Sort by Popularity - Most Popular Movies and TV Shows tagged with keyword "amateur-detective"
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1. Murder, She Wrote (1984–1996)
TV-PG | 50 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Professional writer and amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher uses her intellect, charm, and persistence to get to the bottom of every crime she encounters.
Stars: Angela Lansbury, William Windom, Ron Masak, Louis Herthum
Votes: 29,449
2. 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: 15,083
3. Riverdale (2017–2023)
TV-14 | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
While navigating the troubled waters of romance, school and family, Archie and his gang become entangled in dark Riverdale mysteries.
Stars: Lili Reinhart, Camila Mendes, Cole Sprouse, K.J. Apa
Votes: 156,039
4. Veronica Mars (2004–2019)
TV-14 | 44 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
After her best friend is murdered, and her father is removed as county Sheriff, Veronica Mars dedicates her life to cracking the toughest mysteries in the affluent town of Neptune.
Stars: Kristen Bell, Jason Dohring, Enrico Colantoni, Percy Daggs III
Votes: 78,526
5. Marple (2004–2013)
TV-14 | 93 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An elderly spinster living in the village of St. Mary Mead helps her friends and relatives solve mysterious murders.
Stars: Geraldine McEwan, Julia McKenzie, Stephen Churchett, Isabella Parriss
Votes: 10,738
6. Sherlock Holmes (2009)
PG-13 | 128 min | Action, Adventure, Mystery
Detective Sherlock Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England.
Director: Guy Ritchie | Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong
Votes: 674,523 | Gross: $209.03M
7. Blue Velvet (1986)
R | 120 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped her child.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Isabella Rossellini, Kyle MacLachlan, Dennis Hopper, Laura Dern
Votes: 216,819 | Gross: $8.55M
8. 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: 17,272
9. Scooby-Doo (2002)
PG | 86 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
After an acrimonious break up, the Mystery Inc. gang are individually brought to an island resort to investigate strange goings on.
Director: Raja Gosnell | Stars: Matthew Lillard, Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Linda Cardellini
Votes: 126,119 | Gross: $153.29M
10. Against All Odds (1984)
R | 128 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
A gangster hires an ex-football player to find his girlfriend. When he finds her, they fall in love, and the twists start to appear.
Director: Taylor Hackford | Stars: Rachel Ward, Jeff Bridges, James Woods, Alex Karras
Votes: 13,723 | Gross: $25.10M
11. Enola Holmes (2020)
PG-13 | 123 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
When Enola Holmes (Sherlock's teen sister) discovers her mother is missing, she endeavours to find her, becoming a super-sleuth in her own right as she outwits her famous brother and unravels a dangerous conspiracy.
Director: Harry Bradbeer | Stars: Millie Bobby Brown, Henry Cavill, Sam Claflin, Helena Bonham Carter
Votes: 220,545
12. Rear Window (1954)
PG | 112 min | Mystery, Thriller
A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his Greenwich Village courtyard apartment window and, despite the skepticism of his fashion-model girlfriend, becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter
Votes: 524,800 | Gross: $36.76M
13. Jonathan Creek (1997–2016)
TV-MA | 60 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Jonathan Creek, a magician with a natural ability for solving puzzles, works from his home in a converted windmill. He uses his abilities to solve impossible crimes and mysterious murders.
Stars: Alan Davies, Caroline Quentin, Stuart Milligan, Julia Sawalha
Votes: 9,062
14. Hardcore (1979)
R | 108 min | Crime, Drama
A religious businessman from Michigan has to venture into the world of pornography in California, desperately searching for his runaway teenage daughter.
Director: Paul Schrader | Stars: George C. Scott, Peter Boyle, Season Hubley, Dick Sargent
Votes: 13,859
15. Murder Mystery 2 (2023)
PG-13 | 90 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Full-time detectives Nick and Audrey are struggling to get their private eye agency off the ground. They find themselves at the center of international abduction when their friend Maharaja is kidnapped at his own lavish wedding.
