 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 ...more

5
50 18

RobLein added Dragnet Jack Webb, Harry Morgan, Don Ross Dragnet is an American radio, television and motion picture series, enacting the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. The show takes its name ...more

6
36 12

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Robert Vaughn, David McCallum, Leo G. Carroll The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who ...more

7
31 9

horseplayer added Mannix Robert Reed, Mike Connors, Nancy Kovack Mannix is an American television detective series that ran from 1967 to 1975 on CBS. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller, the title ...more

8
37 15

77 Sunset Strip Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Edd Byrnes, Roger Smith 77 Sunset Strip is an American television private detective series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Roger Smith and Edd Byrnes. Each episode was one hour long. The show ...more

9
33 12

Adam-12 Martin Milner, Kent McCord, Shaaron Claridge 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 rode the streets of Los Angeles in their patrol ...more

10
30 10

The Untouchables Robert Stack, Jerry Paris, Walter Winchell The Untouchables is an American crime drama that ran from 1959 to 1963 on the ABC Television Network, produced by Desilu Productions. Based on the memoir of the same name by Eliot Ness and Oscar ...more

11
29 10

Ironside Bruce Lee, Raymond Burr, Don Galloway Ironside is a Universal television series that ran on NBC from September 14, 1967, to January 16, 1975. The show starred Raymond Burr as a paraplegic Chief of Detectives, Robert T. Ironside. The ...more

12
32 15

Peter Gunn Craig Stevens, Herschel Bernardi, Lola Albright Peter Gunn is an American private eye television series which aired on the NBC and later ABC television networks from 1958 to 1961. The show's creator was Blake Edwards. It was also directed by ...more

13
32 15

The Avengers Patrick Macnee, Diana Rigg, Honor Blackman The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series created in the 1960s. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed. Hendry left after the first series and ...more

14
21 12

RobLein added I Spy Robert Culp, Bill Cosby, Kenneth Tobey I Spy is an American television secret-agent adventure series. It ran for three seasons on NBC from 1965 to 1968 and teamed Robert Culp as international tennis player Kelly Robinson with Bill ...more

15
23 14

The Mod Squad Michael Cole, Clarence Williams III, Peggy Lipton The Mod Squad is an American drama series that ran on ABC from September 24, 1968 to August 23, 1973. It stars Michael Cole as Peter "Pete" Cochran, Peggy Lipton as Julie Barnes, ...more

16
15 7

Wanted: Dead or Alive Steve McQueen Wanted: Dead or Alive is an American Western television series starring Steve McQueen as the bounty hunter Josh Randall. It aired on CBS for three seasons in 1958–61. The black-and-white program ...more

17
21 13

The F.B.I. Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Marvin Miller The F.B.I. is an American television series broadcast on ABC from 1965–74. It was sponsored by the Ford Motor Company, and the characters almost always drove Ford vehicles in the series. Alcoa ...more

18
16 12

RobLein added Hawaiian Eye Poncie Ponce, Connie Stevens, Douglas Mossman Hawaiian Eye is an American television series that ran from October 1959 to September 1963 on the American Broadcasting Company television network.

19
8 6

CanÖzmen added CHiPs Erik Estrada, Larry Wilcox, Robert Pine CHiPs is an American television drama series produced by MGM Studios that originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to July 17, 1983. CHiPs followed the lives of two motorcycle police ...more

20
10 9

CanÖzmen added T.J. Hooker William Shatner, Heather Locklear, Adrian Zmed T. J. Hooker is an American police drama television program starring William Shatner in the title role as a 15-year veteran police sergeant. The series premiered as a mid-season replacement on ...more

21
1 0

Columbo Peter Falk, Mike Lally, John Finnegan Columbo is an American television series starring Peter Falk as a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. The character and show, created by William Link and Richard Levinson, ...more

22
1 0

Burke's Law

23
0 0

Honey West Anne Francis, Irene Hervey, John Ericson Honey West is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC during the 1965–1966 television season. Based upon a series of novels that had launched in 1957, the series starred Anne ...more

24
0 0

Naked City Dustin Hoffman, Diahann Carroll, Lawrence Dobkin Naked City is a police drama series which aired from 1958 to 1963 on the ABC television network. It was inspired by the 1948 motion picture The Naked City and mimics its dramatic ...more

25
0 0

Z-Cars Stratford Johns, Geoffrey Hayes, Jeremy Kemp Z-Cars or Z Cars was a British television drama series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, Merseyside. Produced by the BBC, it ...more

26
18 21

RobLein added Batman Adam West, Burt Ward, Alan Napier Batman is a 1960s American live action television series, based on the DC comic book character of the same name. It starred Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin two heroes who defend ...more

27
0 1

Maigret Michael Gambon, Geoffrey Hutchings, James Larkin Maigret was a British television series that ran on ITV for twelve episodes between 1992 and 1993. It was an adaptation of the books by Georges Simenon featuring his fictional French detective ...more

1 51 14 Perry Mason Raymond Burr, Barbara Hale, William Hopper Perry Mason is an American legal drama series originally broadcast on CBS television from September 21, 1957, to May 22, 1966. The title character, portrayed by Raymond Burr, is a fictional Los ...more

2 53 16 The Fugitive William Conrad, Richard Anderson, David Janssen This film is an American drama series created by Roy Huggins and produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen stars as Richard ...more

