If you love a detective drama as much as we do, you’ll likely already have binged your way through the likes of Sherlock, Broadchurch and Shetland. But have you heard about Recipes for Love and Murder, or Copper even? We thought not.
We’ve been busy combing the TV archives to find the best-kept secret detective series for you to spend your long weekend with – and one is even more watchable than Shetland (no disrespect, we still love you Shetland). From page-to-screen adaptations to a redemption drama and a sun-soaked series, these are the 7 undiscovered detective dramas to watch now on ITV, Netflix, the BBC and more.
Recipes for Love and Murder
AcornTV
This brilliant South African series, which is based on Sally Andrew’s bestselling Tannie Maria Mystery books, introduces us to middle-aged recipe columnist (played by Maria Doyle Kennedy) Maria. Maria is an incredible cook who dishes out guidance and tasty recipes for her local newspaper, the Klein Karoo, in South Africa. But when a reader writes in about her abusive husband, who’s been found dead, she’s determined to get to the bottom of the mystery – and so her secret sleuthing begins. Available to watch now on U.
Dublin Murders 
Netflix
A recent addition to Netflix, Dublin Murders is an adaptation of Tana French’s bestselling Dublin Murder Squad novels and it’ll captivate you just as much as the books. Set during the height of the Celtic Tiger financial boom of the millennium, lead detectives Rob Reilly (Killian Scott) and Cassie Maddox (Sarah Greene) have two murder investigations on their hands that are seemingly unrelated – but we soon discover that they have more in common that first anticipated, and every tiny detail matters. Even more watchable than Shetland. Available to watch now on Netflix.
Murdoch Mysteries
CBC
Based on the characters from the Detective Murdoch novels by Maureen Jennings, this Canadian import holds the title of Canada’s longest-running one-hour scripted drama ever. At the centre of it is Detective William Murdoch (Yannick Bisson) who combats crime in the early 1900s in Canada. Quite the maverick, the detective has earned his reputation as the country’s go-to investigator for using cutting-edge methods like fingerprinting and ultraviolet light, which means he has his hands rather full, to say the least. Available to watch on NOW.
Absentia
20th Century Studios, BBC, Digital Spy, Disney+, ITV, Netflix, Warner Bros.
Absentia is the sort of series you press play on out of curiosity and find yourself still watching many, many hours later. Stana Katic is the FBI agent who goes missing while hunting a serial killer and is presumed dead, despite no body being found. So, when she’s discovered alive six years later, with no memory of where she’s been, it’s a shock to both her now remarried husband and, well, just about everyone around her – especially when she becomes the chief suspect in a new crime. As gripping as it gets. Available to watch now on Netflix.
Copper
UKTV
Believe it or not, this 1860s-set drama holds the distinction of being BBC America’s first original scripted series (the broadcaster later commissioned Killing Eve). All the action takes place in New York, where Kevin Corcoran (Tom Weston-Jones) is a rugged Irish American detective working the city’s notorious Five Points neighbourhood. When we meet him, he’s determined to learn the truth about the disappearance of his wife and the death of his daughter – but he also has the not-so-small task of keeping peace in Five Points. Available to watch now on U.
Borderline
Martin Maguire
Don’t you just love a mismatched detective duo? The pair at the centre of this one is Northern Irish detective inspector Philip Boyd (Eoin Macken) and his sweary counterpart from the Republic of Ireland Aoife Regan (De Bhrún), who find themselves partnered up on a brutal murder case. Forced to put their differences to one side, they collaborate to solve a crime that straddles the border keeping them apart. Think True Detective meets The Bridge. Available to watch now on ITVX.
Better 
BBC
This thrilling redemption drama follows DI Lou Slack (Leila Farzad) who was always destined to be a police officer and is now one of the best detectives on her team. Only Lou isn’t quite as squeaky clean as she appears. She has, in fact, been taking money from a major Leeds drug trafficker, Col McHugh (Andrew Buchan), for almost two decades, but now, she decides, is her moment to escape his clutches. True edge-of-your seat viewing. Available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.
READ MORE TV NEWS HERE