# Recommend a TV crime show **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 27, 2020, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-crime-show/854527 "2020-05-27T03:56:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-crime-show/854527/1 "2020-05-27T03:56:56Z")
My daughter loved Broadchurch and wants to see something similar. I’ll list the criteria she is looking for. You may not agree that these fit Broadchurch or you may not have seen it but that shouldn’t stop you for mentioning something you think fits. The basics, good acting good writing of course. Characters you care about. A season long crime mystery. Writing that keeps you from being able to guess who did it without the writers cheating. Preferably in English but she will do subtitles if it’s good. I have way too many streaming services so I probably have access to most shows. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-crime-show/854527/2 "2020-05-27T04:47:01Z")
Since I saw the thread title and came in to recommend **Broadchurch** , there may be something here that she likes. In recent memory I have enjoyed: **The Sinner** (Netflix) - 3 self contained series, each with a mystery for Bill Pullman’s Harry Ambrose to puzzle through. **Collateral** (Netflix) - only 4 episodes but stars Carey Mulligan and written by David Hare. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-crime-show/854527/3 "2020-05-27T05:03:39Z")
I really enjoyed **The Night Of** , which is apparently adapted from a British series called **Criminal Justice**. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-crime-show/854527/4 "2020-05-27T05:16:48Z")
There’s a UK series, that I think screens in America somewhere, called _Unforgotten_. I love this show. A new season will be out soon, too. She might like _Bosch_. Though it’s not really tonally similar to _Broadchurch_, it does centre mostly on one case through each season. _Strike_, based on the “Cormoran Strike” series by JK Rowling. It might come under a different name in the US. _Maigret_, starring Rowan Atkinson, may be a bit heavy going as it’s a grim period series set in France, but it also has the slow measured pace of _Broadchurch_. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-crime-show/854527/5 "2020-05-27T06:18:18Z")
I guess I should mention she’s 20 years old in case you are worried about recommending something adult to a 5 year old. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-crime-show/854527/6 "2020-05-27T06:19:33Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > There’s a UK series, that I think screens in America somewhere, called _Unforgotten_. I love this show. A new season will be out soon, too. > > She might like _Bosch_. Though it’s not really tonally similar to _Broadchurch_, it does centre mostly on one case through each season. > > _Strike_, based on the “Cormoran Strike” series by JK Rowling. It might come under a different name in the US. > > _Maigret_, starring Rowan Atkinson, may be a bit heavy going as it’s a grim period series set in France, but it also has the slow measured pace of _Broadchurch_. I like Bosch but I’m not sure if she would. The others sound promising I will look into them. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-crime-show/854527/7 "2020-05-27T07:38:06Z")
_Scott and Bailey_, _Blue Murder_ and _Trial and Retribution_ are some UK detective series that I’d recommend to anyone - but particularly women who like that kind of thing, since they’re all very good for strong female characters. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-crime-show/854527/8 "2020-05-27T07:52:31Z")
Endeavour - BBC. You can get it on Amazon or others. Set in mid '60s, early '70s. Great characters and acting, plus it’s pretty historically accurate with the forensics and laws they had then. Trailer: [Endeavour DVD Trailer - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISP-ulPNvGc) ---
**Author:** ![BigDfromLA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@BigDfromLA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigDfromLA)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-crime-show/854527/9 "2020-05-27T08:22:13Z")
Miami Vice is a great show to watch. It had such an eclectic mix of guest stars…athletes, musicians and a lot of big stars when they were unknown. Bruce Willis, Liam Neeson, Ed O’Neill, Julia Roberts among them. ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-crime-show/854527/10 "2020-05-27T08:39:38Z")
UK based: In the Line of Duty, has currently ran for five seasons, about police corruption by organised crime, very popular in the UK, getting a bit unbelievable nowadays but a bit of fun… ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-crime-show/854527/11 "2020-05-27T08:49:36Z")
All of the _Prime Suspect_ shows with Helen Mirren. A show from the 80s called _Quiet as a Nun_, based on a book by Antonia Fraser. It’s only three episodes, but it’s still very good. If she has not seen _Twin Peaks_, she should try it. But make sure she sees the two hour movie that is the actual first episode, and does not begin watching with “episode 1,” because that it the first one-hour ep of the regular run. I liked AMC’s _The Killing_, even though I though it was fairly obvious who did it, based on Roger Ebert’s “rule of conservation of characters.” If she is young, and has not read Roger Ebert, and has not come on this rule intuitively (as my mother did, and could therefore solve every _Murder She Wrote_ before the first commercial, even if the murder had not yet been committed), she might really enjoy _The Killing_. As I said, I did, in spite of pretty much knowing who did it. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-crime-show/854527/12 "2020-05-27T08:50:23Z")
