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- Broadchurch. 2013–2017. Olivia Colman and David Tennant play detectives looking into the murder of a young boy in this ITV series. Creator Chris Chibnall later adapted Broadchurch for American television in the Fox series Gracepoint, with Tennant back as the co-headliner.
- Agatha Raisin. 2014– With Ashley Jensen in the title role, this comedic Acorn TV mystery series has Agatha Raisin trading in a career in public relations for a new job investigating murders in the Cotswolds village of Carsely.
- Father Brown. 2013– Inspired by the short stories of G.K. Chesterton, this BBC One comedy-drama features Mark Williams as a disheveled Roman Catholic priest with a gift for crime-solving.
- Luther. 2010–2019. BBC One aired five seasons of this series — starring Idris Elba as the titular detective chief inspector mired in the darkness of the crimes he investigates — and a Netflix film continuation will start streaming on March 10.
Jun 28, 2024 · Unforgotten. From Masterpiece: This award-winning cold case crime drama follows veteran London detectives who uncover the truth behind tangled, complicated murders from the past. The deeper the ...
Nov 10, 2023 · The Poet Detective: Dalgliesh. An Acorn original, Dalgleish is based on the book series by P.D. James. Adam Dalgleish is a grieving detective by day, poet by night, who solves mysteries throughout 1970's England, with a mix of a stern demeanor and a compassionate understanding of the human condition.
- Inspector Lewis. Kevin Whately, Laurence Fox, Rebecca Front. 8,814 votes. Set in the picturesque university city of Oxford, this thrilling spin-off of the classic detective series follows the brilliant Detective Inspector Robbie Lewis and his equally sharp sidekick DS James Hathaway.
- Endeavour. Shaun Evans, Roger Allam, Anton Lesser. 10,557 votes. Embark on a spellbinding prequel to the renowned Inspector Morse, witnessing the early career of a young Endeavour Morse.
- Unforgotten. Sanjeev Bhaskar, Jordan Long, Carolina Main. 4,359 votes. DCI Cassie Stuart and DI Sunil Khan delve into long-dormant cases that have seemingly slipped through the cracks of time.
- Shetland. Douglas Henshall, Alison O'Donnell, Steven Robertson. 7,304 votes. Journey to the windswept, remote islands of Shetland, where DI Jimmy Perez navigates the treacherous waters of crime in a tight-knit community.
- Wallander
- Luther
- Scott & Bailey
- Unforgotten
- Dci Banks
- Annika
- Prime Suspect
- Endeavour
- Vera
- Shetland
Though American remakes of British shows are, more often than not, abysmal, British remakes of European shows tend to have a stronger success rate. One of those successes is undoubtedly the BBC’s adaptation of the Swedish detective series Wallander, which stars Kenneth Branagh in the titular role. A moody, dark, intricate, and endlessly compelling ...
I mean, we can’t really ignore DCI John Luther in a list like this, can we? Idris Elba’s performance as the talented, driven, and rather reckless titular London detective took the U.K. and the world by storm when it first aired on TV, becoming such a popular British export Netflix even commissioned a feature film for it. Elba’s chemistry with his c...
Created by award-winning writer Sally Wainwright (Gentlemen Jack, Happy Valley), Scott & Bailey follows the lives of two female detectives working with Manchester Police’s Major Incident Team. Excellent performances by Suranne Jones and Lesley Sharp bring the whole series together as their characters investigate brutal murders while trying to keep ...
Unforgottensees DI Sunil “Sunny” Khan (Sanjeev Bhaskar) and his partner DCI Cassie Stuart (Nicola Walker), and later DCI Jess James (Sinéad Keenan) solve various harrowing cold cases amid the hustle and bustle of London. They don’t just investigate murderers, though, but disappearances as well, and the cases unfold in undeniably surprising yet alwa...
Based on Peter Robinson’sInspector Alan Banks novels, DCI Banks stars Stephen Tompkinson as the titular detective, a stubborn and tenacious man hellbent on unraveling every single gruesome murder mystery that comes his way. Though the show’s crimes are undeniably gripping, it’s Banks’ relationships with his team of detectives that will have you com...
If you loved Nicola Walker’s performance in Unforgotten, you’ll surely love her performance in Annika as well. DI Annika Strandhed is the head of Glasgow’s Marine Homicide Unit, juggling various gruesome murder cases while trying to raise a headstrong teenage daughter at the same time. PBS Masterpiece has dubbed this a “police procedural with wit,”...
When you make a list of the best British detective dramas, you have to include Helen Mirren’s spellbinding performance in Prime Suspect. Mirren plays Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison, one of the first female DCIs in London’s Metropolitan Police Service. Slowly, despite having to constantly prove herself in a male-dominated world, she eventua...
A period piece set in Oxford and its surroundings between the 1960s and 1970s, Endeavour is one of the most beautifully shot, well-written and performed shows on this list. A prequel to the long-running and ever-popularInspector Morse, Endeavour follows the lives of Detective Endeavour Morse (Shaun Evans) and DI Fred Thursday (Roger Allam) as they ...
Vera follows DCI Vera Stanhope (Brenda Blethyn) and her team as they solve various harrowing murders across the stunning yet desolate Northumberland landscape. Vera‘s stories are soulful, touching, and memorable, intertwining well with Vera’s loneliness and workaholic nature. The series’ 90-minute runtime really allows the stories to go deeper into...
Heading even further north, Shetland takes place on the remote Shetland islands above Scotland and follows DI Jimmy Perez (Douglas Henshall) and his team as they investigate various crimes and murders across the islands. Given Shetland takes place within a small island community, the stakes are always high and personal—it’s often the case that Pere...
Mar 1, 2024 · Vera. British detective series have provided some meaty roles for middle-aged women, from Olivia Colman on “Broadchurch” to Sarah Lancashire on “Happy Valley,” and before that, Helen ...
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May 1, 2024 · Unforgotten may seem to have the standard basis of two detectives solving various cases, but the depth with which the narrative is written puts the show among the best British dramas. Detective Chief Inspector Cassie Stuart and Detective Sergeant Sunil "Sunny" Khan work as a strong team to get to the root of missing people and murders.
