TELEVISION

Top Cop Shows Forensic Fanatics 13 Top TV Mysteries

77 Sunset Strip

This Private Eye series was so cool the breeze from the show could air condition your house.

Banacek

The adventures of proud Polish-American freelance insurance sleuth Thomas Banacek.

Baretta

Tony Baretta is a street-smart, maverick undercover cop with the NYPD, who won't hesitate to toss the rule book out the window if he has to.

Barnaby Jones

A different kind of private eye, Barnaby Jones is a trained criminologist who uses his head and modern science to quietly nail his man.

Blacke's Magic

A magician and his con-man father solve mysteries with a combination of sleight of hand and con games.

Boston Blackie

Blackie and his gal pal Mary, with their dog Whitey, solve Los Angeles crimes before the cops can.

Bourbon Street Beat

A former New Orleans cop teams up with an Ivy League lawyer and opens a private detective agency with offices on Bourbon Street.

Broadchurch

The murder of a young boy in a small coastal town brings with it a media frenzy, which threatens to tear the community apart.

Burke's Law

Amos Burke was a millionaire Los Angeles chief of detectives with a chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce, a mansion, and a lifestyle to go with it.

Cadfael

Introducing the medieval era cases of the Crusader-turned-Monk who investigates mysteries in the Norman English town of Shrewsbury.

Cagney & Lacey

Two female police detectives cooperate in both their professional and personal lives.

Cannon

Frank Cannon — an overweight, balding ex-cop with a deep voice and expensive culinary tastes — is a high-priced private investigator.

Charlie's Angels

A wealthy mystery-man runs a detective agency via a speaker-phone and his personal assistant. His detectives are three beautiful women, who end up in all manner of trying situations.

CHiPs

Follows the daily beats of two state motorcycle patrolmen as they patrol the freeways in and around Los Angeles.

Cold Case Files

Thanks to the efforts of a special breed of modern detective, no one escapes the laws of justice — no matter how old or cold the case.

Columbo

Los Angeles homicide detective Lieutenant Columbo uses his humble demeanor and well-concealed brilliance to catch even the smartest of criminals.

Crazy Like a Fox

Rough-and-tumble private eye Harry Fox, Sr. solves crimes with the reluctant help of his son, respected San Francisco lawyer Harrison Fox, Jr.

Crime Story

A Chicago police detective strives to stop a young hood's ruthless rise through the ranks of organized crime.

Criminal Minds

Chronicles the cases of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, which analyzes the nation's most dangerous serial killers and the heinous crimes they commit, in an effort to understand and stop them more effectively.

Crossing Jordan

Despite a checkered career, sexy and brilliant Boston medical examiner Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh goes above and beyond to solve cases.

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

Follows the long nights of the detectives at the Las Vegas Police Department Crime Scene Investigations bureau — the second busiest crime lab in America.

CSI: Miami

CSI: Miami follows a group of detectives assigned to the Miami-Dade Police Department's elite CSI unit operating out of the (fictional) Miami Dade police headquarters.

CSI: New York

This third iteration of the CSI franchise sets up shop in the Big Apple, where taciturn detective Mac Taylor and his new partner, Jo Danville, lead a crime-solving team.

Diagnosis: Murder

Dr. Mark Sloan has a knack for getting into trouble, working through the twists and turns of mysteries and solving crimes with the help of his son Steve, a homicide detective.

Dragnet

"The story you are about to see is true", "Just the facts, ma'am", "We were working the day watch" — all of these hugely popular phrases came from Dragnet — and set the realistic tone of this early police drama.

Elementary

This award-winning series offers a modern take on the cases of Sherlock Holmes, with the detective living in present-day New York City.

Ellery Queen

Chronicles the adventures of super sleuth Ellery Queen in the 1940s. Queen was a mystery writer who assisted his father, a detective with the New York Police Department.

Fargo

Chronicles of deception, intrigue and murder set in and around frozen Minnesota. Yet all of these tales lead back, one way or another, to Fargo, North Dakota.

Foyle's War

As World War II rages around the world, DCS Foyle fights his own war on the home-front as he investigates crimes on the southern coast of England.

Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries

Frank and Joe Hardy are brother amateur detectives from Bayport, Mass, who live with their famous private-eye father, Fenton Hardy. Nancy Drew is an amateur sleuth who solves mysteries with her best friend George Fayne, and her father's paralegal Ned Nickerson.

Harry O

Harry Orwell is a world-weary private investigator who was forced out of the San Diego Police Department after he was shot and the bullet became lodged near his spine.

Hart to Hart

Jonathan Hart is a self-made millionaire — the CEO of Hart Industries. His gorgeous wife Jennifer is a freelance journalist. Both of them are amateur sleuths.

Hawaii Five-O

Follows the work of Hawaii Five-0, an elite branch of the Hawaii State Police answerable only to the governor and headed by stalwart tough guy Steve McGarrett.

Hawaiian Eye

Set in Honolulu, this show follows the cases of Hawaiian Eye Private Investigations and the two handsome, slick, tough-guy detectives who run it.

Hercule Poirot

The intelligent and eccentric Belgian detective matches wits with a series of first class deceptions and deceivers.

