Television series

Agatha Christie Poirot

David Suchet's twenty-five-year turn as Agatha Christie's fussiest genius is the gold standard of TV detective work: immaculate 1930s tailoring, an absurd moustache, and a brain that never stops ticking. Each film-length episode is a self-contained puzzle box, solved with courtesy and total confidence. Comfort viewing with real bite — for anyone who wants their murders solved properly and their manners kept impeccable throughout.

TVMaze rating8.2

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Midsomer Murders1998

The quintessential English village murder mystery, endlessly comforting and gently absurd — impossibly high body counts hidden behind flower shows and vicarage fetes. Perfect for marathon viewing when you want plot without real dread.

But The murders get gorier and sillier as it goes on, and the sheer number of seasons can feel like homework.

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Death in Paradise2011

A fish-out-of-water detective solving impossible whodunits under Caribbean sun — the same locked-room ingenuity Christie loved, minus the buttoned-up Englishness. Great sunny escapism with real cleverness underneath.

But Much breezier tone and more implausible farce than genuine mystery; purists may find it too light.

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Murder, She Wrote1984

Jessica Fletcher is the amateur sleuth answer to Poirot's professional — cosy, formulaic in the best way, and weirdly hypnotic once you're twenty episodes deep. A genre staple for good reason.

But American small-town setting lacks Poirot's European glamour, and the deduction is simpler, leaning more on confession than clues.

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Murder on the Orient Express1974

Same detective, same creator, but decades earlier and on a cinema budget — a chance to see how differently Poirot can be played, and how the character survives the jump from small screen to spectacle.

Albert Finney's Poirot on the big screen, decades before Suchet, with an absurdly starry cast trapped on a snowbound train. Lush, theatrical, and a fascinating look at how the character has been reimagined across eras.

But Finney's Poirot is broader and more theatrical, closer to caricature than Suchet's precise realism; some may miss the TV series' intimacy.

Murder on the Orient Express poster
More like this (7)

Endeavour2012

A young Inspector Morse solving cases in 1960s Oxford — moody, meticulously plotted, and just as obsessed with the ritual of detection as Poirot, but with a rougher, sadder edge.

But Darker and more melancholic than Poirot's cheerful puzzle-solving; the emotional stakes run deeper and rarely resolve neatly.

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Foyle's War2002

A quietly brilliant detective chief superintendent solving crimes on the English home front during WWII — the same unflappable intelligence as Poirot, but with real historical weight behind every case.

But Slower and more serious, with the war looming over every episode; less playful than Christie's puzzle-box charm.

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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes1984no page yet

Jeremy Brett's twitchy, brilliant Holmes is the other great literary detective done properly on TV — faithful adaptations, gorgeous period detail, and a lead performance as definitive as Suchet's.

But Brett's Holmes is colder and more erratic than Poirot's genial confidence; his declining health shows in later episodes, which can be jarring.

Columbo1968

The reverse-whodunit: you see the murder first, then watch a scruffy, deceptively sharp detective dismantle the killer's alibi. Brilliant if you love watching a mind work more than the mystery itself.

But No mystery to solve, since you know the killer from minute one — the format takes adjusting to if you want classic Christie suspense.

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Knives Out2019

A glossy modern whodunit that clearly adores the genre Christie built — starry cast, a preposterous mansion, a detective with his own theatrical tics. Fun, funny, and a genuine nod to the tradition.

But Much broader comedy and modern satire than Poirot's period elegance; the tone is knowing rather than cosy.

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Fargo2014

Both are puzzle-box crime stories solved through patient observation of ordinary people's small lies, but Fargo swaps Poirot's cosy Englishness for Midwestern dread and pitch-black comedy — same engine, wildly different climate.

A snowbound American crime anthology built on the same bones as Christie — ordinary people, a meticulous unraveling of guilt, and a detective quietly outthinking everyone around her. Darkly funny and genuinely strange.

But Much bloodier and morally murkier than anything Christie wrote — this is noir with real menace, not a tidy drawing-room solve.

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Soupçons2004

Poirot's whole appeal is that the little grey cells always find the truth. The Staircase asks what happens when nobody's cells can — a real murder mystery where meticulous attention to detail produces only more doubt, not resolution.

A real death, a real trial, and years of contradictory evidence — this documentary is the true-crime mirror to everything Poirot promises but never delivers: certainty. Gripping, patient, and genuinely unresolved.

But No tidy solution, no clever detective, no satisfying reveal — just the messy, inconclusive texture of an actual investigation, which can frustrate anyone wanting closure.

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