British shows to try

As a maverick cop with a dark past, DS Tommy Murphy fails a psychiatric assessment but is given one last chance by his boss and given a dangerous undercover assignment.

The series comprises adaptations of the works of Ruth Rendell, many of which are based on her extensive range of short stories. In some cases, the stories were expanded from Rendell's original material or elements from a number of stories were woven together into one episode. A smaller number of episodes were based on Rendell's full-length novels, starring James Callis and Front seat, starring Janet Suzman. There were a total of 55 episodes centering on the Detective Inspector Wexford stories, starring George Baker, Louie Ramsay and Christopher Ravenscroft, and an additional 29 episodes did not feature Wexford.

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.

Despite the red robe and wig, Judge John Deed is no average high court judge. Good-looking, fit and fifty-something, he has a rakish charm that belies his sharp intellect. His passion for justice and his maverick approach set him at odds with the Lord Chancellor's department. This judge's individual approach too often flies in the face of convention for his own good as he determinedly avoids the traditionalism the system tries to force upon him.

During WWII, men and women working at Bletchley Park played a vital role, breaking the codes used by the German military. Nine years later, former codebreaker Susan is a housewife and mother, but she continues to recognize patterns that surround her in everyday life. When a series of women are brutally murdered around London, Susan sees a pattern emerging. However, when a police-search for what Susan believes to be an overlooked victim turns up nothing, she realizes she cannot solve this puzzle alone. Enlisting three former Bletchley Park colleagues: Millie, Lucy, and Jean; Susan knows they have little time to break this code before the killer strikes again.

US police chief Bill Hixon lands in Lincolnshire with his 14 year-old daughter Kelsey, hoping to flee their recent painful past. New community forces Bill to question everything about himself.

Former Scotland Yard detective Albert Tyburn is sent to colonial Nairobi, as the head of a new criminal investigation unit. Murder, arson, blackmail, slave-trading, and secret passions await him in 1930's Kenya. As he faces off against the pompous elitist expatriate community, he finds allies in Constable Jonah Karinde, Assistant Superintendent James Valentine, and Emma Fitzgerald, a spirited, strong-willed biplane pilot. This dark and twisting series encompass three cases: "Private Lives," "Hide in Plain Sight," and "The Sport of Kings."

A fresh adaptation of English literature's first great detective novel. When Franklin Blake returns to England, he is forced to face the ghosts he fled a year ago when the Moonstone, a priceless Indian diamond, was stolen. Rachel Verinder, Franklin's beautiful young cousin, inherited the stone from her uncle on her 18th birthday. It was always said that the stone carried a curse, and the morning after her birthday party, it was missing. In the aftermath of the theft, Rachel cut off all ties with Franklin - the man she had loved. A year later and Franklin is determined to heal the rift between them. But Rachel has one condition - she won't see him until he can tell her exactly what happened to the diamond that night. Only then can Franklin win back the love of his life.

Ex Cop turned private investigator Vincent Gallagher and his team of PI's do whatever it takes to tackle cases that come to them.

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.

Six years after a sinister drugs trial in India goes horribly wrong, a young teacher is found dead. Two investigators - trainee Detective Constable Arrash 'Rash' Sayyad and junior Serious Fraud Office investigator Stefan Kowolski - are separately drawn in, investigating different strands of the same case under the watch of their respective bosses, DS Derek Sands and Eleanor Davies. As a war begins to rage between two major pharmaceutical companies and with two hit-women on their trail, Rash and Stefan's paths unexpectedly cross, forcing them to join together to uncover the truth.

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

Charismatic detective wise-cracks his way through murder mysteries.

Lovejoy is a loveable rogue and an antiques dealer with an amazing talent for spotting hidden treasures. When not looking for the odd collectible, Lovejoy spends most of his time using his con-artist skills to help out the less fortunate. His partners in crime are wealthy Lady Jane, his dim assistant Eric, and the genially intoxicated Tinker.

Cases of a woman and her male assistant who work for the fictional CJRA (Criminal Justice Review Agency), an organization which seeks out miscarriages of justice.

James Kavanagh QC (Queen's Counsel) (John Thaw) is one of the top flight barristers in Britain. Each episode has him handling challenging cases and defendants which put his skills to the test regularly. All the while, his family often encounters rough patches that require much of his free time as well.

In order to make ends meet, and to stop a local teenage runaway from becoming a juvenile delinquent, Hetty Wainthropp, a sprightly and intelligent 60-year-old pensioner looking for a new challenge, decides to become a private investigator much to the chagrin of her unemployed husband. Once she makes up her mind, she becomes an unstoppable force, and, led by Hetty, the three set forth to investigate crimes of less interest to the local police force in and around their little village in the beautiful Lancashire countryside.