Hill Street Blues

The original "ensemble drama," this is the story of an overworked, under-staffed police precinct in an anonymous inner city.

Homicide: Life on the Street

A one-hour drama which offered a compelling look in and around a Homicide unit of the Baltimore Police Department.

Honey West

After the death of her father, sexy Honey West takes over his high-tech private detective firm, assisted by rugged Sam Bolt and her pet ocelot Bruce.

How to Get Away with Murder

Ambitious law students and their brilliant criminal defense professor become involved in a twisted murder plot that promises to change the course of their lives.

Ironside

Wheelchair-bound detective Robert T. Ironside, nearly killed by an assassin's bullet, battles the bad guys on the streets of San Francisco.

Kojak

Tough guy Lt. Theo Kojak heads up this popular police drama, but his trademark is a fondness for lollipops. Who loves ya baby?

Law & Order

This show's durable formula tracks a crime from the police investigation into its prosecution in court.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent

This show is focused on the NYPD's Major Case Squad, in its efforts to stop the worst criminal offenders in New York.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

In New York City, the detectives who investigate sex crimes are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit.

Longstreet

An insurance investigator blinded in an explosion tracks down the jewel thieves who murdered his wife, and continues his career as a detective.

M Squad

The hard-hitting adventures of tough Lieutenant Frank Ballinger, a member of the Chicago Police Department's M Squad, an elite crime-fighting unit.

Magnum, P.I.

On the beautiful Hawaiian islands, Magnum is a P.I. who enjoys life, his buddies and friends and who works hard enough to keep it real.

Mannix

One of the most violent shows of its era, Mannix followed the adventures of Los Angeles P.I. Joe Mannix, who first worked for a detective agency known as Intertect.

McCloud

Sam McCloud is a Marshal from Taos, New Mexico, who takes a temporary assignment in the New York City Police Department.

McMillan & Wife

San Francisco Police Commissioner Stewart "Mac" McMillan and his amateur detective wife keep their marriage fresh while solving the city's most baffling crimes.

Miami Vice

Pulsing with authentic 1980s music, fashion and vibe, "Miami Vice" follows two undercover detectives and their team through the mean streets of Miami.

Midsomer Murders

A veteran Detective chief inspector (DCI) and his young sergeant investigate murders around the regional British community of Midsomer County.

Mike Hammer

Mike Hammer is a two-fisted private eye. He's tough, he's honest, and the girls love him. The series follows his exploits as he solves a variety of crimes, most of which involve murder.

Mindhunter

In the late 1970s, two FBI agents break new ground by immersing themselves in the disordered psychology of murder and getting dangerously close to incarcerated psychopathic killers.

The Mod Squad

Three teens who got in trouble with the law help themselves and others by solving crimes under the watchful eye of their Lieutenant boss.

Monk

After the unsolved murder of his wife, Detective Adrian Monk develops OCD, which includes a terror of germs and contamination.

Moonlighting

Tells the quirky tales of the quirky cases of a former model and a smart aleck detective who manage a private detective agency.

Murder, She Wrote

Professional writer and amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher uses intellect, charm, and persistence to get to the bottom of every crime she encounters.

Murdoch Mysteries

In the 1890s, William Murdoch uses radical forensic techniques for his time, including fingerprinting and trace evidence, in order to solve some of the city's most gruesome murders.

Naked City

A crime drama focused on the lives of the detectives of New York's 65th Precinct, with an emphasis on the human element of real-life crime.

NYPD Blue

Depicts the gritty reality of life in a New York City Police unit as its officers work their cases with a grim determination.

Perry Mason

Perry Mason specializes in defending "impossible" defendants. Aided by secretary Della Street and investigator Paul Drake, his efforts lead to startling truths.

Peter Gunn

Detective Peter Gunn worked in style. Known as Pete to his friends and Gunn to his enemies, he did his job in a consummately cool way.

Quincy, M.E.

As a Coroner, Quincy examines corpses and often discovers facts that run counter to the theories of the police.

The Rockford Files

Ex-convict turned private-eye Jim Rockford would just as soon not fight if he doesn't have to, and would rather go fishing than work — but he's still really, really good at his job.

The Saint

The Saint steals from rich criminals and keeps the spoils — usually managing to put the criminals behind bars in the process.

Streets of San Francisco

A veteran cop with more than twenty years on the force is teamed with a young Inspector to solve crimes in San Francisco.

Surfside 6

Ken, Dave, and Sandy are hip young private detectives living on, and working out of, a houseboat in Miami, Florida.

The Thin Man

Ex-private eye Nick Charles marries Nora and lives in a luxurious Park Avenue apartment. His underworld friends get him involved in crimes that he has a talent for solving.

Tightrope

Mike Connors is an anonymous police undercover agent who infiltrates organized crime to expose the kingpins and their plots.

True Detective

This seasonal anthology series depicts police investigations as they unearth the personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within and outside the law.

Vera

With her caustic wit and idiosyncratic charm, DCI Vera Stanhope and her team confront a series of murder mysteries set against the breathtaking Northumberland landscape.

Womens' Murder Club

A homicide detective, a medical examiner, a newspaper reporter and a young assistant D.A. collaborate to solve homicide investigations.