5 shows like 'Duster' to watch after the season 1 finale

Tom's Guide

05-07-2025

Created by science-fiction wunderkind (well, depending on who you ask) J.J. Abrams, "Duster" just wrapped up its first season on HBO Max with a banger of a finale that left a lot of room for more story, if the streaming service orders season 2.
The crime thriller is an entertaining, action-packed ride that stars Josh Holloway as Jim Ellis, a getaway driver in 1970s Southwest America who gets pulled into a risky alliance with ambitious FBI agent Nina Hayes (Rachel Hilson). Her target: his boss Ezra Saxton (Keith David), the untouchable head of a sprawling criminal enterprise.
Filled with tons of action and good old-fashioned detective work, "Duster" made for an exciting genre entry. While you wait to hear about season 2, here are some other great shows like "Duster" to watch next.
Set against the same 1970s Southwestern backdrop as "Duster," "Dark Winds" is another great crime drama to sink your teeth into. It focuses on three officers of the Navajo Tribal Police in their efforts to keep the peace in a community that has been thoroughly neglected by the U.S. government, to the extent that they are beginning to see the rise of extremist groups.
Based on a novel series by Tony Hillerman, "Dark Winds" cultivates a unique atmosphere that makes it a perfect watch for fans of psychological thrillers. AMC has aired three seasons, and a fourth season has been ordered.
Watch seasons 1-2 on Netflix and all 3 seasons on AMC Plus
We love a crime drama with a no-nonsense police woman desperately trying to take down the bad guys in her community. While Nina attempts to bust the leader of a local crime syndicate in "Duster," Mare (Kate Winslet) in Mare of Easttown is committed to investigating the murder of a local teen.
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And there's no easy way to say this, but Mare's been going through a lot as we start off the show. She's recently divorced, her son died by suicide, she's embroiled in a custody battle with her late son's girlfriend for custody of her grandson, and public confidence in her abilities as a detective is at an all-time low, since another girl from their community has been missing for a year.
And yet, Mare perseveres. With a stunning lead performance from Winslet, "Mare of Easttown" is an all-time great limited series.
Watch on HBO Max
Although "Godfather of Harlem," as the name suggests, takes place in New York City, some 3,000 miles away from the setting of "Duster," it features a similar crime lord as we see in Keith David's Saxton.
Based on a true story, it stars Forest Whitaker as Bumpy Johnson, who, after serving 10 years in prison, returns home to Harlem in the early 1960s and goes toe-to-toe against the Italian mob to regain control of his old neighborhood.
"Godfather of Harlem" received positive reviews from critics and ran for four seasons on MGM Plus. The fact that it was on this network rather than one with a bit more cachet among viewers is likely the cause of its lack of name recognition, but rest assured, it's a great watch.
Watch on MGM Plus and seasons 1-3 on Hulu
If you had told us 20 years ago that one of the best ever crime dramas on television would star Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey, we wouldn't have believed you. And yet here we are.
The noirish, downbeat "True Detective" is a classic in its genre, revolving around two Louisiana policemen returning to a murder case that they had initially investigated 17 years earlier.
With strong performances from both Harrelson and McConaughey, a moody production design, and a thoroughly compelling narrative, the first season of "True Detective" was one for the books. Although the anthology series couldn't live up to its legacy in later seasons, it still deserves credit for reinvigorating the genre on television.
Watch on HBO Max
When we look at crime dramas, nine times out of ten, they're tied up in some kind of drug trafficking situation. After all, this isn't the Old West, and no one's out here robbing stagecoaches anymore.
That's certainly the case in "Hotel Cocaine," a stylish throwback to 1970s Miami, where cocaine was king. It stars Danny Pino as Roman Compte, a Cuban immigrant who runs the Mutiny Hotel, an establishment known for being a revolving door of drug lords, CIA operatives, and politicians.
But Compte winds up in over his head when he's courted by both his family in the drug world and government agents who want him to work as a double agent. The guy's just trying to run a hotel, you know?
Watch on MGM Plus