The 8 Best British Mystery Shows on BritBox Right Now (January 2025) (original) (raw)
Published Jan 5, 2025, 6:00 PM EST
Tauri Jay Miller is a Voice Over Actor, Writer, and Podcaster who LOVES Tabletop RPGs. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, he is a graduate of the Radio and Television program at San Francisco State University with an emphasis in Writing and Production. He has studied Voice Over, Improv and Sketch Writing for the last eight years in addition to working in the Digital Media industry for ten years specializing in Operations, Distribution and Niche Market Content.
Between iTV, BBC, and the occasional import to streaming services like Netflix or Max, it can be hard to figure out where to find the top-tier content coming out of the UK. Fortunately, BritBox has a great catalog filled with decades of British dramas, comedies, and reality shows. One genre that BritBox dominates above all else is British mysteries. We’ve all seen mainstream series like BBC’s Sherlock and the three glorious seasons of Broadchurch, but BritBox has many underrated gems that are just waiting to become your favorite shows.
So, to keep you from having to investigate the platform like an obsessive detective, we’ve gathered the best British mystery shows on Britbox. For more recommendations, check out our list of the best British detective shows on BritBox or the best movies and shows on the platform across all genres.
‘The Tower’ (2021 - 2024)
Rotten Tomatoes: 100% | IMDb: 7.0/10
Release Date
2021 - 2024-00-00
Network
ITV1, BritBox
Directors
Faye Gilbert
Writers
Patrick Harbinson
Cast
Jimmy Akingbola
DC Steve Bradshaw
Emmett Scanlan
DI Kieran Shaw
Creator(s)
Patrick Harbinson
Actor and comedian Gemma Whelan (of Game of Thrones fame) takes the lead in this serialized police procedural following a London investigator trying to solve murder cases while grappling with the corrupt and male-dominated police force. Based on novels by Kate London, The Tower is a tightly scripted, well-acted drama that centers around solving one intricately woven case per season (or “series” if you’re from across the pond). The short three-to-four-episode seasons are like an extended film that keeps the viewer sucked into the mystery through on-the-ground investigation with the main detective, and revelatory flashbacks fill in gaps as clues are uncovered. It’s a fantastic series that highlights the flaws in the policing system while telling a compelling story.
‘Vera’ (2011 - 2025)
IMDb: 8.2/10
Release Date
2011 - 2025-00-00
Directors
Peter Hoar, Paul Whittington
Writers
Ann Cleeves
Cast
Brenda Blethyn
DCI Vera Stanhope
Jon Morrison
DC Kenny Lockhart
Based on the Ann Cleeves book series, Vera is an episodic crime drama that follows the investigations of a quirky yet insightful DCI played by the ever-brilliant Brenda Blethyn (Kate & Koji). The vibe of this long-running series is best described as “British Columbo," which is honestly the biggest compliment I could give any detective series. The main draw is Blethyn’s performance, as she uses an unassuming appearance and sharp wit to solve interesting murder mysteries. The short seasons, comprising four to six episodes that run about 90 minutes each, make this a great series for binging or consuming in small increments as your favorite wind-down show.
‘Father Brown’ (2013 - Present)
IMDb: 7.8/10
Release Date
January 14, 2013
Cast
Mark Williams
Father Brown
John Burton
Sergeant Goodfellow
Sorcha Cusack
Mrs McCarthy
Jack Deam
Inspector Mallory
Creator(s)
Rachel Flowerday, Tahsin Guner
Set in the 1950s, Father Brown is a period crime procedural with more spirit than your typical cop drama…the Holy Spirit, that is! Based on stories by G. K. Chesterton, the series follows a Catholic priest in post-WWII England who procrastinates on his priestly duties by solving obscure murder cases around his small village. Taking on the white collar of the titular father is Harry Potter alum Mark Williams, who gives a stellar performance as the intelligent parish member who uses his understanding of people’s behavior to analyze motives and methods in each murder case. There is a charming bit of humor to the series that makes it a breezy watch, even when it deals with heavier topics surrounding the oppressive conditions in Britain after the war.
