Television series
Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
A frothy, gorgeously costumed Australian mystery series about a rich, reckless lady detective solving murders in 1920s Melbourne between cocktails and love affairs. It's glamour as armour: Phryne Fisher uses her wealth, wit and a pearl-handled pistol to needle the establishment. Light on gore, heavy on frocks, flirtation and social conscience — comfort viewing with a spine.
If you liked this
Miss Scarlet2020
The closest cousin: a headstrong Victorian woman forces her way into detective work against a stuffy police inspector who can't help admiring her. Same slow-burn romantic tension, same period pluck.
But Slightly more po-faced than Phryne's world — less flirtation, more procedural grind.
Agatha Christie Poirot1989
David Suchet's definitive Poirot, immaculately dressed and impossibly precise, solving elegant murders across a similarly stylish interwar landscape. The gold standard of vintage crime as costume drama.
But Poirot is fussy and celibate where Phryne is reckless and warm — a cooler, more cerebral pleasure.
Murdoch Mysteries2008no page yet
Long-running, big-hearted Canadian procedural with the same appetite for gadgetry, period detail and a will-they-won't-they at its centre. Hundreds of episodes of comfortable, clever fun.
But Set decades earlier and much gentler in tone — more whimsical invention, less scandal and seduction.
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
The Thin Man1934
This 1934 film is the direct ancestor of Fisher's whole mode: wealth as detective toolkit, wit as weapon, murder as an excuse for a good party.
The film that essentially invented the genre Phryne lives in: a rich, martini-soaked couple trading barbed one-liners while solving murder for sport. Fast, funny, astonishingly modern for its age.
But Black and white, 91 minutes, and dialogue-paced rather than plot-paced — a real tonal jump for streaming-era viewers.
More like this (8)
Frankie Drake Mysteries2017no page yet
A glamorous female private investigator in 1920s Toronto, practically Phryne's direct sibling show — flapper fashion, jazz clubs and cases nobody else will touch.
But Thinner budget and writing than Fisher's polish; charming but noticeably scrappier.
Father Brown2013
Cosy English village murders solved by a mild priest with surprising steel. If you love Phryne's world for the pretty puzzle-box mysteries more than the glamour, this scratches that itch weekly.
But No romance, no danger, no rebellion — a much quieter, more devout kind of comfort watch.
Death in Paradise2011
Sun, sand and a fish-out-of-water detective solving impossible locked-room murders every episode. Same appetite for tidy resolution and a breezy, feel-good mood.
But Contemporary Caribbean setting swaps out all the Jazz Age glamour and social bite entirely.
A Place to Call Home2013no page yet
Another sweeping Australian period drama, this one 1950s, tackling class, sexuality and secrets with the same lush production values and unafraid politics.
But It's melodrama, not mystery — expect long-simmering family sagas rather than weekly whodunits.
Bomb Girls2012no page yet
Canadian drama about women munitions workers in WWII, sharing Fisher's interest in women stepping outside their assigned lane and paying the social cost for it.
But Wartime grit replaces cocktail-party glamour — a rougher, more sombre texture throughout.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel2017
A different decade, a different city, but the same electric, unapologetic heroine who refuses to shrink herself for anyone's comfort — all rapid wit and gorgeous clothes.
But Stand-up comedy replaces murder entirely — you're here for the spirit, not the mystery.
Babylon Berlin2017no page yet
Same decade, same nightclub glamour and social upheaval, but shows the shadow side of the era Phryne breezes through unscathed.
A staggeringly lavish German series set in the same Jazz Age moment — the same decadence, jazz clubs and moral rot, but filtered through Weimar Berlin's slide toward catastrophe instead of Melbourne sunshine.
But Subtitled, sprawling, and genuinely dark — political conspiracy and addiction replace Phryne's playful crime-solving.
Killing Eve2018
Takes Phryne's glamorous, fearless, faintly amoral woman-with-a-weapon and pushes her into genuinely lethal territory — same swagger, sharper teeth.
A modern cat-and-mouse thriller between a stylish assassin and the woman obsessed with catching her — all sharp clothes, dark wit and a heroine who enjoys her own dangerousness.
But Far more violent and psychologically twisted than anything Fisher gets up to, with a much bleaker sense of humour.
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Recommended by
Death in Paradise, Grantchester, Agatha Christie's Tommy & Tuppence, Miss Scarlet