Best tv shows like Unsolved Mysteries
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Unsolved Mysteries is an American television program, hosted by Robert Stack from 1987 until 2002 and later by Dennis Farina starting in 2008. In addition, TV presenter Keely Shaye Smith and actress Virginia Madsen contributed greatly to its success. Keely Shaye played the role of a reporter from the confines of an office interacting with Stack and responding to questions for further information. In this capacity, she was a welcomed addition to the cast and revered tremendously by Stack, who would "cut to" her for more detailed information. Academy-award-winning actress Virginia Madsen's contribution to the show included performing in Stack's role as announcer for several years. It was broadcast first as specials in 1987, then as a regular series on NBC, CBS, Lifetime and Spike. Lifetime once again airs the revived version of the series, but only in reruns. Although the show is not in current production, Cosgrove-Meurer Productions maintains a website for the show, featuring popular accounts and still unsolved crimes, with a link to an online form should a viewer have information on an unsolved crime.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Documentary, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: scary, mind bending, tense, suspenseful, serious, realistic, creepy, game show, spooky, thrilling
Best tv shows and movies like Unsolved Mysteries (1987):
Similar in 80%
Ghost Hunters (2004)
Plot Summary:
Paranormal investigators investigate places that are reported to be haunted. Engaging forensic experts, historical records and the most innovative technology available, the squad helps everyday people who are struggling with unexplained supernatural phenomena.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: realistic, scary, serious, suspenseful, creepy, game show, spooky, atmospheric
Similar in 76%
The Devil's Muse (2007)
Plot Summary:
No overview found.
IMDB Rating: 3.9
IMDB Votes: 331
Genere: Crime, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: rough, suspenseful, scary, gothic, mind bending, serious, realistic, experimental, art house, psychotronic
Similar in 90%
FreakyLinks (2000)
Plot Summary:
FreakyLinks is an American television show that combined elements of horror, mystery, and comedy. It aired on the Fox Network from October 2000 until June 2001, for a total run of 13 episodes. The feel of the show closely modeled that of The X-Files and other supernatural-themed shows that were popular at the time. In 2008, the series began airing on Universal's horror network Chiller. It can also be seen on the Canadian ONE channel.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 951
Genere: Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: scary, mind bending, serious, suspenseful
Similar in 83%
Haunted (2002)
Plot Summary:
Haunted is an American television program first aired in September 2002 on UPN. The program, which was filmed in Vancouver, was canceled in November 2002 due to low ratings. As a result, only seven of the completed episodes were aired. However, all eleven filmed episodes have subsequently been shown in international airings of the show. In August 2007, the series aired on HDNet. The series then began airing on Sci Fi in September 2007 and January 2008. In 2009, Chiller began airing this program as part of their daily marathon line-up. It plays there sporadically. A marathon of the entire series ran all day on October 31, 2010 on Universal HD.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 642
Genere: Crime, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, detective, scary, enigmatic, bleak, anthology, neo noir
Similar in 90%
Glory Days (2001)
Plot Summary:
Wunderkind author Mike Dolan achieved literary fame at age 21 with a steamy expose on his seemingly idyllic Maine town. Four years later, he hasn't written another word and reluctantly returns home in search of an antidote ... where he is welcomed back with all the warmth of a lynch mob.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 400
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: scary, rough, serious, suspenseful, atmospheric
Similar in 87%
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 83%
Garage Sale Mystery: All That Glitters (2014)
Plot Summary:
Jennifer Shannon (Lori Loughlin) has a gift for finding rare treasures hidden in garage sales that she can resell at her consignment store, Rags to Riches, and for get her involved in the criminal investigations that happen at the very second-hand sales she frequents. When her friend Martin (Michael Kopsa) turns up murdered just hours after auctioning off an abandoned storage unit full of unique items to Jennifer, she is immediately pulled on the case as a key eyewitness. Working with Detective Lynwood (Kevin O'Grady), Jennifer helps single out a disgruntled customer as the prime suspect, while she and her business partner, Danielle (Sarah Strange), sift through boxes from the auction. As her husband Jason (Steve Bacic) worries about her safety, she starts to get over her head when there is a break-in at her store and a run-in with Martin's angry wife. They must race to save a life and put their own on the line. Will they succeed before times runs out?.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, captivating, tense, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 85%
The Dead Will Tell (2004)
Plot Summary:
Emily Parker is haunted by visions of a woman from the past soon after receiving an antique engagement ring from her fiancé.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 739
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, suspenseful, tense, mind bending
Similar in 82%
Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974)
Plot Summary:
Kolchak: The Night Stalker is an American television series that aired on ABC during the 1974–1975 season. It featured a fictional Chicago newspaper reporter—Carl Kolchak, played by Darren McGavin—who investigated mysterious crimes with unlikely causes, particularly those that law enforcement authorities would not follow up. These often involved the supernatural or even science fiction, including fantastic creatures. The series was preceded by two television movies, The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler. The series only lasted a single season, it remains popular in syndication; it is often cited as the inspiration for the popular series The X-Files. Following the success of The X-Files, the franchise was resurrected in 2005 in a second television series with a new cast and characters, as well as subsequent in novels and comic books. The entire series is available in syndication and is occasionally rerun on the Sci-Fi Channel under an expanded title, Kolchak: The Night Stalker. In 2008, it was aired on Chiller. It is also available on DVD and streaming from Netflix.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 51 min
