Best tv shows like Masterpiece Mystery
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A weekly public television program presenting British produced mystery dramas to American audiences. Each program was a dramatization of a well-known mystery novel, with many programs continuing over several weeks. Agatha Christie's Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot were the most commonly featured sleuths, but a wide variety of other authors' works were also shown.
IMDB Rating: 8.9
IMDB Votes: 891
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: anthology, detective, dark fairy tale, mind bending, serious, suspenseful
Best tv shows and movies like Masterpiece Mystery (1980):
Similar in 85%
The Agatha Christie Hour (1982)
Plot Summary:
This ten episode program was based on ten short stories written by Agatha Christie but with wide-ranging themes. Some were romances, some had supernatural themes and a couple were adventures. The common link was that all came from the talented pen of Agatha Christie, all were entertaining and each drama was carefully crafted and well cast with many of Britain's best known actors of the time represented.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 390
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 52 min
Plot tags: anthology, detective, dark fairy tale
Similar in 90%
The Black Tower (1985)
Plot Summary:
Frustrated with his career, Commander Dalgliesh is invited to Toynton Grange, a home for the disabled, by his old teacher, Father Baddeley, who is resident there. But unbeknown to Dalgliesh, something happening at the Grange is making the Father uneasy, and Dalgliesh quickly finds himself investigating a series of mysterious deaths.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 363
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: detective, atmospheric, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 76%
Ellery Queen (1975)
Plot Summary:
Ellery Queen is an American television detective mystery series based on the fictional character Ellery Queen. It aired on NBC during the 1975-76 television season and stars Jim Hutton as Ellery Queen, David Wayne as his father, Inspector Richard Queen, and Tom Reese as Sgt. Velie. Created by the writing/producing team of Richard Levinson and William Link, the title character "breaks" the fourth wall to ask the audience to consider their solution.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Family, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: detective, clever, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 78%
Case Histories (2011)
Plot Summary:
Case Histories is a British drama television series based on the Jackson Brodie detective novels by Kate Atkinson. It stars Jason Isaacs as Jackson Brodie.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: detective, tense, touching, serious, suspenseful, crime drama, atmospheric, anime, hardboiled detective, realistic
Similar in 80%
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (1971)
Plot Summary:
The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes is a British television series that was produced by Thames Television and originally broadcast on the ITV Network. There were two series of 13 fifty-minute episodes; the first aired in 1971, the second in 1973. The programme presented adaptations of short mystery, suspense or crime stories featuring, as the title suggests, detectives who were literary contemporaries of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes took its inspiration – and title – from a series of published anthologies by Hugh Greene, elder brother of author Graham Greene and the former director-general of the BBC. Hugh Greene is credited on the programme as a creative consultant. The authors and detectives featured on the programme include: ⁕Robert Barr ⁕Guy Boothby ⁕Ernest Bramah ⁕R. Austin Freeman ⁕Jacques Futrelle ⁕Adalbert Goldscheider, a.k.a. "Balduin Groller" ⁕George Griffith.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 334
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: anthology, detective, dark fairy tale
Similar in 90%
Mike Hammer, Private Eye (1997)
Plot Summary:
Mike Hammer, Private Eye is an American syndicated television program based on the adventures of the fictitious private detective Mike Hammer, created by novelist Mickey Spillane. The show starred Stacy Keach and was seen as an attempt to revive the character he had played in Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer and The New Mike Hammer - two moderately successful syndicated CBS series from the 1980s. Mike Hammer, Private Eye premiered on September 27, 1997. The show failed to gain a wide audience and, as a result, it was canceled after only one season. The final show of the series aired on June 14, 1998.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 675
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: detective, rough, serious, neo noir, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 75%
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1994)
Plot Summary:
Holmes, his friend Watson (or his brother Mycroft) work to solve the mysteries of three gables, the dying detective, a golden pince-nez, the red circle, a mazarin stone, and a cardboard box.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 306 min
Plot tags: detective, gothic, spiritual, exciting, rough, mind bending, serious, realistic, suspenseful, stylized
Similar in 88%
Banacek (1972)
Plot Summary:
Banacek is an American detective TV series starring George Peppard that aired on the NBC network from 1972 to 1974. The series was part of the rotating NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie anthology. It alternated in its time slot with several other shows but was the only one to last beyond its first season.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: detective, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 79%
