Best Black Crime Dramas
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- CreatorDavid SimonStarsDominic WestLance ReddickSonja SohnThe Baltimore drug scene, as seen through the eyes of drug dealers and law enforcement.
- CreatorJason RichmanStarsMichael ImperioliJames McDanielAisha HindsThe everyday trials and tribulations of Detroit's homicide unit.
- CreatorShawn RyanStarsMichael ChiklisCatherine DentWalton GogginsDrama series following the lives and cases of dirty cop Vic Mackey and the corrupt LAPD unit under his command.
- DirectorJohn SingletonStarsCuba Gooding Jr.Laurence FishburneHudhail Al-AmirFollows the lives of three young males living in the Crenshaw ghetto of Los Angeles, dissecting questions of race, relationships, violence, and future prospects.
- DirectorJohn SingletonStarsAlexsandra WrightTyrese GibsonTaraji P. HensonIn South Central L.A., a misguided 20-year-old African-American man, a "baby boy", faces the commitments of real life.
- DirectorAlbert HughesAllen HughesStarsLarenz TateKeith DavidChris TuckerA Vietnam vet adjusts to life after the war while trying to support his family, but the chance of a better life may involve crime and bloodshed.
- DirectorAntoine FuquaStarsDenzel WashingtonEthan HawkeScott GlennA rookie cop spends his first day as a Los Angeles narcotics officer with a rogue detective who isn't what he appears to be.
- DirectorAlbert HughesAllen HughesStarsTyrin TurnerLarenz TateJune Kyoto LuA young street hustler attempts to escape the rigors and temptations of the ghetto in a quest for a better life.
- DirectorDeMane DavisKhari StreeterStarsKerry WashingtonLonette McKeeEugene ByrdNiecy lives in inner-city Boston and works at an upscale mall. Ambitious, intelligent, stylish, and a proficient shoplifter of clothes & credit cards, she's lured into a diamond heist. She'll find that crime pays - 'til the payback.
- DirectorGreg MorganStarsSean BlakemoreGilbert Glenn BrownRobert David CochraneWhen a pickup game turns deadly, Reggie is out for blood as he tracks down his best friend's killer and returns to the gym to finish him off. Confused with mixed stories, the other players agree they can't shoot him without a trial.
- DirectorRic Roman WaughStarsDwayne JohnsonSusan SarandonJon BernthalA father goes undercover for the DEA in order to free his son, who was imprisoned after being set up in a drug deal.Underused.
- DirectorSticky FingazStarsAlvin 'Porky' HollandBokeem WoodbineChris FlemingBad blood between two urban crime families explodes into an all-out turf war in this gritty, hard-hitting drama set to rap and starring music legend Sticky Fingaz.
- CreatorPaul AttanasioStarsRichard BelzerClark JohnsonYaphet KottoAn American police procedural television series chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Police Department's Homicide Unit.
- DirectorJohn LuessenhopStarsRichard T. JonesDe'aundre BondsGabriel CasseusAvery (Jones) returns to college as a competitive swimmer after getting his life back on track. But his life takes another unexpected turn when he and his two friends (Bonds, Casseus) are wrongly accused of murder and end up in prison.
- CreatorKevin ArkadieDick WolfStarsMalik YobaMichael DeLorenzoPatti D'ArbanvilleDrugs, theft, corruption, rape, murder. Cops against criminals. The covert war has begun. Welcome to New York City.
- DirectorHype WilliamsStarsNasDMXTaral HicksTwo young friends involved in organized crime and drug dealing find that their priorities differ.
- DirectorErnest R. DickersonStarsDMXDavid ArquetteMichael EalyA drug kingpin's return home touches off a turf war.
- CreatorKurt SutterStarsCharlie HunnamKatey SagalMark Boone JuniorA biker struggles to balance being a father and being involved in an outlaw motorcycle club.
- DirectorRobert Patton-SpruillStarsTyrone BurtonEddie CutandaPhuong DuongThree boys challenged by pressures of drugs and gangs decide to fight back.
