IMDb Top 250 Mystery TV Shows
by BonaFideBOSS | created - 26 Jul 2021 | updated - 04 Mar 2022 | PublicWhich of these top 35 mystery TV shows from the IMDb Top 250 TV chart is your favorite?
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1. Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005–2008)
TV-Y7-FV | 23 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
In a war-torn world of elemental powers, a young boy reawakens to undertake a dangerous mystic quest to fulfill his destiny as the Avatar, and bring peace to the world.
Stars: Dee Bradley Baker, Zach Tyler Eisen, Mae Whitman, Jack De Sena
Votes: 372,611
2. 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: 997,663
3. The Twilight Zone (1959–1964)
TV-PG | 51 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Ordinary people find themselves in extraordinarily astounding situations, which they each try to solve in a remarkable manner.
Stars: Rod Serling, Robert McCord, Jay Overholts, James Turley
Votes: 93,099
4. Batman: The Animated Series (1992–1995)
TV-PG | 23 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
The Dark Knight battles crime in Gotham City with occasional help from Robin and Batgirl.
Stars: Kevin Conroy, Loren Lester, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Bob Hastings
Votes: 116,939
5. Death Note (2006–2007)
TV-14 | 24 min | Animation, Crime, Drama
An intelligent high school student goes on a secret crusade to eliminate criminals from the world after discovering a notebook capable of killing anyone whose name is written into it.
Stars: Mamoru Miyano, Brad Swaile, Vincent Tong, Ryô Naitô
Votes: 378,188
6. True Detective (2014– )
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Anthology series in which police investigations unearth the personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within and outside the law.
Stars: Vince Vaughn, Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams, Taylor Kitsch
Votes: 656,121
7. Persona (2018– )
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A man diagnosed with Alzheimer's decides to punish criminals.
Stars: Haluk Bilginer, Sebnem Bozoklu, Recep Usta, Cansu Dere
Votes: 47,415
8. Gravity Falls (2012–2016)
TV-Y7 | 23 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Twin siblings Dipper and Mabel Pines spend the summer at their great-uncle's tourist trap in the enigmatic Gravity Falls, Oregon.
Stars: Jason Ritter, Alex Hirsch, Kristen Schaal, Linda Cardellini
Votes: 135,292
9. Black Mirror (2011– )
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Featuring stand-alone dramas -- sharp, suspenseful, satirical tales that explore techno-paranoia -- "Black Mirror" is a contemporary reworking of "The Twilight Zone" with stories that tap into the collective unease about the modern world.
Stars: Wunmi Mosaku, Monica Dolan, Daniel Lapaine, Hannah John-Kamen
Votes: 639,631
10. Twin Peaks (1990–1991)
TV-MA | 50 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An idiosyncratic FBI agent investigates the murder of a young woman in the even more idiosyncratic town of Twin Peaks.
Stars: Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean, Mädchen Amick, Dana Ashbrook
Votes: 215,314
11. Leyla and Mecnun (2011–2023)
TV-PG | 90 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
It is an unique and heartwarming show follows the extraordinary journey of a couple named Leyla and Mecnun. With Ali Atay portraying Mecnun and Ezgi Asaroglu as Leyla, the series has garnered a massive fan base and critical acclaim.
Stars: Ali Atay, Serkan Keskin, Osman Sonant, Ahmet Mümtaz Taylan
Votes: 96,438
12. Over the Garden Wall (2014)
TV-PG | 11 min | Animation, Short, Adventure
Two brothers find themselves lost in a mysterious land and try to find their way home.
Stars: Elijah Wood, Collin Dean, Melanie Lynskey, Christopher Lloyd
Votes: 70,377
13. Dark (2017–2020)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A family saga with a supernatural twist, set in a German town where the disappearance of two young children exposes the relationships among four families.
Stars: Louis Hofmann, Karoline Eichhorn, Lisa Vicari, Maja Schöne
Votes: 443,860
14. Steins;Gate (2011–2015)
TV-14 | 24 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama
After discovering time travel, a university student and his colleagues must use their knowledge of it to stop an evil organization and their diabolical plans.
Stars: Mamoru Miyano, Asami Imai, Kana Hanazawa, Ashly Burch
Votes: 73,358
15. House M.D. (2004–2012)
TV-14 | 45 min | Drama, Mystery
Using a crack team of doctors and his wits, an antisocial maverick doctor specializing in diagnostic medicine does whatever it takes to solve puzzling cases that come his way.
Stars: Hugh Laurie, Omar Epps, Robert Sean Leonard, Jesse Spencer
Votes: 513,068
16. Stranger Things (2016– )
TV-14 | 60 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
When a young boy vanishes, a small town uncovers a mystery involving secret experiments, terrifying supernatural forces and one strange little girl.
