British crime TV
by chaosah | created - 07 Jun 2018 | updated - 17 Jul 2022 | PublicBritish crime TV shows I've watched.
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1. Poirot (1989–2013)
TV-14 | 100 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Hercule Poirot, a famous Belgian detective, who has an impeccable knack for getting embroiled in a mystery, solves crimes along with Captain Hastings and Scotland Yard Chief Inspector James Japp.
Stars: David Suchet, Hugh Fraser, Philip Jackson, Pauline Moran
Votes: 52,047
The best Hercule Poirot
2. Broadchurch (2013–2017)
TV-MA | 1,143 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The murder of a young boy in a small coastal town brings a media frenzy, which threatens to tear the community apart.
Stars: David Tennant, Olivia Colman, Jodie Whittaker, Andrew Buchan
Votes: 127,195
Great detective pairing, great story in the first season
3. Happy Valley (2014–2023)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Yorkshire-based crime drama centering on the personal and professional life of Police Sergeant Catherine Cawood.
Stars: Sarah Lancashire, Siobhan Finneran, James Norton, Rhys Connah
Votes: 64,532
4. The Fall (I) (2013–2016)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A seemingly cold but very passionate policewoman goes head to head with a seemingly passionate father who is in fact a cold serial killer in this procedural out of Belfast. The only thing they share is their common complexity.
Stars: Gillian Anderson, Jamie Dornan, John Lynch, Aisling Franciosi
Votes: 119,596
5. The Missing (2014–2016)
TV-14 | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Tony and Emily Hughes' vacation turns into a nightmare when their 5-year-old son Oliver disappears from a large celebrating crowd in Northern France.
Stars: Tchéky Karyo, Anastasia Hille, James Nesbitt, Frances O'Connor
Votes: 30,206
Season 2 actually is much better than season 1
6. Line of Duty (2012–2021)
TV-14 | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Drama series following the investigations of AC-12, a controversial police anti-corruption unit.
Stars: Martin Compston, Vicky McClure, Adrian Dunbar, Craig Parkinson
Votes: 70,132
One of the best police procedurals. Interview/interrogation scenes are especially good.
7. Grantchester (2014–2025)
TV-14 | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A Cambridgeshire clergyman finds himself investigating a series of mysterious wrongdoings in his small village of Grantchester.
Stars: Robson Green, Tessa Peake-Jones, Al Weaver, Kacey Ainsworth
Votes: 17,177
Gets a bit too soapy sometimes - but that depends on whether you like the characters.
8. Midsomer Murders (1997– )
TV-14 | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A veteran Detective Chief Inspector and his young Sergeant investigate murders around the regional community of Midsomer County.
Stars: John Nettles, Jane Wymark, Barry Jackson, Neil Dudgeon
Votes: 39,408
The earlier series especially are fun to watch.
9. Chasing Shadows (I) (2014)
45 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A missing persons unit investigate serial killers who target the impressionable and vulnerable.
Stars: Reece Shearsmith, Alex Kingston, Adjoa Andoh, Noel Clarke
Votes: 3,141
10. Father Brown (2013– )
TV-PG | 52 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
In the early 1950s, Father Brown, a Roman Catholic priest based in the fictional Cotswold village of Kembleford, uses his distinctive skills to solve various crimes.
Stars: Mark Williams, John Burton, Sorcha Cusack, Jack Deam
Votes: 14,998
Lighthearted and fun enough to watch
11. Foyle's War (2002–2015)
TV-14 | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
As WWII rages, DCS Foyle fights his own war on the home-front; investigating crime on the south coast of England. Later series, see the retired detective working as an MI5 agent in the aftermath of the war.
Stars: Michael Kitchen, Honeysuckle Weeks, Anthony Howell, Ellie Haddington
Votes: 18,256
Fantastic series set during/post WWII
12. Inspector Morse (1987–2000)
TV-14 | 3,431 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Chief Inspector Morse has an ear for Western classical music, a taste for beer, and a nose for crime. He and Detective Sergeant Robert Lewis solve intriguing cases in and around the Oxford area.
