Civilians have been fascinated by the ins and outs of police work for many decades now, and there are countless television shows about cops, law enforcement, and other aspects of the United States justice system that have aired since television became a household staple. Such a large number of cop shows have aired on TV, in fact, that we are bound to have left out some great ones from this list (for a list of crime TV shows focusing on not just cops, but also private investigators, journalists, and even criminals themselves, check out Looper's 50 best crime shows of all time). There are also many awful cop shows that people have probably forgotten about.

To decide the best cop shows ever made, we looked at critical and audience scores from sites like Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb, as well as individual reviews. Also, because there are many cop shows that are now upwards of 30 or 40 years old, we thought about the cultural legacy of various series. While "Cagney and Lacey" may not be as high quality as "The Closer," for example, it has stood the test of time thanks to the legacy of its iconic police partners. And while we didn't shy away from shows that embrace TV cop tropes, we also didn't hesitate to include other series that take a more unconventional approach to their depiction of law enforcement.