Perhaps the most common genre of TV show is the crime series. Whatever else TV viewers tend to like, they’re almost guaranteed to love a show about a murder being solved. Because there are so many crime shows out there, though, they can actually take a bunch of different forms.
Shows like Netflix‘s Bodkin combine the trappings of the crime show with a lighter tone. It follows a group of podcasters as they investigate a murder in a small Irish town. We’ve found three shows that have something in common with Bodkin, whether it’s the show’s comedic vibe or its focus on a very particular place. If you liked what Bodkin had to offer, these shows are a great place to start.
The Afterparty (2022-2023)
Perhaps the ideal lighthearted mystery series, The Afterparty tells the story of a group of former friends who gather for their high school reunion, only for one of them to be murdered. In addition to its great cast, the brilliance of The Afterparty comes in large part from the way every episode retells the events of the murder from a different perspective.
As each character tells their story, the genre trappings they use change. One character revisits the night of the murder in the form of an animated movie, while others use the traits of an action movie, etc. It’s a brilliant conceit, and one that makes every episode feel fresh.
All seasons of The Afterparty are streaming on Apple TV+.
Mare of Easttown (2021)
Anchored by a brilliant central performance from Kate Winslet, Mare of Easttown is both the story of a detective solving a murder case and a chronicle of life in a small Pennsylvania town. In fact, the series may spend more time on family drama than it does on the central case it’s investigating, until we discover that the two may be more linked than we initially expected.
Mare of Easttown is not the first show to combine a compelling crime procedural with more sociological elements, but it may be one of the very best examples of that kind of story ever made.
Mare of Easttown is streaming on Max.
Death and Other Details (2024)
Telling the story of a woman who inadvertently finds herself at the center of a locked room murder mystery and needs the help of the world’s best detective to prove her innocence, Hulu‘s Death and Other Details is the perfect balance of a more serious crime caper that still has time for plenty of fun.
Starring Violett Beane and Mandy Patinkin in what essentially becomes a two-hander over the course of the show’s running time, Death and Other Details is witty and sharp, and provides a thoughtful and satisfying conclusion to its central mystery. Fans of Only Murders in the Building should check it out.
Death and Other Details is streaming on Hulu.
