Eccentric characters, British wit, warm comedy
2026 · 1 season · BBC
Set in the fictional village of Blossom Vale in the West Midlands during the 1970s, The Hairdresser Mysteries follows Lily Petal, a high-end London hair stylist who trades the competitive city scene for a small salon at the top of a quiet cobbled street.
2021 · 5 seasons · Disney+
Set in the fictional Arconia, an opulent Upper West Side apartment building in New York City, Only Murders in the Building follows three strangers—washed-up actor Charles-Haden Savage, flamboyant theatre director Oliver Putnam, and mysterious young resident Mabel Mora—who bond over a shared obsession with true crime podcasts, only to find themselves investigating an actual murder within their own building.
1999 · 15 seasons · BBC
Set in the fictional Sicilian town of Vigàta, Inspector Montalbano follows Commissario Salvo Montalbano, a sharp, sardonic, and deeply food-loving police chief who solves complex, often morally murky cases against a backdrop of stunning Sicilian coastline.
2005 · 12 seasons
et in Washington, D.C., Bones follows Dr Temperance "Bones" Brennan, a brilliant but socially awkward forensic anthropologist at the Jeffersonian Institution
2006 · 2 seasons · BBC
After being hit by a car in 2006, Manchester Detective Chief Inspector Sam Tyler wakes up in 1973, where he's now a Detective Inspector working under the command of the brutal, hard-drinking DCI Gene Hunt.
2024 · 2 seasons · BBC
John Taylor lives in quiet solitude, designing puzzles for a living, under the nom-de-plume of 'Ludwig'. When his identical twin, James, disappears off the face of the earth, John takes over his brother's identity in a quest to discover his whereabouts.
2012 · 3 seasons
In glamorous 1920s Melbourne, the independently wealthy and utterly fabulous Phryne Fisher sashays through jazz clubs, back alleys, and high society soirées, solving murders with her pearl-handled pistol, razor-sharp wit, and impeccable fashion sense. To the dismay of the conservative Detective Inspector Jack Robinson, this unconventional lady detective refuses to let anyone—including the police—tell her what to do.
1979 · 2 seasons · BBC
Set in an unnamed city in the West of England and filmed in Bristol, Shoestring follows Eddie Shoestring, a rumpled former computer expert rebuilding his life after a breakdown, who becomes a private detective and the "Private Ear" of local station Radio West.
2021 · 2 seasons · BBC
Annika follows the sharp, witty and enigmatic DI Annika Strandhed as she heads up a new specialist Marine Homicide Unit (MHU) that is tasked with investigating the unexplained, brutal, and seemingly unfathomable murders that wash up in the waterways of Scotland
2020 · 4 seasons · ITV
Two detectives, DCI McDonald and DS Dodds, who seemingly have nothing in common, are thrown together and forge a rumbustious friendship and entertaining partnership.
2014 · 12 seasons
Set in the fictional small North Island town of Brokenwood, this quirky New Zealand whodunit follows Detective Inspector Mike Shepherd, a country-music-loving veteran detective with a colourful romantic history, who investigates an implausibly high murder rate amongst Brokenwood's eccentric residents
2011 · 15 seasons · BBC
Set on the fictional Caribbean island of Saint Marie, Death in Paradise follows a succession of British detectives who, thrown into leading the local police force under very different circumstances, find themselves solving ingenious, locked-room-style murders against a backdrop of shimmering seas and sun-soaked beaches. Each detective brings his own quirks and quirks to the role
1989 · 3 seasons · ITV
Set in Chicago, Father Dowling Mysteries follows Father Frank Dowling, an amiable, mild-mannered Catholic priest at St Michael's parish who moonlights as an amateur detective, aided by the streetwise Sister Stephanie "Steve" Oskowski—a rather worldly nun with an unlikely talent for lock-picking.
2004 · 12 seasons · BBC
When three retired detectives are brought back to form the Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad (UCOS), their old-school methods clash with modern policing but prove surprisingly effective at cracking cold cases. Led by a determined DCI who must wrangle these stubborn, brilliant mavericks, the team discovers that you can teach old dogs new tricks - even if they resist every step of the way.
2021 · 4 seasons · ITV
Set against the stunning backdrop of one of the world's most prestigious educational institutions, Cambridge University, Professor T is centered around the eccentric, but brilliant Criminology Professor Jasper Tempest, who suffers with OCD and has a tortured past.
2003 · 3 seasons · ITV
Brought together by professional and personal heartache, two plucky ladies plant the seeds for a brighter future. Rosemary Boxer, with a doctorate in plant pathology, and Laura Thyme, a former police constable and avid gardener, discover their shared love of green-thumbness and start a gardening business.
2018 · 5 seasons · BBC
Frank Hathaway, a hardboiled private investigator, and his rookie sidekick Lu Shakespeare form the unlikeliest of partnerships as they investigate the secrets of rural Warwickshire's residents.
2023 · 4 seasons · BBC
Beyond Paradise follows Detective Inspector Humphrey Goodman who, after leaving the Caribbean island of Saint Marie, relocates to the fictional coastal town of Shipton Abbott in Devon to be with his fiancée Martha Lloyd.
2023 · 1 season
Set in Slough, Berkshire, Mrs Sidhu Investigates follows the recently widowed Mrs. Sidhu, a high-end caterer with a taste for crime and her own Indian Aunty brand of nosy sleuthing.
1981 · 9 seasons · BBC
Set on the picturesque island of Jersey, Bergerac follows Detective Sergeant Jim Bergerac, a recovering alcoholic and divorced father who works for Le Bureau des Étrangers (The Foreigners' Office), investigating crimes involving non-Jersey residents. Unorthodox and maverick in his methods, Bergerac navigates complex cases among Jersey's wealthy tax exiles and criminals while driving his iconic burgundy 1947 Triumph Roadster.
2022 · 4 seasons · Channel 4, U
A retired English professor discovers she has a knack for solving mysteries, especially when they involve literary references, and teams up with her teenage mugger to form an unlikely detective duo.
2024 · 3 seasons · U
Judith, Suzie and Becks start an investigation. To assist with official police investigation, headed by Tanika, They must suspect witnesses, and face down real danger as they work against the clock to stop the killer in their tracks.
2024 · 3 seasons · BBC
Set in the idyllic coastal hamlet of Dolphin Cove on Australia's Illawarra coast, Return to Paradise follows Mackenzie "Mack" Clarke, a golden girl of the London Metropolitan Police whose seemingly unrivalled detective instincts are overshadowed by a career-ending scandal, forcing her to return to the childhood home—and the murky past—she left behind six years earlier.
2025 · 2 seasons · BBC
Thrown together by the murder of John's neighbour, John and Janie are an odd, yet hilarious duo with opposing instincts. Every week, they get to the bottom of gripping murders, with various stunning Welsh locations providing a backdrop to their investigations.