Director: Jeremy Garelick | Stars: Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, Mark Strong, Mélanie Laurent
Votes: 69,055
16. The Ninth Gate (1999)
R | 133 min | Mystery, Thriller
A book broker discovers his latest find may summon Satan.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Johnny Depp, Frank Langella, Lena Olin, Emmanuelle Seigner
Votes: 198,541 | Gross: $18.66M
17. Quincy M.E. (1976–1983)
TV-PG | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The cases of a brilliant, if Irascible, coroner who investigates suspicious deaths which usually suggest murder.
Stars: Jack Klugman, John S. Ragin, Robert Ito, Joseph Roman
Votes: 7,349
18. Nancy Drew (2019–2023)
TV-14 | 44 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
Young Nancy Drew makes plans to leave her hometown for college after high school graduation, but finds herself drawn into a supernatural murder mystery.
Stars: Kennedy McMann, Leah Lewis, Maddison Jaizani, Tunji Kasim
Votes: 10,933
19. Winter's Bone (2010)
R | 100 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An unflinching Ozark Mountain girl hacks through dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her drug-dealing father while trying to keep her family intact.
Director: Debra Granik | Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes, Garret Dillahunt, Isaiah Stone
Votes: 151,527 | Gross: $6.53M
20. Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (2012–2015)
TV-PG | 60 min | Crime, Drama, History
A female sleuth sashays through the back lanes and jazz clubs of Melbourne in the late 1920s, fighting injustice with her pearl-handled pistol and her dagger-sharp wit.
Stars: Essie Davis, Nathan Page, Hugo Johnstone-Burt, Ashleigh Cummings
Votes: 17,814
21. Scooby Doo, Where Are You! (1969–1978)
TV-G | 22 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A group of teenage friends and their Great Dane (Scooby-Doo) travel in a bright green van solving strange and hilarious mysteries, while returning from or going to a regular teenage function.
Stars: Don Messick, Casey Kasem, Nicole Jaffe, Vic Perrin
Votes: 41,756
22. Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated (2010–2013)
TV-Y7-FV | 23 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
This incarnation finds Scooby and the gang living in Crystal Cove, a small town with a long history of ghost sightings, monster tales and other mysteries ripe for the sleuths to solve once and for all.
Stars: Frank Welker, Mindy Cohn, Grey Griffin, Matthew Lillard
Votes: 17,793
23. Murder by Death (1976)
PG | 95 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery
Five famous literary detective characters and their sidekicks are invited to a bizarre mansion to solve an even stranger mystery.
Director: Robert Moore | Stars: Peter Falk, Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers, Eileen Brennan
Votes: 41,842
24. Agatha Raisin (2014– )
TV-14 | 60 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
The Cotswolds-based PR guru turned amateur sleuth returns for a series of comedic murder-mysteries based on the books by M.C. Beaton.
Stars: Ashley Jensen, Matt McCooey, Lucy Liemann, Mathew Horne
Votes: 6,164
25. Beverly Hills Ninja (1997)
PG-13 | 88 min | Action, Comedy
A man tries to rescue a woman with a little help from his half brother.
Director: Dennis Dugan | Stars: Chris Farley, Nicollette Sheridan, Robin Shou, Nathaniel Parker
Votes: 44,261 | Gross: $31.24M
26. The Hardy Boys (2020–2023)
TV-PG | 45 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
When the Hardy boys, Frank and Joe and their father, Fenton arrive in Bridgeport they set out to uncover the truth behind the recent tragedy that has changed their lives, and in doing so, uncover something much more sinister.
Stars: Rohan Campbell, Alexander Elliot, Keana Lyn Bastidas, Adam Swain
Votes: 3,537
27. Hart to Hart (1979–1984)
TV-PG | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
The globe-trotting adventures of amateur detectives Jonathan and Jennifer Hart.