Stars: John Thaw, Kevin Whately, James Grout, Peter Woodthorpe
Votes: 14,347
13. Inspector Lewis (2006–2015)
TV-PG | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
DI Robert Lewis and DS James Hathaway solve the tough cases that the learned inhabitants of Oxford throw at them.
Stars: Kevin Whately, Laurence Fox, Clare Holman, Rebecca Front
Votes: 15,862
14.
Maigret (2016–2017)
Episode:
Maigret Sets a Trap
(2016)
87 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Chief Inspector Jules Maigret hunts for a serial killer.
Director: Ashley Pearce | Stars: Rowan Atkinson, Leo Staar, Shaun Dingwall, Alexander Campbell
Votes: 9,571
15. River (2015)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
John River is a brilliant police inspector whose genius lies side-by-side with the fragility of his mind. He is a man haunted by the murder victims whose cases he must lay to rest.
Stars: Stellan Skarsgård, Nicola Walker, Adeel Akhtar, Lesley Manville
Votes: 27,235
Interesting premise of a schizophrenic detective, engaging plot
16. Unforgotten (2015– )
TV-MA | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
London detectives investigate crimes from the past, unravelling secrets left buried for years.
Stars: Sanjeev Bhaskar, Jordan Long, Carolina Main, Nicola Walker
Votes: 30,448
17. What Remains (2013)
TV-MA | 59 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A young couple move into an apartment only to find the body of a young woman that had been missing for 2 years but never registered as missing which leads to a deeper investigation into what actually happened.
Stars: Alexander Arnold, David Bamber, Claudie Blakley, Denise Gough
Votes: 4,170
Everybody's a potential murderer in this one house where a years-old body is found.
18. The Bletchley Circle (2012–2014)
TV-14 | 314 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
In 1952, four women who worked at the wartime code-breaking centre, Bletchley Park, reunite to track down a serial killer.
Stars: Rachael Stirling, Julie Graham, Sophie Rundle, Anna Maxwell Martin
Votes: 14,024
Fascinating period piece, good stories too especially the first story.
19. Code of a Killer (2015)
65 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The story of Sir Alec Jeffreys' discovery of DNA fingerprinting and its first use by DCS David Baker in catching a double murderer.
Stars: John Simm, Anna Madeley, David Threlfall, Lorcan Cranitch
Votes: 3,725
20. The Night Manager (2016–2024)
TV-14 | 346 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The night manager of a Cairo hotel is recruited to infiltrate an arms dealer's inner circle.
Stars: Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie, Elizabeth Debicki, Olivia Colman
Votes: 103,050
Spy drama. For all its exotic sets and scenes, falls rather flat for me.
21. Above Suspicion (2009–2012)
46 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A team of dedicated detectives investigate gruesome murders across London.
Stars: Kelly Reilly, Ciarán Hinds, Shaun Dingwall, Amanda Lawrence
Votes: 3,470
22. DCI Banks (2010–2016)
TV-14 | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Tenacious and stubborn DCI Alan Banks unravels disturbing murder mysteries aided by his young assistants, DS Annie Cabbot and DI Helen Morton.
Stars: Stephen Tompkinson, Jack Deam, Andrea Lowe, Caroline Catz
Votes: 9,129
23. Scott & Bailey (2011–2016)
TV-14 | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Detectives Janet Scott & Rachel Bailey investigate murders with Manchester Police's Major Incident Team.
Stars: Suranne Jones, Lesley Sharp, Tony Mooney, David Prosho
Votes: 11,032
24. Little Boy Blue (2017)
TV-14 | 60 min | Crime, Drama, History
The true story of the 2007 murder of Rhys Jones in Liverpool. The story of the aftermath and police investigation.
Stars: Sinéad Keenan, Brían F. O'Byrne, Matthew Devlin, Stephen Graham
Votes: 5,573
25. Whitechapel (2009–2013)
TV-14 | 817 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
A fast-tracked inspector, a hardened detective sergeant, and an expert in historical homicides investigate modern crimes with connections to the past in the Whitechapel district of London.
