These classic detective TV shows are as good as anything that’s on TV right now. Detective TV is having something of a renaissance in the 2010s and 2020s with True Detective, Sherlock, Hannibal, and more, showing that the genre is alive and well. It’s not a surprise considering the strong legacy of the detective genre.
Most lists of the best detective genres are probably going to be frontloaded with the most recent titles in the genre, but it’s those classic detective TV shows that need to be watched to fully understand the genre. The best detective shows of the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s can stand up against the best of today’s TV.
Remington Steele (1982-1987)
Remington Steele stars Stephanie Zimbalist as Laura Holt, a licensed private investigator who opens her own agency. After quickly realizing her clients are unwilling to hire a woman as an investigator, Holt invents a fictional male superior named “Remington Steele,” played by Pierce Brosnan. Purely a figurehead, Remington is the face of the agency while Holt does the work.
As the two work together, Holt and Remington carry on a casual relationship that heats up over the course of the series. Remington Steele combines the detective genre and romantic comedy elements for something unique. It’s also one of the few female-led detective series on TV.
Mannix (1967-1974)
Mannix stars Mike Connors as the titular Joe Mannix, a private investigator who works for the Los Angeles-based detective agency Intersect under his supervisor Lew Wickersham (Joseph Campanella). Intersect uses state-of-the-art computers and technology to help solve crimes. On that level, Mannix is a maverick.
The old school detective dresses how he wants and works in an office littered with papers and notes, which is a far cry from the sterile environments of his coworkers. However, in season 2, Mannix became a much more typical detective show, with Mannix leaving Intersect to start his own detective agency.
Miami Vice (1984-1990)
Produced by Michael Mann, which is why he later directed a film adaptation in 2006, Miami Vice is a crime drama series set in the titular Florida city. The series follows Detective Sonny Crockett (Don Johnson) and Detective Rico Tubbs (Philip Michael Thomas), cops who primarily investigate drug trafficking and prostitution, vices, as it were.
While the show began as a typical-looking police procedural, it eventually developed its own distinct style, in large part due to Mann’s influence. There are few earth tones in the show, with everything looking bright and Art Deco. Everything from the fashion to the music feels singular, making for one of the most unique detective shows ever.
Magnum, P.I. (1980-1988)
Tom Selleck’s defining role comes in Magnum, P.I., where he plays Thomas Magnum, a private investigator living on Oahu, Hawaii. Magnum lives in the guesthouse of a massive estate in Hawaii owned by a friend of his, and from this location, Magnum does whatever he well pleases.
It’s a life of luxury that allows him to pick and choose the cases he wants. When he isn’t solving problems for beautiful women, he’s generally palling around with his friends and drinking beer from a fridge that doesn’t appear to ever empty. Magnum is the original cocky scoundrel detective who still makes sure the law is followed.
Dragnet (1967-1970)
Dragnet originally premiered in the early 1950s but was canceled after eight seasons, only to be revived in 1967 with some of the original cast returning for duty. Jack Webb stars as Sgt. Joe Friday, reprising his role from the original, and Harry Morgan co-stars as Officer Bill Gannon in the series named after a police apprehension technique.
Friday and Gannon work as a team, with Friday generally taking the lead on cases. Polite and professional, Friday turns cold and clipped when interviewing a suspect, often easily breaking them down or catching them in a lie. The officers’ relationship outside work is rarely shown, making this as procedural as police procedural TV shows get.
Murder, She Wrote (1984-1996)
Murder, She Wrote is a detective series about an amateur detective and mystery writer named Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury). A widowed and retired English teacher, Jessica lives a simple life in the small coastal town of Cabot Cove, Maine. She also gets herself involved in local murder cases.
It’s a bit of a running joke that a small town like Cabot Cove should not have so many murders, but that conceit offers up a lot of exciting mysteries for Jessica to solve. Lansbury is fantastic as the astute and sweet Jessica, who is often more perceptive than the actual police investigating the murders.
Kojak (1973-1978)
A lot of modern detective TV shows and police procedurals owe their success to Kojak, a detective series from the 1980s that helped popularize the kind of “squad-room” humor most police shows have come to be known for. Telly Savalas stars as Lieutenant Theo Kojak of the NYPD in the series.
Kojak is a tough and incorruptible cop who can rub shoulders with the seedier parts of New York City and still come out clean. Far from being a steely-eyed, tight-lipped detective of some contemporary shows, Kojak liked lollipops and was always quick with a joke or snide comment, even in tense moments.
The Rockford Files (1974-1980)
The Rockford Files is a detective series set in Los Angeles, California, where Jim Rockford, P.I. (James Garner), works out of a weathered mobile home he can barely afford. A former prisoner at San Quentin (though wrongfully convicted), Rockford doesn’t trust the police and works primarily on cold cases and missing persons investigations.
Rockford is not like other detectives of the era. He dresses in casual clothes, generally refuses to carry a gun, and while he can hold his own in a fist fight, he’s often the one receiving a beating, though his wits and tenacity often give him the upper hand in the end.
Agatha Christie’s Poirot (1989-2013)
Sometimes simply referred to as Poirot, Agatha Christie’s Poirot is based on Agatha Christie’s oeuvre as a whole rather than one book in particular. David Suchet stars as Hercule Poirot, the literary legend, as the main character and the detective of each case that opens most episodes.
The series adapts every major literary work of Christie’s that includes the title character in some form or another. Suchet provides perhaps the best on-screen version of Poirot. He has just the right amount of irritation and charm you would expect of a perfectionist detective who’s smarter than everyone.
Columbo (1971-2003)
Peter Falk stars in Columbo as the titular Los Angeles Police Department detective, Lieutenant Columbo, a shrewd and observant homicide detective known best for his rumpled beige raincoat and weary, battered demeanor. This blasé attitude belies a sharp mind and an ability to know when someone is lying.