12 Best TV Shows Like Untamed

Eric Bana is the kind of actor whose talent is undeniable, but who rarely seems to appear in acclaimed projects. That all changed in 2025 when Bana (who played the most dangerous villain in “Star Trek” history) starred in the crime drama “Untamed.” Airing on Netflix, the series hailed from co-creator and writer Mark L. Smith, best known for penning films like “The Revenant,” “Twisters,” and “Overlord.”

“Untamed” is set among the vast region of wild lands that make up Yosemite National Park in California. Bana stars as Kyle Turner, a special agent of the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch, tasked with solving crimes that occur in the territory. Turner is fighting his own battle, however — still grieving over the death of his son — when a dead body turns up at the bottom of the rock summit known as El Capitan.

With the help of a fresh-faced ranger named Naya Vasquez (Lily Santiago), Turner must conquer his demons to solve a murder and earn redemption. But in doing so, he’ll open a bigger can of worms, as the murder turns out to be part of something much more sinister. A tremendous hit on Netflix, “Untamed” is among the best dramas of the year, and if you’ve just wrapped it up, you might want something new to watch next. So here are the 12 best shows like “Untamed” for you to queue up.

Beyond the murder mystery in “Untamed” is the story of a man haunted by his past and still struggling to come to terms with a devastating personal loss. He throws himself into his work, and when a new case falls on his proverbial doorstep, he uses it to find a measure of redemption. This is the same story at the heart of “Mare of Easttown,” the 2021 series starring Academy Award winner Kate Winslet, about a Philadelphia-area detective out to solve a mysterious murder.

Mare lives in a small community on the outskirts of the city, and like Kyle Turner, she is dealing with guilt and shame over the death of her son, who took his own life. At the same time, she’s fighting her son’s dissolute girlfriend over custody of their child, even as her own marriage is falling apart. But Mare is also contending with the community’s increasing lack of faith in her abilities, after she was unable to find a missing person a year earlier. When a teenage mother is killed in a new case, Mare hopes to dive headfirst into the investigation and find redemption, both personal and professional, if she can capture the killer.

A sobering drama and thrilling murder mystery, “Mare of Easttown” is in many ways the same story as “Untamed” but in a small suburban community rather than the wilds of a National Park. 

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In “Untamed,” Yosemite’s more than 1,100 square miles of territory is a breeding ground for crime, which is just one reason why the murder mystery is so compelling. With so much potential for unsolved murders, a National Park would be the perfect setting for a police procedural. If that sounds appealing, try out “Joe Pickett,” one of the most underrated shows of 2023, based on the thriller novels by C.J. Box.

Set in the backwoods of Wyoming surrounding Yellowstone National Park, “Joe Pickett” is a gritty modern Western about a different kind of lawman (Michael Dorman) who is also trying to escape a troubled past. He’s the new game warden in the region, and he’s tasked with investigating everything from illegal hunting to corruption, crime, and murder. But he’s not the swift, fist-first justice-bringer you might expect from a hero in a cowboy hat; instead, he’s a more ordinary man, one who would rather talk down his enemies than go in guns blazing.

Thanks to its varied stories, “Joe Pickett” provides a broader canvas to explore the undeveloped lands of a National Park and all the dirty deeds that criminals commit on their grounds. A second season introduced a serial killer storyline, making it the perfect companion to “Untamed.” 

While America might be famous for its uncultivated lands, it’s not the only area where murders occur in open stretches of wilderness. To that end, we recommend 2013’s “Top of the Lake,” one of the best crime dramas with a strong female lead. The series stars Elizabeth Moss as Robin Griffin, an Australian homicide detective who returns to her childhood hometown in New Zealand to tackle a mystifying case of a young girl who walked into a frozen lake, never to be seen again.

Haunted by her past in this backwater town, Griffin is further disturbed to learn that the young girl who disappeared had been pregnant. But her investigation is complicated by the community’s dark history, and her investigation begins to stir up hidden secrets among the townsfolk. At the same time, Griffin also reunites with a former flame, a man who has spent years in prison but is now a free man. While struggling with the memories her investigation dredges up, she suddenly finds herself on a collision course with a broader conspiracy involving a local crime family.

Another series with a top-tier cast that includes Peter Mullan, Holly Hunter, and David Wenham (while Nicole Kidman appears in Season 2, subtitled “China Girl”), “Top of the Lake” is a British crime drama at its very best, with grisly crimes and disturbing themes, making it a fine international counterpart to “Untamed.”

The story behind “Untamed” is more than the murder; It’s Kyle Turner’s search for his soul. He’s followed by the pain of his past, using it to fuel his pursuit of a murderer and uncovering disturbing truths along the way. That’s also the premise of “Broadchurch,” with “Doctor Who” star David Tennant trading in his cosmos-traveling police box for a police badge as embattled detective Alec Hardy.