Plot tags: scary, gothic, mind bending, suspenseful, serious, retro, spooky, anthology, apocalyptic, mythical
Similar in 78%
Angela's Eyes (2006)
Plot Summary:
FBI agent Angela Clinton has the exceptional gift of knowing when someone is lying. She discovered this skill at age 14, when she learned her "average" American parents were actually spies. Attempting to right her parents' wrong, Angela is now working with the same agency that brought her parents down.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 397
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: serious, exciting, realistic, detective, suspenseful
Similar in 80%
Quincy M.E. (1976)
Plot Summary:
Quincy, M.E. is an American television series from Universal Studios that aired from October 3, 1976, to September 5, 1983, on NBC. It stars Jack Klugman in the title role, a Los Angeles County medical examiner. Inspired by the book Where Death Delights by Marshall Houts, a former FBI agent, the show also resembled the earlier Canadian television series Wojeck, broadcast by CBC Television. John Vernon, who played the Wojeck title role, later guest starred in the third-season episode "Requiem For The Living". Quincy's character is loosely modelled on Los Angeles' "Coroner to the Stars" Thomas Noguchi. The first half of the first season of Quincy was broadcast as 90-minute telefilms as part of the NBC Sunday Mystery Movie rotation in the fall of 1976 alongside Columbo, McCloud, and McMillan. The series proved popular enough that midway through the 1976–1977 season, Quincy was spun off into its own weekly one-hour series. The Mystery Movie format was discontinued in the spring of 1977. In 1978, writers Tony Lawrence and Lou Shaw received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for the second-season episode "...The Thighbone's Connected to the Knee Bone...". Many of the episodes used the same actors for different roles in various episodes. For example, an actor who plays a crooked Navy captain also plays a ballistics expert in several of the later episodes. Using a small "pool" of actors was a common production trait of many Glen A. Larson TV programs. Before becoming a regular cast member as Quincy's girlfriend-wife Dr. Emily Hanover in the 1982-1983 season, Anita Gillette had portrayed Quincy's deceased first wife Helen Quincy in a flashback in a 1979 episode "Promises to Keep".
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: detective, medical drama, retro, sincere, serious, realistic, suspenseful, vintage
Similar in 89%
The Dark Secret of Harvest Home (1978)
Plot Summary:
A young couple moves to a quiet New England village, only to soon find themselves mixed up in mysterious rituals.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 300 min
Plot tags: gothic, slasher, satanic, spooky, thrilling, scary, tense, atmospheric, rough, mind bending
Similar in 76%
Happy Town (2010)
Plot Summary:
The residents of Haplin, Minnesota - also known as "Happy Town" - have enjoyed an uneasy peace while haunted by a number of unsolved kidnappings. Now facing a disturbing new crime that brings unresolved fears to the surface, Haplin's most prominent citizens come under scrutiny as their own secrets are revealed.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: tense, realistic, atmospheric, serious, suspenseful, detective, sweet, offbeat
Similar in 82%
The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair (2018)
Plot Summary:
A writer gets caught up in a murder investigation involving his mentor, an esteemed American author. Based on the book of the same name, by Joël Dicker.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 55 min
Plot tags: captivating, tense, serious, suspenseful, disturbing, suspense, psychological thriller, detective, meditative
Similar in 75%
Dark Skies (1996)
Plot Summary:
Dark Skies is an American UFO conspiracy theory-based sci-fi television series that aired from the 1996 to 1997 season for 18 episodes, plus a two-hour pilot episode. The success of The X-Files on Fox proved there was an audience for science fiction shows, resulting in NBC commissioning this proposed competitor following a pitch from producers Bryce Zabel and Brent Friedman. The series debuted September 21, 1996 on NBC, and was later rerun by the Sci-Fi Channel. Its tagline was "History as we know it is a lie.".
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: anthology, spooky, exciting, mind bending, serious, captivating, suspenseful
Similar in 89%
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 80%
Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001)
Plot Summary:
The third installment of the “Law & Order” franchise takes viewers deep into the minds of its criminals while following the intense psychological approaches the Major Case Squad uses to solve its crimes.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 27000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: detective, tense, clever, serious, realistic, suspenseful, cult classic, telenovela
Similar in 85%
PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal (1996)
Plot Summary:
Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal is a Canadian science fiction drama television series which was filmed in and around Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and aired 88 episodes over four seasons from 1996 to 2000. The presence of Dan Aykroyd opening and closing every episode and emphasizing the legitimacy of the organization it was inspired by led some viewers to take the show somewhat more seriously than intended, though it was in fact a scripted drama. Partly for this reason, in 1997 the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, then called the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, awarded Aykroyd a "Snuffed Candle" award, for "contributing to the public's lack of understanding of the methods of scientific inquiry.".
