Television series

The Tunnel

Name: The Tunnel
Genre: Drama, Crime, Thriller
Released: 2013
Cast: Clémence Poésy, Stephen Dillane, Cédric Vieira, Angel Coulby, Thibault de Montalembert

Other titles called The Tunnel: the 1935 film, the 2011 film, the 2016 film.

The Tunnel is a sharp procedural thriller that uses the Channel Tunnel itself as a character—a liminal space where two detectives from opposing nations must solve crimes that belong to neither country. Clémence Poésy and Stephen Dillane are magnetic as they navigate not just the case but each other's incompatible methods and temperaments. It's methodical, smartly written, and thrums with the particular tension of cross-border investigation.

TVMaze rating

3.9

If you liked this

The Bridge on the River Kwai1957

The Swedish original that inspired The Tunnel has the same architecture—a shared border, two detectives from opposite sides, a body in the middle—but with a darker mythology and fiercer emotional stakes. Utterly gripping.

But The first season unfolds slowly, and if you know The Tunnel already, you'll spot the DNA immediately. It's bleaker too, which some find exhausting.

Line of Duty2012

British procedural excellence. The same methodical interrogation scenes, the same building dread, the same sense that institutional failure matters as much as the crime itself. Jed Mercurio writes like someone who understands how systems protect the guilty.

But It's a longer commitment—six seasons—and the later ones divide opinion. Some find the reveals underwhelming after such careful setup.

Broadchurch2013

Shares The Tunnel's ability to make landscape itself feel claustrophobic. Two brilliant detectives, one case that spirals outward. David Tennant and Olivia Colman make the tension feel personal and procedural at once.

But The twist divides viewers harshly. Some find it brilliant; others feel cheated by where it lands.

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

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Vanished2020

Both centre on the idea that truth lives in the gaps between jurisdictions and institutional procedures. The bureaucracy itself becomes an obstacle to justice.

A missing-child case narrows down to two families, two cars, and one impossible question: who's lying? It has The Tunnel's structure—international complication, institutional skepticism, facts that won't add up—compressed into ninety minutes of escalating tension.

But The resolution splits audiences. Some find it a brilliant trap; others feel the film withholds information rather than earning mystery. It can feel like a magic trick that doesn't land.

Sherlock2010

Modern updating of the detective partnership that crackles with chemistry. Fast, clever, visually inventive. If you loved Dillane and Poésy's dynamic, this scratches the same itch with a different energy.

But The later seasons lose momentum, and the show occasionally mistakes cleverness for substance. Quality becomes uneven.

Homicide: Life on the Street1993

The gold standard of procedural television. Treats homicide detectives as skilled professionals solving problems in real time, without melodrama. Influence seeps into everything made after it.

But It's American television from the '90s, which means different pacing and style than The Tunnel. Some modern viewers find it slow.

Mare of Easttown2021

A single case unfolds with meticulous care. Kate Winslet gives a masterclass in playing a detective who carries her jurisdiction's pain. Methodical, compassionate, and devastating without ever forcing it.

But It's a limited series, so commitment is easier—but it's also deeply sad in ways that can feel heavy-handed.

MINDHUNTER2017

Two investigators building a new discipline (criminal profiling) one conversation at a time. Methodical, tense, and fascinated by how you think rather than quick action. Fincher's direction makes procedural work feel cinematic.

But It's deliberately paced and introspective rather than plot-driven. The show was cancelled before resolution, which frustrates viewers seeking closure.

The Guilty2018

Both understand that detection is epistemological—how you know things matters more than what you know. Pressure and isolation reveal character.

A police dispatcher takes a call and spirals into investigation without ever leaving his chair. Ninety minutes in one room, one phone, one consciousness making detective work from fragments. It's The Tunnel's obsession with truth-making compressed to its absolute kernel.

But The entire film is a man in a room making phone calls. If that sounds boring, the film won't convince you otherwise. It demands you work harder than usual.