Television series
Scrublands
- Crime
- Investigative journalism
- Drama
- Very dark
A fractured Australian mystery where a journalist returns to a drought-stricken town to revisit a mass shooting at a church—only to discover the official story is a lie. Scrublands is tense, atmospheric crime drama with a deliberate pace and genuine uncertainty about what actually happened. For viewers who want their mysteries solved by shoe-leather reporting, not lucky deductions.
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MINDHUNTER2017
Two FBI agents develop criminal profiling by interviewing imprisoned killers. Like Scrublands, it's methodical and atmospheric, prioritizing psychological insight over action. The small-town unease translates perfectly.
But Glacially paced. If you need plot momentum or tidy resolutions, this will feel like watching paint dry.
The Outsider2020
A detective investigates a murder in a small Southern town where the evidence points to an impossible suspect. Shares Scrublands' slow-burn investigation, isolation, and willingness to unsettle you with ambiguity about what's real.
But Depends on Stephen King's darker impulses. Some threads feel deliberately obscure, and the ending divides people sharply.
Mare of Easttown2021
A small-town detective hunts a murderer while her own life fractures. Like Scrublands, it trusts you to follow a complex investigation without spoon-feeding. Exceptional ensemble and a real sense of place and weight.
But Kate Winslet's character can feel repetitive in her bleakness. If you need lighter moments, it's relentlessly grim.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Scrublands
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
The Broken Circle Breakdown2012
Both use investigative structure to overturn what seemed settled. Both are fascinated by how people construct false versions of events to survive.
A metalhead and a folk singer fall in love and raise a daughter in rural Belgium. When tragedy strikes, the film cuts between past and present to reveal what really happened. Like Scrublands, it's a mystery about how communities and families conceal truth, and it uses structure—not exposition—to undo a false narrative.
But Heavy subject matter: child death and family devastation. The non-linear storytelling requires active watching; it won't hold your hand.
More like this (7)
The Fall2013
A profiler tracks a serial killer across Belfast while their personal lives deteriorate. Shares Scrublands' interest in how investigation warps everyone involved, and the same taut, intelligent dialogue.
But Relies heavily on its two leads. If Stella Gibson or Paul Spector don't grip you, the rest won't carry it.
Broadchurch2013
A child is murdered in a picturesque English village; two detectives clash while the community turns hostile. Identical DNA to Scrublands: isolated setting, the investigation itself as the real story, nobody trustworthy.
But Becomes increasingly soap-operatic as secrets pile up. Some resolutions feel character-driven rather than logical.
Gracepoint2014
American remake of Broadchurch with David Tennant investigating a murder in a California coastal town. Same locked-room mystery structure, similar sense of paranoia and complicity spreading through a community.
But Lives in Broadchurch's shadow and doesn't improve on it. Feels like a photocopy where the original worked better.
The Staircase2022
A man accused of murdering his wife claims she fell down the stairs. Methodical legal thriller with the same obsessive need to pick apart competing narratives and unreliable certainty about guilt.
But Documentary source material means it sprawls. The real case's ongoing nature leaves it structurally messy.
Rectify2013
A man freed from death row returns to a small Southern town where everyone assumes his guilt. Quiet, literary crime drama interested in how truth lives alongside belief and how communities wound each other.
But Deliberately slow. Plot takes back seat to character study and regional atmosphere; some find it underpaced even by cable standards.
Prisoners2013
Both examine how investigation becomes obsession, and how communities split between those hunting answers and those protecting themselves.
A father takes justice into his own hands when his daughter vanishes. Denis Villeneuve's masterpiece about how desperation twists investigation and certainty becomes a weapon. Shares Scrublands' interest in how the hunt for truth corrodes everyone it touches.
But Brutally dark and morally queasy. You will watch a good man do terrible things, and the film doesn't soften it for comfort.
The Killing2011
Both are Scandinavian/Australian crime shows that treat investigation as a form of moral reckoning, not just plot mechanics. Both believe the landscape and the community are characters.
A Danish detective investigates a murdered girl while a politician's career implodes around her. Deliberately paced, authentically wintry, and absolutely committed to the idea that how you search matters more than what you find. Twenty episodes of pure investigation.
But Not a short commitment. The slow burn is the entire point; if you need speed, you'll resent every episode. Also: relentlessly bleak.
People
Cast
Production
- Amanda DuthieExecutive Producer
- Andy RyanExecutive Producer
- Cailah ScobieExecutive Producer
- Michael HealyExecutive Producer
- David RedmanProducer
- Felicity PackardProducer
- Ian CollieProducer
- Rob GibsonProducer