Television series

The Mallorca Files

A procedural about two detectives—one British, one German—solving crimes across Mallorca's expatriate underworld. It's lighter than its premise suggests: breezy, charming, with that particular pleasure of watching mismatched partners gradually trust each other. Perfect if you want competence and personality without heavy lifting.

TVMaze rating3.5

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like a case-of-the-week mystery where the pleasure lies in two opposed detectives grinding against each other while the vibrant island sits behind them as a backdrop to the friction.

Skip it if you want a slow, brooding procedural with heavy stakes; this is lighter and episodic, built around a fresh crime each week rather than one long arc.

What it asks of you: Episodes run around forty-six minutes and there are twenty-four across three seasons, a steady weekly rhythm you can keep up without much strain.

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

If you liked this

The Fall2013

Stella Gibson and Paul Spector crackle with tension across every scene. Gillian Anderson is magnetic; the writing cuts deep. Procedural muscle paired with real character study, not just puzzle-box plotting.

But It's relentlessly bleak and builds toward genuinely unsettling places. Not a comfort watch, and the third season wobbles in focus.

The Fall poster

Grantchester2014

A vicar and a detective pair up in 1950s Cambridge with genuine warmth. Character-driven mysteries, beautiful cinematography, and a real sense of place. It knows when to be funny and when to let things land.

But The tone is deliberately gentler than you might expect from a crime show. If you want grit over charm, you'll find it saccharine.

Grantchester poster

Happy Valley2014

Sarah Lancashire as a Yorkshire sergeant hunting a killer across rural England. Absolutely gripping, angry, and alive. The writing is sharp; the performances are terrifying. You cannot look away.

But It's punishing and sometimes brutal. There are real stakes and real damage. Not an escape, a reckoning.

Happy Valley poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Mallorca Files

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Riviera2017

Both use foreign setting and beautiful locations as characters themselves. Both are lighter crime shows that prioritize pleasure and personality over procedural authenticity.

An American widow moves to the French Riviera and gets tangled in crime, art theft, and family intrigue. It's stylish, trashy, and completely aware of how ridiculous it is. Julia Stiles is wonderful, and it doesn't overstay.

But Prestige it is not. The plotting is sometimes flimsy, and it leans hard into soap-opera territory. If you hate glamorous frivolity, this will make you itch.

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More like this (6)

Luther2010

Idris Elba as a detective at war with himself as much as with his cases. Each season is tightly plotted; the psychological game between Luther and his adversary is the whole point. Completely absorbing.

But It gets increasingly baroque in its plotting. By season three, you're being asked to accept quite a lot of nonsense in service of the drama.

Luther poster

Vera2011

Brenda Blethyn as an unmarried detective in rural Northumberland solving complex cases through sheer force of instinct and stubbornness. Warm, grounded, and genuinely clever about procedure without being pedantic.

But The pacing is deliberate—sometimes glacial. The Northumberland setting is beautiful but repetitive across episodes. Not for the impatient.

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Midsomer Murders1998

A country detective and his sidekick solve impossible crimes in idyllic English villages. It's cosy without being dumb, puzzle-box plotting without pretension. Weirdly comforting in its rhythms.

But The formula is so reliable it becomes predictable. After fifty-plus episodes, you'll know the shape before you get there. Some find the gentleness cloying.

Midsomer Murders poster

River2015

A detective haunted by a case he couldn't solve sees ghosts of the dead. It's strange, moving, and formally inventive. Stellan Skarsgård is quietly brilliant. Each episode rewires what you thought you knew.

But Only six episodes, and it doesn't resolve everything. The surreal elements might feel like affectation if you wanted a straightforward procedural.

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Broadchurch2013

A child dies in a small English seaside town. Two detectives—one local, one from the city—clash while investigating. Masterfully suspenseful, beautifully acted, and it actually commits to its emotional weight.

But The final reveal disappointed a vocal portion of viewers. Some found the middle season repetitive. It's also very heavy for very long stretches.

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Line of Duty2012

An anti-corruption unit investigates bent coppers. It's a procedural turned into pure tension. The interrogation scenes are phenomenal. Each season tightens the knot further.

But Later seasons got convoluted; viewers remain divided on the ending. The Dublin accent pronunciation became a meme. It can feel like it's solving its own mysteries in circles.

Line of Duty poster

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