The Short Answer
- Inspector George Gently — an old-school detective and his younger sergeant police a changing North East England in the 1960s. (Acorn TV)
- DCI Banks — a dedicated Yorkshire detective and his team take on serious crimes, based on Peter Robinson's novels. (BritBox)
- A Touch of Frost — David Jason's scruffy, stubborn detective solves cases in the fictional town of Denton. (BritBox)
- The Inspector Lynley Mysteries — an aristocratic inspector and his working-class sergeant clash and cooperate on murder cases. (BritBox)
- Dalgliesh — P.D. James's poet-detective investigates murders in 1970s England. (Acorn TV)
- Vienna Blood — a young doctor studying under Freud helps a police detective solve murders in 1900s Vienna. (PBS Masterpiece)
- Van der Valk — a sharp Amsterdam detective and his team solve feature-length cases around the city. (PBS Masterpiece)
- Karen Pirie — a young Scottish detective reopens cold cases, based on Val McDermid's novels. (BritBox)
Streaming availability checked October 2026 and may change — check BritBox, Acorn TV, PBS Passport, or Prime Video for current availability.
Inspector George Gently
Inspector George Gently
Martin Shaw plays a principled senior detective working in the North East of England in the 1960s, paired with an ambitious young sergeant played by Lee Ingleby. The relationship between an older, steady detective and a younger partner with different instincts will feel familiar to anyone who loved Lewis and Hathaway.
DCI Banks
DCI Banks
Stephen Tompkinson stars as a dedicated Yorkshire detective in this adaptation of Peter Robinson's Inspector Banks novels. Like Lewis, it is a grounded, character-led procedural built around a decent man doing a difficult job, with each story told over more than one episode.
A Touch of Frost
A Touch of Frost
David Jason plays DI Jack Frost, a rumpled and rule-bending detective who cares far more about victims than paperwork or promotion. It ran for close to two decades of feature-length cases, and like Lewis it grounds every mystery in a working detective's sense of right and wrong.
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries
Nathaniel Parker and Sharon Small play the aristocratic DI Thomas Lynley and his working-class sergeant, Barbara Havers, in this adaptation of Elizabeth George's novels. The pair's differences in background and temperament drive the show in the same way Lewis's plain-spoken style plays against Hathaway's learning.
Dalgliesh
Dalgliesh
Bertie Carvel plays P.D. James's reserved poet-detective Adam Dalgliesh, investigating murders in 1970s England across stories told over two episodes each. Its literary, slow-burning mysteries suit viewers who enjoyed the scholarly Oxford backdrop and Hathaway's quiet intellect.
Vienna Blood
Vienna Blood
A young Viennese doctor studying the new science of psychoanalysis teams up with a Viennese police detective to solve murders in the early 1900s. Based on Frank Tallis's novels, it pairs an intellectual outsider with a practical copper, much like Hathaway and Lewis.
Van der Valk
Van der Valk
Marc Warren plays an Amsterdam police commissaris who relies on sharp observation and street smarts to solve feature-length cases around the city. The canals and old streets play a similar role to the Oxford colleges in Lewis, giving each mystery an elegant, distinctive setting.
Karen Pirie
Karen Pirie
Lauren Lyle plays a young Scottish detective who reopens long-unsolved cases in this adaptation of Val McDermid's novels. Each series tells one story across three feature-length episodes, so it suits viewers who like Lewis's unhurried, carefully plotted investigations.