Partners in Crime (1983)
Plot Summary:
Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime is a 1983 British television series based on the short stories of the same name by Agatha Christie. It was directed by John A. Davis and Tony Wharmby, and starred James Warwick and Francesca Annis in the leading roles of husband and wife sleuths Tommy and Prudence 'Tuppence' Beresford. Reece Dinsdale co-starred as Albert in all except episodes 3 and 5. The series follows the adventures and exploits of the Beresfords, who have recently taken over the running of a detective agency based in London, and each episode features one of the stories from the book. Among these are a quest for missing jewels, the investigation of poltergeists and a story involving poisoned chocolates. The series followed the short stories closely with two notable exceptions: First, the detective parodies, although alluded to on occasion, were for the most part dispensed with. Secondly, the story arc of the blue Russian letters and the search for the agent known as Number 16 were also dispensed with. For this reason three chapters were not adapted. The series' original run was immediately preceded by transmission on 9 October 1983 of the same production team's adaptation of Christie's second novel The Secret Adversary, which also starred Annis and Warwick in the same roles and which acted as an introduction for viewers to Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 860
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: detective, atmospheric, clever, humorous, realistic, suspenseful, stylized, semi serious
Similar in 81%
Agatha Christie's Miss Marple: A Pocket Full of Rye (1985)
Plot Summary:
When a handful of grain is found in the pocket of a murdered businessman, Miss Marple seeks a murderer with a penchant for nursery rhymes.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK, USA, Australia
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: detective, mind bending, clever, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 80%
Agatha Christie's Miss Marple: A Murder Is Announced (1985)
Plot Summary:
An unusual announcement in the newspaper leads the curious villagers to Miss Blacklock's home, where they become witnesses to a murder.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK, USA, Australia
Duration: 153 min
Plot tags: detective, mind bending, clever, serious, realistic, suspenseful, vintage
Similar in 79%
The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries (1977)
Plot Summary:
The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries is a television series which aired for three seasons on ABC. The series starred Parker Stevenson and Shaun Cassidy as amateur sleuth brothers Frank and Joe Hardy, respectively, and Pamela Sue Martin as girl detective Nancy Drew. The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries was unusual in that it often dealt with the characters individually, in an almost anthological style. That is, some episodes featured only the Hardy Boys and others only Nancy Drew.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Family, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: detective, feel good, serious, realistic, suspenseful, vintage
Similar in 85%
Agatha Christie's Miss Marple: The Body in the Library (1984)
Plot Summary:
Amateur detective Miss Jane Marple investigates the murder of a young woman whose body is found in the library at Gossington Hall, home of Colonel and Mrs. Arthur Bantry.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK, USA, Australia
Duration: 156 min
Plot tags: detective, mind bending, clever, serious, realistic, suspenseful, period drama
Similar in 76%
Agatha Christie's Miss Marple: At Bertram's Hotel (1987)
Plot Summary:
Miss Jane Marple is staying at an elegant hotel from her childhood compliments of her nephew Raymond. Also there is international adventurer Bess Sedgwick and Lady Selena Hazy (Joan Greenwood in her next to last performance). A doorman working at the hotel turns out to be from Bess' past, and when he is killed, she is the prime suspect. But what does his murder have to do with the disappearance of an elderly vicar staying at the hotel, and a string of robberies over the last few months? Miss Marple must find out before the murderer strikes again!!!.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK, USA, Australia
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: detective, clever, serious, captivating, mind bending, realistic, suspenseful, contemplative
Similar in 89%
Agatha Christie's Miss Marple: Sleeping Murder (1987)
Plot Summary:
When a young bride moves into a country manor, long repressed childhood memories of witnessing a murder come to the surface.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK, Australia, USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: detective, spooky, psychological, mind bending, serious, realistic, suspenseful, suspense
Similar in 78%
Agatha Christie's Miss Marple: Nemesis (1987)
Plot Summary:
Miss Marple receives a most interesting request from Mr. Jason Rafiel, with whom she'd struck an acquaintance some years before. He would like her to solve a crime but, does not tell her what it might be, who might have been involved or where it might have occurred. In fact, he can't be sure that a crime was committed at all. The only information she gets is a booking on a tour of stately homes and gardens so, along with her nephew and godson Lionel, she sets off to see what she can learn. When they reach the village of Abbey Ducis, it begins to make sense. Not only did Mr. Rafiel live in the area it is also where his son Michael was accused, though never convicted, of murdering his fiancée, Verity Hunt. Father and son were long estranged but Michael lives rough and has so ever since. There is also the apparent coincidence that another young woman, Nora Brent, went missing at the same time as Verity and was last being seen in Michael Rafiel's car.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: detective, serious, suspenseful, realistic, mind bending