Stars: Robert Wagner, Stefanie Powers, Lionel Stander, Lee Wilkof
Votes: 8,839
28. Scoob! (2020)
PG | 93 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Scooby and the gang face their most challenging mystery ever: a plot to unleash the ghost dog Cerberus upon the world. As they race to stop this dogpocalypse, the gang discovers that Scooby has an epic destiny greater than anyone imagined.
Director: Tony Cervone | Stars: Will Forte, Mark Wahlberg, Jason Isaacs, Gina Rodriguez
Votes: 30,156 | Gross: $2.19M
29. 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: 14,086
30. Don't F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer (2019)
TV-MA | 62 min | Documentary, Crime, Mystery
A group of online justice seekers track down a guy who posted a video of himself killing kittens.
Stars: Deanna Thompson, John Green, Claudette Hamlin, Anna Yourkin
Votes: 62,505
31. Broken Flowers (2005)
R | 106 min | Comedy, Drama, Mystery
As the extremely withdrawn Don Johnston is dumped by his latest woman, he receives an anonymous letter from a former lover informing him that he has a son who may be looking for him. A freelance sleuth neighbor moves Don to embark on a cross-country search for his old flames in search of answers.
Director: Jim Jarmusch | Stars: Bill Murray, Jessica Lange, Sharon Stone, Julie Delpy
Votes: 107,368 | Gross: $13.74M
32. Hue and Cry (1947)
82 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime
A gang of street boys foil a master crook who sends commands for robberies by cunningly altering a comic strip's wording each week, unknown to writer and printer. The first of the Ealing comedies.
Director: Charles Crichton | Stars: Alastair Sim, Frederick Piper, Harry Fowler, Vida Hope
Votes: 1,798
33. Mystery!: Cadfael (1994–1998)
TV-14 | 983 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The medieval era cases of a Crusader-turned-Monk who investigates mysteries in the Norman English town of Shrewsbury.
Stars: Derek Jacobi, Michael Culver, Julian Firth, Terrence Hardiman
Votes: 3,132
34. Coma (1978)
PG | 113 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
When a young female doctor notices an unnatural amount of comas occurring in her hospital she uncovers a horrible conspiracy.
Director: Michael Crichton | Stars: Michael Douglas, Rip Torn, Geneviève Bujold, Elizabeth Ashley
Votes: 21,262
35. The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (1977–1979)
60 min | Crime, Family, Mystery
The cases of a pair of teen detective brothers and a teen girl amateur sleuth.
Stars: Shaun Cassidy, Parker Stevenson, Ed Gilbert, Pamela Sue Martin
Votes: 2,024
36. Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
Passed | 108 min | Film-Noir, Thriller
A teenage girl, overjoyed when her favorite uncle comes to visit the family in their quiet California town, slowly begins to suspect that he is in fact the "Merry Widow" killer sought by the authorities.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotten, Macdonald Carey, Henry Travers
Votes: 70,861
37. Madeline (1998)
PG | 88 min | Comedy, Family
Horrified at the prospect of her beloved school being sold, a young French girl uses her wit and craftiness to attempt to save it, making an unlikely new friend in the process.
Director: Daisy von Scherler Mayer | Stars: Frances McDormand, Nigel Hawthorne, Hatty Jones, Ben Daniels
Votes: 8,083 | Gross: $29.77M
38. The Mirror Crack'd (1980)
PG | 105 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Miss Jane Marple comes to solve the mystery when a local woman is poisoned and a visiting movie star seems to have been the intended victim.
Director: Guy Hamilton | Stars: Angela Lansbury, Tony Curtis, Rock Hudson, Geraldine Chaplin
Votes: 9,510
39. Sisters (1972)
R | 93 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A small-time reporter tries to convince the police she saw a murder in the apartment across from hers.
Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: Margot Kidder, Jennifer Salt, Charles Durning, William Finley
Votes: 20,780 | Gross: $0.35M
40. Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? (2019–2021)
TV-PG | 22 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Inc. gang solve more mysteries together, each time with a different living, late or fictional celebrity guest.
