Television series

Forever

Name: Forever
Genre: Drama, Crime, Supernatural
Released: 2014
Cast: Ioan Gruffudd, Alana De La Garza, Donnie Keshawarz, Judd Hirsch, Joel David Moore

Other titles called Forever: the 2018 series (Prime Video).

A 200-year-old medical examiner solves crimes in New York while secretly hunting for the cause of his immortality. Forever is a procedural with genuine heart—the cases matter, the partnership crackles, and the mythology unfolds with real patience. It's for people who want their crime drama to have a beating pulse beneath the forensics.

TVMaze rating

4.1

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love a crime procedural that lets character history seep in slowly, where a clever case-of-the-week sits alongside a quiet affection for an oddball expert and a friendship that builds.

Skip it if you want the supernatural thread to pay off fast or crime stories to feel grim and urgent, since the mystery of Henry's past unfolds in small increments between mostly self-contained cases.

What it asks of you: Settle into an hour a week, with the cases taking up most of each episode and the personal thread arriving in patient, sideways pieces you have to hold onto.

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

If you liked this

The Mentalist2008

A charismatic lead with a secret advantage solving crimes with charm and observation. Like Forever, it finds the emotional weight in partnership and makes you want to know everything about its protagonist's past.

But The formula can feel repetitive if you're not invested in the character dynamics. Some cases blur together.

Sleepy Hollow2013

Immortal protagonist with centuries of knowledge working a supernatural crime beat in modern times. Both shows love the fish-out-of-water dynamic and mythology that deepens with every episode.

But The mythology gets messier as it goes on. Later seasons lose some of what made the premise special.

Person of Interest2011

A stoic lead with hidden depths partnered with someone more instinctively human, solving crimes while grappling with larger questions about fate and identity. The slow-burn character work is exceptional.

But The first season's procedural format is a bit dry. It takes time to find its footing and trust the story.

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

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The OA2016

Both construct their mythology through accumulated small revelations rather than big answers. Both center on someone searching for the truth of their own existence while learning to value human connection over the search itself.

A blind woman returns from a decade-long disappearance with her sight restored and fragmented memories of other dimensions. Like Forever, it trusts its audience to live with mystery and builds mythology through intimate character moments rather than exposition. Both shows understand that the real story is about connection across time.

But It's deliberately strange and withholding. If you need everything explained or prefer clear narrative momentum, this will frustrate you. It also ended unresolved.

Castle2009

A charming crime novelist works with a detective; their partnership is the real engine. It has Forever's warmth and its willingness to let character moments breathe alongside the procedural work.

But The tone is lighter and more comedic. If you want something grittier, this won't scratch that itch.

Bones2005

A brilliant medical examiner and a federal agent solve murders together. The cases are solid, but the real draw is watching two people gradually realize they're better together than apart.

But Seasons can feel procedurally formulaic. The relationship takes a very long time to move, which frustrates some viewers.

The X-Files1993

Paranormal mysteries woven into crime-of-the-week structure. Both shows understand that the mythology works best when it's tangled up in real human partnership and genuine affection.

But The pacing is slow; some episodes feel like filler. The mythology has gaps that never quite close.

Lucifer2016

An immortal helping solve crimes in Los Angeles while learning what it means to be human. It has Forever's blend of procedural satisfaction, mythology, and the slow revelation of a character's layers.

But The tone shifts toward comedy as it goes on. It's less emotionally grounded than Forever, which some find liberating and others find frustrating.

Broadchurch2013

A detective with secrets investigates a crime that unravels the fabric of a community. Darker and more focused than Forever, but shares its interest in how the past haunts the present.

But It's bleak and relentless. There's no warmth or humor to balance the dread; it's exhausting by design.

Only Murders in the Building2021

Both prioritize the warmth between people over the satisfaction of solved cases. Both use the investigation as a framework for exploring what it means to belong somewhere and to someone.

Three strangers become obsessed with solving a murder in their apartment building, discovering that the real mystery is each other. It shares Forever's gentleness with its characters and the idea that what looks like a crime procedural is actually a story about unlikely people becoming family.

But The comedy is prominent; if you want pure procedural seriousness, it tilts too far toward lightness. The mysteries are less complex than the character work.

Russian Doll2019

Both explore immortality not as a superpower but as a form of profound loneliness, and both insist that the answer to that loneliness is other people. Both use genre (procedural, sci-fi) to tell stories about learning to be human.

A woman caught in a time loop must relive her worst night repeatedly, slowly uncovering the metaphysical rules that bind her. It's about immortality, repetition, and learning that existence without connection is just endurance. Formally inventive but emotionally precise.

But It's surreal and sometimes frustratingly abstract. The tone shifts sharply between dark comedy and something genuinely despairing. Season two gets weirder and more experimental, which loses some viewers.