Crime drama preview 2024 — 26 binge-worthy shows still to come this year

There's nothing better than a gritty crime drama that keeps you on the edge of your seat... and luckily for all fans of a good boxset, there are plenty of new thrillers coming our way in the second half of 2024. 

From fresh shows set to get us gripped to returning seasons of much-loved dramas, there is something for everyone. Here is everything you need to know about what shows are coming to your screen very soon... 

Shetland season 9, BBC One

Ashley Jensen is back on the beat in windswept Shetland, having proved a worthy successor to previous show lead Douglas Henshall, who bowed out of the hit thriller in 2022. Shetland season 9 is a six-part story that sees Ashley’s tenacious DI Ruth Calder – now a resident of the Isles again – thrown in at the deep end after a friend of her partner-in-crime-solving Alison ‘Tosh’ McIntosh (Alison O’Donnell) goes missing, sparking a labyrinthine investigation for the pair. Traces star Vincent Regan and Mr Bates vs The Post Office’s Ian Hart lead the guest list for this ninth series.

Return to Paradise, Death in Paradise and Beyond Paradise, all BBC One

Fans of the ‘Paraverse’ are in for a treat with not one, not two, but three trips to sun-soaked lands on the horizon. Kris Marshall and Sally Bretton return as DI Humphrey Goodman and his loyal partner Martha Lloyd in a Beyond Paradise Christmas special, with the Shipton Abbott police team tackling a Yuletide mystery ahead of a third series in 2025.

There’s also a feature-length Death in Paradise festive edition, introducing Saint Marie’s new lead cop, Detective Inspector Mervin Wilson, played by former EastEnders star Don Gilet – with a 14th series of the Caribbean-set crime drama due next year. 

Can’t wait that long? Fear not, Return to Paradise – a new six-part spin-off adventure set in the fictional Australian town of Dolphin Cove and starring Home and Away’s Anna Samson as DI Mackenzie Clarke, starts this winter! 

Nightsleeper, BBC One

After a sleeper train travelling from Glasgow to London is hacked, this six-part real-time thriller sees off-duty policeman Joe Roag (The Ipcress File’s Joe Cole) and cyber security expert Abby Aysgarth (The Light in the Hall’s Alexandra Roach) team up to try to save the lives of the passengers on board. Nightsleeper is one not to be missed. 

Whitstable Pearl season 2, UKTV Play/Drama

After debuting on Acorn TV in 2022, the second series of the coastal whodunnit will land as a box set on UKTV Play on 16 July, before arriving on free-to-air channel Drama on 25 July. Whitstable Pearl season 2 finds Kerry Godliman back as former cop and Kent restaurateur Pearl Nolan, who decides this time to start prioritising her crime-solving over her culinary duties. Meanwhile, having decided to stay ‘just friends’ with gruff DCI Mike McGuire (Howard Charles), Pearl and Mike now have new partners – but are they happy? 

The Jetty, BBC One

Jenna Coleman (The Serpent) plays rookie detective Ember Manning in The Jetty, a four-part, coming-of-age thriller that asks big questions about sexual morality, grooming and identity. When a fire tears through a holiday home in a Lancashire lake town, Ember must work out how it connects to a podcast journalist investigating a missing persons cold case and an illicit love triangle. 

The Good Ship Murder season 2, Channel 5

All aboard for a second series of this sun-soaked whodunnit hit, with another wave of crimes taking place on a luxury cruise liner. Former Coronation Street stars Shayne Ward and Catherine Tyldesley return in The Good Ship Murder season 2 as former cop-turned-cabaret singer Jack Grayling and First Officer Kate Woods, with viewers hoping their bubbling romance will finally drop anchor in the new eight-part series. Fans will be pleased to hear that Claire Sweeney is back as fabulous Cruise Director Beverley Carnell after being a fan favourite in The Good Ship Murder season 1!  

Joan, ITV1

Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner leads the cast of Joan, a six-part, rags-to-riches drama that tells the true story of notorious jewel thief Joan Hannington in 1980s London. A fiery and devoted mum trapped in a disastrous marriage, Joan seizes the moment to leave her old life and gets swept into an exhilarating world of crime, with her prolific stealing sprees leading her to be known as ‘The Godmother’. 

Until I Kill You, ITV1

This four-part, true-crime drama sees Endeavour’s leading man Shaun Evans portray serial killer John Sweeney. Motherland star Anna Maxwell Martin plays Delia Balmer, the woman who survived a relationship and near-fatal attack by John, going on to provide vital evidence in the prosecution against her former lover.   

Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, Disney Plus

Set immediately after the London bombings of 2005, this drama written by Jeff Pope focuses on the manhunt for a group of would-be terrorists and the tragic killing of innocent Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes after he’s mistaken as a suspect.

Woman in Blue, Apple TV Plus

Also known as Las Azules, this 10-episode Spanish-language drama is inspired by true events and stars Bárbara Mori, Amorita Rasgado, Ximena Sariñana and Natalia Téllez as four women who join Mexico’s first female police force in 1970, only to discover their squad is just a publicity stunt.  

The Devil's Hour season 2, Prime Video

A second instalment of the supernatural chiller sees murderous Gideon Shepherd (Peter Capaldi) reveal his true intentions as he tries to involve Lucy Chambers (Jessica Raine) in his mission to stop an elusive force of evil.

