Detective and Mystery Shows

[Irlandesa]

I love Agatha Raisin (Acorn) and enjoy My Life Is Murder (Acorn-S2 premiered today.  It's an Australian show that moved to NZ for S2).

If you're willing to do subtitles, I recommend Balthazar (French on Acorn) and Candice Renoir (Also French on Acorn.)

Trapped (Icelandic on Prime TV) is also good. Season 1 is sublime.  A spinoff will air on Netflix and I imagine that will have English audio.

[LisaM]

Bordertown (Netflix - Finland), The Valhalla Murders (Netflix - Iceland), Bron/Broen (Topic - and soon to be Amazon - Denmark and Sweden), Luna and Sophie (Amazon - German), Agathe Koltes (Amazon - French), Van der Valk (PBS Masterpiece - Amazon - Dutch)

[krankydoodle]

I don't think these have been mentioned yet:

Amazon Prime: The Missing

Acorn: Jack Taylor, Wire in the Blood (although I didn't enjoy it as much after Hermione Norris left)

BritBox: Scott & Bailey, Jonathan Creek, Cadfael, Life on Mars & Ashes to Ashes

[SandyToes]

On 8/29/2021 at 11:00 AM, sempervivum said:

Also, Bath is gorgeous and I'm hoping we see scenes in the baths or the Pump Room.

Kind of enjoyed watching it for the "travel porn" aspect.  Indeed, gorgeous.   And the growing respect is one of the highlights. Plus, seeing HIM in such a different role from The Crown is cool. Hoping for more episodes, and soon!

I enjoy Shakespeare and Hathaway.  I don't have to pay too close attention, the episodes are short (for Brit shows!), and Sebastian is just too cute for words.  But not much of a "crime" show! hee. 

Edited September 1, 2021 by SandyToes

[abbyzenn]

Britbox:  Wild Bill, Wallander, New Blood, New Tricks, Rosemary & Thyme (lighthearted and nice locations), Inspector Lynley, Waking the Dead, The Mallorca Files (lighthearted and beauty scenery)

Acorn:  Rebecca Martinsson - liked the first season, then they changed the actress for the last season and I didn't care for her

Foyle's War

The Gulf - New Zealand show

The Sounds - also New Zealand and lots of gorgeous scenery - around episode 4 (I think) it has a twist (that I suspected) but after that there's several twists and turns and I wouldn't have guessed the ending.  

London Kills

Jack Taylor - shows the bleak side of Ireland but an appealing Ian Glen

 

 

 

 

 

 

[abbyzenn]

Another show I just watched (but not sure where) and recommend was Hit & Run.  It's an Israeli show and takes place in Israel and New York.  It was interesting to see Israel.  

[LisaM]

Also:

The Good Karma Hospital (Acorn) - not a mystery but stars Amanda Redman from New Tricks. Set in India and Sri Lanka. Quite good. 

Winter (Acorn) - Australian mystery 

The Paris Murders (Amazon - French) - there are numerous seasons, some of which are on Amazon. 

River (Britbox and Amazon) 

Astrid (Amazon - French) 

Baptiste (Amazon - French)

Doctor Blake Mysteries (I'm not sure if this is Britbox, Acorn or Amazon - Australian)

Deadwind (Netflix - Norway or Finland)

Bodyguard (Netflix)

 

[krankydoodle]

On 8/30/2021 at 5:13 PM, J-Man said:

I'm probably forgetting a few, but are there any other available British shows on either Britbox or Acorn (or any other streaming service) I might be interested in?

Ha, I hope you don't regret asking 😄

I didn't expect season 11 of Vera to show up on BriBox so quickly! Now I need a streaming platform to make Vigil available to watch in the US.

[LisaM]

On 9/1/2021 at 8:21 PM, krankydoodle said:

Ha, I hope you don't regret asking 😄

I didn't expect season 11 of Vera to show up on BriBox so quickly! Now I need a streaming platform to make Vigil available to watch in the US.

Hah! I'd also like some streaming service to pick up Nicola Walker's new show "Annika" in the US. 

First episode of Season 11 of Vera was excellent. 

ETA: Season 4 of Frankie Drake Mysteries just dropped on Amazon and PBS.org. 

Edited September 6, 2021 by LisaM

[Raja]

On 9/1/2021 at 10:17 AM, abbyzenn said:

Another show I just watched (but not sure where) and recommend was Hit & Run.  It's an Israeli show and takes place in Israel and New York.  It was interesting to see Israel.  

Hit & Run is on NetFlix. The New York portion feels off to me but I haven't finished the series.

