Any BRITISH cop shows worth checking out?

Luther - Idris Elba as a maverick detective
The Shadow Line - Chiwetel Ejiofor (the leading actor from 12 Years a Slave) as a detective who suffers memory loss after being shot and has to investigate to find out why he was shot
Messiah
Cracker
Line of Duty
Prime Suspect
Broadchurch
Case Histories

Something little different:

Ultraviolet - a cops versus vampires drama series from the 1990s, but really good. Only six episodes, but completed.
Life on Mars - a detective from the 2000s wakes up in the 1970s as a detective
Hustle - a team of hustlers do good deeds
Ripper Street - a historical cop drama
Whitechapel - a present-day drama revolves around historical crimes

Luther.

He's like an idiot savant, minus the savant. - Tom Servo

Loved Wire in the Blood. Robson Green was also good in Touching Evil.
LIFE ON MARS!! Great Series! US tried making a go of Life on Mars here in US but it bombed. UK's is awesome.
MI-5 isn't about cops but about Agents with the British intelligence agency. Think Bond but more believable. Blue Murder with Caroline Quentin was also a good watch. My family and I have been working our way through British titles via our NF subscription. We're a we bit obsessed with Brit TV. As someone else mentioned PRIME SUPECT, CRACKER. Both are GREAT shows. Luther is pretty good so far, we've only seen through season 2. Problem with British shows is you never know how many "series"(seasons) your going to get. Some shows even when they do really well get canned much like many US show I guess. Just sucks because you have to wait a year or more to get a Brit show on dvd here in US. They often go a year or more without any new episodes. So sometimes we(American's) go 2-3yrs between seasons. Just when you think you've heard the last of a Series you get news they are making a new set of episodes. I've listed a lot, but could list another 20+. Great Britain is known for their mysteries. If you've never seen the show "Sherlock" with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman I highly recommend it.
Foyle's War
Murphy's Law
Inspector Lewis
George Gently
Inspector Lynley
New Tricks
Waking the Dead
Murdoch Mysteries(Canadian but entertaining)

Good to hear that some Americans are able to get their hands on British shows. Whatever you do, do not miss Line Of Duty. Series 1 is excellent. Series 2 stunning.

I forgot to mention The Fall, starring Gillian Anderson. Very creepy!

I tend to watch more British crime dramas than American ones, more depth and more cerebral.

I second these...

I agree about "The Fall", it starts slow but grabbed me. Gillian Anderson is ok, but Jamie Dornan is scary, what an outstanding young actor. A series 2 is being filmed. It's set in Northern Ireland where the cops carry guns.

Prime Suspect - Helen Mirren owns the "Jane Tennison" character, no one could ever play the part as well. A great series.

Foyle's War - set in Hastings, England during WWII then changes to London and MI-5 post War.

Morse and the two spin offs; Inspector Lewis and Endeavour - set in Oxford, England (think Oxford University) -- Inspector Lewis - when Morse died his bag man (sergeant) got promoted to inspector and a new series began -- Endeavor- new series about Morse when he started as a detective in 1960s Oxford.

Case Histories - two series only, should have been renewed - stars Jason Issacs

55 Degrees North
Pie in the Sky

Luther and The Shadow Line.

Trust me.

Can I recommend one from the other end of the scale - Juliet Bravo?

It's a low budget, homely drama about a small rural police station in the North of England. The unique selling point was that the new boss was...gasp...a woman! This was a big deal in the late Seventies. How would the men react?

As a former police officer myself, Juliet Bravo appealed to me as a realistic, downbeat portrayal of a backwater police station - very similar to one I used to work at. It follows the fortunes of enthusiastic young officers and the seasoned old Sergeant, Joe Beck, an immensely likeable character.

After Southland, The Wire etc, Juliet Bravo will be a culture shock for American viewers - but if you want something different and uniquely British, give it a look.







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