Hannibal and 3 more crime dramas to watch for free on Pluto TV

Crime dramas are great to tune into all year round but there's something about watching them in the fall, as the air turns crisp and it gets colder, that makes you want to always have one on deck when the mood suits. Broadcast is good for that because any given weekday you can expect a new episode of some procedural whether its CBS' NCIS shows, NBC's The Irrational, ABC's High Potential, or FOX's Murder in a Small Town.

But what about the weekend? What if you want to watch a new to you series or revisit an oldie but a goodie without having to subscribe to yet another streaming service? Well, that's where Pluto TV comes in! The free, ad-supported platform is accessible online and via app. While they do have crime drama channels to tune into that run marathons of some of the most popular series to air, you can also watch select seasons on-demand.

Below, I've compiled a small list of shows to watch whose full runs are available to stream for free to get you started.

Hannibal

You may have missed this gem when it was airing on NBC from 2013-2015 but if you're looking for the psychological horror brand of crime drama then Hannibal is a series you need to watch. The show follows Will Graham, an FBI profiler who has been recruited by Jack Crawford, the head of the Behavioral Science unit, to assist their investigation into a serial killer terrorizing Minnesota.

It's a harrowing experience for Will so Crawford enlists the help of Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a forenseic psychiatrist, who also happens to be a serial killer and a cannibal though no one knows about that part of his hidden life. The series spirals into a dangerous cat-and-mouse game as Hannibal tries to throw the FBI off his scent while still making bold kills and pushing Will's psyche to the brink.

Rizzoli & Isles

If you're looking for something comparatively lighter than Hannibal then you'll want to give Rizzoli & Isles a whirl. The crime drama, which ran from 2010-2016, follows detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles. They're like night and day with Jane having the tough brashness one would expect from the Boston PD's only female cop working homicide and Maura who can be as cold as her style. Together, however, they're an unbeatable duo that can lean on each other during hard times. When Boston has a complex case to solve, you definitely want these best friends on it.

Without a Trace

Fans of Alert: Missing Persons Unit will likely enjoy Without a Trace. The procedural centers on the FBI's Missing Persons Squad that works out of New York City. The series aired from 2002-2009 so the advanced psychological profiling techniques on display may seem dated but they're the methods used to determine what the team is looking at during a case. Has someone really been abducted? Have they rune away or is something else going on like a murder or a suicide? Day in and day out this is the MPS' sole task and it can make the difference between a missing person being brought home or being lost in the wind.

Midsomer Murders

Midsomer Murders started its run in 1997 and is still going. Pluto TV has 22 seasons of the mystery crime drama since the 23rd and 24th series came out this year. The show is about murder cases in Midsomer, an English county, and its first lead was Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby before his cousin John Barnaby succeeded him. With a mixture of whimsy, dark comedy and, of course, the thrills and chills of murders taking place in small villages, this series is good if you're looking to make your way through a long-running program.

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