- DirectorBoaz YakinStarsSean NelsonGiancarlo EspositoSamuel L. JacksonDeath and violence anger a twelve-year-old drug courier, who sets his employers against each other.
- DirectorJohn SingletonStarsMark WahlbergTyrese GibsonAndré 3000When their adoptive mother is gunned down in a store robbery, four brothers decide to investigate the murder and find the killers themselves, but not all is what it seems.
- DirectorJohn SingletonStarsSamuel L. JacksonVanessa WilliamsChristian BaleNew York City police detective John Shaft (nephew of the original 1970s detective) goes on a personal mission to make sure the son of a real estate tycoon is brought to justice after a racially-motivated murder.
- DirectorDavid AyerStarsKeanu ReevesForest WhitakerHugh LaurieAn undercover cop, disillusioned by the death of his wife, is implicated in the murder of an officer and must struggle to clear himself.
- DirectorFrank E. Jackson Jr.StarsTray ChaneyNatasha 'Breezy' MaloneIan NovickA young couple go on a crime spree holding up stores in hope of becoming famous while being pursued by a cop who recently rejoined the force after losing his fiancée to a violent crime.
- DirectorAbel FerraraStarsChristopher WalkenDavid CarusoLaurence FishburneA drug kingpin is released from prison and seeks to take total control of the criminal underworld in order to give back to the community.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsDenzel WashingtonRussell CroweChiwetel EjioforAn outcast New York City cop is charged with bringing down Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas, whose real life inspired this partly biographical film.
- DirectorBill DukeStarsLaurence FishburneTim RothVanessa WilliamsBlack gangsters in 1930 Harlem fights Dutch Schultz who is trying to horn in on their numbers racket.
- DirectorAntoine FuquaStarsRichard GereDon CheadleEthan HawkeThree unconnected Brooklyn cops wind up at the same deadly location after enduring vastly different career paths.
- DirectorPaul HaggisStarsDon CheadleSandra BullockThandiwe NewtonLos Angeles citizens with vastly separate lives collide in interweaving stories of race, loss and redemption.
- DirectorSheldon CandisStarsCommonMichael Rainey Jr.Dennis HaysbertAn 11-year-old boy gets a crash course in what it means to be a man when he spends a day with the ex-convict uncle he idolizes.
- DirectorJohn LuessenhopStarsChris BrownHayden ChristensenMatt DillonA group of bank robbers find their multi-million dollar plan interrupted by a hard-boiled detective.
- DirectorSteven EstebStarsB.G.Lil' WayneTurkShowing the life(dramatization) of the hot boys or cash money millionaires and how it goes down in the magnolia,dirty cops,drug life and shoot outs with a twist of reality
- DirectorVondie Curtis-HallStarsTyrese GibsonMeagan GoodLarenz TateAn ex-convict (Tyrese) gets tangled up with a gang after his car is hijacked with his son inside.
- DirectorNick GomezStarsShar-Ron CorleyGabriel CasseusSaul SteinJason and Midget are two young, black teenagers living in Newark,New Jersey, the unofficial car theft capital of the world. Their favourite pastime is that of everybody in their neighbourhood: stealing cars and joyriding. The trouble starts when they steal a police car and the cops launch a violent offensive that involves beating and even shooting suspects.
- DirectorCess SilveraStarsKy-Mani MarleySpragga BenzLouie RankinWayne and Biggs grow up together on the tough and dangerous streets of Kingston, Jamaica. Eventually moving to Miami, they begin a ruthless climb to the top of a criminal enterprise as they aggressively take control of the Jamaican mob.
- DirectorDennis HopperStarsSean PennRobert DuvallMaria Conchita AlonsoAn experienced cop and his rookie partner patrol the streets of East Los Angeles while trying to keep the gang violence under control.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsNicolas CageEva MendesRussell M. HaeuserTerence McDonagh is a drug- and gambling-addled detective in post-Katrina New Orleans investigating the killing of five Senegalese immigrants.
