Grab your pumpkin spice latte and cuddle under the nearest blanket. The leaves are about to turn orange soon, and the stage is set for all of your favorite mystery series to stream on your TV! Autumn makes most of us want a small thrill, or at least a dubious set of characters to get wrapped up in as the weather changes and our entertainment gets a little more sedentary.
The best mystery shows make us laugh, get goosebumps, and discuss the ramifications of crimes in both fiction and reality. They make us think and serve as either lazy binges or engaging puzzle-solving romps, depending on what you desire. These are the best mystery TV series to watch this fall!
Only Murders in the Building (2021)
Follow Steve Martin, Selena Gomez, and Martin Short as the oddball podcasting trio that just so happens to always be embroiled in murder in their New York City apartment building. The fourth season is ongoing right now on Hulu! Only Murders in the Building captures a wide number of different audiences by mixing comedy, drama, mystery, thriller, and even musical genre elements into its story. The generational divide between the Martins and Gomez helps build a well-rounded series that appeases teenagers as well as it does seniors.
True Detective (2014)
True Detective’s run on HBO and Max has been somewhat of a roller coaster, but every mystery fan should run to their TV to view at least season 1 and season 4. This anthology follows a different brutal murder or set of crimes each season as the detectives who uncover the secrets to the case also find out more than they may have wanted to about themselves and their partners on the case. Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson remain the gold-standard actors in this series a decade after their appearances.
The Leftovers (2014)
The Leftovers isn’t a traditional mystery drama. While most sleuthing series follow a murder victim or a gruesome crime, this Damon Lindelof-created show asks viewers for patience as the civilians of a small New York town grapple with the ambiguous inception of a post-apocalyptic disappearance. The series exemplifies the eerie existentialism of living and the horrors of accepting when there may be no answer to the mystery.
Dexter (2006)
Dexter fits into the mystery category any way you want to watch the show. Michael C. Hall’s depiction of a serial killer who tries to keep some semblance of ethics strings viewers along with thrilling plot lines revolving around Dexter’s family, the motivations of his murderous foes, and the astounding cliffhangers that end many of the episodes. While one fan might be more invested in the mystery of Dexter’s identity to his family, others will focus more on the Miami detectives who Dexter tries to evade while working within the department. Fans of the franchise can get even more Dexter with Dexter: Resurrection and Dexter: Original Sin!
Stranger Things (2016)
Stranger Things not only has the perfect sci-fi setting for a blustery autumn mystery binge, the Netflix drama would make even the best mystery novelists proud for its pacing and big reveals. The first season is a true sleuthing experience as the gang in Hawkins, Indiana attempts to find and save Will Byers from the horrors of the Upside Down. Season 5 should finally be on the way shortly after ten years and dozens of episodes in between the premiere and the present!
The Consultant (2023)
After the CEO of a major corporation is killed, a creepy consultant fills the void in more ways than one around the office. Brittany O’Grady and Nat Wolff play key supporting roles as the unfortunate beneficiaries of the new boss’s rules and regulations. Viewers must piece together the titular antagonist’s plot for his employees as the legendary Christoph Waltz leans fully into his dramatic bag to portray the dangerous advisor in the building. The Consultant is an underrated one-season gem on Prime Video.
Severance (2022)
Apple TV+ has really upped their library of interesting series that other streamers are afraid to lean into. Severance might be the most ambitious of the bunch! Adam Scott and a talented supporting cast juggle the ominous duel-realities of having their work and personal lives split into separate entities. While it may seem like this would be a nice way to create work-life balance, the drawbacks to this program reveal terrible secrets about the people controlling their employees behind the scenes.
Mare of Easttown (2021)
Kate Winslet comes to TV in a big way in one of HBO’s best miniseries. Mare of Easttown digs into the consequences of not solving past crimes when Winslet’s character must figure out who is once again murdering innocents in a quant Philadelphia town. The series resembles True Detective in its ability to tell both Mare’s personal troubles and the impact of those inner conflicts while solving crime.
The X-Files (1993)
The X-Files set the mystery standard for so many sleuthing adventures on television since the 1990s. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson play a sharp, combative detective partnership that battles the supernatural, aliens, and their feelings for one another. Romance and science fiction make The X-Files different from other series in the mystery genre.
Bones (2005)
Bones is a throwback to mystery television from before the streaming era. A classic male-female crime-solving duo played by Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz sees fans engrossed in the fascinating findings of dead bodies and the lives those corpses were attached to. With 246 episodes to watch, fans of this network television vehicle will never run out of mystery material to engage in. There is a new crime to solve every episode, but overarching plot lines each season are embedded into the problem-solving.
