Something kind of along the lines of Monk, Bones, CSI, Sherlock, the various Law & Orders, etc. where there’s a different crime each episode. Or even like the first few series of Shetland, where each crime takes a few episodes to solve.
Ideally, something kinda-sorta current. Like, last ten years or so? If it was on in 2007 in the US, assume I already know about it.
Mildly silly in a far-fetched kind of “how many locked-room mysteries can there possibly be in this one area” way is okay. I mean, most detective shows have a bit of that anyway.
What I don’t really want is the kind of thing that’s popular these days (understandably), where one mystery takes a whole season (or several) to solve. Or the kind of show where there isn’t even really a mystery- just a lot of cops having cop drama. Those have their place, but I’m looking for something I can watch after work, when my brain is at like 25% capacity and I don’t have the patience or attention span to invest in a whole season and want a beginning, middle, and end of a story in under an hour.
Any favorites? One more request, please- if your recommendation is available to stream and you know where, I’d love it if you would include the platform. Both for me and anyone else who might be interested. Thanks!
Elementary more or less fits the bill. It does have some “story arc” elements, and the solution to the crime of the week is sometimes treated like an afterthought in deference to the main character’s personal issues, but it was still an enjoyable show. Entire series available on Hulu and Paramount+.
Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries is an excellent show set in 1920s Australia (Melbourne). Not sure if anyone is streaming this currently.
Just started watching a series on Acorn called Suspects. It’s only a half hour with just a crime and the cops solving it – primarily through interviews. The “gimmick” is that the primary actors aren’t given a script. They’re just told the story arc, and then they’re supposed to adlib the dialog. I don’t know how many outtakes they have to do, but it works. There’s an immediacy and naturalness that makes it feel as though you’re watching a documentary. We’ve seen the first two episodes (show aired 2014-2019), and they were very sad.
If sad is not for you, Acorn also has Shakespeare and Hathaway which is a private detective duo in Stratford in the UK. Light and fluffy, but fun. Great scenery.
We’re enjoying “Foyle’s War” on Acorn. Each episode is about 2 hours and is a complete story. Set in WWII England, Foyle is a Detective Chief Superintendent (DCS) in a small police district, dealing with both locals and with American soldiers. Eight seasons.
I was going to mention Shakespeare and Hathaway, too.
If you just subscribe to Britbox, you’ll have dozens of shows that meet your criteria to choose from, including Father Brown and lots of Agatha Christie, which don’t meet your contemporary criterion, but plenty of others, like the aforementioned Vera, as well.
Grantchester starts season 8 on PBS on Sunday, June 9. It has a lot of personal drama for the characters, but there is an interesting mystery to solve every week and you can definitely enjoy it without having to pay too much attention.
Earlier seasons available with a PBS subscription or a Masterpiece subscription through Amazon or for purchase on Amazon Prime or Apple TV.
I’d recommend Psych. It very much covers your case of the week and silly criteria.
How about Only Murders In The Building?
ETA, you might also check out House. I think it comes close to what you’re looking for, except that they have a patient of the week instead of a crime of the week. Though once the patient of the week story gets predictable, you start focusing on some of the longer arcs that are woven into it. But the mystery part presents itself and gets solved in the same episode.
Another British one is Death in Paradise It’s a murder-of-the-week set on a Caribbean island. The crimes generally have a puzzle quality - how could the murder have happened if all the suspects were on a boat together? - and there is a lot of nice scenery, natural and human, to enjoy.
It’s broadcast on PBS, according to the whims of your local channel.
If you haven’t watched Jonathan Creek you’ll like it if you like this! I watched Return to Paradise and was like “hey, this is just like Jonathan Creek!”
I recently rewatched the series and it was good fun.