History Main / CrimeTimeSoap

* ''Series/{{CSINY}}'' headed into this territory as well, for a while, especially when Mac's ex-girlfriend Peyton [[TheBusCameBack returned toward the end of season 6]] and it looked like they'd end up in a love triangle with the pretty doctor he'd just begun a flirtatious friendship with.

* ''Series/{{Castle}}'': There haven't been any complicated soapy turns so far, but the focus definitely is on the private lives.

** This was possibly a reaction to ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'' and its cross-over with ''Law & Order''. Tom Fontana (co-creator of the former) noted that the Law and Order actors wanted to do more humanised, character driven shows following their appearance on Homicide. As a result, the next two seasons were something of a compromise.

%%* ''Series/AgainstTheWall''

* ''Series/{{CSI NY}}'' headed into this territory as well, for a while, especially when Mac's ex-girlfriend Peyton [[TheBusCameBack returned toward the end of season 6]] and it looked like they'd end up in a love triangle with the pretty doctor he'd just begun a flirtatious friendship with.

* ''Series/HillStreetBlues'' is a 1981s series that follows the lives of the staff of a police station in a large city and has inspired many other shows of the same genre and theme.

* ''Series/{{House}}'' started as a PoliceProcedural about chasing diseases instead of criminals. Now it's a CrimeTimeSoap about chasing criminals instead of diseases.

As a {{CrimeAndPunishment|Series}} show ages and begins to exhaust the variations of its genre, the producers will start to crank up the soap elements of the show to compensate.

* ''Series/LondonsBurning'' was a case of [[TropesAreFlexible "same trope, different emergency service"]] for most of its run (naturally enough given that series creator Jack Rosenthal got his start working on ''Series/CoronationStreet'' before going on to be the biggest name in KitchenSinkDrama), and like a lot of these examples would ultimately end up over-emphasising the soap opera storylines at the expense of its original premise, much to the fanbase's dismay.

A play on PrimeTimeSoap -- a PoliceProcedural drama that focuses as much on the complicated personal lives of its characters as it does on the crimes themselves.

As a [[CrimeAndPunishmentSeries Crime And Punishment show]] ages and begins to exhaust the variations of its genre, the producers will start to crank up the soap elements of the show to compensate.

* A notable UK example of this is ''Series/TheBill'' between 2002 and 2005, after a lengthy run as a straight PoliceProcedural and crime drama show. The shift in focus was not universally appreciated to put it mildly.

%%* ''Series/BlueBloods''
* Half the episodes on ''Series/BlueHeelers'' are not about the VictimOfTheWeek or trying to arrest the local psycho, interstate drug dealer or serial killer. They're about Dash coming to terms with having cancer, Tess fighting for custody of Hayley and Evan and Susie's relationship. In fact when Maggie and PJ became an OfficialCouple fans saw this as GrowingTheBeard and those seasons are regarded as the best.
* ''Series/{{Bones}}'' has always been a very character-driven show, focusing on their lives as much as the crime of the week. A good reminder that Administrivia/TropesAreNotBad.
* ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'' is an [[AffectionateParody Affectionate]] / DeconstructiveParody of this, portraying the cops as [[BunnyEarsLawyer Bunny Ears Lawyers]] who spend more time getting into bizarre antics then solving crimes.

* Without Brenda's [[BunnyEarsLawyer truly wacky]] personal life, ''Series/TheCloser'' is a straight-up DetectiveDrama. With it, the show crosses the line into this. It's still pretty awesome, though.

* ''Series/{{CSI NY}}'' headed into this territory as well, for a while, especially when Mac's ex-girlfriend Peyton [[TheBusCameBack returned toward the end of season 6]] and it looked like they'd end up in a love-triangle with the pretty doctor he'd just begun a flirtatious friendship with.
* ''Series/CSICyber'' had a fair amount of personal drama for a show fresh off its first season. Things didn't really change much in the show's second (and final) season, with a couple of major personal subplots, including one about one of the team suing the F.B.I. in relation to the case on which he was busted in, forcing him to join the Cyber team in the first place.

* ''Series/{{Dexter}}'' is mostly about the psychology of the murderous, duplicitous main character.
* ''Series/HillStreetBlues'' is possibly the TropeMaker.
* ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'' is arguably the most critically acclaimed example.
* ''Series/{{House}}'' started as a PoliceProcedural about chasing diseases instead of criminals. Now it's a CrimeTimeSoap about chasing diseases instead of criminals.

%%* ''Series/{{NYPD Blue}}''
%%* ''Series/RookieBlue''
%%* ''Series/TheWire'' counts as a partial example.

* ''Series/AgainstTheWall''

* ''Series/BlueBloods''

* ''Series/{{NYPD Blue}}''
* ''Series/RookieBlue''
* ''Series/TheWire'' counts as a partial example.

* ''Series/{{CSI NY}}'' headed into this territory as well, for a while, especially when Mac's ex-girlfriend Peyton [[TheBusCameBack returned toward the end of season 6]] and it looked like they'd be end up in a love-triangle with the pretty doctor he'd just begun a flirtatious friendship with.

* A notable UK example of this is ''Series/TheBill'' between 2002 and 2005.

* ''Series/{{CSI Miami}}''
* ''Series/{{CSI NY}}'' is heading into this territory as well, as of late.

* ''Series/DayBreak'' was this, with a twist: Detective Brett Hopper was framed for murder and stuck in a GroundhogDayLoop, which allows him to unravel the conspiracy one angle at a time. Still, the series revolved as much about the personal lives of Brett and his family and colleagues as it did on the mystery.

* ''Series/{{Bones}}'' has always been a very character-driven show, focusing on their lives as much as the crime of the week. A good reminder that {{Tropes Are Not Bad}}.

* ''Series/CSICyber'' has a fair amount of personal drama for a show fresh off its first season.

* ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' made its name by starting off as far more character-driven than its predecessor. While it tends to zigzag this trope, the most recent seasons play it straight.

* One could argue that this is ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''.

* ''Series/{{NCIS}}''

* A notable UK example of this is ''TheBill'' between 2002 and 2005.

* Without Brenda's [[BunnyEarsLawyer truly wacky]] personal life, ''TheCloser'' is a straight-up DetectiveDrama. With it, the show crosses the line into this. It's still pretty awesome, though.
* ''{{CSI Miami}}''
* ''{{CSI NY}}'' is heading into this territory as well, as of late.

* ''{{Dexter}}'' is mostly about the psychology of the murderous, duplicitous main character.
* ''HillStreetBlues'' is possibly the TropeMaker.
* ''HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'' is arguably the most critically acclaimed example.

** This was possibly a reaction to HomicideLifeOnTheStreet and its cross-over with Law & Order. Tom Fontana (co-creator of the former) noted that the Law and Order actors wanted to do more humanised, character driven shows following their appearance on Homicide. As a result, the next two seasons were something of a compromise.
* Following the departure of the original showrunner René Balcer after season 5, ''LawAndOrderCriminalIntent'' began to veer down this path for the remainder of its run.
* One could argue that this is ''LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''.

* ''{{NYPD Blue}}''

* ''TheWire'' counts as a partial example.

* ''Series/DayBreak'' was this, with a twist: Detective Brett Hopper was framed for murder and stuck in a GroundhogDayLoop, which allows him to unravel the conspiracy one angle at a time. Still, the series revolved as much about the personal lives of Brett and his family and colleagues as it did on the mystery.

* ''{{Dexter}}''

* One could argue that this is [[strike: what is happening to]] ''LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''.