Best British TV series
by rocharchambault-61519 | created - 21 Aug 2016 | updated - 20 Mar 2022 | Public- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. 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: 70,133
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: 127,199
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: 64,534
4. 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: 154,256
5. Vera (2011–2025)
TV-PG | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
With her caustic wit and singular charm, DCI Vera Stanhope leads her team as they face a series of captivating murder mysteries set against the breathtaking Northumberland landscape.
Stars: Brenda Blethyn, Jon Morrison, Riley Jones, Kenny Doughty
Votes: 20,031
6. Wallander (2008–2016)
TV-PG | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Unable to unsee the dark crimes he's tasked to investigate, Wallander's job comes at a cost to his family and relationships.
Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Richard McCabe, Jeany Spark, Sarah Smart
Votes: 16,483
7. Endeavour (2012–2023)
TV-14 | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Set from 1965 into the 1970s, the show follows Endeavour Morse in his early years as a police constable. Working alongside his senior partner DI Fred Thursday, Morse engages in a number of investigations around Oxford.
Stars: Shaun Evans, Roger Allam, James Bradshaw, Sean Rigby
Votes: 33,399
8. The Field of Blood (2011–2013)
Not Rated | 59 min | Thriller
Glasgow 1982, a young girl investigates mysterious murders in a world of men.
Stars: Matt Costello, Jayd Johnson, Bronagh Gallagher, Ford Kiernan
Votes: 1,481
9. 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: 119,597
10. 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: 9,130
11. Fortitude (2015–2018)
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
Perched on the edge of the Arctic Circle, Fortitude is one of the safest towns on earth. There has never been a violent crime here. Until now.
Stars: Richard Dormer, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson, Sienna Guillory, Mia Jexen
Votes: 23,590
12. Shetland (2013– )
TV-14 | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A local police team investigate crimes within the close knit island community of Shetland.
Stars: Alison O'Donnell, Steven Robertson, Douglas Henshall, Lewis Howden
Votes: 25,851
13. Hinterland (2013–2016)
TV-14 | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A noir crime drama set in Aberystwyth, Wales, where troubled DCI Tom Mathias solves murders while searching for redemption.
Stars: Richard Harrington, Mali Harries, Alex Harries, Hannah Daniel
Votes: 15,112
14. The Hour (2011–2012)
TV-14 | 60 min | Drama
A behind-the-scenes drama and espionage thriller in Cold War-era England that centers on a journalist, a producer, and an anchorman for an investigative news programme.
Stars: Romola Garai, Ben Whishaw, Dominic West, Anna Chancellor
Votes: 11,033
15. 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: 27,967
16. Doctor Who (2005–2022)
TV-PG | 45 min | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
The further adventures in time and space of the alien adventurer known as the Doctor and his companions from planet Earth.
Stars: Jodie Whittaker, Peter Capaldi, Pearl Mackie, Matt Smith
Votes: 246,447
17. The Honorable Woman (2014)
58 min | Drama, Thriller
Centers on Nessa Stein, a woman who inherits her father's arms business and finds herself in an international maelstrom as she continues to promote the reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians.
Stars: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Stephen Rea, Lubna Azabal, Katherine Parkinson
Votes: 11,549
18. Sherlock (2010–2017)
TV-14 | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The quirky spin on Conan Doyle's iconic sleuth pitches him as a "high-functioning sociopath" in modern-day London. Assisting him in his investigations: Afghanistan War vet John Watson, who's introduced to Holmes by a mutual acquaintance.
Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Una Stubbs, Rupert Graves
Votes: 997,633
19. 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: 30,207
20. Mr Selfridge (2013–2016)
TV-14 | 45 min | Drama, History
Centers on the real-life story of the flamboyant and visionary American founder of Selfridge's, London's department store.
Stars: Ron Cook, Jeremy Piven, Tom Goodman-Hill, Amy Beth Hayes
Votes: 16,957
21. The Escape Artist (2013)
60 min | Drama, Thriller
A junior barrister celebrated for spiriting people out of tight legal corners represents an accused murderer.
Stars: David Tennant, Toby Kebbell, Brid Brennan, Sophie Okonedo
Votes: 6,925
22. The Great Train Robbery (2013)
Not Rated | 90 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A two-part drama which portrays The Great Train Robbery of 8 August 1963, firstly from the point of view of the robbers and then from the point of view of the police who set out to identify and catch the robbers.
Stars: Robert Glenister, Jack Roth, Paul Anderson, Luke Evans
Votes: 4,974
23. Silk (2011–2014)
TV-14 | 1,056 min | Drama
Drama series about life at the Bar, the dilemmas and problems that modern day barristers have to face, and what it means to become a silk.
Stars: Maxine Peake, Rupert Penry-Jones, Neil Stuke, Theo Barklem-Biggs
Votes: 5,576
24. Partners in Crime (2015)
55 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Agatha Christie's crime-fighting duo, Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, solve mysteries and search for enemy spies in 1950s Britain.
