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Sherlock poster

Shows that feel likeSherlock (2010–2017)

A modern update finds the famous sleuth and his doctor partner solving crime in 21st century London.

If you loved Sherlock, the closest series we have are Mare of Easttown (2021), Elementary (2012) and Luther (2010). All three share Sherlock's twisty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Alienist (2018).

★ 9 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗4 seasons · BBC Onecreated by Mark Gatisscerebralwittytwistykinetic
12 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video

If Sherlock hit the spot, these will too

Mare of Easttown poster
Mare of Easttown
2021 · 1 season · HBO
★ 8.4drama · crime · mysteryMax

A detective whose brain is her armour, and the mess it hides

The difference: Ground-level and grieving — no flourish, no showing off for the camera

A detective in a small Pennsylvania town investigates a local murder while trying to keep her life from falling apart.

Elementary poster
Elementary
2012–2019 · 7 seasons · CBS
★ 7.9drama · mystery · crimePrime VideoHulu

Holmes and Watson rebuilt for now, deduction turned into a partnership

The difference: Weekly network cases across seven seasons — steadier and less flashy

A modern-day drama about a crime-solving duo that cracks the NYPD's most impossible cases. Following his fall from grace in London and a stint in rehab, eccentric Sherlock escapes to Manhattan where his wealthy father forces him to live with his worst nightmare - a sober companion, Dr. Watson.

Luther poster
Luther
2010–2019 · 5 seasons · BBC One
★ 8.4crime · drama · mysteryMaxHulu

A brilliant London detective who is barely holding himself together

The difference: Bleaker and more physical — no flourishes, no puzzles

A dark psychological crime drama starring Idris Elba as Luther, a man struggling with his own terrible demons, who might be as dangerous as the depraved murderers he hunts.

Defending Jacob poster
Defending Jacob
2020 · 1 season · Apple TV
★ 7.7drama · mystery · crimeApple TV+

A crime approached through obsessive certainty about what happened

The difference: A family under suspicion, told slowly — no detective to admire

A family's lives are irreparably disrupted when the 14-year-old son is accused of murdering a fellow classmate.

The Outsider poster
The Outsider
2020 · 1 season · HBO
★ 7.6drama · mystery · crimeMax

Evidence that refuses to add up, worked over by unusual investigators

The difference: Dread-soaked and supernatural — the answer is not clever, it is awful

When an insidious supernatural force edges its way into a seemingly straightforward investigation into the gruesome murder of a young boy, it leads a seasoned cop and an unorthodox investigator to question everything they believe in.

The Chestnut Man poster
The Chestnut Man
2021–2026 · 2 seasons · Netflix
★ 7.6drama · crime · mysteryNetflix

Detectives reading a killer's signature for what it means

The difference: Nordic and grounded — no genius, no theatre

At a grisly murder scene sits a figurine made of chestnuts. From this creepy clue, two detectives hunt a killer linked to a politician's missing child.

CSI: Miami poster
CSI: Miami
2002–2012 · 10 seasons · CBS
★ 6.5drama · mystery · crimeHuluParamount+

Deduction from physical evidence, delivered with total confidence

The difference: American procedural camp, no character to speak of

The show follows Crime Scene Investigators working for the Miami-Dade Police Department as they use physical evidence, similar to their Las Vegas counterparts, to solve grisly murders. The series mixes deduction, gritty subject matter, and character-driven drama in the same vein as the original series in the CSI franchise, except that the Miami CSIs are cops first, scientists second.

The Alienist poster
The Alienist
2018–2020 · 2 seasons · TNT
★ 7.7drama · crime · mystery

New investigative methods aimed at a killer nobody else can read

The difference: Grimy period New York, slow and sombre — none of the modern zip

New York, 1896. Police commissioner Theodore Roosevelt brings together criminal psychologist Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, newspaper illustrator John Moore and secretary Sara Howard to investigate several murders of male prostitutes.

Slow Horses poster
Slow Horses
2022– · 6 seasons · Apple TV
★ 8.4crime · drama · mysteryApple TV+

London, an impossible boss and dialogue that draws blood

The difference: Spy work played sour and shabby — no puzzle solved by pure brilliance

Follow a dysfunctional team of MI5 agents—and their obnoxious boss, the notorious Jackson Lamb—as they navigate the espionage world's smoke and mirrors to defend England from sinister forces.

The Blacklist poster
The Blacklist
2013–2023 · 10 seasons · NBC
★ 7.9drama · crime · mysteryNetflix

A brilliant, insufferable outsider the police cannot manage without

The difference: Ten seasons of network plot — mythology piles up faster than logic

Raymond "Red" Reddington, one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives, surrenders in person at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. He claims that he and the FBI have the same interests: bringing down dangerous criminals and terrorists. In the last two decades, he's made a list of criminals and terrorists that matter the most but the FBI cannot find because it does not know they exist. Reddington calls this "The Blacklist". Reddington will co-operate, but insists that he will speak only to Elizabeth Keen, a rookie FBI profiler.

The Day of the Jackal poster
The Day of the Jackal
2024– · 1 season · Sky Atlantic
★ 8.1drama · action & adventure · mysteryPeacock

Twisty where it counts, kinetic underneath

The difference: Trades the ideas of Sherlock for an angle of its own

An unrivalled and highly elusive lone assassin, the Jackal, makes his living carrying out hits for the highest fee. But following his latest kill, he meets his match in a tenacious British intelligence officer who starts to track down the Jackal in a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase across Europe, leaving destruction in its wake.

The Killing poster
The Killing
2011–2014 · 4 seasons · AMC
★ 8.3drama · crime · mysteryHulu

One case taken apart in detail while it wrecks the detectives on it

The difference: Rain-grey and slow across seasons — no spark, no showmanship

The Killing is an American crime drama television series based upon the Danish television series Forbrydelsen. Set in Seattle, Washington, the series follows the various murder investigations by homicide detectives Sarah Linden and Stephen Holder.

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The best-reviewed series that share Sherlock’s defining feeling.