Curl up with a cosy crime drama

If the thought of another blood-soaked, gritty drama is just too bleak, grab a plate of biscuits and a spot on the sofa with one of these cosy crime shows. Expect eccentric detectives, witty dialogue, bucolic backdrops – and nothing too horrifying. These are our top picks.

Ludwig

The set-up of “Ludwig” is “delicious”, said Joel Golby in The Guardian. David Mitchell stars as John Taylor, an “introverted, possibly-a-bit-OCD, agoraphobic puzzle-setter, and twin to James Taylor, a mysteriously vanished detective with a wife and teenage kid”. The action follows John as he impersonates James and infiltrates the Cambridge police department where his brother worked to “unspool the cyphers and clues” that could help find him. The “kicker”, of course, is that John is "phenomenally good at solving the puzzles of the various murders that keep happening across Cambridge, so he keeps getting waylaid”. Add to the mix a stand-out supporting cast (Anna Maxwell Martin is “stupendous” as James’ wife), a “sharp” script and an “enjoyably cinematic aesthetic”, and you’re in for a real treat.
BBC iPlayer

Death Valley

In this “cosy sleuther”, Timothy Spall plays John Chapel, a retired actor who made his name playing a “Poirot-style” detective in a long-running police procedural, said Benji Wilson in The Telegraph. When an estate agent is murdered in the bucolic Welsh village where he lives, John teams up with DS Janie Mallowan (Gwyneth Keyworth) to keep an eye on his neighbours, and an “unlikely (but in TV-land, completely inevitable) crime-solving duo is born”. Paul Doolan’s “pin-sharp” script is “very funny”, and the first series ends with a “clever twist” that sets the show up nicely for a second instalment.
BBC iPlayer

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Bookish

It was “inevitable” that Mark Gatiss, the “supremely talented” creator of BBC’s “Sherlock”, would “one day create an original character who gives Conan Doyle’s detective a run for his money”, said Pat Stacey in The Irish Independent. In this six-part post-war detective series, the “versatile” writer and actor stars as Gabriel Book, an “eccentric, whip-smart”, London-based antique bookseller who helps the police solve “particularly knotty murder cases”. The period sets (filmed in Belgium) are “utterly persuasive”, and it’s clear that the cast are “having a ball. You will too."
Amazon Prime

Only Murders in the Building

“Sleuthing podcasters” and true-crime-obsessed neighbours Selena Gomez, Steve Martin and Martin Short are back for a fifth series of this cosy crime drama, said Rebecca Nicholson in the Financial Times. It’s a “running joke” that their apartment building “must be one of New York’s most hazardous addresses”, and the murders just keep coming. Series one remains the “strongest”, but this fifth instalment is still “thoroughly charming” and “absurd from the start”. It “revels in its own ridiculousness” and is a “feel-good comfort watch of the highest quality”.
Disney +

Moonflower Murders

In this “fabulous” adaptation of Anthony Horowitz’s novel, Lesley Manville stars as the “gently acerbic” Susan Ryeland, said Vicky Jessop in London’s The Standard. The retired book editor is living in Crete where she is running a hotel with her boyfriend. But she returns to England when a “desperate” couple appear at her door asking for help to find their missing daughter. Manville is “marvellous” and there’s a “cracking” plot that’s “custom-built to encourage people to guess who really dunnit”, while “distracting us with red herrings”. This has all the ingredients for enjoyable “tea-time telly” and more: “wholesome, funny and, above all, satisfying”.
BBC iPlayer

Death in Paradise

This cosy crime classic returned for its 14th season earlier this year. Set on the fictional Caribbean island of Saint Marie, where “dark deeds unfold” against a sunny backdrop, the “charismatic” Don Gilet takes on the role of “straight-talking” and “endearingly grumpy” DI Mervin Wilson, said Ed Power in The i Paper. No one watches the show for its “dazzling storylines”; the enjoyment comes from the “familiar” characters and the soothing island setting. Gilet has stepped into the leading role “like a natural” – let’s hope he sticks around for the next series.
BBC iPlayer