3 47 12 Mission: Impossible Peter Graves, Barbara Bain, Greg Morris Mission: Impossible is an American television series that was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicles the missions of a team of secret government agents known as the ...more

4 50 15 Hawaii Five-O Jack Lord, James MacArthur, Kam Fong 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 ...more

5 50 18 RobLein added Dragnet Jack Webb, Harry Morgan, Don Ross Dragnet is an American radio, television and motion picture series, enacting the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. The show takes its name ...more

6 36 12 The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Robert Vaughn, David McCallum, Leo G. Carroll The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who ...more

7 31 9 horseplayer added Mannix Robert Reed, Mike Connors, Nancy Kovack Mannix is an American television detective series that ran from 1967 to 1975 on CBS. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller, the title ...more

8 37 15 77 Sunset Strip Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Edd Byrnes, Roger Smith 77 Sunset Strip is an American television private detective series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Roger Smith and Edd Byrnes. Each episode was one hour long. The show ...more

9 33 12 Adam-12 Martin Milner, Kent McCord, Shaaron Claridge 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 rode the streets of Los Angeles in their patrol ...more

10 30 10 The Untouchables Robert Stack, Jerry Paris, Walter Winchell The Untouchables is an American crime drama that ran from 1959 to 1963 on the ABC Television Network, produced by Desilu Productions. Based on the memoir of the same name by Eliot Ness and Oscar ...more

11 29 10 Ironside Bruce Lee, Raymond Burr, Don Galloway Ironside is a Universal television series that ran on NBC from September 14, 1967, to January 16, 1975. The show starred Raymond Burr as a paraplegic Chief of Detectives, Robert T. Ironside. The ...more

12 32 15 Peter Gunn Craig Stevens, Herschel Bernardi, Lola Albright Peter Gunn is an American private eye television series which aired on the NBC and later ABC television networks from 1958 to 1961. The show's creator was Blake Edwards. It was also directed by ...more

13 32 15 The Avengers Patrick Macnee, Diana Rigg, Honor Blackman The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series created in the 1960s. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed. Hendry left after the first series and ...more

14 21 12 RobLein added I Spy Robert Culp, Bill Cosby, Kenneth Tobey I Spy is an American television secret-agent adventure series. It ran for three seasons on NBC from 1965 to 1968 and teamed Robert Culp as international tennis player Kelly Robinson with Bill ...more

15 23 14 The Mod Squad Michael Cole, Clarence Williams III, Peggy Lipton The Mod Squad is an American drama series that ran on ABC from September 24, 1968 to August 23, 1973. It stars Michael Cole as Peter "Pete" Cochran, Peggy Lipton as Julie Barnes, ...more

16 15 7 Wanted: Dead or Alive Steve McQueen Wanted: Dead or Alive is an American Western television series starring Steve McQueen as the bounty hunter Josh Randall. It aired on CBS for three seasons in 1958–61. The black-and-white program ...more

17 21 13 The F.B.I. Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Marvin Miller The F.B.I. is an American television series broadcast on ABC from 1965–74. It was sponsored by the Ford Motor Company, and the characters almost always drove Ford vehicles in the series. Alcoa ...more

18 16 12 RobLein added Hawaiian Eye Poncie Ponce, Connie Stevens, Douglas Mossman Hawaiian Eye is an American television series that ran from October 1959 to September 1963 on the American Broadcasting Company television network.

19 8 6 CanÖzmen added CHiPs Erik Estrada, Larry Wilcox, Robert Pine CHiPs is an American television drama series produced by MGM Studios that originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to July 17, 1983. CHiPs followed the lives of two motorcycle police ...more

20 10 9 CanÖzmen added T.J. Hooker William Shatner, Heather Locklear, Adrian Zmed T. J. Hooker is an American police drama television program starring William Shatner in the title role as a 15-year veteran police sergeant. The series premiered as a mid-season replacement on ...more

21 1 0 Columbo Peter Falk, Mike Lally, John Finnegan Columbo is an American television series starring Peter Falk as a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. The character and show, created by William Link and Richard Levinson, ...more

22 1 0 Burke's Law

23 0 0 Honey West Anne Francis, Irene Hervey, John Ericson Honey West is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC during the 1965–1966 television season. Based upon a series of novels that had launched in 1957, the series starred Anne ...more

24 0 0 Naked City Dustin Hoffman, Diahann Carroll, Lawrence Dobkin Naked City is a police drama series which aired from 1958 to 1963 on the ABC television network. It was inspired by the 1948 motion picture The Naked City and mimics its dramatic ...more

25 0 0 Z-Cars Stratford Johns, Geoffrey Hayes, Jeremy Kemp Z-Cars or Z Cars was a British television drama series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, Merseyside. Produced by the BBC, it ...more

26 18 21 RobLein added Batman Adam West, Burt Ward, Alan Napier Batman is a 1960s American live action television series, based on the DC comic book character of the same name. It starred Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin  two heroes who defend ...more

27 0 1 Maigret Michael Gambon, Geoffrey Hutchings, James Larkin Maigret was a British television series that ran on ITV for twelve episodes between 1992 and 1993. It was an adaptation of the books by Georges Simenon featuring his fictional French detective ...more

not on the list? add item #28 List Rules: Vote up your favorite crime dramas that aired in the '60s