Television series
Ordeal by Innocence
A tense, beautifully shot three-part mystery that upends an assumed certainty: eighteen months after a wealthy woman's murder, a stranger arrives with evidence that exonerates the man already imprisoned for it. Agatha Christie's intricate plot becomes a chamber piece about family secrets, class resentment, and the fragility of justice. Slow-burn rather than procedural.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you like a slow-burning country-house mystery where the pleasure lies in the people, their guilt and their silences, more than in the puzzle's clockwork.
Skip it if you want brisk plotting or a tidy solve, because this lingers on grief and family rancour and takes its time getting going.
What it asks of you: Little happens in a hurry: three hour-long parts settling into one house and a long family past, doubling back so you hold several suspicions at once.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Bodyguard2018
Political thriller that grips you across six episodes without ever feeling stretched. Keeley Hawes and Richard Madden generate genuine tension through moral complexity rather than plot mechanics alone.
But The final twist divides viewers sharply. Some feel it earns the journey; others think it undermines what came before.

The Miniaturist2017
Another BBC mystery with Bill Nighy in a canal-house setting thick with secrets and period detail. Slower-paced than typical drama, but hypnotic if you surrender to its rhythm and atmosphere.
But It's oblique and dreamlike rather than plot-driven. Those wanting clear answers and action will find it frustrating.

Unforgotten2015
Cold-case detective work that treats its victims and suspects as full humans, not puzzle pieces. Nicola Walker's performance carries an emotional weight that elevates familiar procedural ground.
But Deliberately paced. Episodes stack character work over spectacular revelations, which some will find slow.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Ordeal by Innocence
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
The Witness for the Prosecution2016
Both adapt Christie's locked-family-and-mystery template, but Witness centralises the human cost rather than the puzzle itself. Same architect, different house.
Another Christie adaptation, but this time a two-part film with Kim Cattrall and Toby Jones. The emotional heft comes from a romance that frames the trial rather than complicates it. Surprisingly tender beneath the courtroom twists.
But Slower than modern legal drama and explicitly sentimental—the central love story dominates in ways that legal procedural fans may find distracting.

More like this (6)
The ABC Murders2018
Another Christie adaptation, this one with John Malkovich as Poirot. Visually striking and genuinely unsettling in its violence—darker than many detective stories.
But The psychological brutality can feel at odds with traditional cosy-mystery expectations. Some will find Malkovich's take on Poirot divisive.

Cagney & Lacey1982
American police procedural that essentially invented the template: two complex women as leads, procedural rigor, character depth. Endured for fourteen seasons because it worked.
But Dated production values and pacing. Modern viewers expecting sleek editing may find the 1980s rhythms tedious.

The Fall2013
Stella Gibson (Gillian Anderson) hunts a serial killer in Belfast. Stylish, tense, built on psychological cat-and-mouse rather than forensic detail.
But The serial killer is portrayed with troubling sympathy at times. Some will find its treatment of violence and gender uncomfortable.

Inspector Morse1987
Prequel to the beloved Inspector Lewis. Colin Morse is sharper, angrier, more vulnerable than his older self. Oxford locations and 1980s Oxford University detail enrich every episode.
But It trades the original Morse's acidic wit for brooding melancholy. Fans of the older show may find this version emotionally heavy-handed.

Broadchurch2013
A child dies in an idyllic seaside town; detectives comb through village secrets. Lean, taut storytelling and David Tennant's barely-controlled rage carry you through eight episodes.
But Bleakly pessimistic about human nature. If you watch detective work as escapism, this drains rather than satisfies.

The Killing2011
Both prize atmosphere and character over mere plot surprise. But where Ordeal cycles through suspects and reversals, The Killing plants itself in one case and excavates it downward until you understand why the search becomes its own kind of madness.
Danish noir that follows a single murder for 20 episodes. Sarah Lund's obsession mirrors the show's own refusal to move on. Methodical, grey, unsparing. Genuinely one of the great television mysteries.
But It's relentlessly grim and the Danish winter aesthetic can feel oppressive. The payoff divides viewers—some find it perfect, others feel it doesn't reward the investment.

People
Cast
Production
- Basi AkpabioExecutive Producer
- Damien TimmerExecutive Producer
- Gaynor HolmesExecutive Producer
- Helen ZieglerExecutive Producer
- James PrichardExecutive Producer
- Karen ThrussellExecutive Producer
- Sarah PhelpsExecutive Producer
- Roopesh ParekhProducer