I Love a Mystery - Mystery TV Shows (1 Viewer)

[Mysto]

I thought I would start a thread about my second favorite watch - Mystery TV shows (my first is 30's and 40's movie mystery series). What are your favorites? What are you currently watching? Reviews? Comments? Dislikes?

We are always seeking out new Mysteries. Our latest watch is the 2020 Hardy Boys series on Hulu. We're about half way through the first season and it started a bit slow but continues to get better. A lot more grown up than previous versions (but we like them all)

We especially like mystery combined with some comedy. Some of our all time Favs include Poirot (I know Suchet is more likeable than the book character but it is still a good watch)- Nero Wolfe (I prefer the 2001 series with Tim Hutton but enjoy them all).

We find the best series are those that we can re-watch even though we know "who done it". (Although I confess - with my memory...) I'll post a more comprehensive list later but this should get it started.

So let's get a discussion going. What do you like and why? I'm always on the hunt.

 

[Mysto]

The Hardy Boys (2020)

This is an updated version of the Hardy Boys series based on the books going back to the 1920's. This Hulu series stars Rohan Campbell & Alexander Elliot as Frank and Joe Hardy. The series is much darker than the 1977 series and without all the camp (or singing). We're only half way through the 13 episode first season and it is getting better as we go. There is a season 2 and a promised final season 3.

At the start of this series, the boy's mother dies and they get into a mystery that may uncover how and why. IMDB gives this a 7 and Rotten Tomatoes a 71% with an audience score of 82%.

Here's the trailer.

​

 

[Matt Hough]

My all-time favorites:

Perry Mason
Ellery Queen
Murder, She Wrote.

 

[Mysto]

My all-time favorites:

Perry Mason
Ellery Queen
Murder, She Wrote.

Hard to argue with those Matt. Although I will admit that I can't watch Murder, She Wrote anymore. I have them memorized - kinda like M.A.S.H. When you can repeat the lines - it's time to stop. (At least for a little while :O)

The writers of Ellery Queen also created Murder, She Wrote and said the format was really the same. I wish there were more Ellery's but we have a wonderful collection of Perry Mason in great quality.

Ellery Queen - 1975


BTW - Ellery Queen has an 8.3 on IMDB and it was cancelled after the first short season. Go figure.

Have you watched the new Perry Mason mini series? I don't know anything about it.

 

[Matt Hough]

Have you watched the new Perry Mason mini series? I don't know anything about it.

I don't have HBO any more, and I haven't rented or bought the show on disc. I would like to see it. I understand the second season pretty much begins with his courtroom career with the first season showing his life before becoming a defense attorney.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Hey Marv! As you well know, my preference for TV mysteries runs to the British variety...although I do very much like the short-lived Jim Hutton Ellery Queen series, as well as Columbo, Banacek, McMillan & Wife, etc. But for my money, the Brits do the classic mystery thing the best.

Off the top of my head, IMO you can't go wrong with the following:

Period mysteries:
the aforemention Poirot (with David Suchet)
Miss Marple (Joan Hickson BBC version, accept no substitutes)
Sherlock Holmes (like the Douglas Wilmer and Peter Cushing episodes, but for me, the Granada Jeremy Brett show is tops)
Foyle's War
Cribb
Sergeant Cork
The Rival of Sherlock Holmes

"Cozies"
Midsomer Murders
Death in Paradise
Rosemary & Thyme
Murder in Suburbia
The Brokenwood Mysteries (New Zealand)
Miss Fisher Mysteries (Australian)

Gritty police procedurals:
Prime Suspect
Cracker
Touching Evil
Wire in the Blood
River
etc.

Not quite gritty, but not cozy or period either:
Inspector Morse/Lewis/Endeavour (quite a cottage industry there)
A Touch of Frost
Shetland
Mystery Road (Aussie series)

Nordic noir:
Trapped/Entrapped
Beck
Wallender
The Bridge (Danish/Swedish original, though the U.K./French version is good, too)
Rebecka Martinsson
etc.

Probably a bunch of others I'm leaving out or forgetting.

This is a good website for keeping track of new and upcoming mystery series...although the current emphasis seems to have veered far too much into "true crime" territory for my tastes. I like shows about detectives (whether police or amateur)...well, detecting.

