For some sick reason humans have always been drawn to transgressions. It’s some deep psychological itch that each of us tried to scratch at one point in time or another, be it by doing “bad things” or simply experiencing them vicariously through books, TV, movies, and/or games. Hell, remember that tale of Cain and Abel? Yeah, it’s got “first murder in the history of Bible” written all over it.
Point is, we are all basically potential criminals deep inside, so it’s only logical that watching “bad people” get caught by the “good guys” gives us a sense of comfort and pleasure, as if we’re saying “hah, they’d never catch me”. They would. But anyway, the fact remains – we LOVE detective/crime drama. And it so happens that I’m the residential binge-watcher here at BrainBerries, so get ready for some recommendations!
Here are 8 binge-worthy detective TV series you need to watch!
1. Psych
Crazy shenanigans of Shawn and Gus are some of the most memorable and funny adventures ever shown on TV. Shawn’s amazing deductive and observation skills make him look like he’s got psychic powers, hence the name of the show – Psych. It’s like the Mentalist only super funny.
2. The Mentalist
In case you have no idea who or what this “mentalist” was, it’s basically a magician who relies on mind tricks. This is one of those “FBI/police can’t solve the case, so we need your skills”, but it’s incredibly entertaining, mainly thanks to the chemistry between Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) and Teresa Lisbon (Robin Tunney).
3. 24
Another legendary show! The premise is incredibly simple: our hero Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) has 24 hours to stop the bad thing from happening. The kicker is that the plot is basically progressing in real time as you watch it, as there are 24 episodes in every season. Amazing idea, fantastic plot twists, great acting, what more could you wish for?
4. True Detective
It’s hard to talk about True detective without inevitably spoiling something, so, all I’m going to say is that the 3rd season just started and it looks terrific! If you’re a fan of slow and mind-bending crime shows, you gotta give True Detective a shot and scream “WTF?” at the end of every episode.
5. Lie to Me
Tim Roth plays Cal Lightman, who’s an expert at telling if people are telling the truth just by looking closely at their face and body gestures. I’m very surprised the show only lasted for 2 seasons, but even with that it’s some top-tier television.
6. Dexter
This show will teach you how it feels to sympathize with a psychotic, yet not evil, killer. Under any other circumstances you’d be rooting for the victims, but… turns out Dexter only kills bad people. Oh and he’s also a cop working with CSU, which makes it much easier for him to find new victims.
7. The Finder
The Finder is an amazingly well-written show about a man who can potentially find anything if you pay him well. He can see the patterns and solve puzzles that others couldn’t, making him both a great asset, and a huge liability, depending on which side of the law you find yourself. There’s only one problem… the show only got one season and FOX canceled it, either due to ratings or the tragic death of one of the main cast members Michael Clarke Duncan.
8. Castle
As a die-hard fan of Nathan Fillion, I’m willing to give this man praise regardless of whether he earned it or not. But in 99.9% of all cases the movies, games, and TV shows he’s in are marginally more watchable just because of his insane charisma. Castle is one of those shows too. A world-renowned novelist Rick Castle is very eager to help a pretty detective with solving hard cases. Sounds simple, but unlike CSI:Whatever, the mysteries in Castle are varied and quite creative. 10/10, going to rewatch it again.
