Few genres combine action, suspense, mystery and character study as elegantly as the detective drama. A good detective show can take many shapes, from intense firefights and big action set-pieces, to cerebral investigations that are as much about the detectives themselves as they are about the cases they investigate.
If you’re looking for a great new detective show to watch, look no further. From classic procedurals to modern-day prestige dramas, both popular and niche, foreign and domestic, cozy and gritty, with both male and female leads, the following list contains a wide variety of great detective shows to watch when you’re out of ideas.
1
‘Deadloch’ (2023)
Prime Video
Deadloch is an Australian dark comedy crime series that takes place in the sleepy Tasmanian town of the same name. The show follows Senior Sergeant Dulcie Collins (Kate Box) and Detective Eddie Redcliffe (Madeleine Sami) as they investigate a string of mysterious murders that take place in the seaside community. It’s not only full of twists and turns that’ll keep you guessing the identity of the serial killer right up until the very end, it’s also genuinely hilarious.
Redcliffe and Collins are, in typical buddy cop fashion, polar opposites. Collins, a local police officer, is not only friends with the locals, she’s very by-the-book. Redcliffe is sent in from Darwin, an outsider, and doesn’t let pesky things like rules (let alone the rule of law) get in the way of her investigation. Collins is reserved and a bit on the quiet side. Redcliffe is brash and uncouth. The two go together like water and vinegar, but in the end they make a great team.
2
‘The Shield’ (2002-’08)
Hulu
Before there was Breaking Bad or Sons of Anarchy, The Shield turned our expectations for crime dramas upside down. The action-packed series follows Detective Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis), the ruthless leader of the LAPD’s corrupt Strike Team in the Farmington district (or “Farm”). The Strike Force operates out of an experimental division in the LAPD known as the Barn, and focuses on gang violence, drug trafficking and other criminal elements.
The show aired at the same time as HBO’s The Wire and both are standout police dramas, though radically different in almost every respect. Unlike The Wire, The Shield is action-packed, often violent and over-the-top, but it also has some great investigations led by Mackey’s polar opposite, Dutch Wagenbach (Jay Karnes) and his partner, Claudette Wyms (CCH Pounder). The White Lotus star, Walton Goggins, also made a name for himself in The Shield for his powerful performance as Mackey’s right-hand man, Shane Vandrell.
3
‘Blue Lights’ (2023-)
BritBox
The BAFTA award-winning police drama, Blue Lights, remains a relatively unknown police drama in the US, though it’s amassing a loyal following. The story follows a group of Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) recruits as they learn the ropes patrolling the dangerous streets of Belfast. Siân Brooke plays Constable Grace Ellis, a former social worker from England who changes careers later in life. She’s joined by Annie Conlon (Katherine Devlin), Tommy Foster (Nathan Braniff) and Shane Bradley (Frank Blake) as they find themselves thrust into a city that’s still reeling from decades of violence during the Troubles.
Each season of Blue Lights — which returned for its third season this November — tackles a different aspect of Belfast’s seedy underworld, from gangs born out of the Catholic separatist movement, to protestant Loyalists and drug cartels based in Dublin. It’s often incredibly intense, but it’s the terrific characters and their relationships with one another that make this show so special.
4
‘Columbo’ (1971-2003)
Peacock
No detective series list would truly be complete without the NBC classic Columbo starring Peter Falk. Falk plays the ever-disheveled Los Angeles homicide detective with his trademark trenchcoat, ever-present cigar and deceptively humble demeanor.
Like the recent Peacock series, Poker Face, Columbo is an “inverted mystery” show, also known as a “howcatchem”, in which the audience always knows who the murderer is, and the fun comes from watching Columbo himself figure it out, using his razor-sharp detective skills. The series featured a parade of famous guest stars over the years, from Leonard Nimoy to Jack Cassidy.
5
‘Mare of Easttown’ (2021)
HBO Max
From the creator of the recent HBO Max hit series, Task, Mare of Easttown is a gripping small-town murder mystery set in rural Pennsylvania. Kate Winslet, who won an Emmy for her role, plays Mare Sheehan, a world-weary detective whose personal life has come unraveled following a tragedy in the family and now finds herself raising her young grandson.
