Murder mysteries and detective stories continue to be huge draws in the streaming world and the best detective shows on great TV detectives, and compelling cases, they often draw huge fanbases.

Detective stories have been around for many years, going back to Sherlock Holmes stories and Agatha Christie novels. While some older classics of the genre are still available, Netflix also proves there are inventive and fresh ways to approach these intriguing crime stories. Not all of the shows are procedural in nature, and some are even comedies or sci-fi, showcasing how different mysteries in the same subgenre can be.

See also: the best detective shows to watch on Amazon Prime Video.

25 Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013)

The Comedic Side Of Crime Solving

Brooklyn Nine-Nine is not a straight-up detective show. Instead, it’s a workplace sitcom that shows the funnier side of solving the mysteries behind criminal acts. While most of the episodes do feature a case-of-the-week, the case isn’t the central focus. Instead, the detectives themselves are.

The relationships between the characters, like the romance between Amy and Jake, or the way Captain Holt mentors his team, are what really get the focus of the show. Small things in a detective drama, like a rivalry between coworkers or a skills test on the horizon become the driving force behind these episodes. It gives a new spin on a detective series than the more common procedurals.

The series does try to incorporate more serious storylines into its comedic tone. While that doesn’t always work in the show’s favor, it doesn’t detract from the enjoyment of the show as a whole.

24 Bodies (2023)

A Detective Story Across Four Time Period

Bodies is inspired by a graphic novel, and it definitely doesn’t fit the typical detective series mold. Its story is told across four different time periods. Interestingly, four different detectives investigate a dead body that shows up on the same London street in each of those four different time periods.

While the first episode might lull the audiences into a false sense of security with a familiar mystery, the show becomes a lot more science fiction in concept as it continues across those different time periods. While the twists of the story are incredibly interesting to watch unfold, what’s also interesting is seeing just how investigative techniques are different at the various points in history in the same place. While technology changes, the interest in the truth by those investigating doesn’t.

At only eight episodes, Bodies is also a relatively quick binge-watch compared to some of the other detective shows on Netflix.

23 The Indian Detective (2017)

A Toronto Detective Travels To Mumbai

If a quick watch is what a detective show fans are interested in though, The Indian Detective could also be a good choice. The series is only four episodes, though this one definitely has more of a comedic bent to it with comedian Russell Peters in the lead.

The series sees Peters playing a Toronto police officer who ends up in the middle of a murder investigation while making a visit to his father after he’s been suspended from the force for a month. In addition to Peters’ charm and comedy, William Shatner appears in a villainous role, which is sure to delight genre fans.

The downside is that the final episode ends on a cliffhanger. While it appeared there were originally plans for a second season of the show, the second season has never materialized as Peters has been involved in other projects ever since.

22 Murderville (2022)

Murder And Improv Make A Perfect Pairing

When mystery fans think of a detective show, it’s unlikely they’re going to consider improvisational comedy the right format for one. In Murderville, however, it works exceptionally well.

Will Arnett stars as a detective who is paired with a new celebrity trainee to solve a case in every episode. While there is a main mystery in each episode, and clearly, the basic outline for a story, the celebrity guest has no script, so they have to improv their way through the case and try to figure out who the murderer is at the end of the episode. It’s a format that makes for some fun mysteries and some hilarious hijinks.

In addition to the main series, there’s also a holiday special. Some of the most entertaining of the amateur detectives to improv in the series are athlete Marshawn Lynch, actor Sharon Stone, and late-night host Conan O’Brien.

21 Lockwood & Co. (2023)

Teenagers Detect Ghost Stories

Lockwood & Co. is a ghost story before it’s a detective story, but its format is not unlike some of the best detective shows on Netflix. Inspired by Jonathan Stroud’s book series, the story takes place in a world where young people can see ghosts and combat them, but adults cannot.

As a result, there are numerous agencies that employ kids who are in the right age group to go up against ghosts. Lockwood (Cameron Chapman) is the only kid to run his own agency. When Lucy (Ruby Stokes) runs away from home and applies for a job with his agency, she doesn’t realize that her boss is going to be her own age.

The duo works with George (Ali Hadji-Heshmati) as they take on cases, but they’re also interested in why the ghosts have become a problem in the last few decades in the first place. The show’s concept is a great one, and the first season hinted at more mysteries to come, but unfortunately, Netflix canceled the show after its first season.

