Summary

• Watch the Bad Boys franchise in release order starting with the original film from 1995 to follow Mike and Marcus' action-packed adventures.
• The chemistry between Will Smith and Martin Lawrence has kept the series going strong for nearly three decades, with intricate timelines.
• Explore the buddy cop world of Bad Boys through four feature films and a TV spin-off, finding the best order to enjoy all the action.

The Bad Boys franchise has been going strong for nearly three decades, but what is the best order in which to watch these action-packed movies (and their short-lived TV spin-off)? Created by George Gallo and shepherded to the screen by producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson, Bad Boys is a “buddy cop” franchise revolving around the partnership of two Miami detectives and lifelong friends. Will Smith plays carefree bachelor Mike Lowery opposite Martin Lawrence as family man Marcus Burnett. These characters have headlined a total of four movies, but what order do they go in?

Very few “buddy cop” franchises have enjoyed the longevity of the Bad Boys series. Lethal Weapon ran for four movies, but only across 11 years. Rush Hour had three movies across nine years. It’s a testament to the popularity of the Bad Boys franchise – and the strength of Smith and Lawrence’s chemistry – that the series is still going strong nearly 30 years later. Across its four feature films and one TV spin-off, the Bad Boys series has charted a complicated timeline. What’s the best order to watch all the Bad Boys movies and TV shows?

Bad Boys Movies & TV Show In Release Order

The Bad Boys franchise began when the first film, appropriately titled Bad Boys, was released on April 7, 1995. It was followed by its first sequel, Bad Boys II, eight years later, on July 18, 2003. The series’ first TV spin-off, L.A.’s Finest, revolving around Gabrielle Union’s Bad Boys II character Syd Burnett, premiered on May 13, 2019. After two seasons, L.A.’s Finest ended its 26-episode run on September 9, 2020. The franchise returned to the big screen with Bad Boys for Life on January 17, 2020. Bad Boys: Ride or Die arrived four years later, on June 7, 2024.

Bad Boys Movies & TV Show In Chronological Order

Bad Boys

The first Bad Boys movie, released in 1995, gives detective duo Mike Lowery and Marcus Burnett an ultimatum: they have 72 hours to find $100 million worth of heroin or Internal Affairs will shut down their investigation. Mike becomes personally invested in the case when it gets one of his friends killed, and he and Marcus have to switch places to get a crucial witness to comply with the investigation. This movie introduced Mike and Marcus’ ride-or-die friendship, which has since become the backbone of the franchise.

Bad Boys II

The second film, Bad Boys II, released in 2003, sees Mike and Marcus heading up a task force to investigate a recent influx of ecstasy into the Miami drug scene. This case puts them on the trail of Johnny Tapia, a ruthless drug kingpin whose ecstasy operation has sparked an underground war between various groups of drug traffickers. Bad Boys II complicated Mike and Marcus’ friendship by revealing that Mike is secretly involved in a romantic relationship with Marcus’ sister Syd Burnett, played by Gabrielle Union.

L.A.’s Finest

L.A.’s Finest is the first TV show set in the Bad Boys universe. Union reprises her role as Marcus’ sister Syd, an ex-DEA agent now working in the Robbery-Homicide Division of the LAPD. Jessica Alba co-stars as Syd’s new partner, Detective Nancy McKenna. Being set in the Bad Boys world, L.A.’s Finest was a lot more action-packed than the average police procedural show. Besides following Syd’s life post-Bad Boys II, L.A.’s Finest had no overt connections to the larger continuity. Smith and Lawrence never guest-starred, so the series was only tangentially linked to the Bad Boys franchise.

Bad Boys for Life

The long-awaited third Bad Boys film, Bad Boys for Life, was finally released in 2020. The threequel digs into Mike’s troubled past as his ex-lover Isabel Aretas, played by Kate del Castillo, sends her son Armando to assassinate everyone involved in his father’s death – including Mike. Marcus is initially enjoying retirement, but returns to the force when Captain Howard is killed. Armando turns out to be Mike’s illegitimate son, and after the main conflict of the film is resolved, Mike offers Armando a chance at redemption by helping him with a new case he’s working on.

Bad Boys: Ride or Die

The fourth Bad Boys movie, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, released in 2024, sees Mike and Marcus investigating corruption in their own police department when Captain Howard is posthumously accused of colluding with the Romanian Mafia. Mike and Marcus are similarly framed and have to go on the run to clear their names. This marks the first time that Mike and Marcus have had to work outside the law to get to the bottom of an investigation, making the stakes higher than ever before.