Similar in 90%
The Murder Room (2004)
Plot Summary:
The lease on the Dupayne Museum is almost up and under the terms of their father's will, all three of the Dupayne children must agree to continue or the museum is to close. Neville Dupayne is dead set against continuing the museum when the money could be used for a much better purpose. One of the museum's key attractions is the Murder Room, displaying information on a series of notorious murders from between the two World Wars. When Neville dies in a way reminiscent of one of the murders on display in the Murder Room, Commander Adam Dalgleish is asked to investigate. There are any number of suspects: his siblings, several museum employees who will lose their job, his secretary with whom he once had an affair and his daughter who felt he was an absentee father. A second murder reveals some of the activities of the upper classes and the solution lies in a long-ago wrong that someone is seeking to right.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 544
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 180 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, serious, suspenseful, detective, tense, mind bending, realistic
Similar in 84%
Death in Holy Orders (2003)
Plot Summary:
New Scotland Yard Commander Adam Dalgleish is asked to have a second look at the death of Ronald Treeves, a student at St. Anselm's seminary.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 630
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, enigmatic, detective, mind bending
Similar in 80%
Murder, She Wrote (1984)
Plot Summary:
An unassuming mystery writer turned sleuth uses her professional insight to help solve real-life homicide cases.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 28000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: clever, detective, witty, thought provoking, thrilling, suspenseful, realistic, serious, iconic
Similar in 77%
Death of an Expert Witness (1983)
Plot Summary:
When Dr. Edwin Lorrimer, a forensic scientist working at a private laboratory is found killed, Detective Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh is sent to investigate. Dalgliesh had been in the area a few months previously investigating the murder of a young woman found in an abandoned car. There are several suspects: Lorrimer's subordinate, Clifford Bradley, who despises him; the new head of the laboratory, Maxim Howarth, who is jealous of his sister's relationship with him; a colleague, Paul Middlemass, who had a fight with Lorrimer. There is also a gruff and likely unethical policeman who was on the grounds of the laboratory at the time of the killing and a local pathologist who is raising his two young children after his wife leaves him for another man. When one of the suspects is also murdered, Dalgliesh learns a key piece of information.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 374
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: detective, crime drama, atmospheric, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 79%
Crossing Jordan (2001)
Plot Summary:
Crossing Jordan is an American television crime/drama series that stars Jill Hennessy as Jordan Cavanaugh, M.D., a crime-solving forensic pathologist employed in the Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: detective, realistic, tense, clever, serious, medical drama, crime drama, captivating, suspenseful
Similar in 75%
Agatha Christie's Marple (2004)
Plot Summary:
The show follows the adventures of Miss Jane Marple, an elderly spinster living in the quiet little village of St Mary Mead. During her many visits to friends and relatives in other villages, Miss Marple often stumbles upon mysterious murders which she helps solve. Although the police are sometimes reluctant to accept Miss Marple's help, her reputation and unparalleled powers of observation eventually win them over.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: clever, serious, detective, realistic, suspenseful, tense, captivating, suspense, slasher, anthology
Similar in 78%
Vega$ (1978)
Plot Summary:
Vega$ is an American detective television drama series that aired on ABC between 1978 and 1981. It was produced by Aaron Spelling. The series was filmed in its entirety in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is believed to be the first television series produced entirely in Las Vegas. The show stars Robert Urich as private detective Dan Tanna, who drove around the streets of Las Vegas in a red 1957 Ford Thunderbird solving crimes and making Las Vegas a better place for residents and tourists alike.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: detective, exciting, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 86%
Columbo (1971)
Plot Summary:
Columbo is a friendly, verbose, disheveled-looking police detective who is consistently underestimated by his suspects. Despite his unprepossessing appearance and apparent absentmindedness, he shrewdly solves all of his cases and secures all evidence needed for indictment. His formidable eye for detail and meticulously dedicated approach often become clear to the killer only late in the storyline.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 40000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: clever, captivating, detective, suspenseful, serious, realistic, retro, witty, spiritual, anthology
Similar in 88%
The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (1991)
Plot Summary:
Sherlock Holmes and his intrepid companion, Dr. Watson solve the mysteries of the disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax, Thor Bridge, Shoscombe Old Place, the Boscombe Valley, an illustrious client, and a creeping man.
