20 Most Popular British Detective Shows: ‘Broadchurch’ to ‘Line of Duty’
When the series finale of Line of Duty aired in 2021, 15 million viewers tuned in to see the action unfold, making the episode the most-watched hour of British TV drama in this century. So it wouldn’t take a keen detective to guess that the BBC series would rank high on the list of most popular British detective shows.
For this study, researchers at online.casino analyzed search volume for 90 shows from the past six decades, and sure enough, Line of Duty came out on top.
“Years later, it’s clear that people are still talking about the series, and this is what any crime drama aims towards,” a spokesperson for the site says. “Seeing long runners like Midsomer Murders alongside stand-alone series like Zen and River shows that the public’s appetite for drama is still going strong, and it’s interesting that of all the top 20 shows, nine of them have finished in the last seven years. It’s amazing to see shows that have been running for over twenty years can still get people talking, and we will have to wait and see if Line of Duty can be toppled.”
Here’s the full list.
Broadchurch
Olivia Colman and David Tennant play detectives looking into the murder of a young boy in this ITV series. Creator Chris Chibnall later adapted Broadchurch for American television in the Fox series Gracepoint, with Tennant back as the co-headliner.
Agatha Raisin
With Ashley Jensen in the title role, this comedic Acorn TV mystery series has Agatha Raisin trading in a career in public relations for a new job investigating murders in the Cotswolds village of Carsely.
Father Brown
Inspired by the short stories of G.K. Chesterton, this BBC One comedy-drama features Mark Williams as a disheveled Roman Catholic priest with a gift for crime-solving. The series spawned a spinoff, the BritBox drama Sister Boniface Mysteries.
Luther
BBC One aired five seasons of this series — starring Idris Elba as the titular detective chief inspector mired in the darkness of the crimes he investigates — and a Netflix film continuation will start streaming on March 10.
Sherlock
Benedict Cumberbatch became a household name (and won an Emmy) with his modern-day take on the immortal Sherlock Holmes in this BBC series, with Martin Freeman playing a war-veteran version of Dr. John Watson.
Happy Valley
Sarah Lancashire won a BAFTA Television Award for her role in this BBC One series, in which she plays a West Yorkshire police sergeant recovering from the suicide of her daughter and raising her daughter’s young son.
River
Metropolitan Police Service DI John River (Stellan Skarsgård) sees dead people, and not just because he works on murder cases: In this six-episode BBC One series, River is haunted by visions of a slain colleague.
Grantchester
In this ITV series, in 1950s England, a village’s detective inspector (played by Robson Green) gets an unlikely partner in his crime-solving: an Anglican vicar (played first by James Norton and now Tom Brittney).
Shetland
Originally based on mystery novels by Ann Cleeves, this BBC series starred Douglas Henshall as DI Jimmy Pérez for its first seven seasons, following the character and his team as they investigate crimes in the close-knit community of the titular islands.
The Missing
A co-production between BBC One and Starz, this two-season drama starred Tchéky Karyo as French detective Julien Baptiste, with James Nesbitt, Frances O’Connor, David Morrissey, and Keeley Hawes playing the parents of missing children.
The Fall
Broadcast on RTÉ One in Ireland and BBC Two in the U.K., The Fall starred Jamie Dorman as a serial killer and Gillian Anderson as the police superintendent on his tail. (And Fiona Apple named her album Fetch the Bolt Cutters after a quote from the show.)
Midsomer Murders
Airing since 1997, ITV’s Midsomer Murders starred John Nettles as Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby until he was succeeded by Neil Dudgeon as DCI John Barnaby, Tom’s cousin.
Vera
Another ITV series with murder mysteries and picturesque backdrops, this one stars two-time Oscar nominee Brenda Blethyn as DCI Vera Stanhope, a brilliant but caustic crime-solver investigating murders in the scenic area of Northumberland.
Endeavour
A prequel to Inspector Morse, this ITV series follows a young Endeavour Morse (Shaun Evans) in his early years working as a detective with the Oxford City Police. The series’ upcoming ninth season will be its last.
Silent Witness
Idris Elba, Benedict Cumberbatch, Daisy Ridley, and Nicholas Hoult have all guest-starred on this series about forensic pathologists, which has reached TV audiences in 235 territories, according to the BBC.
Death in Paradise
Ben Miller, Kris Marshall, Ardal O’Hanlon, and Ralf Little have taken turns as the lead of this BBC One series. Set on the fictional Caribbean island of Saint Marie, Death in Paradise is filmed in Guadeloupe.
Unforgotten
After her time on Spooks but before she was on the case in Annika, Nicola Walker starred in this crime drama. She and costar Sanjeev Bhaskar portrayed London detectives endeavoring to solve cold cases.
Line of Duty
Martin Compston, Vicky McClure, and Adrian Dunbar starred in this drama about the anti-corruption unit of the Central Police. After becoming the most popular drama on BBC Two, the show switched over to BBC One.