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A juicy prestige mystery series with Nicole Kidman in the lead? Honestly, who ever heard of such a thing? As a crime procedural, it’s a bit more Special Ops: Lioness than Nine Perfect Strangers, but the era of Kidman domination demands variety, so now we get this series based on the long-running (29 books and counting) Kay Scarpetta series from Patricia Cornwell that follows the eponymous forensic pathologist. She’s joined by Jamie Lee Curtis as her sister, Dorothy, and Bobby Cannavale as a forensic operations specialist, which is a job that I definitely know what it is. Stream Scarpetta on Prime Video before examining these other juicy crime dramas.
Ballard (2025 – )
Based on another popular novel series, this one by Michael Connelly (the show itself a spin-off of the spin-off of the Prime Bosch series), Ballard stars Maggie Q as the title’s Detective Renée Ballard, head of an LAPD cold-case unit. Ballard takes over an understaffed, volunteer-heavy LAPD cold-case unit, solving (sometimes) decades-old crimes while uncovering, over the course of the first season, a web of corruption within the police department (if you can imagine). Stream Ballard on Prime Video.
The Åre Murders (2025)
Scandinavian cop drama (or Nordic noir, if you prefer) is its own sub-genre, so ubiquitous that the Disney+ show Agatha All Along did an episode parodying the form. Certainly The Åre Murders (adapted from the novels of Viveca Sten) makes the case that Swedes know from murder. Plain-spoken, troubled (as in: under suspension) detective Hanna Ahlander (Carla Sehn) leaves Stockholm to spend some time unwinding at her sister’s place in remote Åre. A case involving a missing girl finds her back on the job, and up against local police officer Daniel Lindskog, whom she’s reluctant to trust. Looking for a bleakly beautiful landscape and ambiguous morality? Åre might be the place for you. Stream The Åre Murders on Netflix.
When No One Sees Us (2025 – )
A distinctive police thriller imported from Spain, When No One Sees Us stars Mariela Garriga (Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning) as a Cuban-American special agent of the U.S. Army, and Maribel Verdú (Pan’s Labyrinth) as a Spanish Civil Guard sergeant struggling with a complex home life. Both are investigating an apparent death by violent suicide on an air base during Holy Week. It’s another complex mystery, but the performances and the emphasis on character over plot make it a standout. Stream When No One Sees Us on HBO Max.
Get Millie Black (2024)
Booker-winning novelist Marlon James created and co-wrote this wildly acclaimed miniseries, touching on bias, discrimination, and colonialism in the context of an impressively cracking missing-person drama. Having been encouraged to leave Scotland Yard following the death of a missing child she’d been searching for, Detective Millie-Jean Black (Tamara Lawrance) opts to return home to Jamaica and join the police force there. She reunites with her sibling, Hibiscus (Chyna McQueen, who received a BAFTA nomination for this, her first screen role), before being drawn into the case of a Black teenager who seems to have been groomed by a rich white family before disappearing—a case that forces her to work with a condescending colleague sent over from London. It was constructed as a miniseries, but there’s talk of a revival somewhere down the line. Stream Get Millie Black on HBO Max.
The Chestnut Man (2021 – )
Head on over to sunny Copenhagen, where Naia Thulin (Danica Curcic) is assigned to investigate the murder and dismemberment of a young woman in a playground, the best clue being a small figurine made of chestnuts nearby. When a politicians daughter goes missing, that wee chestnut man is enough to tie the case back to the murder of an entire family on a farm nearly four decades ago. It’s been a while, but the series is returning soon under the title The Chestnut Man: Hide and Seek. Stream The Chestnut Man on Netflix.
Prime Suspect (1991 – 2006)
A lady Detective Chief Inspector? What will they think of next? Prime Suspect isn’t entirely about sexism in the workplace, but it was born in an era when a female officer in the London’s Metropolitan Police would have been a rarity in the extreme. DCI Jane Tennison’s personal and professional struggles are inseparable from her work as a homicide investigator, but she’s very, very good at her job, and Helen Mirren’s absolutely iconic performance in the role has become a template followed, at least in parts, by many a cop show since. Stream Prime Suspect on Peacock, Prime Video, and Tubi.
Deadloch (2023 – )
Not a tonal match, in that it’s a comedy, but plays in a similar sandbox even as it takes crime drama tropes and flips them on their heads. It’s also an excellent mystery/crime procedural that simultaneously works as a very funny send-up of the genre—in this case we’re talking about the dour, dangerous world of shows like Broadchurch and its many imitators. The Australian import stars Kate Box stars as Dulcie Collins, the fastidious senior sergeant of the police force in the title’s fictional town, who, when a body turns up dead on the beach, is joined by Madeleine Sami’s Eddie Redcliffe—a crude, loud, and over-the-top obnoxious detective brought in to help solve the case. The web of secrets and mysteries in the tiny Tasmanian town makes everything appropriately addictive, with the added bonus of being, frequently, a hoot. Stream Deadloch on Prime Video.
What do you think so far?
Mare of Easttown (2021)
Kate Winslet picked up an Emmy for her performance as thoroughly troubled Mare Sheehan, a local hero in her days as a high school basketball champ whose adult reputation is rapidly losing its luster. As a police detective, she’s been unable to solve the case of a missing girl even as she’s confronted with a recently murdered teenage mother—you probably won’t be surprised to find that the cases are linked. Word on the street is that a second season might be in the works. Stream Mare of Easttown on HBO Max.
Bones (2005 – 2017)
A bit lighter in tone than Scarpetta, this network procedural gave us an impressive 12 seasons of forensic crime-solving involving cases both hot and cold. Emily Deschanel is Temperance Brennan, the “Bones” of the title, a forensic anthropologist and crime fiction author who’s recruited by earthy FBI Special Agent Booth (David Boreanaz) to help him solve cases that require an expertise in the examination of human remains (which, luckily enough, turns out to be just about every case). Stream Bones on Peacock, Prime Video, and Hulu.
Crossing Jordan (2001 – 2007)
Following her mother’s murder, Massachusetts forensic pathologist Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh (Jill Hennessy) becomes obsessed with solving violent crimes in a show that blends intense crime procedural motifs with quirky characters and relationships; the show’s got a unique tone that shouldn’t work but does, mostly. The stacked supporting cast includes Miguel Ferrer, Mahershala Ali, Kathryn Hahn, Lorraine Toussaint, and Jerry O’Connell. Stream Crossing Jordan on Peacock and Prime Video.