IMDB Rating: 8.7
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: detective, spiritual, anthology, mind bending, realistic, suspenseful, stylized, scary, serious, vintage
Similar in 78%
The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1986)
Plot Summary:
Dr. Watson, finds a mystery in an empty house, while Holmes and he later solve the mysteries of an abbey grange, the Musgrave ritual, a second stain, a man with a twisted lip, the priory school, and a half-dozen plaster busts of Bonaparte.
IMDB Rating: 8.7
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: detective, gothic, spiritual, mind bending, serious, realistic, suspenseful, period drama
Similar in 77%
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1984)
Plot Summary:
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1984–1985), The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1986–1988), The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (1991–1993) and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1994), collectively known as Sherlock Holmes, are a series of adaptations of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories which were produced by Granada Television and originally broadcast by ITV in the United Kingdom. The series starred Jeremy Brett as Holmes and David Burke (in the Adventures series) and Edward Hardwicke (Return, Case-Book, Memoirs) as Dr. Watson. The programme adapted 42 of the original stories in 41 episodes, with 36 running for 50 minutes (in a one-hour timeslot), and five being feature-length specials. Adventures ran for two series totalling 13 episodes, from April to June 1984 and August to September 1985. Return ran for two series from July to August 1986 and April to August 1988, as well as the specials "The Sign of Four" and "The Hound of the Baskervilles", which aired on 29 December 1987 and 31 August 1988 respectively. Case-Book ran for one series from February to March 1991 and three specials which aired on 2 January 1992 and 27 January and 3 February 1993. Memoirs ran for one series from March to April 1994. A short episode was also produced as part of "The Four Oaks Mystery" which aired during the ITV Telethon in 1992. Sherlock Holmes appeared in the first part, with the casts of Van der Valk, Taggart and Inspector Wexford appearing in the second, third and fourth parts respectively.
IMDB Rating: 8.7
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: detective, serious, stylized, suspenseful, realistic, captivating, atmospheric, intellectual, gothic, spiritual
Similar in 79%
Agatha Christie's Poirot (1989)
Plot Summary:
From England to Egypt, accompanied by his elegant and trustworthy sidekicks, the intelligent yet eccentrically-refined Belgian detective Hercule Poirot pits his wits against a collection of first class deceptions.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 50000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: clever, realistic, captivating, detective, serious, suspenseful, exciting, stylized, crime drama, spiritual
Similar in 80%
Agatha Christie's Miss Marple: The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side (1992)
Plot Summary:
A town busybody is poisoned at a busy reception in the home of famous film star Marina Gregg. The poisoned drink seemed intended for Marina, but Miss Marple is not so sure. She sets out to discover the true identity of the killer before he or she can strike again.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: detective, mind bending, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 83%
Agatha Christie's Miss Marple: 4:50 from Paddington (1987)
Plot Summary:
When Miss Marple's visiting friend sees a woman being strangled on a passing train, they immediately report it to the police. Inspector Slack sees Miss Marple as a bit of a busy body and drops the investigation after only a few days. Miss Marple however determines that there is only one spot along the line where a body could have been dumped and it happens to be very near the Crackenthorpe estate. She asks her niece, Lucy Eyelesbarrow, to go there undercover as a domestic. She soon finds the dead woman's body at which time the police take on a renewed interest but it is left to Miss Marple to solve the mystery.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK, Australia, USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: detective, mind bending, clever, serious, realistic, suspenseful