The star's, previous series Fauda as an Israeli Border Police special ops team member so more soldier stuff as part of a gendarmerie force than police investigations. And another show Black Space about a detective working a Columbine type shooting also was something new from Israel.

Out of South Korea I am also watching D.P. about a draftee Military Policeman assigned to chasing down army deserters.  It feels like what if the Jack Nickelson movie The Last Detail could have been an episode of the show.

 

[mledawn]

Currently watching My Life is Murder. Not bad, not great. I was shocked that one or two eps were blatant retreads of plots from Brokenwood Mysteries. 
 

Enjoyed Whitstable Pearl but perhaps I had low expectations after reading the thread. 

[dgpolo]

1 minute ago, mledawn said:

Currently watching My Life is Murder. Not bad, not great. I was shocked that one or two eps were blatant retreads of plots from Brokenwood Mysteries. 

Re-watched the first season to be ready for the second (ended up not mattering) Watched the 'behind the scenes' after I was done with the first season, big mistake. Everybody loving everybody, very uplifting. Then started second season. What a bummer! (sorry showing my age) only good thing is the actor that played Kahu on Brokenwood.

[Raja]

Back to Hit & Run. The series ended with a solve in New York but with a cliffhanger of additional stuff to happen back in Israel but it got cancelled by Netflix.

[rcc]

Watching the second season of My Life is Murder. Loved the Melbourne scenery and now Auckland. Lucy is very good as always. 

[LisaM]

15 hours ago, rcc said:

Watching the second season of My Life is Murder. Loved the Melbourne scenery and now Auckland. Lucy is very good as always. 

I'm watching it as well. I agree about the beautiful scenery. I find the show to be okay; It's a pleasant way to pass an hour but I am not nearly as engrossed or as invested in it as I am with many of the other Acorn shows. 

[geekgirl921]

On 9/23/2021 at 12:50 PM, rcc said:

Watching the second season of My Life is Murder. Loved the Melbourne scenery and now Auckland. Lucy is very good as always. 

I am really enjoying this show but for god's sake why did they name the character Alexa!! It's keeps setting off my Alexa!

[krankydoodle]

The Chestnut Man on Netflix doesn't seem to be getting much attention even though it's based on a popular book written by the creator of Forbrydelsen (The Killing). Considering his involvement with the show, it's not surprising that it's a faithful adaptation. I don't know that it stands out much from similar shows, but it's well made, has appealing leads, and with only 6 episodes is an easy binge watch.

[Irlandesa]

17 hours ago, krankydoodle said:

Considering his involvement with the show, it's not surprising that it's a faithful adaptation. I don't know that it stands out much from similar shows, but it's well made, has appealing leads, and with only 6 episodes is an easy binge watch.

I watched the first episode last night and liked it enough to continue.

Acorn has a new mystery series coming based on novels by PD James coming out in Nov.

 

[krankydoodle]

3 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

Acorn has a new mystery series coming based on novels by PD James coming out in Nov.

And starring Bertie Carvel, one of my faves! I was planning to cancel Acorn and Britbox, but between this and the newest Ann Cleeves series adaptation starting on the latter, it looks like I'll be sticking with both for a while longer.

[LisaM]

On 10/2/2021 at 9:49 PM, krankydoodle said:

The Chestnut Man on Netflix doesn't seem to be getting much attention even though it's based on a popular book written by the creator of Forbrydelsen (The Killing). Considering his involvement with the show, it's not surprising that it's a faithful adaptation. I don't know that it stands out much from similar shows, but it's well made, has appealing leads, and with only 6 episodes is an easy binge watch.

I am looking forward to starting this. 

[mledawn]

The trailer for Ann Cleeves’ (Vera, Shetland) latest adaptation aired on the weekend.

 

[dleighg]

1 hour ago, mledawn said:

The trailer for Ann Cleeves’ (Vera, Shetland) latest adaptation aired on the weekend.

I don't have britbox (that's where it's going to be, right?) but may have to sign up for a demo; but man this one will REALLY require subtitles, at least for me!

[krankydoodle]

9 hours ago, dleighg said:

I don't have britbox (that's where it's going to be, right?)

I think so, but I saw some sources saying it might not show up there until 2022.

They misspelled the author's name in the trailer 😬

[Koalagirl]

Ovation just started airing a 2013 Australian series called Mr & Mrs Murder. It’s about a married couple who own a cleaning business that specializes in cleaning up crime scenes. They use the business a cover to do sleuthing to solve the crime.  It’s a bit clever.

[mledawn]

Just started The Long Call and am trying to match it to the books. I think Matthew is well cast but Jonathan is not quite how I pictured. 
Enjoying it after one ep, I didn’t realize it was only 4 eps long. 