- DirectorClement VirgoStarsMaurice Dean WintRachael CrawfordClark JohnsonThis is the Easter weekend. In an inner city project, three people struggle against their demons and try to find redemption. They are Maxine, a window dresser depressed since she had an abortion and lost her lover ; Jordan, a boxer who has indulged in gay-bashing ; and 'The General', a drug dealer turned artist.
- DirectorCraig Ross Jr.StarsAllen PayneAngelle BrooksMichael TaliferroA child of a middle class home with solid moral values is lured into a world of crime and corruption.
- DirectorGavin HoodStarsPresley ChweneyagaeMothusi MaganoIsrael Matseke-ZuluSix days in the violent life of a young Johannesburg gang leader.
- DirectorLeon IchasoStarsLouis Gossett Jr.Charles S. DuttonCynthia MartellsJust another typical day in the life of a shooter. Not one person in this fine neighborhood is willing to come forward with any clues as to the identity of the killer of an innocent little girl. No one wants to get involved.
- DirectorRalph ZimanStarsRapulana SeiphemoJeffrey SekeleRonnie NyakaleA young hoodlum's rise from a small-time criminal to a powerful crime entrepreneur during the turbulent years before and after the fall of apartheid.
- DirectorMichael RymerStarsLloyd AdamsPhilip AkinAnna Carolina AriasRight out of police academy, Jeff/Omar Epps starts as undercover cop in Cincinnati. First it's small time cases but he proves himself and moves up to a big case - befriending a brutal crime boss.
- DirectorMaster PStarsGary BuseySilkk the ShockerJeff SpeakmanKool is a good kid from a bad 'hood, until his girlfriend is framed for murder. To earn her release, Kool agrees to help bust the city's most powerful drug lord. When the deal goes wrong, an enraged Kool embarks upon a life of crime.
- DirectorLuca BercoviciStarsJames MarshallDennis HopperMichael MadsenJack Sweeny is a young man just trying to get a job. Turned down at another bank due to his criminal record he meets a girl, Rebecca, but also witnesses a 3 way shootout between 2 groups of criminals and the cops over a suitcase containing perfect plates for counterfeiting bank notes. Jack grabs the plates and attempts to sell them via his friend Zippo. However with at least three different groups ready to kill him for the plates, Jack finds it's just one double cross after another.
- DirectorTimothy Wayne FolsomeStarsRonReaco LeeAlexis FieldsAnna Maria HorsfordDre gets caught up gang activity and accidentally murders an innocent person. Plagued by a guilty conscience, he does everything he can to make things right--and avoid falling back in with the gang.
- CreatorDick WolfRick EidStarsJerry OrbachJesse L. MartinDennis FarinaNew York's finest police detectives and prosecutors fight to make the city a safer place. With integrity as the guiding force from investigation to verdict, the teams weigh every perspective in their commitment to finding justice.
- CreatorDick WolfStarsMariska HargitayChristopher MeloniIce-TThis series follows the Special Victims Unit, a specially trained squad of detectives in the New York City Police Department that investigate sexually related crimes.
- DirectorCharles WinklerStarsVal Kilmer50 CentSharon StoneA police officer's partner has died during Hurricane Katrina, but he later discovers that his partner may have been murdered. An investigation follows, taking the officer and his new partner into the depths of the criminal underworld.
- DirectorDarnell MartinStarsDanny HochElvis CostelloQ-TipA young man lives and learns while growing up on the street and in and out of correctional facilities.
- DirectorminkStarsShaun BakerBusta RhymesBubba SmithOn returning home to settle his late father's affairs, Joshua Pope finds a different town from the one he left. The once quiet neighborhood is at the mercy of a prejudiced and corrupt police force.
