My friend, Trung Phan asked for some international crime show recommendations. He asked for my Mt. Rushmore but, to be fair, this list is more like my Zoucheng’s Thirteen Confucian Tombs. The recommendations are based on his parameters (relatively short runs and no drop off in the quality of the writing). I suggested the following…

Blinded by the Lights (Poland – 2018)
8 episodes
Charting seven days from the life of a cocaine dealer whose perfectly organized life begins to sink into chaos while he is forced to make the most important choices in his life.

Boy’s World/Blood on the Asphalt (Russia – 2023)
8 episodes
The late 1980s. While parents fight for survival in a changing world, children fight for the territory. Two 14-year-old boys, Andrey and Marat, are seeking protection and support amid violence and poverty – and find it on the streets.

Braquo (France – 2009-2016)
32 episodes
A dark realistic cop series follows a squad of Paris cops who exist in the blurred boundaries at the very edge of the law, often using violence and intimidation to get the job done.
[Like a French version of The Shield. It goes hard.]

De Dag (Belgium – 2018)
12 episodes
A team of negotiators and special forces respond to a hostage situation in a small bank, with the events unfolding through the eyes of the criminals and their victims.

Divisao Palermo (Argentina – 2023+) – Comedy
6 episodes but ongoing
A ragtag civilian patrol squad created to improve the image of the police inadvertently put their lives at risk when confronting some strange criminals.

Farzi (India – 2023)
9 episodes
An artist is pulled into a murky, high stakes con job while a fiery task force officer embarks on a mission to rid the country of his menaces in a fast-paced, edg-of-your-seat kind thriller.

Line of Duty (United Kingdom – 2012-2021)
Each season of the show’s six-year-run offers a self-contained story so you can hop on or off at any time. But the entire run is solid.
Drama series following the investigations of AC-12, a controversial police anti-corruption unit tasked with bringing corrupt police officers to justice.

The Mafia Only Kills in the Summer (Italy – 2016-2018)
24 episodes
The story of a young boy in the city of Palermo during the roaring seventies, when the mafia was not around, officially…. (The Wonder Years meets The Sopranos)

Mr. Inbetween (Australia – 2018-2021) Dark comedy
21 episodes
Ray Shoesmith is a father, ex-husband, boyfriend, brother and best friend; tough roles to juggle in the modern age. Especially, when you’re also a criminal for hire.

River (United Kingdom – 2015)
6 episodes
John River is a brilliant police inspector whose genius lies side-by-side with the fragility of his mind. He is a man haunted by the murder victims whose cases he must lay to rest.

Snabba Cash (Sweden – 2021)
12 episodes
The lives of an ambitious businesswoman, a charming gang enforcer and a troubled teenager collide amidst a desperate and sinister pursuit of wealth.

Tokyo Swindlers (Japan – 2024)
7 episodes
A team of swindlers gets wind of prime real estate worth 10 billion yen and will stop at nothing to pull off their most ambitious scam yet.

Umbre (Romania – 2014-2019)
21 episodes
Relu, an enforcer for a small-time mob boss, struggles to keep his family in the dark about his job. The secrets Relu keeps become increasingly oppressive and the lies begin to surface.

ZeroZeroZero (Italy – 2019-2020)
8 episodes
A cocaine shipment makes its way to Europe, starting from the moment a powerful cartel of Italian criminals decides to buy it, to its journeys through Mexico, to its shipment across the Atlantic Ocean.

In addition…

4 Blocks (Germany – 2017-2019)
19 episodes
Based in Neukölln, Berlin, Toni manages the daily business of dealing with the Arab gangs and ends up wanting to leave his old life behind for his family, but as expected, it’s never that simple.
[I placed it out of the first round only because the first time I checked it out, it didn’t really grab me but when I returned and gave it another chance, I ended up loving it].

El Marginal (Argentina – 2016-2022)
43 episodes
Pastor, an undercover cop sets on a mission to rescue the kidnapped daughter of a judge by infiltrating the prison where she’s suspected to be at. Once inside he will have to learn to live by the prison’s and the inmates’ rules.
[Absolutely love this show and the only reason I didn’t include it in the top tier is because of its lengthier episode count of 43].

Slow Horses (United Kingdom – 2022+)
37 episodes
Follows a team of British intelligence agents who serve as a dumping ground department of MI5 due to their career-ending mistakes.
[Didn’t include this one in the first round because I assume you’re already familiar with the series. Also, trying to keep the episode count at a manageable 32 or fewer].

Finally, there’s The Diplomat that has shown promise over its two-season run so far. The final moments of the show’s second season give me pause, but I loo forward to seeing if they can sustain the quality of the writing in season 3.