TAGGED AS: Comedy, Drama, streaming, television, TV
The first season of Rian Johnson’s Poker Face has come to a close, and if you’re like us, you’re eager to see what comes next for star Natasha Lyonne’s Charlie Cale, a wrongfully-accused outlaw on the run who solves murder mysteries on her road-trip across America. A new take on the mystery-of-the-week crime procedural formula, the Peacock show’s reluctant hero uses her talent as a human lie detector to zero in on the guilty party in each and every episode.
Benjamin Bratt, Adrien Brody, Chloë Sevigny, Dascha Polanco, Ellen Barkin, Hong Chau, Lil Rey Howery, and Nick Nolte appear in the series, offering supporting performances through each standalone episode. Ron Perlman’s recurring character Sterling Foster helps propel the show’s overarching storyline by keeping the stakes raised for Charlie.
While we wait for the show to return, you may be looking for your next whodunit TV binge. We’ve got you covered. Here are 10 crime-solving shows to try next if you loved Poker Face.
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Columbo
“Just one more thing …” the iconic catchphrase of Peter Falk’s Lieutenant Columbo has stood the test of time, as has this classic 1970s crime procedural. The series, which is chock full of delightful standalone episodes, puts a spin on the tried-and-true genre, focusing on the offbeat investigator’s fine-tuned process in capturing the already-revealed criminal. It’s a unique twist on things, keeping the audience on the edge of our seat through each and every episode as we wait to see which mistake made by the culprit will finally put them in Columbo’s sights.
Where to watch: Peacock (Subscription, seasons 1-10).
Commitment: Approximately 92 hours (for 10 seasons)
89%
Monk
In Monk, Emmy-winner Tony Shalhoub plays Adrian Monk, an offbeat detective struggling with intense bouts of obsessive-compulsive disorder. While his mental health condition throws countless hurdles in his path — his daily life is a horror show of inane challenges — it enhances his investigation skills. Throughout the show’s eight-season run, Monk solved crimes from the petty variety to full-blown murder. The overarching mystery of his wife Trudy’s death, which sparked his debilitating OCD, to begin with, added necessary emotion to the character’s struggle. As it turned out, it was the one crime he truly cared to solve.
Where to watch: Peacock and Prime Video (Subscription, seasons 1-8); Buy seasons 1-8 at Apple TV and Vudu.
Commitment: Approximately 84 hours (for 8 seasons)
78%
Sherlock
Adaptations of British author Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic Sherlock Holmes stories seemingly are everywhere, but BBC’s Sherlock is a standout in so many ways: Each season contains three 90-minute episodes, they all take place in present day, and the performances of stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, who play Sherlock and Watson, elevate the well-trod source material. Creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss created a smart series with twisty writing and eye-catching production value and that has left fans perpetually yearning for more.
Where to watch: Buy seasons 1-4 at Prime Video, Apple TV, and Vudu.
Commitment: Approximately 18 hours (for 4 seasons)
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Lie to Me
Before Charlie showcased her incredible knack of identifying liars and solving crimes in Poker Face, Dr. Cal Lightman (Tim Roth) made a profit doing so in Fox’s Lie to Me. In the three-season series, law enforcement regularly tapped Lightman’s team to assist in solving cases by reading people through micro-expressions and body language. The implementation of the actual science behind detecting lies is what makes this series a must-watch. And Roth’s nuanced performance is impressive, as always.
Where to watch: Hulu (Subscription, seasons 1-3); Buy seasons 1-3 at Prime Video, Apple TV, and Vudu.
Commitment: Approximately 34 episodes (for 3 seasons)
89%
Psych
This offbeat procedural follows Shawn Spencer (James Roday Rodriguez), a man with a knack for observation who pretends to be a psychic for profit. With the help of his best friend Gus (Dulé Hill), the duo fool law enforcement into thinking Shawn has useful supernatural abilities that can help solve crimes. Over its eight-season run, the series built a loyal fanbase that prompted three standalone movies to continue the adventures of Shawn and Gus and their fun, crime-fighting bromance.
