The Short Answer
Modern Police Procedurals
- Line of Duty — AC-12 investigates bent coppers from within the force; Series 7 due 2027. (BritBox)
- Blue Lights — rookie Belfast officers in their first year on the beat; Series 4 premieres Nov 12. (BritBox)
- Trigger Point — Vicky McClure leads a bomb-disposal thriller. (BritBox)
- Sherwood — an ensemble crime drama rooted in a divided mining town. (BritBox)
- Silent Witness — long-running forensic pathology drama. (BritBox)
Coastal & Island Mysteries
- Shetland — atmospheric murder mysteries on Scotland's northern isles. (BritBox)
- Death in Paradise — locked-room mysteries on a fictional Caribbean island. (BritBox)
- Beyond Paradise — the Death in Paradise universe's Devon-set spin-off. (BritBox)
- Signora Volpe — a retired MI6 officer solves crimes in rural Italy. (Acorn TV)
- Return to Paradise — the Death in Paradise universe's Australia-set spin-off. (BritBox)
Cozy Village Mysteries
- Midsomer Murders — England's longest-running village mystery series. (Acorn TV)
- Father Brown — a crime-solving Catholic priest in 1950s Cotswolds. (BritBox)
- Death Valley — a comedy-mystery pairing a retired TV detective with a real one, in Wales. (BritBox)
- The Marlow Murder Club — three amateur sleuths in a Thames-side town; Season 4 renewed. (PBS Masterpiece)
- Art Detectives — a detective duo investigates art-world crime. (Acorn TV)
Detective Dramas Returning
- Dalgliesh — P.D. James's literary detective, atmospheric and character-driven. (Acorn TV)
- Lynley — a BritBox Original reboot of the Inspector Lynley novels. (BritBox)
- Ludwig — David Mitchell as a puzzle setter impersonating his missing twin. (BritBox)
- The Chelsea Detective — a laid-back DI solving crimes across London. (Acorn TV)
- Professor T — an eccentric Cambridge criminology professor; Season 5 premiered Oct 18. (PBS Masterpiece)
Literary & Page-to-Screen Mysteries
- Marble Hall Murders — the final installment of Anthony Horowitz's Susan Ryeland trilogy. (PBS Masterpiece)
- Bookish — Mark Gatiss as a crime-solving bookshop owner in postwar London. (PBS Masterpiece)
- Maigret — a young, present-day take on Georges Simenon's Parisian detective. (PBS Masterpiece)
- Unforgotten — cold cases resurface with devastating consequences; Season 7 filming. (PBS Masterpiece)
- Grace — John Simm as a Brighton detective drawn to the paranormal, from Peter James's novels. (BritBox)
Why These 25?
Looking for a broader starting point, including the classics? This list is different — every show here is currently airing, has an officially confirmed next season, or has been renewed, so it's built for finding your next watch in 2026 rather than revisiting a finished favourite.
Modern Police Procedurals
Fast-moving, character-driven crime dramas set in the present day, with new seasons currently airing, filming, or confirmed.
Line of Duty
AC-12, an anti-corruption unit, investigates bent coppers from within the force, in a compulsive, twist-filled thriller. Series 7 has finished filming, with Vicky McClure, Martin Compston and Adrian Dunbar returning, and is due in 2027.
Loved Line of Duty? See shows like it →Blue Lights
Blue Lights follows a group of rookie police officers navigating their first year on the beat in present-day Belfast, and has grown into one of the most acclaimed dramas on British TV, winning the BAFTA for Best Drama Series in 2025. Series 4 is airing now on BBC One and iPlayer, with a BritBox US premiere confirmed for November 12, 2026.
Loved Blue Lights? See shows like it →Trigger Point
Vicky McClure stars as bomb disposal officer Lana Washington in this high-tension thriller from Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio. Series 4 aired on ITV in August and September 2026, with a BritBox US date still to be announced.