Stars: Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Winona Ryder, David Harbour
Votes: 1,335,180
17. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1984–1985)
TV-PG | 688 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson solve the mysteries of copper beeches, a Greek interpreter, the Norwood builder, a resident patient, the red-headed league, and one final problem.
Stars: Jeremy Brett, David Burke, Rosalie Williams, Eric Porter
Votes: 24,208
18. The X-Files (1993–2018)
TV-14 | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Two F.B.I. Agents, Fox Mulder the believer and Dana Scully the skeptic, investigate the strange and unexplained, while hidden forces work to impede their efforts.
Stars: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Mitch Pileggi, William B. Davis
Votes: 249,687
19. Dexter (2006–2013)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
He's smart. He's lovable. He's Dexter Morgan, America's favorite serial killer, who spends his days solving crimes and nights committing them.
Stars: Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, David Zayas, James Remar
Votes: 765,503
20. 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: 70,135
21. The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst (2015–2024)
TV-14 | 45 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
Filmmaker Andrew Jarecki examines the complicated life of reclusive real estate icon Robert Durst, the key suspect in a series of unsolved crimes.
Stars: Andrew Jarecki, Robert Durst, J. Patrick Burns, Dick DeGuerin
Votes: 51,484
22. The Bridge (2011–2018)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
When a body is found on the bridge between Denmark and Sweden, right on the border, Danish inspector Martin Rohde and Swedish Saga Norén have to share jurisdiction and work together to find the killer.
Stars: Sofia Helin, Rafael Pettersson, Sarah Boberg, Candice van Litsenborgh
Votes: 76,759
23. Monster (2004–2005)
TV-14 | 24 min | Animation, Crime, Drama
Tenma, a brilliant neurosurgeon with a promising future, risks his career to save the life of a critically wounded young boy. The boy, now a charismatic young man, reappears 9 years later in the midst of a string of unusual serial murders.
Stars: Hidenobu Kiuchi, Liam O'Brien, Mamiko Noto, Karen Strassman
Votes: 44,529
24. Mindhunter (2017–2019)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
In the late 1970s, two FBI agents broaden the realm of criminal science by investigating the psychology behind murder and end up getting too close to real-life monsters.
Stars: Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany, Anna Torv, Hannah Gross
Votes: 335,617
25. The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1986–1988)
TV-PG | 781 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson solve the mysteries of the devil's foot, Silver Blaze, Wisteria Lodge and the Bruce-Partington Plans.
Stars: Jeremy Brett, Edward Hardwicke, Rosalie Williams, Colin Jeavons
Votes: 13,400
26. Westworld (2016–2022)
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
At the intersection of the near future and the reimagined past, waits a world in which every human appetite can be indulged without consequence.
Stars: Evan Rachel Wood, Jeffrey Wright, Ed Harris, Thandiwe Newton
Votes: 532,626
27. Behzat Ç: An Ankara Detective Story (2010–2019)
TV-14 | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An inharmonious police team in Ankara Police Force and its discredited police chief fight crime.
Stars: Erdal Besikçioglu, Inanç Konukçu, Ege Aydan, Berkan Sal
Votes: 32,853
28. The Haunting of Hill House (2018)
TV-MA | 57 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
Flashing between past and present, a fractured family confronts haunting memories of their old home and the terrifying events that drove them from it.
Stars: Michiel Huisman, Carla Gugino, Henry Thomas, Elizabeth Reaser
Votes: 288,099
29. Justified (2010–2015)
TV-MA | 45 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Enforcing his own brand of justice, U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, a strong-willed, quiet law-man haunted by his past, returns to his native town to see that justice is served to those in need.
Stars: Timothy Olyphant, Nick Searcy, Joelle Carter, Jacob Pitts
Votes: 118,626
30. 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: 52,052
31. Justice League (2001–2004)
TV-PG | 22 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
Seven of the most formidable heroes form arguably the most powerful team ever.
Stars: Carl Lumbly, Phil LaMarr, Michael Rosenbaum, George Newbern
Votes: 51,713
32. Homicide: Life on the Street (1993–1999)
TV-14 | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An American police procedural television series chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Police Department's Homicide Unit.
Stars: Richard Belzer, Clark Johnson, Yaphet Kotto, Kyle Secor
Votes: 14,181
33. 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
34. Hannibal (2013–2015)
TV-MA | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
Explores the early relationship between renowned psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter and a young FBI criminal profiler who is haunted by his ability to empathize with serial killers.
Stars: Hugh Dancy, Mads Mikkelsen, Caroline Dhavernas, Laurence Fishburne
Votes: 276,485
35. Twin Peaks (2017)
TV-MA | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
Picks up 25 years after the inhabitants of a quaint northwestern town are stunned when their homecoming queen is murdered.
Stars: Kyle MacLachlan, Sheryl Lee, Michael Horse, Chrysta Bell
Votes: 75,841
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