Movies like Serpico
If Serpico hooked you with its crime and drama, these are the films to watch next. Every pick says why it matches.
Prince of the City (1981)
New York City detective Daniel Ciello agrees to help the United States Department of Justice eliminate corruption in the police department, as long as he will not have to turn in any close friends. In doing so, Ciello uncovers a conspiracy within the force to smuggle drugs to street informants.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCop Land (1997)
Freddy Heflin is the sheriff of a place everyone calls “Cop Land” — a small and seemingly peaceful town populated by the big city police officers he’s long admired. Yet something ugly is taking place behind the town’s peaceful facade. And when Freddy uncovers a massive, deadly conspiracy among these local residents, he is forced to take action and make a dangerous choice between protecting his idols and upholding the law.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInternal Affairs (1990)
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 is involved in any number of dubious or downright criminal activities. He is also devious, a womaniser, and a clever manipulator, and he starts to turn his attention on Avila.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Departed (2006)
To take down South Boston's Irish Mafia, the police send in one of their own to infiltrate the underworld, not realizing the syndicate has done likewise. While an undercover cop curries favor with the mob kingpin, a career criminal rises through the police ranks. But both sides soon discover there's a mole among them.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisTraining Day (2001)
On his first day on the job as a narcotics officer, a rookie cop works with a rogue detective who isn't what he appears.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMagnum Force (1973)
"Dirty" Harry Callahan is a San Francisco Police Inspector on the trail of a group of rogue cops who have taken justice into their own hands. When shady characters are murdered one after another in grisly fashion, only Dirty Harry can stop them.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBad Lieutenant (1992)
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.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNight Falls on Manhattan (1997)
A newly elected District attorney finds himself in the middle of a police corruption investigation that may involve his father and his partner.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrooklyn's Finest (2010)
Enforcing the law within the notoriously rough Brownsville section of the city and especially within the Van Dyke housing projects is the NYPD's sixty-fifth precinct. Three police officers struggle with the sometimes fine line between right and wrong.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDirty Harry (1971)
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.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMean Streets (1973)
A small-time hood must choose from among love, friendship and the chance to rise within the mob.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAmerican Gangster (2007)
Loosely based on the criminal career of Frank Lucas, a gangster from La Grange, North Carolina, who smuggled heroin into the United States on American service planes returning from the Vietnam War, before being detained by a task force led by Newark Detective Richie Roberts.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDark Blue (2002)
Set during the Rodney King riots, a robbery homicide investigation triggers a series of events that will cause a corrupt LAPD officer to question his tactics.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe French Connection (1971)
Tough narcotics detective 'Popeye' Doyle is in hot pursuit of a suave French drug dealer who may be the key to a huge heroin-smuggling operation.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDog Day Afternoon (1975)
Based on the true story of would-be Brooklyn bank robbers John Wojtowicz and Salvatore Naturile. Sonny and Sal attempt a bank heist which quickly turns sour and escalates into a hostage situation and stand-off with the police. As Sonny's motives for the robbery are slowly revealed and things become more complicated, the heist turns into a media circus.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisCisco Pike (1972)
A down on his luck former drug dealer is forced by a corrupt LAPD policeman to sell 100 kilos of confiscated marijuana in one weekend.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisFort Apache, the Bronx (1981)
From the sight of a police officer this movie depicts the life in New York's infamous South Bronx. In the center is "Fort Apache", as the officers call their police station, which really seems like an outpost in enemy's country. The story follows officer Murphy, who seems to be a tough cynic, but in truth he's a moralist with a sense for justice.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Onion Field (1979)
An LA police officer is murdered in the onion fields outside of Bakersfield. However, legal loopholes could keep his kidnappers from receiving justice, and his partner is haunted by overwhelming survivor's guilt.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStreet Kings (2008)
Tom Ludlow is a disillusioned L.A. Police Officer, rarely playing by the rules and haunted by the death of his wife. When evidence implicates him in the execution of a fellow officer, he is forced to go up against the cop culture he's been a part of his entire career, ultimately leading him to question the loyalties of everyone around him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisL.A. Confidential (1997)
Three detectives in the corrupt and brutal L.A. police force of the 1950s use differing methods to uncover a conspiracy behind the shotgun slayings of the patrons at an all-night diner.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe New Centurions (1972)
An idealistic rookie cop joins the LAPD to make ends meet while finishing law school, and is indoctrinated by a seasoned veteran. As time goes on, he loses his ambitions and family as police work becomes his entire life.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Border (1982)
A corrupted border agent decides to clean up his act when an impoverished woman's baby is put up for sale on the black market.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Big Easy (1986)
Remy McSwain is a New Orleans police lieutenant who investigates the murder of a local mobster. His investigation leads him to suspect that fellow members of the police force may be involved.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPride and Glory (2008)
A saga centered on the Tierneys, a multi-generational family of New York City Police officers. The family's moral codes are tested when Ray Tierney investigates a case that reveals an incendiary police corruption scandal involving his own brother-in-law. For Ray, the truth is revelatory, a Pandora's Box that threatens to upend not only the Tierney legacy but the entire NYPD.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009)
Terrence McDonagh is a New Orleans Police sergeant, who receives a medal and a promotion to lieutenant for heroism during Hurricane Katrina. Due to his heroic act, McDonagh injures his back and becomes addicted to prescription pain medication. He then finds himself involved with a drug dealer who is suspected of murdering a family of African immigrants.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Parallax View (1974)
An ambitious reporter gets in trouble while investigating a senator's assassination which leads to a vast conspiracy involving a multinational corporation behind every event in the world's headlines.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHoffa (1992)
A portrait of union leader James R. Hoffa, as seen through the eyes of his friend, Bobby Ciaro. The film follows Hoffa through his countless battles with the RTA and President Roosevelt.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMadigan (1968)
NYPD detectives Bonaro and Madigan lose their guns to fugitive Barney Benesch. As compensation, they are given a weekend to bring Benesch to justice. While they follow various leads, Police Commissioner Russell goes about his duties, including attending functions, meeting with aggrieved relatives, and counseling the spouses of fallen officers.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisColors (1988)
A confident young cop is shown the ropes by a veteran partner in the dangerous gang-controlled barrios of Los Angeles, where the gang culture is enforced by the colors the members wear.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMob Cops (2025)
A retired NYPD detective writes a book about his family's ties to the mob, igniting a firestorm between the corrupt cops working for the city's brutal crime boss and the officers trying to bring them to justice.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Like Serpico and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Serpico?
The closest matches to Serpico are Prince of the City, Cop Land, Internal Affairs.
How are movies similar to Serpico chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Serpico, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.
Are there English movies like Serpico?
Yes: Prince of the City, Cop Land, Internal Affairs.