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: tense, scary, mind bending, serious, suspenseful, suspense, spiritual, anthology, detective, canadian science fiction
Similar in 85%
Law & Order (1990)
Plot Summary:
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It originally aired on NBC and, in syndication, on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24, 2010. At the time of its cancellation, Law & Order was the longest-running crime drama on American primetime television. After The Simpsons, both Law & Order and Gunsmoke tied for the second longest-running scripted American primetime series with ongoing characters.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 43000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: detective, tense, realistic, rough, clever, serious, suspenseful, crime drama, dramatic, thrilling
Similar in 85%
Millennium (1996)
Plot Summary:
A retired FBI serial-profiler joins the mysterious Millennium Group, a team of underground ex-law enforcement experts dedicated to fighting against the ever-growing forces of evil and darkness in the world.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, scary, serious, suspenseful, tense, detective, cliffhanger, dark, neo noir, vintage
Similar in 81%
The Event (2010)
Plot Summary:
The Event is an emotional, high-octane conspiracy thriller that follows Sean Walker, an everyman who investigates the mysterious disappearance of his would-be fiancée Leila, and unwittingly begins to expose the biggest cover-up in U.S. history.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 27000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min
Plot tags: exciting, captivating, mind bending, serious, suspenseful, non-linear, intellectual, detective, cliffhanger, atmospheric
Similar in 79%
Profiler (1996)
Plot Summary:
Profiler is an American crime drama that aired on NBC from 1996 to 2000. The series follows the exploits of a criminal profiler working with the FBI's fictional Violent Crimes Task Force based in Atlanta, Georgia. Ally Walker starred as profiler Dr. Samantha Waters during the first three seasons, and was later replaced by Jamie Luner as profiler Dr. Rachel Burke during the show's final season. Robert Davi, Roma Maffia, Peter Frechette, Erica Gimpel and Julian McMahon co-starred throughout the show's run. Caitlin Wachs played Dr. Waters daughter for the first two seasons, a role taken over by Evan Rachel Wood in 1998. Profiler shares a similar lead character and premise with the Fox Network series Millennium, created by Chris Carter. Both shows premiered at the beginning of the 1996–97 television season.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: tense, detective, psychological, serious, stylized, rough, mind bending, thrilling, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 82%
The Outsider (2020)
Plot Summary:
When an insidious supernatural force edges its way into a seemingly straightforward investigation into the gruesome murder of a young boy, it leads a seasoned cop and an unorthodox investigator to question everything they believe in.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 93000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: mysterious, scary, detective, psychological, suspense, exciting, tense, bleak, sad, suspenseful
Similar in 90%
Night Stalker (2005)
Plot Summary:
Carl Kolchak and his partner Perri investigate the mysterious death of Kolchak's wife and the paranormal phenomena plaguing their city.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, scary, serious, captivating, detective, exciting, psychological, retro, mythical, spooky
Similar in 86%
Secrets and Lies (2015)
Plot Summary:
Detective Andrea Cornell is a tough, thorough Homicide Detective who leaves no stone unturned. Her unwavering dedication to her job makes her the most formidable opponent - or a highly valuable ally.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min
Plot tags: serious, tense, suspenseful, captivating, realistic, detective, idiotic
Similar in 87%
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 80%
Rubicon (2010)
Plot Summary:
Rubicon is an American television series that centers on an intelligence analyst at a national think tank in New York City called the American Policy Institute, who discovers that he may be working with members of a secret society that manipulates world events on a grand scale.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, atmospheric, suspenseful, political, cliffhanger, mysterious, dramatic, intelligent, spooky
Similar in 89%
The X-Files (1993)
Plot Summary:
The exploits of FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully who investigate X-Files: marginalized, unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena. Mulder believes in the existence of aliens and the paranormal while Scully, a skeptic, is assigned to make scientific analyses of Mulder's discoveries that debunk Mulder's work and thus return him to mainstream cases.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 243000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: captivating, atmospheric, psychological, mind bending, detective, suspense, exciting, spooky, thrilling, psychological thriller
Similar in 85%
Fringe (2008)
Plot Summary:
FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham, brilliant but formerly institutionalized scientist Walter Bishop and his scheming, reluctant son Peter uncover a deadly mystery involving a series of unbelievable events and realize they may be a part of a larger, more disturbing pattern that blurs the line between science fiction and technology.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 254000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 46 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, scary, surreal, detective, thrilling, exciting, dramatic, psychological thriller, inspirational
Similar in 76%
True Detective (2014)
Plot Summary:
An American anthology police detective series utilizing multiple timelines in which investigations seem to unearth personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within or outside the law.
IMDB Rating: 8.9
IMDB Votes: 618000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 55 min
Plot tags: neo noir, serious, atmospheric, anthology, gloomy, realistic, southern gothic, clever, stylized, captivating