Bad Monkey, Apple TV Plus

Set in Florida, Bad Monkey is a 10-part crime-comedy that stars American film star Vince Vaughn as Andrew Yancy, a suspended detective-turned-health-inspector who stumbles upon a murder that might just get him his old job back…

Ludwig, BBC One

Comedian David Mitchell stars as solitary loner John ‘Ludwig’ Taylor, a man forced to impersonate his missing detective twin brother in Ludwig, a six-part, Cambridge-set crime comedy-drama.

The Mallorca Files season 3, Prime Video

Enjoy being transported to the sun-drenched island of Mallorca as this feel-good detective drama returns for a third series, moving from BBC1 to its new home on Prime Video. Total opposites DC Miranda Blake (Elen Rhys) and her laid-back partner-in-crime-fighting Max Winter (Julian Looman) try to put their differences aside as they tackle arson, kidnappings and murders in the new eight-part run. But will they ever see they’re a perfect love match?!

Sherwood season 2, BBC One

One of the most-watched new dramas of 2022 returns for a second outing to further explore the themes of fractured communities and political turmoil. Written by James Graham, Sherwood season 2 is a six-part story that introduces two new families that soon become embroiled in the murky world of Nottinghamshire crime family the Sparrows. David Morrissey returns as DCS Ian St Clair, while new cast signings include Robert Lindsay (My Family) and Monica Dolan (Mr Bates vs The Post Office). 

Lady In The Lake, Apple TV Plus

Hollywood star Natalie Portman takes on her first lead role in a TV series in Lady In The Lake, a seven-part, noir thriller based on the 2019 novel of the same name by Laura Lippman. Natalie plays Maddie Schwartz, a Jewish housewife in 1960s Baltimore who tries to shed her secret past and become an investigative journalist, only to become obsessed with unraveling two mystifying deaths.

McDonald and Dodds season 4, ITV1

A murder on a bus, a dead woman missing for over 35 years and a killer terrorising wedding season in Bath – it’s time for TV’s oddest sleuthing pairing to get back on the case! Tala Gouveia and Jason Watkins reprise their roles as wildly ambitious DCI Lauren McDonald and shy DS Dodds who, despite their differences, make a great crime-busting duo. Guest stars for McDonald and Dodds season 4 include singer Pixie Lott and Traces’ John Gordon Sinclair. 

Only Murders in the Building season 4, Disney Plus

Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez are back as Charles Haden-Savage, Oliver Putman and Mabel Mora for a fourth installment of the glossy New York-set murder mystery. Following on from Only Murders in the Building season 3's shock finale when a bullet hit Charles’s friend Sazz (Glee’s Jane Lynch), the intrepid true-crime podcasters try to find out who wanted her dead – or was the intended victim Charles? Joining the cast for Only Murders in the Building season 4 are Schitt’s Creek star Eugene Levy and Desperate Housewives’ Eva Longoria.

The Tower season 3, ITV1

Gemma Whelan reprises her role as DS Sarah Collins for the third, four-part outing of the hit police thriller based on Kate London’s Metropolitan novel series. Tahirah Sharif is also back as PC Lizzie Adama, alongside Jimmy Akingbola as DC Steve Bradshaw and Emmett J Scanlan as DI Kieran Shaw, with high-stakes story Gallowstree Lane taking the characters full circle back to the Portland Tower incident of The Tower season 1. 

Grace season 4, ITV1

John Simm is back as Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, patrolling the streets of Brighton in this fourth, four-part outing of the twist-filled drama inspired by the best-selling novels from Peter James. Fans will be pleased to hear Richie Campbell is reprising his role as Grace’s loyal partner-in-crime-solving DS Glenn Branson in Grace season 4, along with Craig Parkinson as DS Norman Potting and Laura Elphinstone as DS Bella Moy. Robert Glenister is among the guest stars.

Midsomer Murders season 23, ITV1

The remaining three episodes of season 23 – The Debt of Lies, A Grain of Truth and Dressed to Kill – are set to air later this year, with DCI John Barnaby (Neil Dudgeon) and DS Jamie Winter (Nick Hendrix) on hand to unravel the beautifully bizarre cases. The first to air is The Debt of Lies which comes to ITV1 and ITVX on Tuesday, July 16 at 8.15 pm.

Ellis, Channel 5

Holby City fave Sharon D Clarke leads this three-part detective drama, playing titular character DCI Ellis, who is sent to various police stations to help solve their failing investigations. Unsurprisingly, her new teams are less than pleased to see her…

DI Ray season 2, ITV1

Parminder Nagra returns as DI Rachita Ray for a second, six-part series that sees the tenacious cop fight to prevent a turf war from erupting on the streets of Birmingham. 

Dalgliesh season 3, Channel 5

Three more of P.D. James’ novels have been adapted for a third series of the gritty 70s-set thriller starring Bertie Carvel as enigmatic Inspector Adam Dalgliesh. Guest stars this time include Liz White (The Long Shadow) and Anton Lesser (Endeavour). 

Suspect season 2, Channel 4

Suspect season 2 picks up where the first left off, with Dr Susannah Newman (Anne-Marie Duff) on a mission to discover the truth about her daughter’s tragic death. When a mysterious new client, Jon (Mamma Mia! star Dominic Cooper), makes a disturbing admission under hypnosis, Susannah takes it upon herself to try and save a life – the way she couldn’t with her own daughter. 

Showtrial season 2, BBC One

Following a first outing in 2021 starring Tracy Ifeachor and Céline Buckens, legal drama Showtrial season 2 returns for another five-part run with a fresh cast list, including Adeel Akhtar and Michael Socha, plus a new case, which this time centres on the death of a high-profile climate activist.