A second vote for the very excellent [Unforgotten](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unforgotten), with Nicola Walker. Then you can try [River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_(TV_series)), again with Nicola Walker and Stellan Skarsgard. In fact, anything with Nicola Walker, and she’s been pretty busy. Would happily watch her solve the Mystery of the Missing Lid of the Toothpaste. Your daughter may also like [Line of Duty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_of_Duty). Also British and has story arcs that extend across the entire series as well as being very measured and self-contained within each season. Has a higher body count, which doesn’t always make for good TV, especially in British cop shows, but it makes up for it in really intricate plotting. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-crime-show/854527/13 "2020-05-27T13:45:10Z")
I also recommend The Killing and The Sinner. One that isn’t one story throughout the whole season but is very good is Chicago PD. My husband and I have watched Chicago Med and Fire from the beginning but had never watched PD. We started watching it during the quarantine and love it. My husband watches very few tv shows, but that is one that he has really gotten into. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-crime-show/854527/14 "2020-05-27T13:54:28Z")
> [@BigDfromLA](#): > > Miami Vice is a great show to watch. It had such an eclectic mix of guest stars…athletes, musicians and a lot of big stars when they were unknown. Bruce Willis, Liam Neeson, Ed O’Neill, Julia Roberts among them. If you want to go back that far, I really enjoyed [_Crime Story_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_Story_(American_TV_series)), from some of the same people and with some of the same visual style. Really good but only ran for two seasons, so there are only 44 episodes to watch. And I just finished Bodyguard, which only had six episodes but was really good. I also enjoyed Unforgotten. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-crime-show/854527/15 "2020-05-27T20:23:02Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > If you want to go back that far, I really enjoyed [_Crime Story_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_Story_(American_TV_series)), from some of the same people and with some of the same visual style. Really good but only ran for two seasons, so there are only 44 episodes to watch. > > And I just finished Bodyguard, which only had six episodes but was really good. I also enjoyed Unforgotten. I came in to mention Crime Story. But since it’s already been mentioned, I’ll suggest another favorite show from the late eighties, [Wiseguy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiseguy). ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-crime-show/854527/16 "2020-05-27T20:31:23Z")
I’ll go a skosh later, and recommend \*Homicide: Life on the Street. \*Not a murder mystery so much as a group of homicide detectives trying to clean up the near infinite criminal messes of early 90s Baltimore. Decent early, before Andre Braugher and Richard Belzer kept trying to win an Emmy with every episode, and I loved watching Braugher. The book it’s based on, by “The Wire” creator David Simon, is superb. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-crime-show/854527/17 "2020-05-27T20:32:09Z")
_Midsomer Murders_- there are a lot of episodes, and you dont have to worry about watching them in any kind of order. I have watched some _Line of Duty_, but so far not that impressed. _Shetland_ is very atmospheric. You do have to watch in order, each season is more or less one long investigation. For something lighter-\* Death in Paradise. \* Does not need to be watched in order. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-crime-show/854527/18 "2020-05-27T20:49:34Z")
Some of my British faves have already been mentioned so I’ll add “The Fall” if you’re looking for something gritty like “Broadchurch.” Another show I really liked was “Black Spot” it’s French but dubbed in English (the dubbing is quite good) but this show does have a slight supernatural bent to it. It’s gritty and riveting, however, and I greatly enjoyed it. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-crime-show/854527/19 "2020-05-27T21:10:22Z")
Thought of another one; [The Tunnel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tunnel_(TV_series)), a British-French remake of a Danish-Swedish programme called The Bridge. In both programmes, the first series begins with the discovery of a body, cut in half and placed precisely on the border of the two countries. There are two detectives assigned to the case, one from each country. I have not watched the Scandinavian original or the later US remake but I liked the British-French adaption quite a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-crime-show/854527/20 "2020-05-27T22:14:39Z")
[New Tricks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Tricks) (Amazon Prime) 107 episodes featuring a group of former London (UK) police officers helping a lady officer solve cold cases. Case-of-the-Week + long background arc format. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-tv-crime-show/854527.md?page=2)