Heist movies and TV shows have been a staple ever since Edwin S. Porter made The Great Train Robbery back in 1903. The film’s commercial success proved that audiences loved to watch people take what didn’t belong to them, so new productions kept coming. However, it wasn’t until the 1960s that television fully embraced the crime subgenre. ABC’s It Takes a Thief is the earliest known example of a heist-themed show, and it sure opened the floodgates. Since then, many more have been made.
The thing about heists is that they shouldn’t play out for too long. Money Heist is proof of what can go wrong if heist stories get dragged out too much. The perfect grab-and-go story is therefore short and sweet. That’s why we are proud to recommend some of the best heist miniseries out there. These shows are intriguing and brief enough to be watched in under 24 hours. Will anyone get caught? We won’t tell.
Here are the best and most satisfying heist miniseries you can binge in a day.
10
‘Thief’ (2006)
Thief stars Andre Braugher as Nick Atwater, a seasoned heist king who doesn’t feel the need to quit just yet. This time, he leads a crew in planning another high-stakes heist, but he has some major problems to navigate. One is work-related, stemming from a corrupt lawman and the Chinese mafia. Another is family-related. His stepdaughter just won’t listen to him after his wife’s death.
More Stealing, More Problems
It might not be based on fact, but it sure feels like it. This story of work-life’s cruel impact on family is heartrending. Away from that, Braugher does a great job as usual, the whole series resting on his highly expressive, smirk-conducive face. No surprise that he won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries. Check out the first episode of Thief and see if it’s worth stealing a few more hours away from you.
9
‘Kaleidoscope’ (2023)
Events in Kaleidoscope unfold over 25 years and revolve around master thief Leo Pap (Giancarlo Esposito) as he plans to steal $7 billion in bonds from a high-security vault. He wants wealth, but he is mainly driven by revenge against a former partner, who now works as a security mogul.
Start From Anywhere
You’ve seen shows like it before — there’s nothing particularly groundbreaking about its setup or the planning (though when some of the twists emerge, your pupils will dilate) — yet you’ll still be thrilled by Esposito’s acting, and the refreshing interactive kind of storytelling. Kaleidoscope’s unique structure (episodes can be watched in any order) sets it apart from the rest. On top of that, each episode is associated with a particular hue or color, giving the show a great overall artsy feel.
8
‘Hatton Garden’ (2019)
During the four-day weekend of the Easter bank holiday of 2015, four elderly men broke into an underground safe deposit facility in Hatton Garden, London, and walked away with £14 million. Hatton Garden dramatizes this wild yet true story.
What a Young Man Can Do, an Old Man Can Do Better
This meticulously chamber drama series has the barest of plots — old men plotting and carrying out their mission without a hurry in the world — but stays irresistibly hypnotic nevertheless. Besides that, the bond between the actors is so tangible, so deeply felt, that you’ll be bored by any other performance that you see afterward. Many thieves are detestable, but any viewer is likely to be sycophantic here… and even wish they had their hands on the £14 million.
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7
‘Culprits’ (2023)
- Release Date
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2023 – 2022
- Directors
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Jonathan Blakeson, Claire Oakley
- Writers
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Jonathan Blakeson, Claire Oakley
Culprits’ central character is Joe Petrus (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett), a retired thief who has found a sort of Shangri-La in America and is now living comfortably with his fiancé and stepchildren. But hell is around the corner. Three years after his last high-stakes heist, someone begins targeting members of his crew. It’s now up to him to act before his family is harmed.
A Different Brand of Justice
Created by J Blakeson (I Care a Lot), Culprits is an engrossing tale about the consequences of crime — and the great lengths to which men will go to protect their families. Nathan Stewart-Jarrett projects just the appropriate amount of Stoic gravitas and dogged determination while portraying the protagonist. The miniseries itself culminates in a haunting confrontation in a finale that you won’t ever forget.
6
‘The Gold’ (2023)
The Gold concerns the infamous 1983 Brink’s-Mat robbery in which £26 million (equal to £115 million in 2025) worth of cash, gold bullion, and diamonds was taken from a warehouse near Heathrow Airport. It was the biggest heist in history when it happened. The show thus puts us in the shoes of the lawman DCS Brian Boyce (Hugh Bonneville) as he hunts the criminals down.
