Crime television can be bleak, often relentlessly so. For those who enjoy a good murder mystery but don’t want to walk away from their limited leisure time feeling like humanity is hopeless, a competing genre has arisen.
“Cozy crime” series typically combine Etsy-friendly backdrops, quirky characters and frequent levity to defuse some of the tension inherent in the depiction of brutal crimes. From “A Remarkable Place to Die” to “High Potential,” the current TV landscape is awash in crime narratives with a lighter touch, often with episodic structures more reminiscent of a bygone era of network television.
‘Murder, She Wrote’ (1984-1996)
The iconic mystery-of-the-week series ran for 12 seasons and remains one of the most well-known pieces of crime television in history (so much so that it’s getting a reboot with Jamie Lee Curtis). Angela Lansbury played Jessica Fletcher, a mystery novelist and amateur detective who consistently outwits the police in the implausibly violent (and fictional) Maine small town of Cabot Cove. Jessica had a “genius-level intellect for crime solving and an innate kindness,” said Paul F. Verhoeven at The Guardian.
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There was also “something deeply edifying about having an older woman play the hero” in a show that was ultimately “wholesome beyond measure.” The series was a ratings hit for CBS throughout its run, and Lansbury's character remains instantly recognizable to people of a certain age. (Apple TV+, Amazon, Philo and Tubi)
‘Agatha Christie’s Poirot’ (1989-2013)
Adapted from Agatha Christie’s books about private investigator Hercule Poirot, ITV's television adaptation ran for 13 seasons over 25 years, anchored by David Suchet’s beloved portrayal of the title character. Set in interwar London, the show follows Poirot, who hails from Belgium, as he investigates crimes with the help of his secretary Miss Lemon (Pauline Moran) and friend Captain Hastings (Hugh Fraser).
The episodes are “classic mysteries in many ways,” succeeding by “nicely balancing serious matters and humorous asides and subplots, such as Poirot’s dental adventures or obsessive fiscal concerns,” said Shlomo Schwartzberg at Critics At Large. The show’s family-friendly, “old-fashioned virtues are highly appealing and pleasurable.” (Acorn TV, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime, BritBox, MHz Choice and Roku)
‘Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries’ (2012-2015)
Acorn TV Exclusive | Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries | Official Trailer - YouTube
Based on Kerry Greenwood’s novels, Acorn TV’s series is set in 1920s Melbourne, Australia, and revolves around the adventures of well-to-do Phryne Fisher (Essie Davis), who tackles a new murder in each episode, set against the backdrop of a series-long effort to find her sister’s killer. The series “not only follows through on its initial, delightful premise’s promises but manages to fill a pop culture void in the process,” said Kayti Burt at Den of Geek. It also provides a “rare fictional example of what life can be like for women who choose not to get married and/or have children.” It led to a 1960s-set spin-off, “Ms. Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries,” which lasted two seasons. (Acorn TV, Apple TV+, Amazon and PBS)
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‘Father Brown’ (2013-)
Father Brown (Mark Williams) (2013 TV Series) Trailer - YouTube
A show that is the “scheduling equivalent of a vitamin D shot,” BBC One’s long-running episodic crime series “lands like a warming ray of sunshine” when a new season is released every winter, said Jasper Rees at The Telegraph. The show moves the source material, G.K. Chesterton’s early 20th century novels, into the 1950s, when the titular priest (Mark Williams) solves crimes in the fictional English village of Kembleford. The “tone of gentle rural mayhem” frames a “structure standard in TV detective drama” and results in a “pleasant surprise,” said Mark Lawson at The Guardian. Viewers clearly agree, as the 13th season will debut in 2026, and the spin-off “Sister Boniface Mysteries” debuted on BritBox in 2022. (Amazon, BritBox, Hulu, Netflix and Roku)
‘Only Murders in the Building’ (2021-)
Only Murders in the Building Season 1 Trailer | Rotten Tomatoes TV - YouTube
“Only Murders in the Building” features a group of charming amateur sleuths who try to get to the bottom of a series of murders in their Manhattan apartment building, and then make a podcast out of it. In the first season, washed-up actor Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin), Broadway director Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) and struggling artist Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez) are all true-crime enthusiasts who share their suspicions that fellow resident Tim Kono (Julian Cihi) didn’t commit suicide but was murdered. The show’s “vibes are immaculate,” said Constance Grady at Vox, and the series is “Nora Ephron-esque in its total commitment to atmosphere.” A fifth season premiered in September 2025. (Hulu)
‘The Afterparty’ (2022-2023)
The Afterparty — Official Trailer | Apple TV+ - YouTube
The most structurally inventive of the shows on this list, this whodunnit comedy revolves around the murder of pop star Xavier (Dave Franco) at an afterparty following his 15-year high school reunion. An eclectic group of potential suspects, including Zoë (Zoë Chao), Aniq (Sam Richardson), Chelsea (Ilana Glazer) and Brett (Ike Barinholtz) is interviewed by the quirky Detective Danner (Tiffany Haddish), who hears the evening’s events from different (and often unreliable narrators) as well as digging into everyone’s potential grievances against their famous classmate.
The gimmick is that every episode is shot in a different genre, from romcoms to cartoons to a Wes Anderson-themed entry in the second season. A “proper Who's Who of contemporary comedy” keeps the proceedings moving along breezily by “embracing both the pastiche and the profound,” said John Nugent at Empire. The show was canceled after its second season. (Apple TV+)
‘Deadloch’ (2023-)
Deadloch | Red Band Trailer | Prime Video - YouTube
In a bucolic seaside town in Australia, a local man washes up dead on the beach right before the “Winter Feastival,” an event that attracts scores of liberal out-of-towners and is the source of ongoing culture clashes with longstanding locals. The brass doesn’t trust Senior Sergeant Dulcie Collins (Kate Box), a taciturn transplant whose possessive partner, Cath (Alicia Gardiner), disapproves of her job, to lead the investigation and sends the hilariously over-the-top Eddie Redcliffe (Madeleine Sami) to take over. Prime’s series, set in Tasmania, “both embraces and pokes fun at the familiar trappings of the crime drama,” said Katie Shepherd at Slate, and when the proceedings threaten to take a more somber turn, the show “deftly undercuts itself with satire.” The show was renewed but remains without a release date for its second season. (Amazon)
David Faris is a professor of political science at Roosevelt University and the author of "It's Time to Fight Dirty: How Democrats Can Build a Lasting Majority in American Politics." He's a frequent contributor to Newsweek and Slate, and his work has appeared in The Washington Post, The New Republic and The Nation, among others.