- Director50 CentJ. Jesses SmithStars50 CentClifton PowellElijah WilliamsA coming of age story about an inner-city youth raised by a hardworking single mother. When his dream of becoming a basketball player fails to materialize, he finds himself employed in a supermarket. After his mother is tragically gunned down, Clarence (played by Jackson) is consumed by revenge and takes up a life of crime in order to support his younger brother.
- DirectorDamon RussellStarsCurtis SnowAbdullah MuhammadCurtis LockettThe story of Atlanta robbery boy and crack dealer, Curtis Snow, who stole a camera from some college kids in a dope deal and made a documentary about his life.
- DirectorChris BrowneStarsWinston BellKevoy BurtonO'Daine ClarkeA ghetto teenager battles against the odds to become a boxing champion.
- DirectorErnest R. DickersonStarsOmar EppsTupac ShakurJermaine HopkinsFour inner-city teenagers get caught up in the pursuit of power and happiness, which they refer to as "the juice".
- DirectorHarry A. DavisStarsRoger Guenveur SmithN'Bushe WrightObba BabatundéA defense attorney in Detroit, desperate to leave his career behind, is begged by his sister to represent her boyfriend, the alleged leader of the city's most notorious gang, MVP.
- DirectorLeon IchasoStarsWesley SnipesMichael WrightKhandi AlexanderA drug dealer tries to get out of the life and start anew with his girlfriend, but the transition is tragically difficult.
- DirectorStephen Milburn AndersonStarsGlenn PlummerByron MinnsLexie BighamA former gangster fresh out of prison wants to change his life for the better and must save his 10 year old son who has already chosen a gang life.
- DirectorForest WhitakerStarsWilliam James Stiggers Jr.Chi AliBokeem WoodbineEx-con attempting to go straight runs accross serious problems. His girlfriend gets arrested for dealing crack to an undercover police officer. In a desperate attempt to get the charges dropped against his woman, he strikes deal with weapons cop(Michael Biehn) to turn in local gun dealers. How ever, the D.A. is not satisfied with the results, resulting in some serious game playing and double crossing.
- DirectorFerenc TóthStarsAntarah AventAlexandra BosquetMnuke BouleCharacter triumphs over adversity and temptation when a young African-American man is unexpectedly thrust onto the streets of Harlem.
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsHarvey KeitelJohn TurturroDelroy LindoYoung drug pushers in the projects of Brooklyn live hard dangerous lives, trapped between their drug bosses and the detectives out to stop them.
- DirectorMarc LevinStarsTariq TrotterKaren StarcBonz MaloneA charismatic rapper falls in love with a young Jewish girl despite the confines of her religious background.
- DirectorRichard Cummings Jr.StarsMack 10Fat JoeIce CubeIn Los Angeles, two rival gang leaders are also trying to be music producers. When DJ's equipment shorts out and Lonzo is cut out of the action by a record producer, the two join forces, which also requires a tentative peace between gangs. With backing from Gator, a smooth New Orleans drug king, DJ and Lonzo start dealing, organizing their gangs into pushers. Just as their finances are looking up, one of Gator's team pulls a double cross and two of DJ and Lonzo's gang bangers start a shooting war. Can the erstwhile music producers salvage anything of their bond or their plans?
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsBen CrowleyKen LeungAnthony MackieSucker-Free City, or S.F.C., revolves around the conflicts among white, black, Latino and Asian street gangs in San Francisco.
- DirectorRicardo Sean ThompsonStarsJustin EdwardsJose T. CastilloMorgan BagleyA young aspiring Brooklyn rapper battles other underground rappers at a secret club called The Pit for sex, money, and fame.
- DirectorLarry CohenFred WilliamsonStarsFred WilliamsonJim BrownPam GrierWhen a gang shoots his father, Bookman (Fred Williamson) returns to his hometown, rounds up some of his own people and begins an all-out war to restore the neighborhood to its rightful sense of justice.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsPam GrierSamuel L. JacksonRobert ForsterA flight attendant with a criminal past gets nabbed by the ATF for smuggling. Under pressure to become an informant against the illegal arms dealer she works for, she must find a way to secure her future without getting killed.
