I am addicted to British crime drama. When the world is too much with me, I lock into the genre I know will not disappoint. Whether with an old-fashioned one-case per episode or a more sprawling multistrand story, quaint or violent, historic or modern, the birthplace of Agatha Christie understands that we all need stories that make sense of seemingly senseless acts and (usually) insist that justice be done, from city streets to windswept cliffs.
There is no better time to do this than over the holidays, when everyone needs a break from being forced to feel festive. What follows is by no means a complete list (and I’m going to assume that if you’re reading this, you know about “Prime Suspect,” “Inspector Morse” and “Broadchurch”) but a random sample from my own personal most often rewatched collection.
‘Blue Lights’ (BritBox)
A group of rookie response officers in the Northern Ireland police service learn and grow as they face street crimes that, more often than not, have roots in the not-so-distant Troubles. It has been called Belfast’s answer to “The Wire,” but it reminds me more of “Hill Street Blues.” And that’s as big a compliment as I can pay to any cop show. Season 3 just dropped.
‘Happy Valley’ (BritBox)
The always-terrific Sarah Lancashire stars as Catherine Cawood, a witty, kindhearted but extremely no-nonsense Yorkshire police sergeant who attempts to keep order in an area overrun with drugs. Still mourning the devastating death of her daughter years earlier, she is also raising her young grandson while trying to keep him well away from his biological father, convicted criminal Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton), whom Catherine blames for her daughter’s death.
‘Shetland’ (BritBox)
With 10 seasons under its belt, it’s safe to say that this series perhaps overestimates the number of murders committed on the Shetland Islands, but when the crimes are this clever and the scenery this picaresque, who cares? Based on the novels of Ann Cleeves, seasons 1-7 follow the lives and investigations of Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez (Douglas Henshall) and Detective Sergeant Alison “Tosh” McIntosh (Alison O’Donnell). After Henshall (and Jimmy) left the series, Tosh was promoted to DI and joined by DI Ruth Calder (Ashley Jensen).
‘Vera’ (BritBox)
For fans of Brenda Blethyn’s Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope of the Northumberland and City Police, 14 seasons was not enough. Rumpled, cranky and dogged, Vera and her team track down the murderers and criminals of North East England through the force of good police work (and, in Vera’s case, a signature green raincoat and hat).
‘Luther’ (Hulu)
Speaking of iconic coats, there’s a new “Luther” feature in the works at Netflix, which makes this the perfect time to watch/rewatch the exploits of Detective Chief Inspector John Luther (Idris Elba) as he battles the demons of London and his own past. The criminals he chases, including his psychopathic nemesis/love interest Alice Morgan (Ruth Wilson), are always over-the-top, wickedly mad but Luther is decidedly human. And always there to save the day.
‘Endeavour’ (PBS and Amazon)
Set amid the dreaming spires and stately domes of Oxford, this prequel to the long-running “Inspector Morse” series imagines a young Endeavour Morse (Shaun Evans)in his early years as a detective with Oxford City Police, beginning in 1965. Disillusioned by his years as a constable, the prickly, arrogant and brilliant Morse is taken under the wing of veteran Detective Inspector Fred Thursday (Roger Allam) who teaches him how to be a good cop but also a good man in a rapidly changing world.
‘McDonald & Dodds’ (BritBox)
A quirky, odd-couple series set in Bath. DCI Lauren McDonald (Tala Gouveia) is smart, quick and wildly ambitious so she is not thrilled when her undermining boss sticks her with DS Dodds (Jason Watkins) who is shy, fastidious and deeply nerdy. He is also incredibly knowledgeable and observant. The cases are clever (and occasionally socially scathing), Watkins is always a treat and it’s set in Bath so the exteriors are glorious.
‘Scott & Bailey’ (BritBox)
Created by Sally Wainwright (who also wrote “Happy Valley”), this female-gaze procedural was groundbreaking when it premiered in 2011 and it still is quite something. Under the command of DCI Gill Murray (Amelia Bullmore), DCs Rachel Bailey (Suranne Jones) and Janet Scott (Lesley Sharp) juggle complicated cases in the Manchester police department with equally complex personal lives. For those unfamiliar with the Manc accent, subtitles may be required.
‘Foyle’s War’ (Acorn)
DCS Christopher Foyle (Michael Kitchen) is one of the best British TV detectives ever written (thank you, Anthony Horowitz). A World War I veteran thwarted by his attempts to serve in WWII, Foyle is forced instead to police the homefront — namely the coastal town of Hastings, which is plagued by all sorts of crime, war-related and otherwise. A deeply researched historical drama as well as a clever crime procedural, “Foyle’s War” excavates hidden stories of the war years before moving seamlessly into the Cold War, and Kitchen is a delight, from start to finish.
‘River’ (Amazon)
In this twisty miniseries, Stellan Skarsgård plays London DI John River, a man haunted by visions of the dead, including his partner Detective Sergeant Jackie “Stevie” Stevenson (Nicola Walker) whose murder (among other crimes) he is trying to solve. The sad detective is nothing new, but Skarsgård and Walker are perhaps the most charming and heartbreaking “haunting” since “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.”
‘Unforgotten’ (PBS)
Also starring Walker (what can I say? I’m a fan), at least for the first four seasons. London-based DCI Cassie Stuart (Walker) and DI Sunil “Sunny” Khan (Sanjeev Bhaskar) investigate cold cases resurrected by the discovery of a body. When Walker left the show at the end of Season 4, Stuart was replaced by DCI Jessica James (Sinéad Keenan). With one case per season, “Unforgotten” is rich in personal, and historical, detail — both for the victims and the investigators trying to bring them justice.
‘Rosemary & Thyme’ (Amazon)
This semi-comedic and definitely cozy amateur sleuth series is perfect multigenerational viewing. Avid gardeners Laura Thyme (Pam Ferris) and Rosemary Boxer (Felicity Kendal), each having suffered a personal crisis, come together to form a landscaping business only to be continually drawn into solving crime.
‘Dept. Q’ (Netflix)
Scotland is having something of a crime-drama moment — see also “Shetland” and “Annika,” which I would have included here if it wasn’t canceled after its Season 2 cliffhanger, which is unsupportable — as this year’s “Dept. Q” proves. Based on the novels of Jussi Adler-Olsen (one of which has been made into a film), this cold-case drama stars Matthew Goode as the brilliant but troubled DCI Carl Morck. After being involved in a traumatic shooting, Morck is given a basement office, a team of misfits and the task of solving a seemingly unsolvable historic abduction. Which they do, of course, but only after a lot of fine detective work and loads of compelling character development. Season 2 is scheduled for next year.
‘The Fall’ (Netflix)
Metropolitan police DCI Stella Gibson (Gillian Anderson) travels north to help local police capture the Belfast Strangler, a serial killer targeting young women. A psychological thriller rather than a whodunit — we know early on that it’s charming family guy Paul Spector (Jamie Dornan) — ”The Fall” is a complex and at times very troubling look at misogyny, micro- and macro-, external and internal, with two great performances anchoring the whys and hows of the brutal crimes and the price paid by those who investigate them.
‘Agatha Christie’s Poirot’ and ‘Agatha Christie’s Marple’ (PBS, BritBox)
One can’t make a list like this without including the keystones of modern detective fiction. Film and television adaptations of Christie’s iconic sleuths Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple abound, but these two ITV series, which star, respectively, David Suchet and Geraldine McEwan and then Julia McKenzie, are the most comprehensive, spiritually faithful and, quite frankly, best.
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