Television series

Miss Scarlet

A cheerful, sunlit Victorian romp about a broke gentlewoman who turns her dead father's detective agency into a lifeline, and the roguish Scotland Yard inspector who becomes her reluctant partner. It's corsets-and-crime-solving with a big streak of will-they-won't-they, light on grit, heavy on banter. Good for anyone who wants mystery plots as the excuse and chemistry as the point.

TVMaze rating7.1

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Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries2012

Same DNA, different hemisphere and decade — a glamorous, independent woman solving crimes on her own terms with style to spare and a devoted policeman orbiting her. Warmer and even more fun than Miss Scarlet.

But The 1920s Melbourne setting and flapper energy is a distinctly different flavour if you specifically wanted foggy Victorian London.

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries poster

Murdoch Mysteries2008no page yet

Also Victorian, also a detective duo with simmering chemistry, but this one's been running for decades and never runs out of clever cases and gadgetry gags.

But It's gentler and more procedural — less romantic tension, more case-of-the-week comfort food.

Ripper Street2012no page yet

The same Whitechapel streets, but grimier and more morally tangled — great if you want the atmosphere of Miss Scarlet with real teeth and higher stakes.

But Considerably darker and more violent; the playful romantic spark is largely absent.

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His Girl Friday1940

It's the great-grandparent of Eliza and Duke's dynamic — the bickering-colleagues-who-are-obviously-into-each-other template, done in ninety breathless minutes instead of a season.

The fastest, sharpest screwball comedy ever made about two professional rivals who can't stop needling each other because they can't stop loving each other. Utterly electric dialogue.

But Black-and-white, rapid-fire 1940s patter that some modern viewers find exhausting rather than exhilarating.

His Girl Friday poster
More like this (8)

The Alienist2018

Gilded Age New York instead of London, with a psychologist, a reporter and a headstrong secretary teaming up to catch a killer — same outsider-detective-trio energy, glossier production.

But Much bleaker subject matter and pacing; it takes itself very seriously where Miss Scarlet stays light.

The Alienist poster

Enola Holmes2020no page yet

A younger, breezier cousin — a sharp, resourceful woman using detection to claim independence in a world built to deny her one, with plenty of wit and adventure.

But Aimed at a younger audience, so the mystery plotting and romance are simpler and lower stakes.

Gentleman Jack2019no page yet

A real Victorian woman defying convention to run her own estate and love life on her own terms — Eliza's stubbornness and business instincts, turned up to eleven.

But It's a romance-driven character study rather than a crime show, so don't expect whodunits.

Sherlock2010

If it's the crackling detective-partner dynamic you're here for, this is the gold standard — quick, clever, endlessly quotable.

But Modern-day London and a much colder, more cerebral central relationship than Eliza and Duke's.

Sherlock poster

Poldark2015

Swap detection for Cornish tin mines, but keep the corsets, the class friction and the will-they-won't-they simmering under every scene.

But No mystery plot at all — this is pure period romance and family drama.

Poldark poster

The Bletchley Circle2012no page yet

Women using skills the world refuses to credit them for to solve crimes the police can't — a slightly later era, same thrill of being underestimated and right.

But Post-WWII setting and a quieter, more melancholic tone than Miss Scarlet's romp.

Fingersmith2005no page yet

Same Victorian economics — women with no legal standing turning wit and nerve into leverage — but played as gothic thriller instead of cosy romp, showing how much darker Eliza's predicament could have gone.

A twisty, gorgeously shot Victorian miniseries about two women using cunning and deception to survive a world that offers them no other power. Genuinely shocking turns.

But Much darker and more sexually frank than Miss Scarlet, with a plot built on betrayal rather than banter.

Deadwood2004

Same core idea in a different costume: someone building an enterprise and a kind of justice in a world with no rules made for them — just swapped London fog for frontier mud.

A lawless frontier town where outsiders — including sharp, ambitious women — carve out businesses and rough justice from nothing but nerve. Ferociously written, morally filthy.

But Brutally violent and profane, set in the American West, with none of Miss Scarlet's lightness or period polish.

Deadwood poster

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