Listen, we love a true crime moment, but if you’re looking to take a break from the unsolved, and enjoy a classic detective romp, you can’t go wrong with a show like Only Murders in the Building. With a star-studded cast, Wes-Anderson inspired classic luxury feel, and homages to mysteries past, it’s the perfect binge for the true crime girlies that just need a breather from guts and gore.
The only problem? There’s just three seasons.
Thankfully, mysteries are one of the most prevailing genres in TV and film and all over your FYP. There are shelves of mystery novels at the local library featuring bakery-owning amateur sleuths, and Kenneth Branagh is about to grace the big screen as Hercule Poirot for the third time. (Who’s the greatest detective in history? That’s a mystery no one can solve.)
We even have our favorite board games for those spooky nights in with the fam (Mrs. Peacock in the library with the candlestick, obviously).
And TV shows? Yup. Plenty of those to fill the time before the next season of Only Murders airs. The only real mystery is, which will you watch first?
What To Watch If You Like Only Murders in the Building
Because mystery is such a prevalent genre, with everything from noir to true crime to capers, there are a lot of exciting options to pick from while you’re waiting for more Only Murders in the Building. Here are just a few of our favorite shows for fans of the murder mystery genre.
1. Murder She Wrote (1984 to 1996)
Murder She Wrote may not have been the start of the murder mystery show, but it brought spunk, excitement, and new life to the genre from the very first episode. Angela Lansbury plays Jessica Fletcher, a murder mystery writer (who doesn’t love a fourth wall break?) living in Cabot Cove, Maine, and traveling around the world solving crime.
So much crime, it almost makes you wonder why no one checks out Jess when all the bodies start piling up.
The show is formulaic in a cozy, comfortable kind of way, and Angela is the ultimate heroine, classy, passionate, and cool under pressure. Just about every available hero on the show falls in love with her right out of the gate, and nearly every episode ends with the answer to the ultimate question of whodunnit?
This show is perfect for binge-watchers because there are over 12 seasons featuring more than 250 full-length episodes. And if you watch closely, you might just see some of your favorite stars making cameos before they hit it big.
2. Murdoch Mysteries (2008 to Present)
Unlike Murder She Wrote, Murdoch Mysteries is a modern mystery show set in the past. It features Detective William Murdoch, who works for the Toronto Constabulary, along with a wild and funny cast of secondary characters, and Murdoch’s long-time love interest and pioneering feminist doctor, Julia Ogden.
Not only is Murdoch Mysteries filled with delightful sets and classic murder mystery scenarios, but it also plays tongue-in-cheek with the audience by featuring historical figures from the time, like suffragettes, scientists, and politicians.
The show focuses a lot on the evolving discipline of forensic science, like fingerprinting and evidence gathering, and seems to wink at the audience about the future of detective work with a hint of steampunk cool.
3. Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries (2012 – 2015)
Miss Fisher is “It Girl” goals — and not just because she teams up with the oh-so-dreamy Detective Inspector Jack Robinson in the ultimate murder mystery series Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. The heir to a surprise fortune after World War I, Phryne Fisher sets off to become an Australian socialite, but her need to solve the mystery of her sister’s disappearance in their childhood leaves her unfulfilled and in search of answers.
She doesn’t hold to a life of leisure for long, instead pulling on threads and answering the riddles of the elite and the working classes alike, as Melbourne’s preeminent Lady Detective. Along the way, she fights the injustices of the time, collects friends and partners like her lady’s maid Dorothea Williams and her adopted daughter Jane, and engages in the ultimate slow-burn romance with the brilliant and terribly handsome Detective Inspector.
The show does come to a bit of an abrupt finish, but the movie offers a satisfactory ending to at least one of the mysteries of Phryne’s story.
4. Sherlock (2010 to 2017)
Listen, one of the great mysteries of BBC’s Sherlock is how it ran for four seasons and seven years and only produced 13 episodes—but they’re pretty great episodes. Clue finders have probably spotted that Sherlock is a reference to one of the most famous detectives of all time, Sherlock Holmes, himself.
It’s a modern reimagining of the classic, with episodes taking inspiration from the original Sir Arthur Conan Doyle books, and features John Watson, Moriarty, and many other names you know and love.
While Sherlock may be a little darker and more droll than some of the other shows on the list, it does have an element of the romp in the classic murder-solving music and in the visualized thought process of Sherlock’s deductions. There may only be a handful of episodes, but each one takes you on a delightful, winding journey to solving the greatest mysteries of the time, past or present. (And also, they’re pretty long, so clear your calendar)
5. Murderville (2022)
Murderville is part police procedural, part interactive game show, and part improv. It’s hosted by Will Arnett, who plays the senior detective of the Murderville Police Department, and each episode stars a guest who absolutely hasn’t gotten a script.
The show is only a few episodes long, but each one is laugh-out-loud funny while still making the audience want to follow the clues for the final reveal. In the end, the guest star must make a deduction about who the murderer might be, and the audience will guess alongside them — if you dare!
6. Poker Face (2023)
Poker Face is a little police procedural and a little magic and mayhem since the main character, Charlie Cale (played by Natasha Lyonne), can tell when people are lying. On the run from her own dangerous past — and driving a sweet, sweet Plymouth Barracuda, Charlie finds herself getting totally caught up in the lies of criminals and murderers.
It’s a quick-paced and exciting murder mystery show with a little bit of a twist, and we can’t help but love the way Natasha Lyonne plays the blunt and oh-so-cool Charlie. In fact, Lyonne was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards because of the role of Charlie Cale.
There’s only one season so far, but the show has already been renewed for the next season, and once you sit down to watch Poker Face, you won’t want to stop until you’ve seen every episode — that’s no lie!
7. Veronica Mars (2004 — 2007)
If you love a scrappy heroine with a chip on her shoulder and something to prove, Veronica Mars (featuring a young and adorable Kristen Bell) is the show to watch. Bell plays the teenage Mars, a high schooler and later college student in Neptune, California, and the daughter of a detective, as she sets out to make a name for her private investigator business.
The show has an air of classic noir, plenty of ridiculous situations for Veronica to escape from, and an exciting new mystery to solve with each new episode. It’s clever, female-forward, and always perfect for a binge or rewatch.
Binge a New Murder Mystery Series Today
What’s more fun than solving the next great mystery and staying updated on all the hottest shows? Whether you grew up on Scooby-Doo or just love the feeling of winning a game of Clue, murder mysteries are exciting, challenging, and perfect for creative viewers — viewers just like you. Follow along as our girls and guys get their guys above the law, and sometimes below, and justice gets served in the most fun, exciting, and sometimes silly way possible.
And while you may have finished Only Murders in the Building, there are plenty more mystery shows for you to enjoy. Take a weekend to binge watch the shorts, like Sherlock and Murderville, or really get into the classics of the modern mystery genre, like Murder She Wrote with the great Angela Lansbury herself.
Whether you love a lady detective from Australia or a Canadian policeman, there’s a murder mystery show to solve the greatest puzzle of them all — what will you turn on next?
Sources:
Hercule Poirot’s real-life model may have been detected in Torquay | Agatha Christie | The Guardian
A brief history of forensics | Washington Post
Arthur Conan Doyle | Biography, Books, Sherlock Holmes, Death, Fairies, & Facts | Britannica
Natasha Lyonne on Her Emmy Nomination for ‘Poker Face’ – The New York Times