20 The Good Detective (2020)

A K-Drama Pairs Up Clashing Detectives

Netflix has an impressive selection of K-dramas for an international audience. While K-dramas have a reputation outside of South Korea as being focused on romance, there are many genres covered within the shows, including mystery.

This K-drama sees two detectives with very different approaches paired up to look at a previously closed case. The original case was a murder committed five years earlier whose investigation ended with the arrest of the wrong person. While one of the detectives has a staunch moral code, the other is more lax in ethical breaches, making for a potentially volatile partnership. Alongside the detectives is also a reporter who spends their time interviewing victims’ family , which motivates the detectives to get the job done.

The series was so popular when originally airing in South Korea that it doubled the number of viewers from the premiere to the finale. That interest was enough to get the show a second season.

19 Killing Eve (2018-2022)

A British Spy Chases An Assassin

Killing Eve is a BBC series that also aired on AMC in the United States. It is now one of the best detective series on Netflix, with Sandra Oh playing a bored M15 intelligence investigator who gets the lead on a dangerous assassin. This gives some meaning to her life as Eve sets out to find and apprehend the assassin, only to find herself falling in love with her target, Villanelle, played by Jodie Comer. At the same time, Villanelle goes from playing games with Eve to falling for her as well.

The series has four seasons, and while not all fans were happy with the Killing Eve ending, the fun was the chase, with the two closing in on each other, and occasionally coming face-to-face, which is where most of the fun happened. The will they or won't they was almost more important than the idea of stopping an assassin. The series received several awards nominations throughout its run, winning awards for Oh and Comer's acting at the Golden Globes and Emmy Awards.

18 Lucifer (2016-2021)

Satan Helps A Police Detective Solve Crimes

Based on the DC Vertigo comics character created by Neil Gaiman, Lucifer is a series that aired on Fox for three seasons and then on Netflix after Fox canceled the show. Netflix then continued it for three more seasons as one of its more popular detective series. The series has Lucifer growing bored in Hell, so he gives up his throne there to live on Earth, where he opens a nightclub in Los Angeles. It is here that he meets a police detective, and he decides to use his powers to help her solve crimes.

The series is a mix of a great detective story (similar to Castle), but with a supernatural slant.

The series is a mix of a great detective story (similar to Castle), but with a supernatural slant. By the time the final seasons came around, and Detective Chloe Decker learned he was Lucifer, things began to get darker and move more into the supernatural and less into the detective mysteries that the first few seasons mostly focused on. In the realm of urban fantasy, Lucifer remains a great option, and between the mysteries, the demons, and the possible love story, it offers fans all they could want.

17 The Lincoln Lawyer (2022- )

A Defense Attorney Who Works Out Of His Car

Based on the Michael Connelly novels, Mickey Haller is a defense attorney who first appeared in the popular Bosch series of books before getting his own spinoff franchise that consists of seven novels so far. The Lincoln Lawyer was initially turned into a movie with Matthew McConaughey starring as the attorney whose office is out of the back of his Lincoln Towncar. However, in 2022, Netflix brought the detective story to fans as a new series with Manual Garcia-Rulfo as Mickey.

The first season was based on the novel The Brass Verdict, and the second was based on The Fifth Witness.

While Mickey is a lawyer, he also works as his own detective as he seeks out the truth that his clients might not be willing to reveal to him. The detective series on Netflix has been around for two seasons, and there is more coming. The first season was based on the novel The Brass Verdict, and the second was based on The Fifth Witness. Both series tie in together, and there is a large overarching storyline to go along with the season-long mysteries that Mickey has to solve.

16 Longmire (2012-2017)

A Western Detective Series In Wyoming

Longmire is a detective series formatted like a Western. Robert Taylor stars as Walt Longmire, a sheriff of a small Wyoming county who has to keep the law and solve crimes while often dealing with the tribal police from the neighboring Indian reservation. Lou Diamond Phillips co-stars as Henry Standing Bear, Longmire's in tribal matters, while Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica) stars as Vic, Longmire's deputy who once worked as a Philadelphia homicide detective.

Based on the Walt Longmire Mysteries by Craig Johnson.

The series aired for three seasons on A&E, but when that network chose not to move on with the series, Netflix stepped up and brought it back for three more seasons. The series plays out well for both fans of Western-styled TV shows and for fans who love great crime dramas. Based on the Walt Longmire Mysteries by Craig Johnson, the series was nominated for several awards, with the pilot even earning an Edgar Award nomination by the Mystery Writers of America.