Grabbing it All
It’s hard not to enjoy this deceptively simple story of a lawman whose misfortunes multiply as he tries to do his job. The visual austerity will remind you of the noirs of the old, though there’s no blatant contrivance. Nominated for Best Drama category at the 2024 British Academy Television Awards, the miniseries doesn’t lean too much on sentimentality either. The action sequences don’t play out often, but when they do, they qualify as some of television’s most dizzying master strokes.
5
‘The Helicopter Heist’ (2024)
Based on Jonas Bonnier’s novel of the same name, The Helicopter Heist recaptures the 2009 Västberga helicopter heist when a group of thieves used a stolen helicopter to land on the roof of a G4S cash depot. They then used explosives to break through the reinforced glass and took millions before fleeing.
Hitting the Source
In an era of complex caper shows, many creators aim to harken back to the simplicities of, let’s say Dog Day Afternoon. But who can resist such a real and wild story? The engrossing biopic is drenched in colors that would be mistaken for those of an artist’s palette. The robbery is neatly executed, and so is the investigation. Most of them were nabbed and sent to the clink, but the daring nature of it all will leave you awed.
4
‘The Company You Keep’ (2023)
Charlie Nicoletti (Milo Ventimiglia) from The Company You Keep is a member of an Italian-American crime family that executes million-dollar heists. Things take an interesting turn when he meets a woman at a bar and begins a passionate affair with her, unaware that she is an undercover CIA agent. What will this mean for him and the faction?
Bad…but Fun Company
The majestic and aesthetically breathtaking The Company You Keep is strong on both action and human drama. Ventimiglia is perfectly cast as a Bond-like upper-crust character who loves the prettiest faces and the finer things in life. Catherine Haena Kim is equally credible as the spy who loved him. Regarding the heist elements, the series remains consistently enthralling and comprehensive, a great pick for sub-genre lovers. Watch The Company You Keep.
3
‘Who Is Erin Carter?’ (2023)
- Release Date
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2023 – 2022
- Showrunner
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Jack Lothian
- Directors
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Ashley Way, Savina Dellicour, Bill Eagles
Who Is Erin Carter? stars Evin Ahmad as Erin Carter, a schoolteacher living in Barcelona with her husband. Questions arise when she exhibits unique combat skills while thwarting a supermarket robbery. Soon, members of the gang start coming after her. It’s further revealed that she is actually an undercover officer who once infiltrated a gang specializing in heists.
Erin is Better than You
Who is she? She is a woman you really don’t wanna mess with, alright? The high-octane miniseries is jam-packed with enough clever stuff sure to convulse the genre buffs, while packing in enough action sequences for casual audiences. Who Is Erin Carter? clicks, thanks to marvelous cinematography, excellent performances, and twists.
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2
‘Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist’ (2024)
Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist covers the execution and the aftermath of a heist that took place on the night of Muhammad Ali’s October 1970 comeback fight, after he had been stripped of his boxing license for being a conscientious objector to participating in the Vietnam War. Turns out the thieves had unknowingly robbed some powerful criminal figures.
The Stars Have Arrived
With Samuel L. Jackson, Taraji P. Henson, Kevin Hart, and Terence Howard all in the cast, Fight Night stands as one of the most star-studded TV shows to come out in a while. Consequently, the performances are marvelous. But the miniseries really belongs to Hart. This caper show is one of the comedic actor’s most appealing drama forays, as his sweet-talking, homespun personification of an up-and-coming Atlanta conman proves more enjoyable than all those briefcase-carrying city slickers. Truly underrated and deserving of more love.
1
‘The Diamond Heist’ (2025)
Guy Ritchie’s The Diamond Heist is structured as more of a docuseries, but it has enough reenactments to please the fans who prefer the director’s scripted work. The miniseries presents the true story behind the attempted robbery of a £350 million diamond collection at the Millennium Dome’s diamond exhibition in Greenwich, South East London in 2000.
Crime Gone Terrible
The Diamond Heist presents valuable lessons on how to do a heist. “Go get another job!” is the message. Most importantly, it gives law enforcement officers an idea or two regarding how to always be one step ahead of criminals. The narration is perfect, and the dramatizations are handled with the utmost cinematic flair. Richie should still make a movie about this, but we will accept the minor portion for now.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