Sherwood
A present-day murder in a former Nottinghamshire mining village reopens decades-old wounds from the 1984 miners' strike, in this acclaimed ensemble crime drama. Series 3 began filming in early 2026 and is expected on BBC One later in the year, with no exact date set yet.
Silent Witness
Britain's longest-running forensic pathology drama follows the Lyell Centre team as they uncover the truth behind the country's most complex deaths. Series 30 — a milestone season — is confirmed and began filming in early 2026.
Coastal & Island Mysteries
Detectives working remote islands and sun-soaked coastlines, where the scenery is as much a draw as the whodunit.
Shetland
Detectives police the windswept Shetland Islands, where the landscape is as dramatic as the crimes they investigate. Series 11 began filming in early 2026, and the BBC has said it will return later in 2026.
Loved Shetland? See shows like it →Death in Paradise
A fish-out-of-water British detective solves impossible locked-room murders on the fictional Caribbean island of Saint Marie. Season 16 has been greenlit, with the BBC confirming the show will run through at least Season 17 in 2028.
Loved Death in Paradise? See shows like it →Beyond Paradise
The Death in Paradise spin-off follows DI Humphrey Goodman as he swaps Saint Marie for a quiet Devon coastal town, only to find that murder follows him there too. Series 5 began filming in Devon and Cornwall in August 2026 and is expected in 2027.
Loved Beyond Paradise? See shows like it →Signora Volpe
A retired MI6 officer settles into a quiet life in the Umbrian countryside, only to keep stumbling into murder. Season 3, filmed on location in Lazio and Umbria, is streaming on Acorn TV from October 5, 2026.
Return to Paradise
A Death in Paradise spin-off set on the sun-soaked Australian coast, following a detective who returns home after a career-ending scandal in London. All of Season 2 is now streaming on BritBox, and Season 3 has already been renewed and is filming.
Cozy Village Mysteries
Gentle, comforting whodunits set in picturesque English villages — murder rates implausibly high, stakes reassuringly low.
Midsomer Murders
Impossibly picturesque English villages hide an impossibly high murder rate in Britain's longest-running village mystery. Season 26 began filming in early 2026, with no premiere date set yet.
Loved Midsomer Murders? See shows like it →Father Brown
Mark Williams stars as the crime-solving Kembleford priest in one of Britain's most-watched daytime dramas. The show has been renewed for two more seasons, with filming on Season 14 already underway.
Loved Father Brown? See shows like it →Death Valley
An aging Welsh TV detective and a young real-life detective sergeant team up to solve crimes in the Brecon Beacons, blending genuine comedy with genuine mystery. Season 1 is streaming on BritBox, and Season 2 arrives on BritBox in the US on November 17, 2026.
The Marlow Murder Club
Three unlikely amateur sleuths in the Thames-side town of Marlow team up to solve murders in this adaptation of Robert Thorogood's novels. Season 3 aired on PBS Masterpiece from September through October 2026, with Season 4 already renewed.
Loved The Marlow Murder Club? See shows like it →Art Detectives
A specialist police unit investigates crimes involving stolen and forged art and antiques across Britain. Season 2 has been confirmed, debuting with a Christmas special in December 2026.
Detective Dramas Returning
Character-driven detective series, from literary adaptations to comic reinventions of the genre, all with new seasons on the way.
Dalgliesh
Bertie Carvel plays P.D. James's brooding detective-poet Adam Dalgliesh in this atmospheric run of adaptations. Season 4 has been greenlit for 2027 and will include the series' first fully original, non-novel story.
Lynley
A fresh adaptation of Elizabeth George's Inspector Lynley novels, pairing the aristocratic detective with working-class DS Barbara Havers. Season 2 has been renewed with an expanded eight-episode run, which began filming in Dublin in spring 2026.
Ludwig
David Mitchell plays a reclusive puzzle-setter who impersonates his missing twin brother, a police detective, and turns out to be surprisingly good at solving crimes. Season 2 premiered October 13, 2026 in the US, with Season 3 already renewed.