“Broadchurch” begins with the murder of a young boy and no obvious suspects. Local police investigator Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman) is confounded, but she soon gets help when Hardy arrives in town, a well-known cop who failed to catch a killer in a previous, high-profile case. Now he’s looking to make up for his past by getting to the bottom of the young boy’s murder, but to do it he’ll have to dig into the lives of everyone in the small coastal community. And every question he asks seems to raise new ones, with nearly everyone in the community soon becoming a suspect. To find the culprit, he’ll have to turn the quiet, idyllic town upside down.

A somber detective story, a troubling murder, and a haunted detective — “Broadchurch” has everything you’d want if you enjoyed “Untamed.” And it’s not just a single story, as two additional seasons explore the fallout from the investigation and Hardy’s never-ending quest for redemption. Just ignore the terrible American remake.

Setting “Untamed” in the mountains and forests of a sprawling American National Park gives the series a unique flavor and allure, with its murder occurring far away from the big city. If that’s what you’re looking for, there are quite a few stories with similar settings, and the French series “The Forest” is at the top of that list.

Not to be confused with the 2017 horror film of the same name, “The Forest” — or “La forêt” in its native tongue — is a thriller that kicks off with an unsettling murder in a small village on the outskirts of the Forest of Ardennes in Belgium, where the body of a dead teenage girl is discovered. Outsider Gaspard Decker (Samuel Labarthe) takes up the case, and he’s joined by a local policewoman named Virginie Musso (Suzanne Clément). They both get help from a local school teacher, Ève Mendel (Alexia Barlier), who remains deeply affected by a traumatic incident in the same forest years earlier.

As the case proceeds, the three investigators begin to uncover a web of teenage drama that leads to an unexpected suspect. But revelations about the young girl who disappeared, and her disturbing connection to one of the investigators, complicate the case. Dark secrets, a murder in the woods, and an investigative team with their own past traumas — there’s nothing more you could want in a series after watching “Untamed.”

Like “Joe Pickett,” the crime drama “Big Sky” is a procedural series, and like “Untamed,” it’s set in wide open wilderness country — in this case, the titular Big Sky region of Montana. And also like “Joe Pickett,” it’s based on the work of author C.J. Box, and follows a group of investigators on the trail of various criminals causing chaos in the territory.

Unlike other shows on this list, “Big Sky” is an ensemble, with a cast that includes Ryan Phillippe, Logan Marshall-Green, and Jensen Ackles (whose presence led to a slew of “Supernatural” references). The series begins with an investigation into a series of kidnappings that are occurring along a lonely stretch of highway. As the case unfolds, it becomes apparent that there’s more going on than a serial kidnapper at work. Before long, the investigation reveals a deeper world of murder, betrayal, and dark secrets, some of which touch the very men and women tasked with finding the truth.

A flashier story that borders on a family epic, “Big Sky” is something a bit different, a bit more fast-paced, with plenty of big action and high-caliber violence. But its regional setting, cast of dedicated investigators, and a crime that exposes deeper secrets make it perfect for fans of “Untamed.” 

A series focusing on the investigative efforts of the Navajo Tribal Police, you might think “Dark Winds” comes from the mind of “Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan, who’s been applauded for creating Native American stories. But it’s actually based on a series of crime novels by author Tony Hillerman, and with Robert Redford and George R.R. Martin as producers, there’s plenty of big talent behind the scenes. Plus, with its remote setting and a team of investigators who are often struggling for resources, it has a lot in common with “Untamed.”

The neo-Western crime drama is set in the 1970s in the Colorado Plateau, in a region colloquially referred to as the Five Corners, where numerous Native American tribes live side by side. The series centers on Navajo Tribal Police officer Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon), who is tasked with investigating a string of grisly murders that he believes could be connected to a recent armored truck heist. Among his team is officer Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon), who is hiding the fact that he’s actually an undercover FBI agent.

Operating in a unique area of the American West with its own rules, Leaphorn dives into a different case each week, but it’s more than just a run-of-the-mill procedural. The series also boasts a unique mystical side, exploring the spirituality of the Native American tribes. It’s a very different series from “Untamed,” but one with enough of the same touchpoints to satisfy fans of the latter.

Like “Untamed,” “The Sinner” is a crime drama series with a big Hollywood movie star as its lead. But it has more in common with the Eric Bana series than the presence of Bill Pullman, because its lead investigator is a man haunted by his past while investigating murders and other heinous crimes in a remote region. 

Another weekly procedural, “The Sinner,” is set in upstate New York and revolves around police detective Harry Ambrose, whose specialty is cases involving the unusual. But what makes the series different is that it’s not really a whodunit mystery. Instead, the culprit is identified fairly early in each story, with the remainder of the case delving into the killer’s motives and psychological profile. Ambrose isn’t just a cop looking to catch crooks, he’s a worn-down investigator who wants to understand why the killers do what they do.

