Backstrom
Brilliant cop. Total jerk.
Created by Hart Hanson
On FOX
A character-driven crime procedural built around a brilliant but deeply flawed detective whose self-sabotage is as central to the show as the cases he solves.
Detective Lieutenant Everett Backstrom is a man with no filter. After a five-year exile to the traffic division for offensive behavior, he has returned from disgrace to lead Portland's newly minted S.C.U. Tasked with navigating the city's most sensitive and serious cases, he must solve each crime as he tries, and fails, to change his own self-destructive behavior. Based on renowned Swedish criminologist and novelist Leif G.W. Persson’s hit series of books of the same name.
Clusters
Where to watch
Questions people ask
Does Backstrom leave you hopeful? Barely. Less hopeful than 81% of series.
Is Backstrom sad? Somewhat. More sad than 66% of series.
Is Backstrom easy watching? Not especially. Less comforting than 61% of series.
Is Backstrom scary? Not especially. Less frightening than 59% of series.
Is Backstrom violent? About average. Almost exactly mid-range.
These describe how the series comes across across its whole run, compared with other well-known series. They are not a content list — nothing here was counted or checked episode by episode, so for age-suitability or specific content use a classification board or a dedicated content-warning service.
Cinnamon Score
How much this series gives you that nothing else will, and whether it delivers.
Familiar shape, done well.
How unlike any other series this one feels
How much more it delivers than it promises
How much audiences actually like it
Ensemble
Like Backstrom
Nearest across the full emotional profile.
Same Mood as Backstrom
Nearest on what's most distinctive about this one.
Like Backstrom, But Darker
Similar, pushed toward heavier and more intense.
Like Backstrom, But Lighter
Similar, pushed toward warmer and easier.
Like Backstrom, But Less Popular
Same territory, far fewer people have seen it.
