Must See Detective/Crime/Forensic Shows (UK & Ireland)
by deadwoodpeaches | created - 6 months ago | updated - 4 months ago | PublicIf you've seen all of these shows, you have an addiction.
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1. 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: 127,273
2. 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: 25,875
3. 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: 15,114
4. 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: 20,068
5. 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: 11,043
6. 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: 3,264
7. 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
8. Silent Witness (1996– )
TV-14 | 120 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A team of exceptional forensic pathologists and scientists investigate heinous crimes and use their skills to catch the people responsible.
Stars: Emilia Fox, David Caves, William Gaminara, Tom Ward
Votes: 12,718
9. 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: 30,498
10. 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: 154,328
11. 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: 70,183
12. 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: 119,652
13. 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: 3,404
14. 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: 21,435
15. 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: 64,586
16. 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: 9,134
17. Annika (2021– )
TV-14 | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Witty, enigmatic DI Annika Strandhed heads up the Marine Homicide Unit, tasked with solving murders in and around the Scottish waters.
Stars: Nicola Walker, Jamie Sives, Katie Leung, Silvie Furneaux
Votes: 9,289
18. 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: 14,792
19. Ripper Street (2012–2016)
TV-MA | 59 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The streets of Whitechapel are the haunt of Detective Inspector Edmund Reid and his team of officers, who aim to maintain law and order in a place once terrorized by Jack the Ripper.
Stars: Matthew Macfadyen, Adam Rothenberg, MyAnna Buring, Jerome Flynn
Votes: 22,504
20. Collateral (2018)
TV-MA | 58 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Investigating the murder of a pizza delivery man, a London detective uncovers a tangled conspiracy involving drug dealers, smugglers and spies.
Stars: Carey Mulligan, Nathaniel Martello-White, Hayley Squires, Vineeta Rishi
Votes: 21,452
21. 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: 27,243
22. The Tower (2021–2023)
TV-14 | 138 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
After a long-serving cop and a teenage girl fall to their deaths from a London tower block, Detective Sarah Collins investigates the dark heart of policing.
Stars: Gemma Whelan, Emmett J Scanlan, Tahirah Sharif, Jimmy Akingbola
Votes: 6,074
23. MI-5 (2002–2011)
TV-14 | 60 min | Action, Crime, Drama
The missions of MI-5, the UK's domestic intelligence organization.
Stars: Peter Firth, Hugh Simon, Nicola Walker, Rupert Penry-Jones
Votes: 18,383
24. Collision (2009)
TV-PG | 201 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The story of a major road accident and a group of people who have never met, but who all share one single defining moment that will change their lives.
Stars: Douglas Henshall, Dean Lennox Kelly, Lucy Griffiths, Phil Davis
Votes: 2,543
25. 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: 6,717
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