Loved Ludwig? See shows like it →The Chelsea Detective
DI Max Arnold investigates crimes among London's wealthy Chelsea set while living modestly on a houseboat and working through his own complicated marriage. All four episodes of Season 4 are now streaming on Acorn TV.
Professor T
A brilliant but socially awkward criminology professor assists Cambridge police investigations, drawing on his own idiosyncratic methods and personal history. Season 5 premiered on PBS October 18, 2026.
Literary & Page-to-Screen Mysteries
Adaptations of celebrated crime novelists — Anthony Horowitz, Georges Simenon, P.D. James, and more — still bringing new stories to screen.
Marble Hall Murders
The third and final installment of Anthony Horowitz's Susan Ryeland trilogy, following the book editor as she's drawn into another mystery-within-a-mystery involving the Atticus Pünd novels. It debuted on PBS Masterpiece in September 2026.
Loved Marble Hall Murders? See shows like it →Bookish
Mark Gatiss stars as a bookshop owner with a knack for solving crimes in postwar London. Season 2 aired in the UK starting in August 2026, with a US premiere date still to come; a Christmas special and a renewed Season 3 are also on the way.
Maigret
Benjamin Wainwright plays a young, present-day version of Georges Simenon's classic Parisian detective, leading La Crim, the city's serious crime unit. Season 2 premiered October 18, 2026 on PBS Masterpiece.
Unforgotten
Long-buried cold cases surface with devastating consequences for the people connected to them, in one of British TV's most quietly devastating crime dramas. Season 7 began filming in January 2026, though a premiere date hasn't been set.
Loved Unforgotten? See shows like it →Grace
John Simm stars as DS Roy Grace, a Brighton detective balancing police work with an unshakeable belief in the paranormal, based on Peter James's bestselling novels. Series 7 has already been renewed and is expected in 2027.
Where to Stream in the US
Nearly every show on this page lives on one of three services.
Streaming details here are for US viewers. Watching from the UK, Canada, Australia or New Zealand? Services and catalogues differ from country to country, so a show may live on a different platform where you are.
Mystery Lovers Deserve a Little Flair
Whether you're Team Vera, Team Poirot, or still deciding — mark your love of a good whodunit wherever you go.
What Readers Ask Most
What are the best British mystery shows to watch in 2026?
Shetland, Line of Duty, and Blue Lights are among the biggest returning crime dramas in 2026, while The Marlow Murder Club, Ludwig, and Marble Hall Murders bring cozier, character-driven mysteries with new seasons this year.
Where can I stream British mystery shows in the US?
Most modern crime dramas stream on BritBox. Cozy village mysteries and several Acorn Originals live on Acorn TV. Literary adaptations including Unforgotten, Maigret, and Marble Hall Murders are on PBS Masterpiece.
What British mystery show should I start with?
Shetland is one of the most accessible starting points — atmospheric and character-driven without being too dark. For something cozier, The Marlow Murder Club or Midsomer Murders are gentle, comforting entry points.
Which of these shows are getting new seasons soonest?
Ludwig Season 2, Maigret Season 2, and Professor T Season 5 all premiered in October 2026 — next up are Blue Lights Series 4 (BritBox US, November 12, 2026) and Death Valley Season 2 (BritBox US, November 17, 2026). Trigger Point Series 4 has aired in the UK, with a BritBox US date still to be announced.
Is this list only currently-airing shows?
This guide focuses on British mystery and detective series that are currently airing, confirmed for a new season, or actively renewed — rather than beloved classics that have already concluded, like Poirot or Inspector Morse.
The Mystery Fan on Your List, Sorted
Answer three quick questions and the Gift Finder suggests books, box sets and cozy extras from the British TV Hub gift guides.
Explore More
Affiliate disclosure: British TV Hub is a participant in the Amazon Associates program and earns from qualifying purchases. Some links on this page may be affiliate links to BritBox, Acorn TV, and PBS Masterpiece. This never affects the recommendations — these are genuine editorial picks.
Five British TV Picks. Every Sunday.
Your weekly guide to what to watch next, plus what’s new on BritBox and Acorn TV.