Stars: Rupert Penry-Jones, Phil Davis, Steve Pemberton, Sam Stockman
Votes: 14,786
26. Death in Paradise (2011– )
TV-PG | 60 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Cultures collide when British Detective Inspector is transferred from England to the Caribbean island of Saint Marie to head the island's police department.
Stars: Elizabeth Bourgine, Don Warrington, Danny John-Jules, Joséphine Jobert
Votes: 27,962
27. No Offence (I) (2015–2018)
TV-MA | 42 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Follows a group of police officers on the front line wondering what they did to end up where they are now, on the ugly side of Manchester.
Stars: Joanna Scanlan, Elaine Cassidy, Will Mellor, Paul Ritter
Votes: 6,704
28. Identity (2010)
60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A drama series following an elite police unit formed to combat the explosion of identity-related crime.
Stars: Aidan Gillen, Keeley Hawes, Holly Aird, Elyes Gabel
Votes: 720
29. Manhunt (2019–2021)
TV-14 | 45 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Detective Chief Inspector Colin Sutton tracks down a serial killer.
Stars: Martin Clunes, Claudie Blakley, Matthew Gravelle, Stephen Wight
Votes: 10,659
30. London Kills (2019– )
TV-14 | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Drama series following the detectives of an elite murder investigation squad in London.
Stars: Hugo Speer, Sharon Small, Bailey Patrick, Tori Allen-Martin
Votes: 3,393
31. The Tunnel (2013–2018)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A prominent French politician is found dead on the border between the U.K. and France, and two agents must work together on behalf of their respective countries to find the murderer.
Stars: Stephen Dillane, Clémence Poésy, Cédric Vieira, Angel Coulby
Votes: 10,648
32. Criminal: UK (2019–2020)
TV-MA | 43 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A cat-and-mouse drama, which focuses on the intense mental conflict between detectives and suspects. The stories take place within the confines of a police interview suite.
Stars: Katherine Kelly, Lee Ingleby, Rochenda Sandall, Shubham Saraf
Votes: 21,429
33. Traces (2019–2022)
TV-14 | 45 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
While attending an online forensic course, young lab assistant discovers that the fictitious case study has a link to her past. With the help of two female professors she works on bringing a killer to justice.
Stars: Laura Fraser, Michael Nardone, Jennifer Spence, Andrea Hart
Votes: 6,715
34. McDonald & Dodds (2020– )
Not Rated | 90 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery
A shy and enigmatic Detective Sergeant is partnered with a wildly ambitious Detective Chief Inspector to solve crimes in the historic city of Bath.
Stars: Jason Watkins, Tala Gouveia, Lily Sacofsky, Jack Riddiford
Votes: 7,271
35. Luther (2010–2019)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
John Luther is a brilliant homicide detective with a knack for getting inside the minds of murderers. Unfortunately, his unconventional methods and personal demons put him at odds with his team.
Stars: Idris Elba, Dermot Crowley, Michael Smiley, Warren Brown
Votes: 154,253
36. Sherwood (II) (2022– )
TV-MA | 59 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Two shocking and unexpected murders shatter an already fractured community leading to one of the largest manhunts in British history.
Stars: Adam Hugill, Lorraine Ashbourne, Perry Fitzpatrick, Philip Jackson
Votes: 9,287
37. The Undeclared War (2022)
TV-MA | 47 min | Drama, Thriller
In 2024, a leading team of analysts buried in the heart of GCHQ secretly works to ward off a foreign cyber-attack on the country's electoral system.
Stars: Hannah Khalique-Brown, Simon Pegg, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, Edward Holcroft
Votes: 4,989
38. Landscapers (2021)
TV-MA | 48 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A devoted and mild-mannered British couple become the focus of an extraordinary investigation when two dead bodies are discovered in the back garden of a house in England.
Stars: Olivia Colman, David Thewlis, Kate O'Flynn, Dipo Ola
Votes: 18,256
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