Stars: Jessica Raine, David Walliams, James Fleet, Matthew Steer
Votes: 2,706
25. Thorne: Sleepyhead (2010)
TV-MA | 44 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
DI Tom Thorne's only key to catching a serial killer is a survivor unable to move or communicate.
Stars: Sara Gregory, Trinity Barden, Georgia Tennant, Joshua Close
Votes: 3,263
26. Thorne: Scaredycat (2010)
120 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
DI Tom Thorne hunts for a psychopath who may have formed a depraved partnership.
Director: Benjamin Ross | Stars: Joe Absolom, Jaleh Alp, Freddie Annobil-Dodoo, Lorraine Ashbourne
Votes: 2,204
27. Garrow's Law (2009–2011)
60 min | Biography, Drama, History
Garrow's Law is the true tale of William Garrow, who acted as counsel for the accused, introducing the concept of 'innocent until proved guilty' at London's Old Bailey.
Stars: Andrew Buchan, Lyndsey Marshal, Rupert Graves, Aidan McArdle
Votes: 1,247
28. Injustice (2011)
237 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A defense barrister is faced with the proposition: what can you do when you have defended the indefensible?
Stars: James Purefoy, Charlie Creed-Miles, Sasha Behar, Dervla Kirwan
Votes: 2,214
29. Murder in Suburbia (2004–2005)
TV-14 | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The series focused on various murders in the fictional suburban English town of Middleford. The crimes are solved by two female police detectives, Inspector Kate Ashurst and Sergeant Emma Scribbins, aka "Ash and Scribbs".
Stars: Caroline Catz, Lisa Faulkner, Jeremy Sheffield, Glen Davies
Votes: 1,725
30. Falcón (2012–2013)
Crime, Drama
Falcón is a brilliant detective whose personal and professional life is compromised by dark secrets from the past.
Stars: Carla Sánchez, Hayley Atwell, Kerry Fox, Marton Csokas
Votes: 803
31. Zen (2011)
90 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Detective Aurelio Zen brings justice to modern-day Italy.
Stars: Rufus Sewell, Caterina Murino, Stanley Townsend, Nathalie Rapti Gomez
Votes: 3,768
32. Kingdom (2007–2009)
TV-14 | 60 min | Comedy, Drama
Solicitor Peter Kingdom runs a small Norfolk legal practice with apprentice Lyle and secretary Gloria, assisting eccentric locals. Peter lives with unstable sister Beatrice and recently lost half-brother Simon mysteriously.
Stars: Stephen Fry, Karl Davies, Celia Imrie, Tony Slattery
Votes: 2,958
33. Black Work (2015)
Not Rated | 135 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A policewoman sets out to discover who murdered her husband, an undercover officer.
Stars: Sheridan Smith, Matthew McNulty, Oliver Woollford, Honor Kneafsey
Votes: 1,920
34. Marcella (2016–2021)
TV-MA | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Marcella Backland left the Metropolitan Police for the sake of her family, only to have her husband leave her. She returns to her job on the murder squad, investigating a case that seems disturbingly familiar to her.
Stars: Anna Friel, Ray Panthaki, Jack Doolan, Jamie Bamber
Votes: 37,208
35. Paranoid (2016)
TV-MA | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The murder of a female GP in a rural playground in front of numerous witnesses draws a group of detectives into an ever-darkening mystery that takes them across Europe, aided by mysterious notes sent by the "Ghost Detective".
Stars: Indira Varma, Robert Glenister, Dino Fetscher, Christiane Paul
Votes: 10,322
36. Prime Suspect: Tennison (2017)
TV-14 | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Prime Suspect 1973 tells the story of 22-year-old Jane Tennison's first days in the police force, in which she endured flagrant sexism before being thrown in at the deep end with a murder enquiry.
Stars: Alun Armstrong, Andrew Brooke, Blake Harrison, Daniel Ezra
Votes: 3,669
37. The Nest (2020)
R | 60 min | Thriller
A teenage girl in Glasgow agrees to carry a baby for couple Dan and Emily.
Stars: Sophie Rundle, Martin Compston, Katie Leung, David Hayman
Votes: 4,471
38. Whitstable Pearl (2021– )
TV-14 | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Local restaurant owner Pearl Nolan sets up a local detective agency after undergoing police training in an earlier career. She is soon embroiled in her first case when she discovers the body of her close friend Vinnie.
Stars: Howard Charles, Frances Barber, Isobelle Molloy, Sophia Del Pizzo
Votes: 3,433
39. C.B. Strike (2017– )
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
War veteran turned private detective Cormoran Strike solves brutal murders with the help of his trusted partner Robin Ellacott.
Stars: Tom Burke, Holliday Grainger, Kerr Logan, Jack Greenlees
Votes: 24,654
Tell Your Friends