Stars: Frank Welker, Grey Griffin, Matthew Lillard, Kate Micucci
Votes: 2,213
41. The Kid Detective (2020)
R | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Mystery
A once-celebrated kid detective, now 32, continues to solve the same trivial mysteries between hangovers and bouts of self-pity; until a naive client brings him his first 'adult' case to find out who brutally murdered her boyfriend.
Director: Evan Morgan | Stars: Kaitlyn Chalmers-Rizzato, Adam Brody, Kaleb Horn, Wendy Crewson
Votes: 22,612
42. Father Dowling Mysteries (1989–1991)
TV-PG | 45 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery
An amiable, inquisitive Chicago priest moonlights as a detective and is assisted by a rather worldly, lock-picking nun.
Stars: Tom Bosley, Tracy Nelson, Mary Wickes, James Stephens
Votes: 2,153
43. Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)
PG-13 | 109 min | Adventure, Fantasy, Mystery
When assorted people start having inexplicable delusions that lead to their deaths, a teenage Sherlock Holmes decides to investigate.
Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Nicholas Rowe, Alan Cox, Sophie Ward, Anthony Higgins
Votes: 23,583 | Gross: $19.74M
44. Sherlock Jr. (1924)
Passed | 45 min | Action, Comedy, Romance
A film projectionist longs to be a detective, and puts his meagre skills to work when he is framed by a rival for stealing his girlfriend's father's pocketwatch.
Director: Buster Keaton | Stars: Buster Keaton, Kathryn McGuire, Joe Keaton, Erwin Connelly
Votes: 57,275 | Gross: $0.98M
45. Perfect Stranger (2007)
R | 109 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
A journalist goes undercover to ferret out businessman Harrison Hill as her childhood friend's killer. Posing as one of his temps, she enters into a game of online cat-and-mouse.
Director: James Foley | Stars: Halle Berry, Bruce Willis, Giovanni Ribisi, Richard Portnow
Votes: 51,401 | Gross: $23.98M
46. Hetty Wainthropp Investigates (1996–1998)
TV-PG | 75 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Hetty wakes on her 60th birthday and decides to become a private investigator. With assistance from a teenager called Geoffrey and her husband Robert, combined with her own common sense, Hetty is confident she can solve any case.
Stars: Patricia Routledge, Dominic Monaghan, Derek Benfield, John Graham-Davies
Votes: 2,005
47. Nancy Drew (2007)
PG | 99 min | Comedy, Crime, Family
Teen detective Nancy Drew accompanies her father on a business trip to Los Angeles, where she happens upon clues to a murder mystery involving a movie star.
Director: Andrew Fleming | Stars: Emma Roberts, Tate Donovan, Max Thieriot, Craig Gellis
Votes: 21,691 | Gross: $25.61M
48. Miss Marple: The Murder at the Vicarage (1986 TV Movie)
102 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Faced with two false confessions and numerous suspects after a despised civil magistrate is found shot in the local vicarage, Detective Inspector Slack reluctantly accepts help from Miss Marple.
Director: Julian Amyes | Stars: Joan Hickson, Paul Eddington, Cheryl Campbell, Robert Lang
Votes: 2,300
49. Miss Marple: A Murder Is Announced (1985)
53 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An unusual announcement in the newspaper leads the curious villagers to Miss Blacklock's home, where they become witnesses to a murder.
Stars: Joan Hickson, Ursula Howells, Samantha Bond, Simon Shepherd
Votes: 2,599
50. Miss Marple: The Body in the Library (1984)
52 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Amateur detective Miss Jane Marple investigates the murder of a young woman whose body is found in the library at Gossington Hall, home of Colonel and Mrs. Arthur Bantry.
Stars: Joan Hickson, Gwen Watford, Moray Watson, Valentine Dyall
Votes: 2,688