[dleighg]

4 minutes ago, mledawn said:

Just started The Long Call and am trying to match it to the books. I think Matthew is well cast but Jonathan is not quite how I pictured. 

I have a very definite vision of him so will be interested to compare notes (once I break down and sign up for Britbox, probably within hours LOL)

[dleighg]

27 minutes ago, mledawn said:

Just started The Long Call

btw where are you watching? It doesn't show yet on Britbox (as far as I can tell) even though it was supposed to be available today.

[mledawn]

4 minutes ago, dleighg said:

btw where are you watching? It doesn't show yet on Britbox (as far as I can tell) even though it was supposed to be available today.

I’m watching the ITV feed 

[LisaM]

Watching The Long Call on Britbox. It's good but not the same quality as Vera and Shetland. I've finished 2 episodes so far. 

[mledawn]

The final ep of The Long Call aired last night. I reread the book to remember which plot lines had been changed and how. In cutting length for tv, I definitely think they missed some things,

Spoiler

especially the role/prominence of the Woodyard. Matthew suddenly confronting Jonathan about covering up an assault was out of left field entirely. The Woodyard was the hub of everything and how everyone met which seemed really to be downplayed. Also changing the prominence of Lucy was a bit disappointing.

If there’s a second season based on The Heron’s Cry, at least the main characters have been introduced with room to flesh out more. 

[dleighg]

22 hours ago, mledawn said:

Matthew is well cast but Jonathan is not quite how I pictured. 

Wow that's an understatement for me. I thought Jonathan was significantly younger than Matthew? So I pictured a tall, lanky, blond with a ponytail or even a man-bun. Arty, ya know? 

[mledawn]

1 hour ago, dleighg said:

Wow that's an understatement for me. I thought Jonathan was significantly younger than Matthew? So I pictured a tall, lanky, blond with a ponytail or even a man-bun. Arty, ya know? 

Exactly! Taller for sure, and opposite - Matthew very done-up, and Jonathan very casual. In the show, they looked almost like colleagues.
When the announcement came that Ben Aldridge was playing Matthew, I was dying to see who they'd cast as Jonathan. It wasn't announced much in advance that I could find at the time.

Edited October 29, 2021 by mledawn

[LisaM]

Finished The Long Call last night. It was just okay, I expected more from a series whose creator was responsible for Vera and Shetland. I had read the first book - which I also thought was just okay. I was not invested in either Matthew Venn or the DS - whose name I have already forgotten. I'm not sure that the character of Matthew Venn is strong or distinctive enough to carry a series. 

From the book, I remember that there was friction between Matthew and Jonathan over the latter's job at the Woodyard and the investigation. That friction was almost completely cut out in the show. 

Going to start Manhunt Series 2 tonight. 

[LisaM]

Apologies for the double post.

Am deep into Forbrydelsen (the original of The Killing) on Topic. 20 episodes in Season 1 - which may be why it drags a little bit - but still highly compelling. I did not love the remake of The Killing and this is far superior so far. 

[roseha]

Having seen most of the Vera episodes more than once, I've started on Shetland which so far I like a lot.  I actually like the 2-hour per story pacing, it slows things down long enough to get an idea of what's happening - or to think you do!  I just watched Dead Water and there was one scene that I really thought was just stretching out the time, but it turned out to be way more significant than I realized until the end. 

I like Douglas Henshall and the rest of the cast a lot, though I've had to watch with captions as some of the actors have such heavy accents - which no doubt are authentic!

 

Edited November 9, 2021 by roseha

[krankydoodle]

I'm disappointed in the 4 episodes of Dalgliesh I've watched on Acorn. There's a lot to enjoy about the show, like the casting and overall production, but the adaptations are too short. There are 2 45-minute episodes for each book and I just don't think that's enough time to develop the characters or do justice to PD James's work. The ending of Shroud for a Nightingale, in particular, didn't have much of an impact because we'd hardly seen the characters interacting.

I remember the adaptations starring Roy Marsden being miniseries-length and quite faithful to the books, so maybe I'll track those down to rewatch and compare.

[mledawn]

I just finished Dalgliesh. I haven't read the books but am now  prompted to do so. I really enjoyed the casting - there were some actors I recognised from Case Histories - and the set design and tone was amazing. I wasn't completely sure how old the show was until I recognised George Robinson from Sex Education.
Definitely would watch a second season, if one emerges.

[Irlandesa]

I liked the first two episodes of Madame Blanc.  It was very light hearted (for the most part) which is what I wanted.

[LisaM]

I believe that I saw a blurb indicating that there will be a new episode of Agatha Raisin released prior to Christmas with the remaining new episodes dropping in 2022. 

