A friend of mine recently crowdsourced a request for good police procedural shows to keep her entertained. This was before most of us had even heard the term “social distancing.” She’s a trailblazer. I’m a follower, and I love myself a good mystery or police procedural. So I’ve aggregated here the list of recommendations she received.
There are many shows on this list that I haven’t seen (hooray, more fun!) . So I’ve separated the ones I know and can recommend myself. You’re welcome. If you have other suggestions, throw them into the comments.
Let’s all stay entertained.
Cop shows and mysteries I’ve enjoyed
- Longmire
- River
- Broadchurch
- Shetland
- Scott & Bailey
- Giri/Haji
- Comrade Detective
- Endeavor
- Foyle’s War
- George Gently
- Inspector Morse
- The Blacklist
- Harry Bosch
- Miss Fisher Mysteries
- Monk
Ones I haven’t seen
I can’t vouch for these personally, but friends of friends recommend them:
- Luther
- Mindhunter
- Killing Eve
- The Stranger (offered with the caveat that it takes a couple of episodes to establish itself, but is worth the wait)
- Lincoln Rhyme
- Hunters
- The Killing
- Unbelievable
- Penny Dreadful
- Paranoia
- Vera
- Brokenwood
- My Life is Murder
- Queens of Mystery
Podcasts
I haven’t listened to any mystery podcasts yet, but these recommendations made their way onto my friend’s list:
- Dirty John
- Doctor Death
- Criminal
- Casefile
- The Drop Out
A few non-police recommendations
Again, I don’t know anything about these. They made their way into the crowdsourced recommendations despite not being (or so I understand) police or mystery shows:
- Unbelievable
- Ash vs. Evil Dead
- Bodyguard
- The Sinner
- Black Mirror
- Altered Carbon
- Fleabag
- You
Book recommendation
If you’re interested in the book recommendation, read more about about Girl Waits With Gun.