Nothing says Christmas like a kick-ass crime drama, right? Over the holidays, you might be scrolling through the Netflix menu — or another streaming platform — trying to find something, anything to watch that looks interesting. This is otherwise known as first-world problems.

That said, you may notice that your favorite on-demand service offers an inordinate list of cops-and-robbers potboilers, gangster and detective yarns, action thrillers, and related similar fictional fare.

When not direct to video or quasi direct to video, some movies are labeled Netflix (or Amazon Prime) originals, which can be an indication to keep browsing for something else.

Incidentally, the most inventive movies as well as TV shows of that general genre usually come from Europe or Asia rather than the U.S.

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Upon reading the summaries or watching for a few minutes or all the way through, however, many of the Hollywood variety, in particular, turn out to be riddled with tiresome or hackneyed tropes.

Do’s and Don’ts for Netflix Crime Dramas

If any entertainment producers or scriptwriters happen to be reading this blog, here are seven ways to make these crime dramas more entertaining and less formulaic, cliche dependent, and predictable:

  • Even though it’s fictional content, please try to make the plot even half-way plausible; someone on the production staff should function as a common-sense monitor
  • Both good guys and bad (who often are substandard marksman) should protect themselves in gunfights rather than stand out in the open to allow themselves to mowed down like bowling pins
  • The crime under investigation should NOT involve a government conspiracy, a corporate conspiracy, a serial killer, or a troubled cop or ex-cop seeking redemption
  • Said cop should also NOT be a hard-drinking, tobacco user who was previously disciplined for insubordination and has decided to move from the big city to a small town
  • Said cop should should NOT be trying to reconcile with his ex-wife and precocious teenage daughter
  • If injured in an altercation with the bad guys, the hero should stay in the hospital and fully recuperate rather than pulling out the IV and leaving the ER to continue the investigation
  • Key characters should NOT suddenly reveal information germane to the case that they had multiple opportunities in the past to divulge

Dishonorable mention: In this fundamental film felony, villains who explain their plans or confess to their crimes instead of taking care of business.

As alluded to above, filmmakers in this category could benefit from the input from a cliche cop or the platitude police before the cameras start rolling.

There may be more than seven. Check back for updates.

Update: If the premise of a feature film or a TV series starts off with “rogue CIA operative,” avoid at all costs. Ditto with a retired hitman or a hitman forced to do one last job or a short-tempered, veteran officer ordered to train a new, inexperienced partner, or any narrative that is supposedly ripped from the headlines or inspired by real-life events.