The series is only one season long — a second was scrapped and eventually became Task — but it made huge waves and featured an incredible cast including Evan Peters, Cailee Spaeny, Guy Pearce and many other talented actors. Fortunately, it doesn’t end on a cliffhanger, though you’ll be on the edge of your seats right up until the shocking finale. If you’re looking for a really solid murder mystery that’s also a terrific character study, definitely give Mare of Easttown a watch.
6
‘The Killing’ (2011-’14)
Hulu
The Killing is based on the Danish detective series, Forbrydelsen, and is set in the grim and rainy streets of Seattle, WA. Like Mare of Easttown, it’s very much in the Nordic noir tradition. Over the course of its first two seasons, detectives Sarah Linden (Mireille Enos) and Stephen Holder (Joel Kinnaman) investigate the disappearance of Rosie Larsen (Katie Findlay), though their relationship is fraught at best. The case is riddled with red herrings and misdirection and will keep you guessing — often incorrectly — right up to the end.
It’s also an incredibly emotional show, and I’d be surprised if you walked away without going through a box of tissues. While much of the show focuses on the detectives, a good portion is devoted to how Rosie’s disappearance affects her family and the devastation that loss brings to her loved ones. Brent Sexton puts in an especially powerful performance as Rosie’s father, Stan Larsen.
7
‘Cracker’ (1993-’95)
BritBox
Before he was Hagrid in the Harry Potter movies, Robbie Coltrane played the hard-drinking, gambling addict, Dr. Edward “Fitz” Fitgerald, a brilliant criminal psychologist working as a consultant with the Greater Manchester Police. Fitz’s personal struggles and confrontational approach make him a thorn in everyone’s side, including DCI David Bilborough (Christopher Eccleston), but his ability to peer into the criminal mind and root out the truth makes him an invaluable asset.
The show, which aired on the BBC in the early ’90s and became a major influence on later British crime dramas, didn’t limit itself to murder mysteries, often delving into troubling issues such as domestic abuse, political extremism and sexual violence. It’s definitely on the grimmer side, but Coltrane’s performance is to die for.
8
‘A Man on the Inside’ (2024-)
Netflix
On a lighter note, Netflix’s brilliant, poignant mystery series Man on the Inside manages to be both incredibly charming and a great mystery at the same time. Ted Danson stars as widower and retired engineering professor, Charles Nieuwendyk, who answers a wanted ad and becomes a mole for a private investigator whose mission is to infiltrate an upscale retirement home in order to discover the identity of a jewel thief.
The series is the brainchild of Michael Schur, whose other shows include The Good Place, Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, though we was also a writer and producer on the American version of The Office. A Man on the Inside sits shoulder-to-shoulder with these wonderful series, though it adds a surprisingly terrific mystery to the mix.
9
‘Happy Valley’ (2014-2023)
BritBox
Happy Valley is one of the greatest crime dramas ever made, and was a huge influence on Mare of Easttown. It also shares many qualities with the FX series, Fargo, which debuted its first season the same year. From creator Sally Wainwright, the police drama is set in Yorkshire’s Calder Valley and follows Sergeant Catherine Cawood — played by Sarah Lancashire, who won a BAFTA for her astonishingly powerful performance — a middle-aged police officer navigating a broken family and a city best by drugs and crime.
When criminal Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton) — one of television’s most complex and despicable villains — is released from prison, Catherine becomes obsessed with putting him back behind bars, and with good reason. What follows is an extremely tense and often disturbing cat-and-mouse tale of loss, depravity and the frailty of human nature. It is one of the best shows I’ve ever seen, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
10
‘True Detective’ (2014-)
HBO Max
True Detective has aired four seasons so far on HBO Max — if you count Night Country — but only one of these can be counted as a great detective show. The first season of True Detective, created by Nic Pizzolatto, remains one of the most disturbing yet brilliant detective stories of all time. This is in no small part thanks to the incredible performances of its leads. Matthew McConaughey plays the troubled yet brilliant detective Rust Cohle, a newcomer to the rural Louisiana police department he finds himself in. His partner, Woody Harrelson‘s Marty Hart, is a by-the-book detective with many moral shortcomings.
The two butt heads more often than not as they investigate a string of ritualistic murders across the bayous of Louisiana and uncover a vast and horrific conspiracy in the process. If you somehow haven’t watched this masterpiece yet, move it to the top of your playlist immediately. If you have, it’s never a bad time for a re-watch. I notice some tantalizing new detail or cool stylistic choice every time.
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