So, you’ve read every bestselling whodunit and plowed through every true-crime podcast—what’s next? A murder mystery TV show, that’s what. For those who can’t get enough of the mystery genre, who fancy themselves amateur detectives, and who can’t stop themselves from picking up on every last clue when working their way through a thriller story in any format, it’s time to dive in to one of the many, many TV shows at your disposal.
You’ve got plenty of options, from old standbys like Law & Order, with its whopping 24 seasons (and counting!), to newer, more eccentric entries like the Shonda Rhimes-produced The Residence. There are also plenty of HBO prestige dramas, with their A-list casts, avalanches of Emmy nods, and certified “pop culture icon” status—The White Lotus or Big Little Lies, anybody?
Here, we’ve rounded up 24 of the best murder mystery shows to ever hit TV screens, from offbeat favorites to grittier, ripped-from-the-headlines miniseries. Whichever you choose, you’re sure to be pulled into a heart-pounding race to solve the murder before all is finally revealed in the season finale.
Ongoing Murder Mystery Shows
'Big Little Lies' (2017– )
The first episode opens with a murder, then jumps back several months earlier to introduce five moms in Monterey, California, who may or may not be involved somehow—played by Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley, Zoë Kravitz, and Laura Dern. Based on Liane Moriarty’s bestselling novel of the same name, the show was meant to be a one-season miniseries, but it was such a hit that it continued for a second season, and Kidman has claimed that a third is on the way.
'A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder' (2024– )
A precocious British teen named Pip takes into her own hands what she believes to be a bungled investigation into the death of a popular student at her school. Starring Wednesday breakout Emma Myers in the charming lead role, the series was renewed for a second season shortly after its debut.
'Law & Order' (1990– )
The murder mystery procedural to end them all: For several decades, Law & Order’s N.Y.C. detectives have graced TV screens every week to track down a criminal, typically a murderer, and then put them on trial for their crimes.
'Only Murders in the Building' (2021– )
It may seem antithetical for a murder mystery to be described as “kooky,” “charming,” or “heartwarming,” but this Hulu series is all of the above. Selena Gomez, Martin Short, and Steve Martin play a hilariously mismatched group of neighbors who take it upon themselves to investigate the suspiciously high number of murders in their apartment building and beyond.
'The Perfect Couple' (2024– )
Based on Elin Hilderbrand’s novel of the same name, this hit Netflix series stars the likes of Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, and Dakota Fanning and sees a mysterious murder disrupt an over-the-top wedding on Nantucket, leaving everyone involved a suspect. Season 2, based on another of Hilderbrand’s books, is now in the works.
'Poker Face' (2023– )
Poker Face comes from the brain of Knives Out creator Rian Johnson, so it should be no surprise that it’s full of twisty mysteries and tongue-in-cheek humor. Natasha Lyonne stars as Charlie, a casino worker who has to go on the run early in season 1 and can’t seem to stop encountering mysterious deaths—and successfully solving them—throughout her ensuing travels.
'Presumed Innocent' (2024– )
Harrison Ford took the lead role in the '90s film adaptation of Scott Turow’s novel, and more than 30 years later, Jake Gyllenhaal stepped into Rusty Sabich’s shoes for the TV version. Sabich is a prosecutor who’s tasked with investigating the grisly murder of one of his colleagues…up until he becomes a prime suspect in the case.
'The Residence' (2025– )
This comedy-drama-mystery series stars Uzo Aduba as an offbeat detective assigned to a murder case that occurred at the White House during a state dinner. As the series goes on, we meet dozens of White House staffers, practically every single one of whom seems to have a motive to kill.
'True Detective' (2014– )
In each of the four seasons of this anthology series—and, presumably, in the upcoming fifth iteration, too—a different team of detectives parses through an extremely dark, twisty murder mystery of some kind. Though every season is great in its own right, the first, which starred Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson as its investigative duo, may be one of the best seasons of television ever made.
'The White Lotus' (2021– )
Another beloved HBO anthology series, The White Lotus covers a lot of ground: Each season is packed with biting class commentary, spot-on portrayals of some of the worst people you’ll ever meet, and, yes, a murder. The series’ star-studded casts have traveled to White Lotus resorts in Hawaii, Italy, and Thailand, and include Natasha Rothwell, Aubrey Plaza, Jennifer Coolidge, Parker Posey, and so many more. Taking bets now on where the next season will be set, and which A-listers will make the trip.
Classic Murder Mystery Shows
'Monk' (2002–2009)
This aughts cable classic isn’t your typical police procedural. Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub) is a former homicide detective who left the police force after his obsessive-compulsive disorder and several phobias became too overwhelming following the mysterious death of his wife. Each episode sees him working as a private detective instead, balancing his brilliant mind with his mental health struggles to solve murders in each episode—all while digging for more details into his wife’s death throughout the series, too.
