Film

Murder 101

A genteel academic detective story built around Dick Van Dyke's charm. Dr. Maxwell, a retired criminology professor, is drawn into solving a high-stakes murder involving corporate intrigue and deception. It's the kind of mystery that trusts its audience to enjoy elegant plotting over spectacle—warm, intelligent, and designed for viewers who like their crime stories a little old-fashioned.

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy a cosy, old-fashioned whodunit where the pleasure is in following a clever, eccentric detective through a tangle of suspects rather than in jolts or gore.

Skip it if you want a tense, fast-moving thriller; this is a modest TV movie with a leisurely build, plenty of talk, and a production that feels every bit its made-for-television origins.

What it asks of you: Ninety minutes of patient, dialogue-driven puzzle-solving, with little action and a light touch on darkness, so it rewards steady attention rather than constant stimulation.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Psych2006

A psychic detective with genuine affection for his partner solves crimes with wit and heart. Like Murder 101, it finds mystery in character and chemistry rather than grimness. Endlessly rewatchable.

But The constant banter can feel theatrical if you're in the mood for something grounded. Seven seasons means a serious time commitment.

Psych poster

Murder, She Wrote1984

Angela Lansbury as a mystery novelist who solves murders wherever she goes. The template for exactly what Murder 101 is doing—cozy but clever, high-concept but never cynical. Pure comfort television.

But It's very much a product of its era. The pacing is glacial by modern standards, and the formula becomes visible after a few episodes.

Murder, She Wrote poster

The Orson Welles Show1979

Dick Van Dyke in his element, hosting and performing. If you love his particular brand of intelligent comedy and charm, this is essential. It captures why he was a TV legend.

But It's uneven variety television. The bits work or they don't, and some definitely don't. Requires patience with the format.

The Orson Welles Show poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Murder 101

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Name of the Rose1986

Both are mysteries where the detective's intellectual confidence is earned rather than assumed. Both have a philosophical dimension—where ideas and beliefs collide with evidence. The murder is secondary to the human understanding revealed.

Sean Connery as a Franciscan monk solving a murder in a monastery during the Middle Ages. A mystery that's also a meditation on knowledge, language, and faith. Intellectually ambitious but never alienating.

But It's slow and dense. Some will find it inaccessible despite its pleasures. The runtime (130 minutes) asks for genuine engagement.

The Name of the Rose poster
More like this (7)

Diagnosis: Murder1992

Dick Van Dyke as a doctor-detective in a TV movie that directly preceded this series. Same premise, same warmth. If you enjoy Murder 101, this is the obvious next step.

But It hasn't aged as gracefully as his best work. The mystery plotting is sometimes thin, and the show can feel padded.

Diagnosis: Murder poster

Pushing Daisies2007

A pie-maker who can touch dead things solves murders with a childhood sweetheart. Wildly creative, visually delightful, and genuinely moving. Mystery as whimsy without losing stakes.

But The visual style is so heightened it becomes the story. If you want naturalism or restraint, this is the opposite.

Pushing Daisies poster

Columbo1968

Peter Falk as a shabby detective who lets suspects reveal themselves through dialogue. The intellectual pleasure of watching a mind work. Absolutely foundational television.

But The format is rigid. You always know how it will end. Some episodes drag their feet to fill time.

Columbo poster

Hart of Dixie2011

Rachel Bilson as a woman inheriting a bar in the South, solving small mysteries with charm and humor. Lighter than Murder 101, but the same pleasure in character and clever plotting over action.

But It's aggressively cute. If you find Southern eccentricity overdone in television, this won't change your mind.

Hart of Dixie poster

The Thin Man1934

William Powell and Myrna Loy as a retired detective couple solving a murder while drinking their way through Manhattan. The spiritual ancestor of every intelligent mystery comedy. Effortlessly entertaining.

But It's from 1934. The pacing and some cultural attitudes won't work for everyone. You have to meet it halfway.

The Thin Man poster

Matlock1986

Andy Griffith as a folksy lawyer who always catches the real criminal by episode's end. Unpretentious, dependable, and built on the same faith in intelligence and decency that Murder 101 shares.

But The formula is rigid to the point of parody. If predictability bothers you, skip it. The Southern accent can grate.

Matlock poster

Only Murders in the Building2021

Three aging or mid-life characters finding purpose through investigation rather than violence. Both shows argue that curiosity, conversation, and wit are the real tools of detection. Same warmth, though this one is far sharper and occasionally cruel.

Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez as three strangers who become amateur detectives in their apartment building. Genuinely funny and clever, with real stakes underneath. Murder mystery as comedy that earns its heart.

But The first season is better than what follows. By season three, it's losing focus. Commitment is risky.

Only Murders in the Building poster

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