The BEST episodes of Crime Story

Every episode of Crime Story ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Crime Story!

Chicago police lieutenant Mike Torello (Dennis Farina) wages an epic battle against organized crime in Michael Mann's arresting combination of cops and robbers, prime time soap, and film noir. Like Eliot Ness and the Untouchables, Torello and his Major Crimes Unit (MCU) have a formidable opponent in Ray Luca (Anthony Dennison), a young, ambitious thug who'll do whatever it takes to claw his way to the top.

Last Updated: 11/29/2024Network: NBCStatus: Ended

Femme Fatale

9.83

6 votes

#1 - Femme Fatale

Season 2 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/19/1988

A Chinese agent dupes Torello into looking for her father while she smuggles plutonium out of the country.

Directors: Jan Eliasberg, Peter Lance

Writer: Gail Morgan Hickman, Peter Lance

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Going Home (3)

9.60

5 votes

#2 - Going Home (3)

Season 2 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/10/1988

Torello and his men catch up to Luca in Mexico and force him to escape but they all get trapped inside a pilotless airborne plane.

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MIG-21

9.50

6 votes

#3 - MIG-21

Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/15/1987

A defecting Soviet pilot becomes custody of the Strike Force, which learns of plans to use him in a spy swap.

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Moulin Rouge

9.50

6 votes

#4 - Moulin Rouge

Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 1/5/1988

The Justice Department tries to deal with troubles at a new nightclub - including bombings, extortion, and racial threats - owned by a beautiful black woman.

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Byline

9.50

4 votes

#5 - Byline

Season 2 - Episode 18 - Aired 3/29/1988

Torello's writer-friend plans to take down Luca by exposing him in an article.

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Pursuit (1)

9.50

4 votes

#6 - Pursuit (1)

Season 2 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/26/1988

Torello and his men chase Luca to Mexico where they will get no help from the US Government.

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Love Hurts

9.50

4 votes

#7 - Love Hurts

Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 12/8/1987

Luca falls for an actress in a movie he is financing and discovers she is more than even he can handle.

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Protected Witness

9.40

5 votes

#8 - Protected Witness

Season 2 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/2/1988

In return for the man's testimony, Torello offers government protection to a Chicago mobster with a contract on his life.

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Last Rites

9.40

5 votes

#9 - Last Rites

Season 2 - Episode 14 - Aired 2/9/1988

After Manny is stricken by a heart attack, Luca demands that he be the first heart-transplant recipient. Max convinces Steve to put a hit on Luca.

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The Brothel Wars (aka Desert Justice)

9.40

5 votes

#10 - The Brothel Wars (aka Desert Justice)

Season 2 - Episode 17 - Aired 3/22/1988

The Justice Department must deal with crooked cops and feuding brothel owners when Pauli's prostitute-girlfriend is murdered.

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The Hearings

9.40

5 votes

#11 - The Hearings

Season 2 - Episode 19 - Aired 4/5/1988

Luca is finally brought to court on racketerring charges but the trial is postponed when a military emergency happens in Vietnam.

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Seize the Time

9.33

6 votes

#12 - Seize the Time

Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/12/1988

Torello cannot identify the source of a money-laundering operation. Clemmons reveals his suspicions about Iris's new casino partner.

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Blast from the Past

9.29

7 votes

#13 - Blast from the Past

Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/29/1987

Torello confronts his feelings for Julie when she asks him to rescue her kidnapped husband, who is a doctor forced to tend to one of his injured kidnappers.

Directors: Eugene Corr

Writer: Ken Solarz

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The Pinnacle

9.17

6 votes

#14 - The Pinnacle

Season 1 - Episode 20 - Aired 2/27/1987

Luca's greedy ploy to take over another casino puts his entire gambling empire in jeopardy.

Directors: John Nicolella

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The Senator, the Movie Star and the Mob

9.00

5 votes

#15 - The Senator, the Movie Star and the Mob

Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/22/1987

An overzealous senator outrages crime bosses by subpoenaing them to appear before an organized crime commission. An actress with a shady past falls for Torello.

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Always a Blonde

9.00

5 votes

#16 - Always a Blonde

Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/20/1987

Joey sees a former girlfriend in Las Vegas working as a prostitute.

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Shockwaves

9.00

7 votes

#17 - Shockwaves

Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/3/1987

Luca returns to Vegas with immunity to work for the US Government, causing revenge-minded Abrams to resign in frustration and Torello unable to get near Luca.

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Robbery, Armed

9.00

7 votes

#18 - Robbery, Armed

Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/10/1987

A Chicago thug, preparing for the heist of a Las Vegas casino, shoots Krychek on the eve of Torello's birthday.

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Little Girl Lost

9.00

6 votes

#19 - Little Girl Lost

Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/24/1987

An investigator searching for a man's girlfriend, who happens to be Weisbord's granddaughter, is murdered before he gives information to Torello. Luca offers a drug-addicted Abrams a position on his staff.

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Roadrunner

9.00

4 votes

#20 - Roadrunner

Season 2 - Episode 16 - Aired 3/15/1988

While escorting a prisoner and his girlfriend, Torello is trapped in the desert and stalked by corrupt lawmen who want the prisoner.

Directors: Gail Morgan Hickman, Jeff Stein, Ken Solarz

Writer: Gail Morgan Hickman, Ken Solarz, Tom Towler

Watch Now:Amazon Apple TV

Atomic Fallout

8.88

8 votes

#21 - Atomic Fallout

Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/27/1987

Torello follows a crazed killer into Mexico, unaware his quarry will lead him to an arms-for-drugs operation run by an alive-and-well Luca.

Directors: Bill Duke, Ken Solarz, Tom Towler

Writer: Ken Solarz, Peter Lance, Tom Towler

Watch Now:Amazon Apple TV

The Battle of Las Vegas

8.75

8 votes

#22 - The Battle of Las Vegas

Season 1 - Episode 18 - Aired 2/6/1987

To take over Las Vegas casinos, Luca murders the head of a resort-workers union to put his own man in the position.

Directors: Aaron Lipstadt

Watch Now:Amazon Apple TV

Strange Bedfellows

8.71

7 votes

#23 - Strange Bedfellows

Season 1 - Episode 14 - Aired 12/26/1986

Holman ideintifies Torello as a dirty cop to Breitel. After an attempt on his life, Luca takes refuge in Florida.

Directors: Francis Delia

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Escape (2)

8.60

5 votes

#24 - Escape (2)

Season 2 - Episode 21 - Aired 5/3/1988

Torello and his men save Danny from certain death while Luca is told by a top military commander that he is nothing in Mexico.

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Old Friends, Dead Ends

8.60

10 votes

#25 - Old Friends, Dead Ends

Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/4/1986

Torello confronts his new friend, now laundering money for the Mob. Federal investigators indict Luca and Bartoli.

Directors: Bobby Roth

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