The Best Mysteries TV Shows 2026

1. ANGEL SEASON 2 (DVD)

The second season of Angel saw the cult vampire show finally stand on its own from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, assembling all the members of the show's core cast, transferring the action to a fashionably run-down L.A. hotel, and bringing in a few Buffy characters from Angel's history to further establish the moody vampire's own mythology. Moving their Angel Investigations to posher digs, Angel (David Boreanaz), Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter), and Wesley (Alexis Denisof) were soon joined by street fighter (J. August Richards)–-and by street fighter, of course we mean demon street fighter. But just as this group was solidifying, up popped Angel's old love, Darla (the fantastic Julie Benz), freshly arrived in L.A. from a hell dimension… just in time to be turned into a vampire again by her old cohort, Drusilla (Juliet Landau), and lure Angel into abandoning his newly formed team. It was the best and worst of times for Angel in its second year, for while the basis was being set for the show's stellar third and fourth seasons, dramatic tension was diluted by Angel's going solo and the necessary (but plot-debilitating) flashbacks to various points in Angel's history. However, just when it seemed everything was about to fly out the window, Angel's creative team threw its characters for a loop--literally--by transporting them to the demon dimension of Pylea, a medieval-style fantasyland populated by monsters and humans alike. It shouldn't have worked, as hokey as it was... but it did, thanks to crack storytelling, sharp dialogue, and the sheer joy the actors unleashed, especially the gifted and fiendishly funny Carpenter. The second half of the season also saw the addition of two of Angel's best characters: the horned Lorne (Andy Hallett), a green demon with a penchant for karaoke, and Fred (Amy Acker), a physicist trapped in Pylea who helped the gang engineer their escape. With these two in tow, Angel began to soar. --Mark E

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2. Cadfael: (The Virgin in the Ice / The Devil's Novice / St. Peter's Fair) DVD NEW

Amazon.com Never tell Brother Cadfael, the medieval mystery-solving monk, your theory of how a crime "must" have been committed. "We must always be wary of 'must,'" he states. "Nothing is certain." And so attest these three divine mysteries based on the books by Ellis Peters and originally broadcast in the U.S. on the PBS series Mystery! Each feature-length episode in this boxed set is self-contained but plays against the backdrop of England's civil war between forces loyal to King Stephen and those to Empress Maud. Derek Jacobi (I, Claudius, Gladiator) stars as Cadfael, who at one point is aptly described as "an odd kind of monk." The former "soldier, sailor, sinner, and Crusader" has his faith tested by crimes of royal intrigue and baffling murders that seem to plague the neutral ground of 12th-century Shrewsbury. The best of the three, "The Virgin in the Ice," is a good introduction for Cadfael initiates. This story of "violence and cruelty" involves the near-fatal beating of a young monk, the murder of a nun, and the disappearance of two children. Viewers' advisory: one of the chapters in the scene selection menu on the DVD contains a major spoiler. The "strange difficulties" continue in "The Devil's Novice," in which Cadfael's suspicions about a recently arrived novice are heightened by the murder of the bishop's chaplain. Finally, the local merchants are revolting, and the murder of two tradesmen further mar the festivities in "St. Peter's Fair." All three episodes costar Eoin McCarthy as local undersheriff Hugh Beringar, who relies on Cadfael when murder subverts his efforts to keep the peace. A tense standoff between these two friends heightens the climax of "St. Peter's Fair." Americans have never seen a sleuth such as Cadfael, a fascinating character who is at once a man of God, of science, and even of action. You'll find few Benedictine monks so skilled at using a quarterstaff. --Donald Liebenson Product Description Feudal England comes to life in this gripping and hugely popular "Mystery"! series based on Ellis Peters' best-selling novels. Sir Derek Jacobi stars as Brother Cadfael, a medieval monk and amateur sleuth with a gift for solving murders. Series II. Three episodes, CC, 3 hours 45 min. on 3 cassettes. Web Extra: Cadfael was filmed in Hungary, where a mock abbey was built to resemble 12th-century Shrewsbury as Ellis Peters described it in her meticulously researched novels. Dame Edith Pargeter used the pen name Ellis Peters for her mysteries, and reserved her real name for her historical writing.

Factory sealed DVD

3. Cadfael: The Leper of St. Giles

Cadfael: The Leper of St. Giles

Cadfael: The Leper of St. Giles Cadfael: The Leper of St. Giles Cadfael: The Leper of St. Giles

4. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: The Complete First Season (DVD)

DVD, Rating: TV-PG, Color, Closed Captioned, Paramount Home Entertainment, 03/25/2003

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5. BitterSweet

BitterSweet (DVD, Full Screen) NEW

BitterSweet

6. Angel: Season Three [6 Discs] (WSE)

DVD, Rating: TV-PG, Runtime: 990, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 02/10/2004

cc All 22 season three episodes on six discs, Selected audio commentary by Joss Whedon, Tim Minear, Jeffrey Bell, and Mere Smith, Season three overview with all-new cast and crew interviews, "Darla: Deliver Us From Evil" and "Page to Screen" featurettes, Deleted scenes, Outtakes, Screen tests, Still gallery. cc All 22 season three episodes on six discs Selected audio commentary by Joss Whedon, Tim Minear, Jeffrey Bell, and Mere Smith Season three overview with all-new cast and crew interviews "Darla: Deliver Us From Evil" and "Page to Screen" featurettes Deleted scenes Outtakes Screen tests Still gallery.

7. Cracker: Series 2 (Full Frame)

Cracker - Series 2

Second in a series of three DVD releases of the popular PBS Mystery series; including 9 hours of programming. Robbie Coltrane's outstanding creation of 'Fitz', in the PBS series Cracker 1 continues his journey as a criminal psychologist in three more episodes: "To be a Somebody", "The Big Crunch", and "Men Should Weep". 'Fitz' combats personal crises and professional challenges when racism, religion, and murder get in his way. cc [None specified].

8. Poirot - One Two Buckle My Shoe DVD

Poirot - One Two Buckle My Shoe DVD

Poirot - One Two Buckle My Shoe DVD

9. Pre-owned - Inspector Morse - The Remorseful Day

Inspector Morse - The Remorseful Day - 066805300752

Pre-owned - Inspector Morse - The Remorseful Day

10. Campion: The Complete First Season (DVD)

Four complete mystery movies: quot;Death of a Ghostquot; quot;Look to the Ladyquot;, quot;Police at the Funeralquot; and quot;T he Case of the Late Pigquot;. Actor/Actors: Brian Glover, Peter Davison. Original Language: English 4-Disc Set.

Campion: The Complete First Season (DVD)