The Top 30 Murder Mystery TV Shows for March and April

Get Ready For A Spring Chock Full Of Murder!

Welcome to a brand new edition of Only Murders In The Inbox! If you’re new here, thanks so much for joining us, and if you’re a regular reader, thank you — I appreciate you much more than you know. Every week, OMITI covers murder mysteries in literature and entertainment. We delve into the ways the Mystery genre is significant in pop culture. You’ll also find curated suggestions and updates on the latest murder mysteries in television and film (usually with trailers!).

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The White Lotus, Image Courtesy Of Max

The Top 30 TV Murder Mysteries For March & April

I’m writing today’s Only Murders In The Inbox edition right next to the Pacific Ocean. I’d love to be able to tell you I’m on vacation for the weekend, but I’m not. I’m seventy miles outside of Los Angeles, in a beachside community far from my home in northeast L.A. The Los Angeles Fires might be extinguished, but their impact has been enormous, in both obvious ways and subtle ones. Obvious ones — leveled streets, charred remains of homes, road closures — are the effects you’ve seen on the news. The more subtle ones are just as impactful: a slew of upper respiratory infections at neighborhood schools; job losses from small businesses who’ve lost their storefronts; and disabled Angelenos who can no longer tolerate the fire and smog pollution that’s been hanging over the city for almost two months now and have been forced to relocate. There are immunocompromised people in the city who’ve been displaced: people with asthma, lung cancer, and emphysema. I’ve been hotel hopping because I have lung damage from Covid, and the air quality in L.A. has really taken a toll on my health, to the point where I can’t breathe when I am in the vicinity of Altadena or the Palisades. It’s resulted in me being separated from my family because my kids are still in school and need to be at home, so my family drives back and forth in heavy traffic on the weekends to see me. You can imagine how old that’s getting. I spoke to NBC last week (story running soon!) about the fires and its effects on people with disabilities, and the BBC reported on my experience evacuating the city last month, you can read it here. (Thank you to my BBC readers, it means a lot to me that you subscribe!)

Last week, I tried going back to my house for the fourth time. We’d just had three days of rain. We switched out the A/C filter with a MERV 13. We now own NINE air purifiers, and my pulmonologist prescribed a new nebulizer and emergency inhaler, but that didn’t matter. After being at my house for just a few hours, I had such a severe reaction to the toxic air in our neighborhood, I ended up in the ER. Long Covid: it’s the gift that keeps on giving. You can read more below, in the latest edition of my other publication, It’s All In My Head.

How To Run When You Can’t Walk: The Experience Of The L.A. Fires With A Disability

Knowing that, you can imagine how this edition of Only Murders comes as a welcome distraction for me (and, among the chaos of the current news cycle, hopefully it’s a nice distraction for you, too). Escapism in the form of entertainment can really be a life raft at times, that’s for certain, and I have thirty television series that will help. Thirty is a lot, I know! You might be thinking, has Reda actually seen all of these mysteries? The answer is yes, yes I have. Some I watched as a teenager (The X-Files), a few I’ve watched with my kids (School Spirits) and others I’ve seen recently (I really hope you’re watching Paradise on Hulu!). Also, just like Erica Drayton of Top In Fiction, I’m also guilty of playing an older mystery show in the background while I’m working. Back when I was working from home writing VO for HGTV, the series Monk was often my white noise. You can trust that I truly have personally vetted every series on this list!

There’s a lot I’ve omitted because I’m assuming you’ve already seen it (Luther, Perry Mason, Big Little Lies) and I needed to make room for brand new mysteries you might not have heard about. This list is especially light on gore and gritty crime thrillers and heavier on comedy, classics, and new releases. That’s intentional. So here it is, OMITI’s compilation of the Top 30 mystery series currently streaming for March and April on all major platforms. Let me know in the comments if I missed one you love!

*This list has been updated from the December Top 30 edition of Only Murders In The Inbox. For even more show recommendations, see previous Top 30 editions, the majority of which are still streaming.

Image Courtesy of PBS

30. Wild Cards - Prime Video

(One Season, 10 episodes total, 43 minutes each) I’m kicking off this Top 30 with a mystery comedy series because I’m guessing that’s what we all need right about now. (Be sure to check out #13, #18 and #19, too). Wild Cards is a formulaic but fun series about a detective (Cole Ellis played by Giacomo Gianniotti from Grey’s Anatomy) and a con artist (Max Mitchell played by Vanessa Morgan from Riverdale) who team up to catch a thief but instead stumble upon a murder. It’s a light, easy, low-commitment watch that relies on chemistry as much as it does on cases, like Castle or The Mallorca Files. Jason Priestley stars as Max’s jailbird dad, and there’s a super-cute Siamese mix named Marc that sometimes tags along.

Image Courtesy of Netflix

29. No Good Deed - Netflix

(One season, 8 episodes total, 39 minutes or less each) The unlikely pairing of two prime time comedic actors, Lisa Kudrow (Friends) and Ray Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond) and their chemistry work to the benefit of this dark comedy about a grieving L.A. couple who are desperate to sell their Los Feliz home. When they have an open house, several families take an interest; little do they know, their lives are tangled in unforeseen ways that lead to a dramatic conclusion. No Good Deed is well-directed and its story department makes good use of its talented cast.

Image Courtesy of Prime Video

28. Bosch - Prime Video

(Seven seasons, 68 episodes total, 43 minutes each, TV-MA) Few modern mystery authors accurately capture what life is like in Los Angeles — and many have tried! — but Michael Connelly has and does with his Harry Bosch mystery series. Fortunately for fans, the television adaptation of these mysteries lives up to the novels, which is to the credit of the writers, producers and a cast lead by Titus Welliver. You can find Bosch and two seasons of the spin-off show, Bosch: Legacy, on Prime Video.

Image Courtesy of Netflix

27. Wednesday - Netflix

(1 season, 45-hour long minute episodes, 8 episodes total) If you’re the kind of parent who doesn’t watch TV with your kids, lemme tell you, you’re missing out! If you love mysteries and your kids do, too, there are several shows out there for all of you. Start with this one. This popular Netflix hit is the perfect show to watch with your kids ages twelve and up. Many people don’t even realize it’s a murder mystery. Season Two is around the corner (Lady Gaga and Steve Buscemi are joining the cast!) so go ahead and catch up now. If you’ve seen this already and want a different suggestion, skip down to #3.

Image Courtesy of FOX

26. The X-Files - FOX

(Twelve seasons, 47 minutes each, 217 episodes total) In this sci-fi, conspiracy-laden mystery series, Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) investigate paranormal and unusual cases the FBI has stored in the basement, which, coincidentally, is also where they store Fox Mulder. Obsessed with uncovering the unknown, desperate to find his sister, Mulder finally finds his partner in Scully, one of the few people to believe him and his off-the-wall theories. This pair has the hottest chemistry of any couple on any series, ever, and creator Chris Carter with writers Vince Gilligan (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul), Glen Morgan and James Wong are among the best television writers to ever script words for primetime.

The first five recommendations will always be free. However, the rest of this list is for paid subscribers only. If you’re a paid subscriber, thanks for supporting me! If you’d like to join, click the link to subscribe or upgrade to a paid subscription below. You may cancel at any time.