6 detective shows sharper, stranger, and better than Sherlock

Sherlock, the classic BBC series starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes, remains a fun, frisky detective show to this day. The mysteries that Sherlock and his associate, Dr. Watson, solve are pretty tightly written, and there’s a lot of whimsy and humor to make all the sleuthing go down easily.

For some fans, there’s too much. Other fans are still upset by the show’s controversial ending. The good news is that there are plenty of other detective series out there that outdo Sherlock for style, depth, and personality. If you’re looking for one, we’re on the case.

True Detective

Watch True Detective on HBO Max

Let’s get the obvious one out of the way first: I mean, it has “detective” right in the name. True Detective has been running for three seasons now (four, if you count the retrofitted show Night Country as a proper fourth season), and while the first remains the best, they’re all worth watching.

Most seasons of True Detective combine a pretty traditional tee-up — someone is killed or hurt, and the true detectives are called in to find out who — and then complicate it with flashbacks, philosophizing, and what can sometimes feel like supernatural elements, although the show is always careful never to go too far in that direction. Again, this meshes best in season 1, where the chemistry between Detectives Rust Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) and Marty Hart (Woody Harrelson) is just as captivating as the central mystery. But the second and third seasons (especially the third) are also worth watching, and I think the fourth, subtitled Night Country, is underrated.

Also, all of the seasons stand completely on their own as separate adventures, so if you don’t like one, you can simply skip to the next.

Mindhunter

Watch Mindhunter on Netflix

Mindhunter might be the gold standard for serious true crime TV. David Fincher, the director behind movies like Fight Club and Se7en, heads this show about the early days of the FBI’s Behavioral Sciences Unit, which seeks to understand the criminal mind. A trio of agents tries to convince their colleagues that what they’re doing has worth, all while visiting a cavalcade of real-life serial killers to understand who they’re dealing with. There are many people who are fascinated by serial killers, and Mindhunter can be seen as a form of fan service for them.

All of it is put together with the meticulous attention to detail that Fincher is known for. If any of this sounds intriguing to you, settle in, because you’re in for the binge of your life.

Poker Face

Watch Poker Face on Peacock

Not everything we recommend has to be unrelentingly grim and dark. Poker Face has more than a few things in common with Sherlock. To start, it’s about a prodigy who isn’t formally associated with any law enforcement agent. Sherlock Holmes is a police consultant with a genius-level intellect, and Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) is a wandering vagabond with the innate ability to know when people are lying. Both shows also have a healthy sense of humor and aren’t afraid to use it.

That said, Sherlock and Charlie are very different kinds of people; Sherlock Holmes is uptight and severe, while Charlie Cale is an easy-going, go-with-the-flow kind of person who sort of stumbles into high-stakes mysteries despite her better judgment, so you’re hardly getting the same show.

Poker Face was created by Rian Johnson, the guy behind the Knives Out movies (the third of which will be in theaters soon, for way too short a time), so obviously, he enjoys a good mystery. Poker Face has some of the best around.

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency

Watch Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency on AMC+

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency is even more like Sherlock than Poker Face, since it’s also made by the BCC and suffused with those English sensibilities Sherlock fans like so much. Dirk Gently (Samuel Barnett) is a “holistic detective” who solves crimes by examining the interconnectedness of all things, with Elijah Wood as his hapless assistant, Todd.

They really are a fun house mirror version of Holmes and Watson, but this show goes to weirder and wackier places than Sherlock ever dared. Check out this show if you’re not afraid of mainlining quirk.

Mare of Easttown

Watch Mare of Easttown on HBO Max

And we’re back to the grimness…very back. Mare of Easttown is a grounded, gritty series about a Pennsylvania detective (Kate Winslet) struggling to investigate the murder of a teenage girl while dealing with a raft of personal problems, including a divorce, her son’s suicide, and a custody battle with her son’s girlfriend over her grandchild.

The show has that trademark coat of HBO polish, with Winslet adding some star power. It’s closely observed and very specifically set in a part of the country not often explored on TV. It’s also among a number of detective series short enough to binge in a weekend, so you’re not making a lifetime commitment.

If you enjoy Mare of Easttown, creator Brad Ingelsby has recently wrapped up another high-end HBO crime drama called Task, which hits many of the same notes.

Dark Winds

Watch Dark Winds on AMC+

Easily the most underrated detective series on the air at the moment is Dark Winds, which follows a trio of Navajo Tribal Police officers as they investigate crimes in the American Southwest. The show is based on the Leaphorn & Chee novels by Tony Hillerman and features high-powered producers, including George R.R. Martin and the late Robert Redford.

The show is slow, steady, and carefully put together, with a rich atmosphere and excellent performances, particularly from Zahn McClaron as Joe Leaphorn. The show is just really good all around, from the meat-and-potatoes detective stories to the more personal and moody elements. It deserves more fans, including Sherlock fans.

John Q. Audience Member and the case of the perfect detective series

Mysteries never really go out of style, and Sherlock should be given credit for helping inspire our current crop of high-quality detective shows. Sherlock mostly holds up today, but also feels of its time; I’m glad these other series took what it put down and ran with it.

And if you’ve burned through all these detective shows and still aren’t satisfied, might I suggest moving on to some great horror movies, which scratch some of the itches that detective shows do? After all, a detective show is all about circling some evildoer until they’re caught. Horror takes that to the next level and asks what happens when the evildoer gets away with it.