The Most Popular British Detective Series

Britain is no stranger to detective series on TV. With chilling cold-blooded murder and suspenseful cold cases, the entire Unite Kingdom anxiously sits on the edge of their seat – or couch – to find out ‘whodunnit?’

From Sherlock Holmes to Agatha Christie’s Marple, this is comprehensive of the best, and most-watched detective shows that will have you playing real-life Clue in no time. 

Foyle’s War


 

Propaganda poster promoting the effort of the British Empire – by By Unknown (artist), Lowe and Brydone Printers Ltd, London NW10 (printer), Her Majesty’s Stationery Office (publisher/sponsor), Ministry of Information (publisher/sponsor) – http://media.iwm.org.uk/iwm/mediaLib//152/media-152716/large.jpgThis is photograph Art.IWM PST 3158 from the collections of the Imperial War Museums., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25299234

This British detective drama television series is set in the post-World War II era, spanning 8 series with 28 episodes. Starring Christopher Foyle, a button-down, uptight, and stoic detective, this underestimated Detective Chief Superintendent is smarter than his colleagues give him credit for. 

Assisted by his driver Samantha Stewart and Detective Sergeant Paul Milner, we are taken through various single-story episodes that focus on the Second World War, MI5, the Cold War, and the Royal Air Force. 

Sherlock

Benedict Cumberbatch Filming Sherlock – By By Benedict_Cumberbatch_filming_Sherlock.jpg: Fat Les (bellaphon) from London, UKderivative work: RanZag (talk) – Benedict_Cumberbatch_filming_Sherlock.jpg, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15323212

Based on Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective stories, this British crime television series is a crime, mystery, and comedy-drama show that features Benedict Cumberbatch as the star. 

Consistently praised for the witty and high-quality writing, acting, and directing, this show has been nominated multiple times for Emmys and BAFTAs and won three categories during the Primetime Emmy Awards with the Outstanding Television Movie award. 

Focusing on Sherlock Holmes, played by Cumberbatch, who his trusty Watson, Martin Freeman assist, we follow these two geniuses to solve crimes and fight against Holmes’ nemesis, Molly Hooper. 

Shetland

Shetland Mainland – By By Ronnie Robertson – Gulberwick IMG_3157, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=55786588

Shetland is a Scottish crime drama television series that has been produced over 5 series with a total of 26 episodes. Based on Ann Cleeves’s novels, David Kane is the director who brought the literary creation to the TVs inside of millions of UK viewer’s homes. 

Throughout the series, we see Douglas Henshall star as Jimmy Perez, a detective inspector who works for the Shetland police. Along with Jimmy, Alison O’Donnell shines as Detective Sergeant Alison Macintosh. 

Taking place largely on the Scottish mainland, we still see some glimpses of the beautiful and remote Shetland archipelago, helping set the scene for some grizzly and cold-blooded crimes. 

Agatha Christie’s Poirot

Florin Court was used to represent Whitehaven Mansions – By By CAGW – https://www.flickr.com/photos/conrad1967/2968371515/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9433443

Poirot is a British mystery television program that first aired in 1989 – and lasted until November of 2013. With 13 series that contained over 70 episodes, David Suchet starred as Hercule Poirot, the show’s hero and main character.

In each episode, Poirot is the main detective in charge of solving the case and features the show’s protagonist, who we follow closely through each crime scene’s minute detail. 

Endeavour

Prytaneum Court in London doubled as Cowley police station – By By Philafrenzy – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51414521

Endeavour is a British detective drama series that is the prequel to Inspector Morse, another popular and long-running mystery program. With 7 series containing 30 episodes, this show focuses on Endeavour Morse at the beginning of his detective constable career. 

The viewers can follow Morse’s career from constable to detective sergeant with the Oxford City Police CID. Running from 2012 until the present, this is a long-running detective show that is currently shooting its eighth season. 

Inspector Morse

Inspector Morse logo – By By Granada / Thames / ITV – Hulu.com, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32865981

We JUST mentioned Endeavour – so how can we skip Inspector Morse? This drama series based on a series of novels by Colin Dexter uses John Thaw as the star of the show, portraying Detective Chief Inspector Morse as the protagonist.

Running from 1987 until 2000, this show had 7 series with 5 specials containing 33 episodes in total. In 2018, this show was named the greatest British crime drama of all time by Radio Times’ readers and earned the 42nd spot on the list of 100 Greatest British Television Programmes made by the British Film Institute.

Father Brown

Filming the Father Brown series in Blockley Churchyard – By By Adrian Beney – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48102405

Father Brown is a BBC One detective period drama that stars Mark Williams as a crime-solving Roman Catholic priest. Based on the Father Brown short stories by G.K. Chesterton, this show has 8 series with 90 episodes. 

Forgetting soap operas, Father Brown is the second-longest-running daytime drama series that has been shown on the BBC Television network.

Vera

British actress Brenda Blethyn leaving the press conference for “Two Men in Town (La voie de l’ennemi)” – By By Siebbi – Brenda Blethyn, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31630675

To round out the list of the best British drama crime series, we have Vera. This show is based on the Vera Stanhope novels written by Ann Cleeves. First shown on ITV in early 2011, this program has produced 10 series with 40 episodes. 

Featuring Brenda Blethyn as Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope, our main protagonist is an older inspector who is virtually obsessed with her work, pushing aside her own demons and mental fragilities, and cares strongly about her colleagues. 

 

Planning a trip to Paris ? Get ready !


These are Amazon’s best-selling travel products that you may need for coming to Paris.

Bookstore

  1. The best travel book : Rick Steves – Paris 2023 – Learn more here
  2. Fodor’s Paris 2024 – Learn more here

Travel Gear

  1. Venture Pal Lightweight Backpack – Learn more here
  2. Samsonite Winfield 2 28″ Luggage – Learn more here
  3. Swig Savvy’s Stainless Steel Insulated Water Bottle – Learn more here

Check Amazon’s best-seller list for the most popular travel accessories. We sometimes read this list just to find out what new travel products people are buying.