 

[Matt Hough]

I'm currently enjoying Miss Scarlet and the Duke, and I wouldn't think of missing an episode of Grantchester, two more British mystery series still in production.

 

[Mysto]

Death in Paradise 2011 –

One of my currently playing favorites, this British series is on its 12th season.

The basic premise is a British detective being transferred to a Caribbean island. Each reacts to the situation differently but all are tops in solving mind numbing murder mysteries.

Like the Brit Dr.Who series, the lead keeps changing and we are currently on our fourth detective. The scenery is beautiful, the cast always engaging and the mysteries are of the locked room type. Always fun, each year we look forward to the all too short seasons of this who-done-it. Currently streaming on Britbox and Pluto.

 

[Mysto]

Hey Marv! As you well know, my preference for TV mysteries runs to the British variety...although I do very much like the short-lived Jim Hutton Ellery Queen series, as well as Columbo, Banacek, McMillan & Wife, etc. But for my money, the Brits do the classic mystery thing the best.

Off the top of my head, IMO you can't go wrong with the following:

Period mysteries:
the aforemention Poirot (with David Suchet)
Miss Marple (Joan Hickson BBC version, accept no substitutes)
Sherlock Holmes (like the Douglas Wilmer and Peter Cushing episodes, but for me, the Granada Jeremy Brett show is tops)
Foyle's War
Cribb
Sergeant Cork
The Rival of Sherlock Holmes

"Cozies"
Midsomer Murders
Death in Paradise
Rosemary & Thyme
Murder in Suburbia
The Brokenwood Mysteries (New Zealand)
Miss Fisher Mysteries (Australian)

Gritty police procedurals:
Prime Suspect
Cracker
Touching Evil
Wire in the Blood
River
etc.

Not quite gritty, but not cozy or period either:
Inspector Morse/Lewis/Endeavour (quite a cottage industry there)
A Touch of Frost
Shetland
Mystery Road (Aussie series)

Nordic noir:
Trapped/Entrapped
Beck
Wallender
The Bridge (Danish/Swedish original, though the U.K./French version is good, too)
Rebecka Martinsson
etc.

Probably a bunch of others I'm leaving out or forgetting.

This is a good website for keeping track of new and upcoming mystery series...although the current emphasis seems to have veered far too much into "true crime" territory for my tastes. I like shows about detectives (whether police or amateur)...well, detecting.

I agree Jeff. The Britts do it well indeed. It may be the Christie DNA.
I too am not a big fan of True Crime stuff but I do like some procedurals. Psych for example or Castle are both fun romps.

 

[Mysto]

I'm currently enjoying Miss Scarlet and the Duke, and I wouldn't think of missing an episode of Grantchester, two more British mystery series still in production.

Thanks Matt. I am putting Miss Scarlet and the Duke on my list. Another mountain to climb - Hooray!

 

[Mysto]

Great News for Death in Paradise Fans and Mystery Fans as well.

"Beyond Paradise is a new Death in Paradise spin-off series revolving around DI Humphrey Goodman, starring Kris Marshall and Sally Bretton."

It is scheduled for release this Feb.

 

[Mysto]

Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries – 2012-2015

Phryne Fisher (Essie Davis) is a fully liberated woman in 1920’s Australia, solving mysteries with or in spite of the police. Essie describes her as Indiana Jones with a better wardrobe.

These are not major mysteries but the show is a hoot. The costumes, the cars, the scenery, the music, the fun cast all go together for a breezy hour show. Miss Fisher started to catch on world wide at the same time the show had been cancelled in Australia (crazy Aussies) so there are only 3 seasons and one full length movie made at the end of the series. The series is much better than the movie IMHO.

 

[ponset]

Love this series in early 2000's. Shame it only lasted 2 season.

 

[Mysto]

Nero Wolfe 2001-2002

Maury Chaykin as Nero Wolfe. Timothy Hutton as Archie. There also is a repertory cast that plays non-recurring roles, something pretty much unique in this sort of series.

What can I say? This is one of my favorites in mystery TV. It has the whole enchilada.

Wonderful puzzles with clever solutions married with delicious production values as they recreate the early 50’s. Music, settings, cars, costumes all combined to give a feast for the ears and eyes. IMDB gives this an 8.4

For those of you that have never seen a Nero Wolfe, he is a recluse genius that would rather spend time at his home eating and tending his orchards. But to live he must make money so he is a detective with Archie being his eyes and ears as he solves the mysteries from the comfort of his office chair.