A riveting suspense series that puts a focus on the inner turmoil of its characters, “The Sinner” sees Ambrose untangling a web of lies to get to the truth. Often, that leads to the discovery of a wider conspiracy, or unexpected new suspects that you’d never see coming. Like “Untamed,” it’s the lead investigator that makes the series so captivating, with Pullman giving a Bana-like performance as the beleaguered Harry Ambrose.

A Canadian production, “Cardinal” is likewise set in the sprawling, remote wilderness of the Great White North, in the fictional town of Algonquin Bay. The setting is reminiscent of the Yosemite region in “Untamed,” but being Canada, it’s a snowy, bitterly cold locale, which makes solving a murder that much more difficult. Based on a series of novels by writer Giles Blunt, each of the show’s four seasons adapts a different story. With each told across six episodes, it ultimately dramatizes five of the six books in the series.

“Cardinal” stars Billy Campbell of “The Rocketeer” as Detective John Cardinal, who hasn’t worked a homicide in years after failing to solve the disappearance of a missing indigenous girl. But when the girl’s body is discovered, Cardinal is reassigned to the case alongside Detective Lise Delorme (Karine Vanasse). When another body is found, Cardinal links the two cases and comes to the conclusion that there’s a serial killer on the loose. But what Cardinal doesn’t know is that Delorme isn’t just his partner in the investigation — she’s also been assigned to monitor him as part of an internal police corruption probe.

A police drama with a twist, “Cardinal” is very much like “Untamed,” with the lead detective tormented by his past, and a sinister murder that quickly becomes a part of something much bigger — and more complicated — than it first appears.

If you’re looking for a series with a troubled investigator, sink your teeth into “Dept Q.” The lead cop, Detective Carl Morck (Matthew Goode), is a man so unsettled that he is forced to see a therapist as a condition of his return to work. His past is a complicated one: He’s been considered one of the best detectives around, but on his last case, everything went wrong. After confronting a suspect, Morck was gravely injured in a chaotic shooting incident that led to the death of a fellow officer and left his own partner, James Hardy (Jamie Sives), paralyzed.

Returning to work, Morck is not his usual self and still affected by the shooting. But while he wants to get back to work on the latest high-profile cases, he’s instead relegated to a new unit called Department Q, a task force of one that focuses on cold cases. With few resources and little support from the rest of the force, Morck sets out to investigate a stack of decades-old crimes that many believe cannot be solved. But with the help of a former Syrian policeman named Akram Salim (Alexej Manvelov), Morck begins to work his way through the backlog thanks to his uncanny ability to get to the truth.

Based on a series of novels by Danish writer Jussi Adler-Olsen, “Dept. Q” was created by “A Queen’s Gambit” showrunners Scott Frank and Alan Scott. Like “Untamed,” you’ll see how a murder investigation can help rehabilitate a detective struggling with his difficult past.

In “Untamed,” your eyes were likely glued to the screen as new clues and emerging evidence began to connect and make sense as a whole picture. One series that is just as satisfying in the same way is “The Black Forest Murders,” a four-part German miniseries that The Guardian said was “like watching a hugely satisfying puzzle come together.”

Like “Untamed,” the story of “The Black Forest Murders” isn’t based on any single real-life crime, but inspired by two specific murders that occurred in 2016 in Baden, Germany. Though the series is credited as being adapted from a non-fiction book, Walter Roth’s “SOKO Erle,” its combination of multiple stories is entirely fictional, centering on Detective Barbara Kramer (Nina Kunzendorf) and Thomas Riedle (Tilman Strauss), who are trying to find answers after the body of a missing girl turns up, bludgeoned to death. A second body, and possible connections to a murder in Austria, suggest that something much more is going on than a crime of passion, and pressure from an increasingly angry public, fearful of a possible serial killer, only makes their job more difficult.

A stirring thriller with plenty of surprises, “The Black Forest Murders” can probably be easiest to find under its German title, “Spuren.” With its murder-in-the-woods story, there are obvious thematic parallels to be found with “Untamed,” while also capturing the same unnerving atmosphere.

“The Killing” focuses on the murder of Rosie Larsen (Katie Findlay), a young woman found dead in the trunk of a car at the bottom of a lake. Assigned to the case is Detective Sarah Linden (Mireille Enos) and her partner Stephen Holder (Joel Kinnaman), a troubled and often unreliable investigator. But in the city of Seattle, amidst a high-profile election for the city’s next mayor, anyone and everyone could be a suspect as every fresh clue raises new questions.

While set primarily in Seattle, “The Killing” explores enough of the surrounding Pacific Northwest to feel reminiscent of the rugged and vast wilderness of Yosemite in “Untamed.” The more important similarities between the two shows are in their protagonists: both “The Killing” detective Sarah Linden and “Untamed” sleuth Kyle Turner attempt to solve an increasingly complicated murder mystery while trying to deal with struggles both on the job and in their personal lives. A moody and atmospheric series that spanned four seasons, “The Killing” is an underrated gem from the early 2010s that’s a strong match for fans of “Untamed.”