Where to watch: Peacock and Prime Video (Subscription, seasons 1-8); Buy seasons 1-8 at Apple TV and Vudu. Movies Psych 2: Lassie Come Home and Psych 3: This Is Gus are available to stream with a Peacock subscription.
Commitment: Approximately 86 hours (for 8 seasons)
82%
Castle
What if a mystery novelist helped solve real-life mysteries? That’s the gist behind Castle, the crime procedural starring Nathan Fillion as Rick Castle as the author. Throughout the series’ eight seasons, he shadows NYPD detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) on various cases with the goal of finding inspiration for his next book, but Castle instead becomes a valuable asset to the NYPD team. With a peek into his own family life, the fun chemistry between Castle and Beckett, and the overarching storyline of a killer who uses his books for inspiration, this fun series offers a lot of entertainment value.
Where to watch: Hulu (Subscription, seasons 1-8); Buy seasons 1-8 at Prime Video, Apple TV, and Vudu.
Commitment: Approximately 124 hours (for 8 seasons)
92%
Veronica Mars
Veronica Mars is what happens when you mix a high school teen drama with a noir murder mystery. The series follows Kristen Bell as Veronica, a seemingly average high school student. After a crime goes unsolved, she decides to moonlight as a private eye to crack the case. Throughout its initial three-season run, Veronica Mars helped launch Bell’s career and gave a glimpse at show creator Rob Thomas’ (Party Down, iZombie) penchant for mixing smart writing and dark humor into a different sort of crime show. After its run from 2004 to 2007, a sequel movie was released in 2014 and in 2019, an eight-episode fourth season dropped to Hulu with Bell returning as the titular hero.
Where to watch: Hulu (Subscription, seasons 1-4); Buy seasons 1-4 at Prime Video, Apple TV, and Vudu.
Commitment: Approximately 53 hours (for 4 seasons)
92%
The Afterparty
The Afterparty hails from Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the producing duo behind The Lego Movie, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and Fox’s sleeper series The Last Man on Earth. Their humor is on full display here, along with Miller’s passion for the whodunit genre. The narrative structure works similarly to that of Poker Face, in that the audience sees the crime at the beginning of the story and watches as things get pieced together from there. Tiffany Haddish’s Detective Danner acts as the narrative wraparound; each episode honors a different genre style — from rom-com to horror to anime — as Danner interrogates each suspect. Sam Richardson, Zoe Chao, Dave Franco, Ike Barinholtz, Ben Schwartz, and Ilana Glazer round out the hilarious ensemble cast.
Where to watch: Apple TV (Subscription, 1 season).
Commitment: Approximately 5 hours (for 1 season)
96%
Only Murders in the Building
Only Murders in the Building crept onto TV in 2021 and took the world by storm. The series, which was co-created by Steve Martin and John Robert Hoffman, follows three neighbors (played by Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez) who leverage their love for true-crime podcasts to start their own in an effort to solve a murder that transpired in their building. Each episode of the comedy series features smart writing, dramatic twists, and intriguing character reveals. Plus, the chemistry between the three leads makes Only Murders in the Building one of the most enjoyable binges on this list.
Where to watch: Hulu (Subscription, seasons 1-2).
Commitment: Approximately 10 hours (for 2 seasons)
Before Rick Castle helped law enforcement solve crimes, there was mystery novelist Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) in Murder, She Wrote. The classic series is a huge influence on Rian Johnson’s work, and follows Fletcher, an amateur detective who enforces justice in the fictional town of Cabot Cove, Maine. Lansbury’s iconic character set a standard for the genre, presenting an unassuming character who can run rings around law enforcement and outwit criminals. The series ran for a whopping 12 seasons from 1984-1996, with Fletcher’s journey continuing in four TV movies in the following decades.
Where to watch: Peacock (Subscription, seasons 1-12).
Commitment: Approximately 211 hours (for 12 seasons)