'Murder, She Wrote' (1984–1996)
Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) is a widowed mystery writer living in the fictional town of Cabot Cove, Maine, hoping for a regular, quiet life, only to end up encountering murders at frankly shocking rates. Fletcher, of course, often knows better than the local police and develops a habit of outsmarting them at practically every turn, making for a truly delightful take on the murder mystery genre.
'Twin Peaks' (1990–2017)
A cult classic, David Lynch's TV masterpiece Twin Peaks ran for just two seasons in the early ‘90s, followed by a prequel film, before its beloved status got it picked up for one more season in 2017. The show starts with the discovery of a dead teenage girl, Laura Palmer, and the arrival of FBI Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) to investigate the case. It's campy, spooky, and smart, and you’ll see right away why so many people call it one of the best TV shows of all time.
'Veronica Mars' (2004–2019)
The titular character, played by Kristen Bell, is just your average teenage girl. That is, if the average teenage girl spends her time working as a private investigator when she’s not at school, solving weekly crimes while also investigating the mysterious death of her best friend. Similarly to Twin Peaks, fan support got an extra season of the show and a feature film made nearly a decade after Veronica Mars’ original three-season run had come to a close.
Murder Mystery Miniseries
'Defending Jacob' (2020)
What would you do if your child were accused of murder? That’s the question plaguing the parents (Chris Evans and Michelle Dockery) of 14-year-old Jacob (Jaeden Martell) in this haunting Apple TV+ miniseries. Based on William Landay’s novel of the same name, the series will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.
'Lady in the Lake' (2024)
Natalie Portman and Moses Ingram received plenty of well-deserved praise for their roles in this miniseries. Portman plays a housewife who leaves her past life behind to become a journalist, investigating two local mysteries: the disappearance of an 11-year-old girl and the murder of a bartender, played by Ingram.
'Mare of Easttown' (2021)
There was a period in the spring of 2021 when you seemingly couldn’t go anywhere without hearing about Mare of Easttown and Kate Winslet’s incredible portrayal of the titular Philadelphia detective. For good reason: Winslet earned an Emmy for her role in this HBO miniseries, in which she was haunted not only by the deaths and disappearances of local girls, but also by a heavy dose of chaos in her personal life.
'A Murder at the End of the World' (2023)
A reclusive billionaire (Clive Owen) invites nine guests to his isolated Icelandic compound, where one promptly dies. Luckily, another of the guests, our protagonist Darby (Emma Corrin), is an amateur detective, and she’s very much on the case, racing against time to figure out who the murderer is before they strike again.
'Sharp Objects' (2018)
After the massive success of Gone Girl and its film adaptation, Hollywood picked up another of author Gillian Flynn’s works: Sharp Objects, the creepy, confusing story of a reporter (Amy Adams) who returns to her hometown to investigate a pair of murders, only to be drawn back into her own dark past.
'The Undoing' (2020)
Nicole Kidman simply can’t say no to a prestige TV adaptation of a bestselling mystery book—and thank goodness for that. In this one, she stars opposite Hugh Grant as a woman who begins to suspect that her husband may be responsible for the murder of another mother at their child’s school.
True Crime Murder Mystery Series
'Mindhunter' (2017–2019)
Though it lasted only two seasons, this David Fincher-led series has already gained cult-favorite status among many pockets of true crime lovers. It’s based on the stories of some of the first FBI criminal profilers—played here by Jonathan Groff and Holt McCallany—who interviewed notorious serial killers in the 1970s and ‘80s to gain a better understanding of their psychology, to use that information to help local police track them down.
'The Staircase' (2022)
Unlike just about every other series on this list, The Staircase may not provide the satisfying ending you expect from most murder mysteries, which is made all the more frustrating since it’s based on an actual case. Colin Firth stars as Michael Peterson, the novelist who was convicted in 2003 of murdering his wife (played here by Toni Collette), though that conviction was far from the end of the story.
'Under the Banner of Heaven' (2022)
Andrew Garfield stars as a Mormon detective whose faith is severely tested as he investigates the murders of a woman and her young child, uncovering unnerving links between the brutal crime and the Mormon community. The series is based on Jon Krakauer’s fascinating 2003 nonfiction book of the same name, which serves as both a chronicle of the real-life 1984 murders and an exploration of the Mormon faith, and is well worth a read, too.
'Under the Bridge' (2024)
In the late ‘90s, a young Canadian girl named Reena Virk was killed in a particularly tragic case. This Hulu series dramatizes the horrific events, with Lily Gladstone playing a local police officer investigating the crime and, in a somewhat meta twist, Riley Keough portraying Rebecca Godfrey, the author who wrote the true crime book on which the show is based.
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