‘New Tricks’ (2004 - 2015)
Rotten Tomatoes: 94% | IMDb: 8.0/10
Release Date
2004 - 2015-00-00
Network
BBC One
Directors
Julian Simpson, Philip John, Brian Grant, Robin Sheppard, Juliet May, Jamie Payne, Keith Boak, Martyn Friend, Metin Hüseyin, Paul Seed, Tim Whitby, Dermot Boyd, Kenneth Glenaan, Jon East
Writers
Roy Mitchell, Simon Allen, Marston Bloom, J.C. Wilsher, Michael Crompton, Paul Rutman, Richard M. Davidson, Chris Coghill, Matt Evans, Matthew Thomas, Danny Miller, Nick Hopkins, Chloe Moss
Cast
Alun Armstrong
Brian Lane
Amanda Redman
Det. Supt. Sandra Pullman
Chloe Howman
Eve Aspinall
Claire Bloom
Helen Brownlow
This long-running police comedy procedural follows a team of four detectives at the end of their careers whose unorthodox (and often slightly violent) tendencies help them close unsolved cases. New Tricks is a delightful showcase of the acting talents of the main cast — Amanda Redman, Alun Armstrong, Dennis Waterman, and James Bolam — who are a perfect balance for one another as they each bring a different flavor to their characters’ investigation skills while imbuing the storylines relating to the struggles of age with a richness that is often surprising for a comedy. This series has a similar vibe to the cable TV procedurals of the early 2000s like Leverage, Psych, or Rizzoli & Isles, which focus on fun personalities getting the job done in their own special way.
‘Grace’ (2021 - Present)
Rotten Tomatoes: 80% | IMDb: 7.4/10
Release Date
March 14, 2021
Cast
Richie Campbell
DS Glenn Branson
Screenwriter Russell Lewis (Endeavour) adapts the novels of popular British crime mystery author Peter James in this series of feature-length episodes that feel like the epitome of prestige television. Grace follows John Simm (Doctor Who) as a troubled detective whose failure to find his missing wife drives him to the point of obsession to solve each case. (It's very Monk but without the problematic depictions of OCD.) Simm’s performance is one of the best in his career, and it's a big draw of the show, though the cinematography and visual storytelling are a close second, as each episode feels like it has cinema-quality production to match the movie-style runtime.
‘The Bay’ (2019 - Present)
Rotten Tomatoes: 80% | IMDb: 7.2/10
Release Date
March 19, 2019
Cast
Daniel Ryan
D.I. Tony Manning
Erin Shanagher
D.S. Karen Hobson
Andrew Dowbiggin
D.S. James Clarke
Thomas Law
D.C. Eddie Martin
Creator(s)
Daragh Carville, Richard Clark
The Bay, initially starring Morven Christie (Payback) in the first half of the series and now Marsha Thomason (White Collar), is a dynamic show with characters that feel distinctly human for a crime drama — particularly Christie as the driving force of the first two seasons, whose detective character is as messy as they are perceptive. Each six-episode season follows a single investigation that starts pretty gray but only gets darker as the episodes continue. The stories are equal parts character drama and procedural mystery, which makes it a great viewing experience for fans of either genre.
‘Passenger’ (2024)
Rotten Tomatoes: 67% | IMDb: 5.7/10
Release Date
2024 - 2024-00-00
Cast
Rowan Robinson
Katie Wells
David Threlfall
Jim Bracknell
Actor Andrew Buchan takes everything he learned from his time on Broadchurch and makes his screenwriting debut with this atypical mystery story. The premise of Passenger is familiar — a big city cop moves to a small town and seeks out bigger cases in a mundane setting to stave off their boredom — but Buchan adds layers of the supernatural and elements of horror to create a wholly new experience. To give anything away about the underlying mystery feels like a disservice to future viewers, so I’ll just say that this restless cop finally gets the case they’re looking for when something monstrous causes a young girl to go missing in the forest. Also, we’d be remiss to neglect the dazzling performance of Wunmi Mosaku (Loki), who leads this series with gusto, gumption, and grace.
‘The Pale Horse’ (2020)
Rotten Tomatoes: 79% | IMDb: 6.1/10
Release Date
2020 - 2020-00-00
Network
BBC One
Directors
Leonora Lonsdale
Cast
Georgina Campbell
Zachariah Osborne
Speaking of the supernatural, Sarah Phelps (And Then There Were None) loosely adapts another work by prolific author Agatha Christie — this time, a dark mystery of witches, murder, and lies. The Pale Horse is a two-part series that follows Rufus Sewell (The Uninvited) as a man who becomes embroiled in an investigation into a series of bizarre deaths that are tied to the occult when his name is found on a list carried by one of the victims. Now, he must uncover the secret behind the murders before he becomes the next to die. Phelps creates a terrific atmosphere of paranoia that gives the Christie story a new flavor while still capturing the elements that make it so timeless.