- DirectorF. Gary GrayStarsJada Pinkett SmithQueen LatifahVivica A. FoxDesperation drives four inner-city women to bank robbery in Los Angeles, then they start mistrusting each other.
- DirectorParris ReavesStarsMarisa Baldwin-WoodhouseT'Shaun BarrettJocelyn BuchananTwo brothers from Alabama struggle to rise above the ghetto rap scene to land a major record deal in Chicago in this journey through love, sibling rivalry, betrayal, violence and redemption.
- DirectorBrian AverillStarsDrena De NiroJ-KingPortia CueTariq is an ex-con working as a mechanic and car thief. Then he meets the love of his life and has to choose between love and his thug lifestyle.
- DirectorJeff CrookJosh CrookStarsDaniel OutlawParis CampbellJanisha FaithAfter the brutal murder of his brother, Donte decides to seek revenge against the perpetrators; a vicious Dominican gang of dog-fighters led by a psychotic ex-con named Angel.
- DirectorAdam RippStarsDarris LoveDarontay McClendonDon CambellWhen a brutal carjacking yields a videocamera, a teenage boy decides to document his life and the lives of his fellow gangbangers.
- DirectorPreston A. Whitmore IIStarsBoris KodjoeMichael Kenneth WilliamsSticky FingazA father's eight year old son is murdered in a gangland shooting. The father (Boris Kodjoe) gets himself thrown into prison to avenge his son's death.
- DirectorCam'ronStarsCam'ronDurrel MohammadJuelz SantanaFlea was a basketball player, happy with his subtle hustle, until a Dominican connect introduced him to a new way to spread the work and make all the cake. Flea assembles his friends and decides to play it big by taking over a store and hustling' on the corner selling drugs to whoever got money. But with more money and power also comes drama and chaos ensues when some local criminals try to bring him down.
- DirectorWalter HillStarsBill PaxtonIce-TWilliam SadlerTwo firemen in a burning building get a treasure map - stolen gold church items are hidden in a closed down factory in St. Louis. Once there, they're trapped in by a black gang considering it their territory.
- DirectorArthur MarksStarsPam GrierYaphet KottoGodfrey CambridgeAt Los Angeles airport, magazine photographer Friday Foster witnesses an assassination attempt against billionaire Blake Tarr and is drawn into a murky political conspiracy.
- DirectorJack HillStarsPam GrierBooker BradshawRobert DoQuiA sexy Black nurse takes vigilante justice against inner-city drug dealers after her sister becomes their latest victim.
- DirectorDuccio TessariStarsLino VenturaIsaac HayesFred WilliamsonAn ex-convict priest and a framed former policeman hunt a machine-gun killer behind a bank robbery.
- DirectorGordon Parks Jr.StarsJim BrownFred WilliamsonJim KellyBlaxploitation film about three martial-arts specialists who prevent white supremacists from tainting the U.S. water supply with a toxin that's only harmful to black people.
- DirectorEfren C. PiñonStarsTony FerrerLeila HermosaLeo FongFive friends get together and decide to plan an operation to rob a bank. The main difference between this and other bank-robbing gangs, however, is that all five men are blind.
- DirectorFred WilliamsonStarsFred WilliamsonCharles WoolfTracy ReedCrowder is a man who will do anything, if the price is right. He is a private detective with a past in the police force. A woman comes to his office one day and asks if he will find her husband. He takes the mission, but soon he gets into a lot of trouble with some gangsters.
- DirectorLarry CohenStarsFred WilliamsonGloria HendryArt LundRaised in Harlem, Tommy Gibbs becomes a successful mob boss but he clashes with the rival Mafia and his old enemy, dirty cop McKinney.
- DirectorLarry CohenStarsFred WilliamsonJulius HarrisGloria HendryA gangster in Harlem must rescue his ex-wife, who has been kidnapped by the Mafia.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsJohn TravoltaUma ThurmanSamuel L. JacksonThe lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.
