TV: Scandinavian Noir

Series 1 follows the early police career of young Endeavour Morse, who upon leaving his Oxford College without a degree, spending time in the Royal Signal Corps., and eventually joining the Oxfordshire Police, is transferred to CID, attaining the rank of Detective Constable. Originally starting out his career at Carshall-Newtown Police, Morse transfers to the Oxford City Police in 1965 following a murder investigation during the pilot episode. While with the Oxford City Police, Morse is taken under the wing of veteran Detective Inspector Fred Thursday. Inspector Thursday names Morse his designated "bag man" and shows him the ropes as Morse begins to solve a string of complex murders, much to the envy and annoyance of some of his superiors, particularly Detective Sergeant Jakes and Chief Superintendent Bright. Thursday and Morse's fellow officer, Police Constable Strange, try to steer the young Endeavour into taking his Sergeant's exam, so that he may be relieved of "General Duties" and become Thursday's official "bag man" with the appropriate rank and title.

Dark and twisting mystery series based on the characters created by Scottish crime writer Val McDermid. Set in the fictional English city of Bradfield, clinical psychologist Dr. Tony Hill is recruited as a criminal profiler for the police department. Aiding DCI Carol Jordan (and DI Alex Fielding in later episodes), the doctor's eccentric methods and deep understanding of the criminal mind help track down vicious serial killers and solve the most gruesome of crimes.

The murder of a young mother on a playground propels the investigating detectives down a path of discovery that tests their personal lives and safety. As the investigation unfolds, the scope of involvement widens to a conspiracy far outside the bounds of their community.

Drawing on her love of theatre and art, New Zealand author Ngaio Marsh created elegant crime-puzzlers full of quirky characters with hidden agendas, all brought meticulously to life in this BBC series.

War veteran turned private detective Cormoran Strike solves brutal murders with the help of his trusted assistant Robin Ellacott.

Created from the novels by award winning crime writer Ann Cleeves, Shetland follows DI Jimmy Perez and his team as they investigate crime within the close knit island community. In this isolated and sometimes inhospitable environment, the team have to rely on a uniquely resourceful style of policing. Set against a hauntingly beautiful landscape, Shetland is based on the best selling books such as Red Bones, Raven Black, Dead Water and Blue Lightning.

First broadcast in 1987, the Inspector Morse series is a crime drama based on the Colin Dexter novels of the same name. The show is based around the exciting exploits of Chief Inspector Morse (John Thaw), a senior officer within the Criminal Investigation Department of the Oxford Police, as he investigates heavy crimes in and around Oxford with his sidekick, Detective Sergeant Lewis (Kevin Whately). Morse is a grumpy classical music aficionado who loves beer, and who frequently loses patience with the earnest, but somewhat slow, Lewis.

British crime investigation series based around aristocratic, Oxford-educated Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley (

Two female detectives, one motherly, the other emotionally immature, have varying levels of success applying their eccentric outlooks on life to their police cases and private lives.

Former soldier and policeman Jackson Brodie becomes a private investigator.

The eight-part drama, filmed in Snowdonia, tells the story of detective DI Cadi John (

Supt. Dalziel and partner DI Pascoe investigate murders, and find a bond forming between them despite their blatantly differing personalities.

The story begins one hot summer's day when Leanne Wellings (Christine Tremarco) is taking her two young children to visit her grandfather. She stops to buy flowers at a motorway layby, but then inexplicably vanishes, leaving her two small children waiting for her in her car, lost and far from home. Her two small children then set off to find her, only to go missing as well. Their ordeal is captured on CCTV cameras, and before long, the family's heart-stopping trauma is not only a complex police investigation, but a major national news story.

Set in 2008 and against the hugely atmospheric background of Whitechapel, London, a modern police force are fighting an old adversary. A series of bloody, tragic and impossible crimes would suggest someone is carrying out copycat Jack the Ripper murders. The murders are investigated by our three unlikely heroes: Chandler, a fast-tracked, media savvy DI on his first big murder case; Miles, nearing retirement, a front-line, hard-bitten DS, and Buchan, the eccentrically brilliant Jack the Ripper tour guide.

Detective Aurelio Zen brings justice to modern-day Italy.

The tenacious and stubborn DCI Banks unravels disturbing murder mysteries aided by his young assistants, DS Annie Cabbot and DI Helen Morton.

Inspector Robert Lewis steps out of the shadow of his mentor, the inimitable Inspector Morse, in this highly-acclaimed series of intricate mysteries. Together with his brooding, inscrutable partner, Detective Sergeant James Hathaway, they take on the elite criminal underworld of Oxford, England, relying on Lewis' instinct and Hathaway's intellect to see past appearances and into the hearts of their upper-crust foes.

The show throws Chief Inspector George Gently into a maelstrom of murders and mayhem, whilst lovingly recreating the swinging sixties as it finally hits the North-East, in perfect and nostalgic detail. With his sidekick, the ambitious and undisciplined Detective Sergeant John Bacchus, they make the perfect police partnership, full of warmth and humour.