The entire second season was one of the first to be done in HD video. Unfortunately only one wide-screen episode was released in the US box set (and it was letterboxed). There are wide screen versions with extra footage floating around in Europe and Australia and I have been trying to get them for some time (I live in hope). (FreeMantle in Britain has claimed rights but has yet to release them) I have posted this link a couple of times before but here is one that I found on youtube.

 

[Mysto]

Lighthearted Mysteries

As I mentioned earlier, we tend to watch mysteries with some humor blended in. Many of these are what are considered "Cozy" mysteries. It depends on whose definition of cozy. Some define that as takes place in a small town or area. Murder She Wrote or Midsomer Murders would be an example. Others describe "Cozies" as those that don't show explicit sex or violence. Softer mysteries.

Well some we like are all over the place and some have, at least, some sex and some violence. (Although I will admit most tread lightly) But we do tend to shy away from the grittier series. We also don't care much for most of the "Cozy" mysteries of Hallmark Movies & Mystery Channel. Most have weak mysteries and appear to be more like the RomComs that Hallmark is known for.

Here is a list of some of our favorite lighthearted mysteries.
Poirot
Jonathan Creek
Death in Paradise
Ellery Queen
Nero Wolfe
Murder She Wrote
Psych
Monk
Hardy Boys 1977
Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Frankie Drake Mysteries
Miss Marple
Mr & Mrs Murder
Mr. & Ms. North
Banacek
Snoop Sisters
Murdoch Mysteries (not be confused with the 2004 series that was very gritty indeed)
New Tricks

So is this your style or do you like the down and dirty gritty mysteries? Or am I missing some good stuff on Hallmark? I'd love to get some discussion going on what everyone is watching.

 

[Mysto]

Banacek - 1972

I can still remember turning on the TV and watching George Peppard swagger in to solve the un-solvable. He’s a freelance insurance investigator trying to find an armored car carrying gold bullion that disappeared in the middle of a deserted Texas highway

This started a wonderful series of impossible mysteries. And then in just two short seasons, it stopped. Why – the answer is, so George wouldn’t have to pay too much alimony in a divorce settlement.

This series is still mentioned among many mystery lover’s favorites even though it goes back 50 years. In fact – just writing this makes want to go break out my copies.

DVD sets are for sale and season 2 is showing on freevee.

 

[Matt Hough]

I bought both seasons on DVD from eBay a year or so ago and have rewatched season one. I really enjoyed them. Haven't plunged into season two, though I noticed that I remembered watching several of them all those years ago. I didn't remember any of season one's episodes.

 

[Mysto]

Short and Sweet

Can you show a complete mystery in just one half hour? There were a lot of detective shows starting back in the 40’s, most were action/adventure programs.

But a few actually presented a mystery in the short format. Set-up and solve was all they had time for, yet many are quite entertaining.

Half Hour TV Mysteries

Mr. & Mrs. North - 1952
Sherlock Holmes - 1954
New Adventures of Charlie Chan - 1957
The Thin Man - 1957
Philip Marlowe – 1959
Adventures of Ellery Queen – 1950

Fourteen years before Jim Hutton played the great detective, here is Lee Bowman as Ellery Queen live on Dumont in 1951.



If you are really in a hurry try these radio programs – Ellery Queen Minute Mysteries...
Ellery Queen - Minute Mysteries

 

[Mysto]

Only Murders in the Building – 2021-

Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez along with a bunch of guest stars steer this fun mystery mini-series spoofing true crime podcasts. When a murder occurs in their apartment building, these unlikely three start investigating along with creating their own podcast.

Steve Martin plays a retired actor, Martin Short a not so successful Broadway director and Selena Gomez an artist living in her aunts apartment. The interaction of the characters plays a strong role during the twists and turns as they unravel the mystery.

The very short episode format can be a bit off putting and I agree with a suggestion on IMDB that you watch these at least 2 episodes at a time. We don’t normally, but we binged watched most of Season 1.

This is a fun ride that was so successful that there has already been a second and a third season mystery is scheduled for release in 2023 on Hulu.

 

[Matt Hough]

I enjoy the show, but watching on Hulu is a pain with all the commercials. However, I'm not paying just to get rid of commercials, so I endure them.