- DirectorBruce BrownStarsTim TaylorKurt MatthewsJerry CummingsThree brothers use legal and illegal methods to make it out of their drug-infected neighborhood.
- DirectorRon SheltonStarsKurt RussellVing RhamesScott SpeedmanA robbery homicide investigation triggers a series of events that will cause a corrupt LAPD officer to question his tactics.
- DirectorRick RubinStarsDarryl McDanielsDaniel SimmonsJam Master JayLegendary hip-hop group Run-D.M.C. stars in this cross between a blaxploitation film and a spaghetti western. They must find and punish the evil drug lord-record company executive who murdered their friend. Along the way, they encounter racist bikers, blonde bimbos, and the Beastie Boys!
- CreatorPaul T. ScheuringStarsDominic PurcellWentworth MillerAmaury NolascoA structural engineer installs himself in a prison he helped design, in order to save his falsely accused brother from a death sentence by breaking themselves out from the inside.
- StarsT.K. CarterKhandi AlexanderSean NelsonChronicles a West Baltimore family living in poverty on the front lines of America's drug war.
- DirectorBill DukeStarsForest WhitakerGregory HinesRobin GivensA gangster's girlfriend flees to Harlem with a trunkload of gold after a shootout, unaware that the rest of the gang are on her trail.
- DirectorGene MitchellStarsDavid AmosDavid ProvalGene MitchellThe story of Michael Moore, Shot, Hooker, Joey and Dennis: five gangsters who work for a man named Leo.
- DirectorDavid DanielDamon DashStarsKevin HartBeanie SigelMemphis BleekPaper Soldiers follows an overeager rookie burglar named Shawn (Kevin Hart) through the ups and downs of his short, stressful career. Already on parole but faced with the power being turned off and his child forced to eat nothing but cereal, Shawn convinces an older thief Will (Derrick "Capone" Lee) to train him. He soon finds himself caught between his angry girlfriend Mo'Nique (Tiffany Withers), his incompetent would-be-criminal friends Birdie (Derron "Smokey" Edington) & Johnny (Paul Sado), his parole officer (Angie Martinez) and his neighborhood sociopath with a hair-trigger temper Stu (Beanie Sigel).
- DirectorOssie DavisStarsPaul WinfieldCarl LeeDavid DowningFour Vietnam Vets go to war against the drug dealers and pimps of Harlem.
- DirectorBilly WrightStarsShannon LuckeyMichael GillettCynthia BerryBased on a true story about ""the Bloods"" and ""the Crips."" Featuring bonus interviews and live footage of Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G.
- DirectorBrian GrantStarsEric RobertsJoe PantolianoTia CarrereA seedy night-club owner recruits eight violent gangsters for an elaborate heist. But when they all begin to compare notes, they find they're pawns in a dangerous game of double-cross.
- DirectorClay ValentiStarsBrandon PriceChar ClayBen FarrA modern day, urban "Rebel Without a Cause" centering around a high school kid who tries to save his childhood sweetheart from the world of drugs.
- DirectorBrad FurmanStarsJohn LeguizamoTyrese GibsonRosie PerezAfter he's shot during a heist in East L.A., an armored truck driver wrestles with rehabilitation and tracking down the man who committed the crime.
- DirectorJennifer MarcheseStarsKenya MooreSticky FingazTami RomanExotic dancer Passion and her two dancing friends, Midnight and Sunshine, find themselves running a car theft ring when Passion's auto-stealing brother, Toby, gets into trouble with his mob boss.
- DirectorBen RamseyStarsMichael Jai WhiteJulian SandsEamonn WalkerIn Los Angeles, an ex-con takes the underground fighting world by storm in his quest to fulfill a promise to a dead friend.
- CreatorAnn DonahueCarol MendelsohnAnthony E. ZuikerStarsGary SiniseCarmine GiovinazzoHill HarperForensic scientists and investigators of the New York City Police Department unveil the circumstances behind mysterious and unusual deaths.