[abbyzenn]

I'm also watching the Madame Blanc Mysteries which I'm enjoying.  Lighthearted and beautiful scenery.

Disappointed the season of My Life is Murder if finished.  Another lighthearted mystery with beautiful scenery and a pleasant hour.  This year they moved to New Zealand.

I've watched the first Dalgliesh story.  The mystery was good but Dalgliesh shows absolutely no personality and the sidekick is annoying.  

I'm watching the 6th season of Shetland which as always is very good.  I read where they filmed seasons 6 and 7 back to back because of missing filming time due to the pandemic.  I hope season 7 airs right after 6 finishes.  

I don't really pay attention to award shows but it seems like its always the same shows and actors that are nominated.  There are so many other actors who seems to go under the radar.  In this season of Shetland there's a story line with an actor I thought  I've never seen before who does an excellent job as a man with PTSD.  But I looked him up on imdb and found he was in another show Vigil I just watched and I can't place him in it.  

Another great acting job in Shetland was the guy wrongfully imprisoned in Season 4.

I don't understand why shows like Shetland don't get more attention.

[mledawn]

9 hours ago, abbyzenn said:

I'm watching the 6th season of Shetland which as always is very good.  I read where they filmed seasons 6 and 7 back to back because of missing filming time due to the pandemic.  I hope season 7 airs right after 6 finishes.  

I don't really pay attention to award shows but it seems like its always the same shows and actors that are nominated.  There are so many other actors who seems to go under the radar.  In this season of Shetland there's a story line with an actor I thought  I've never seen before who does an excellent job as a man with PTSD.  But I looked him up on imdb and found he was in another show Vigil I just watched and I can't place him in it.  

Another great acting job in Shetland was the guy wrongfully imprisoned in Season 4.

I don't understand why shows like Shetland don't get more attention.

They're still filming S7 of Shetland so I think we'll have a while to wait.

The actor who played Thomas Malone in S4 is a fun character (Angus) in the first two seasons of Outlander. 

There is a dedicated forum for Shetland here also, if you were interested. The talk on S6 hasn't quite materialised as the North American audience is four weeks behind the UK air dates.

[LisaM]

Season 3 of Candice Renoir coming to Acorn in December. 

[Irlandesa]

4 hours ago, LisaM said:

Season 3 of Candice Renoir coming to Acorn in December. 

Effin' finally!  I was wondering if they had abandoned that show as sometimes streaming networks do with foreign shows they pick up but don't produce.  They put out a few seasons to see if viewers bite.  If they don't, they don't pick up any more.  I've been left hanging on Netflix a few too many times.

Here's the schedule.   There will be an Agatha Raisin premiere as well with the next season coming in March.

Edited November 23, 2021 by Irlandesa

[khyber]

6 hours ago, LisaM said:

Season 3 of Candice Renoir coming to Acorn in December. 

Fantastic, I really enjoyed that show.

[LisaM]

Finished third and final season of Forbrydelsen last night. This was the original Danish show which sparked the Nordic Noir genre (and the American remake called The Killing). It streams on Topic. The three seasons have 40 episodes in total. Definitely recommended. 

Edited to add:

A new season of Whitstable Pearl has been ordered. https://deadline.com/2021/11/acorn-second-series-whitstable-pearl-1234881149/

 

Edited November 29, 2021 by LisaM

[Irlandesa]

For those of us with PBS Masterpiece (warner presents), a new season of Profilage/The Paris Murders is out.  They call it Season 3 but I think it's really 4, 5  and 6. 

Edited December 10, 2021 by Irlandesa

[LisaM]

Have been watching CB Strike on HBOMax. It is the filmed version of the Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling) novels featuring Strike and Robin. There are 4 series with 2-4 episodes each. Enjoyed it. 

[khyber]

Season 4 Xmas special of Agatha Raisin  on Acorn.

Edited December 20, 2021 by khyber

[dleighg]

5 minutes ago, khyber said:

Season 4 of Agatha Raisin starting on Acorn

I watched the first episode. It was enjoyable enough, but getting overly silly for my taste.

[abbyzenn]

C,B, Strike is one of my absolutely favorite shows.  I had them on my DVR and played them over and over until the DVR mysteriously deleted all my taped shows (which of course the company says can not under any circumstances happen but I went to bed one night with by DVR 85% full and the next morning it was 0% full. ) Unfortunately I don't get Cinemax (where they were originally shown) nor HBO max.  The two leads are great and I love the London scenery and the occasional stops outside London.  There's a website devoted to the filming sites.   They are filming (or just finished) the 5th book.