I really enjoy watching Monk. I find it to be like “comfort TV” for me, nice and gentle (not gory or disturbing), and quite funny at times. I’ve seen almost all of them and would like something similar to try next. Any suggestions?
Try Psych. Similar feel: very light, funny, and focused on clever character interactions and dialogue.
I came in to say Psych, too. This isn’t a detective show, but you might like Eureka too.
Get Columbo from Netflix.
The Mentalist.
You might have some gory looking stuff when they show the dead body (I didn’t watch Monk enough to remember how much they showed) but the main character is funny and witty and quite Monk-ish
Maybe Castle?
Ellery Queen.
I’ll second Columbo. Even if you’ve seen them all it’s probably been so many years that you won’t remember them.
I’ve sometimes wondered if Monk was inspired by Columbo. He’s sort of an anti-Columbo. Columbo was a slob, Monk is a neat freak.
You might also enjoy Murder She Wrote. It’s another lighthearted detective show from, I think, the 80s. I think Hallmark might show it sometimes.
Poirot?
Definitely Castle, especially the first season. Watch it from the beginning.
Maybe The Rockford Files or Raines. You can watch them for free on Hulu.com. Not the same kind of humor as Monk, but funny nonetheless.
Life. The TV show, that is, not, like, life - that can be quite gory and disturbing. The lead character is a bit odd and philosophical and the atmosphere is always a little surreal.
This x 10. My wife and I have been working through all the Columbo episodes and they are amusing and interesting. The biggest difference is that Columbo always begins with the villian committing the crime, so the fun is watching Columbo figure out what you already know and watching the villian squirm.
It’s also fun to see the sets and fashions from the 70s and the formerly big-name celebrities doing guest spots. Hello Jack Cassidy! Hello Roddy McDowell!
Here’s Peter Falk as Columbo saying his catchphrase “just one more thing…” to George Wendt.
One thing that was cool about Columbo was that he was this poorly dressed, poorly mannered, slob who worked homicide in the ritziest sections of LA. So he was always dealing with beautiful wealthy people who never had a doubt that they could outwit this lowlife idiot cop. Of course he always won.
That might depend on the OP’s criteria for ‘disturbing.’ Some of Castle’s cases, including the first season, were - creepy.
Creepy, true, but in a “fun” way. I don’t recall any that were graphically gory, like, say, Bones, Fringe, CSI, or *NCIS *sometimes get.
I would kinda agree with Columbo, because it’s under-rated, except that as the OP is over ten years old it would have to be a rewatch.
White Collar is a good show, too. The main characters are an FBI agent and a reformed(?) counterfeiter/thief/con-man. They work together to solve and prevent crimes. It’s not quite as lighthearted as Monk, but it’s still pretty fun most of the time.
Psych and Castle are great choices, too, as others have mentioned.
I agree with the suggestions of Columbo.
But Psych, not so much. Monk was a reasonably quiet show, whereas Psych constantly screams at the viewers, at least it did the last time I was able to force myself to sit through an episode. True, it’s basically fun and lighthearted, but man I just found myself almost physically drained after it, so I gave up.
White Collar was once a nice fun, mostly lighthearted show, but they’ve gone to the dark side. I know that there will (and should) be some tension and not-quite-full-trust between Neal and Peter, but there also should always be mutual respect. That’s what makes a “buddy” show worth watching, the chemistry and respect between the two buddies. But now Neal has made a complete betrayal of every trust that Peter ever had for him. That show is now on my most hated list.