One of my favorite movies is Hot Fuzz, where a hotshot detective from London is transferred to a quaint English village, because he is trying too hard. It turns out that the village is a hot mess of criminal activity and villagers start dropping like flies. I love the movie, which is utterly hilarious, but I never realized just exactly what it’s poking fun at until a friend mentioned Midsomer Murders to me.
Midsomer Murders is a British TV series set in a quaint conglomeration of English villages in a beautiful countryside, with Causton being a kind of administrative center. In Causton works Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby, who is assisted by a variety of Detective Sergeants, one a time, over the course of the series. DCI Tom Barnaby is never so excited as when there is murder afoot, which his wife Joyce and adult daughter Cully have learned to tolerate. In every episode, there is a murder, usually followed by more murders, so many, in fact, that I am wondering how this village hasn’t gotten depopulated by now. It goes like this.
MIDSOMER MURDERS IV – ‘TAINTED FRUIT’ on Sunday 23 September 2001.
The show is well written and based on a series of books by Caroline Graham. Somehow it manages to be lightly humorous and so charming, despite the horrible murdering left and right. It’s like comfort murder? Not sure what it says about us, but Gordon and I really enjoy it. We are watching it through Amazon on Acorn TV, but it’s also available on Netflix, iTunes (paid per episode) and so on. There are 19 seasons and episodes are an hour and a half long, so in our house it’s the pre-go to bed TV.
Another hilarious thing – there are a lot of actors who got their start on Midsomer. For example, this fresh-faced gentleman with Patric Swayze haircut and an earring.
It took me a second, but once I got it, I laughed for half a minute.
So if you haven’t watched this before, Gordon and I definitely recommend it.
“Sooookie!”
Thanks for that. I knew he looked familiar, but now I get it. Just got rid of cable and only doing Amazon and Netflix. Will definitely check out this series. I love British productions.
No onder I had no idea who he was. I’ve never seen any of the Tv Sookie. I liked the books, but was usually still at work when the series was on. (Stores closing at 9 PM means the folks working those stores seldom get home before 9:30 or 10 PM. Prime might as well be over, if it isn’t at that point.)
My mom got me hooked on this show. I’m about 6 or 7 seasons in, if I remember correctly. I had to stop watching when I got busy with my grad school work, but it is somehow relaxing to watch.
I love Midsomer Murders. One of the best shows the UK has put out. I avidly devoured every episode, and cry when I realize I need to wait for the next season. Its amazing how many killers lurk in the quiet countryside. Doc Martin is also equally enjoyable- though you find yourself wanted to stab him in the eyeballs with a fork when he speaks.
I love shows like that. Sweet murder mysteries? Comfort viewing about murder? It makes no sense, but I get why it’s soothing. And the hilarity of the pile-up of dead bodies in places where it makes no sense. One in a decade, okay. Multiple major murders every week? That might raise a national media/law enforcement eyebrow.
I can’t figure out who that guy is! He looks familiar but I have a cold so my brain is a bit checked out. That’s going to drive me crazy. lol
He used to be in another police series called Bergerac, it was an 80’s series set in Jersey.
Who is the dude in the last photo?
Stephen Moyer, at last that is what google came up with
That’s who I thought it was. Is Patrick Swayze a joke I’m not getting?
Duh! Have to stop speed reading! Patrick Swayze “hair cut”.
Vampire from True Blood. Lol.
There is also an episode where the first victim is Orlando Bloom. Sorry the episode name escapes me.
Lots of famous actors in Midsomer Murders lol. I recommend Foyle’s War and The Good Life (also know as Good Neighbors) for British TV…
Aha! Thank you.
My husband and I have watched the entire series of Midsomer Murders multiple times. There are so many episodes you actually forget some of them after you’ve gone through the whole thing. We’ve also been watching the Poirot and Miss Marple series on Acorn. The Miss Fischer Mysteries are great too. That one ended too soon.
A kindred spirit!! I watch all the series you mentioned and love them all! ❤
I love all of those too and if you haven’t tried them- Death in Paradise and Rosemary & Thyme are another 2 awesome and hilarious British crime shows.
Know them, love them!!
I loved Midsomer Murders. I watched all 19 seasons and wanted more.
A couple of other good British shows are Inspector Morse and it’s spinoff Inspector Lewis.
If you like period ones, Foyle’s War is a good one set in and around the second world war.
Didto!! Love them all and they are perfect on a rainy Sunday when there is not much else on!! ?
Foyle’s War is the by far the best tv series I have ever seen!
Agreed!
Just so you know … there’s a series called “Endeavour” that is a prequel to “Morse”. You don’t find out Morse’s first name until the very last episode of the last series. Anyway, Endeavour is set in the mid late 60’s and is about the young Morse. Lot’s of beautiful Oxford Spires and Colleges and of course murder!
Endeavour – how Morse started off as police inspector. Set in 1950s/60s UK
Newest Foyle’s War Series set after WWII
Both great ?
If you like that check out:
Vera
Inspector Morse
Inspector George Gently
Judge John Deed
I’m going to stop now as there is a Martin Shaw theme developing!
Have you seen Endeavor? Morse as a baby cop.
Oh I liked Vera and Gently too 🙂
Midsomer is the best! Another good one that I love is Agatha Raisin, also on Acorn. I can hardly stand American murder shows but I don’t think there’s a Brit one I don’t love. Go figure 😛
I love Midsomer Murders, especially the old ones where DCI Barnaby is played by John Nettles, who before that played in another “detective” series, Bergerac, set on Jersey. Love Hot Fuzz, too, but never realized it was a parody of Midsomer Murders, but now that you pointed it out, it seems kind of obvious.
I totally agree about the “comfort murder” thing, it’s the same cozy feeling I get from Donna Leon’s Brunetti mysteries set in Venice…
If you like Midsomer murders. You should also try Father Brown. Same kind of quaint mixture of charm and murder.
Love both Midsommer and Father Brown, and how long before bedtime determines which one I watch. LOVED the Worlds End/Hot Fuzz/Shaun of the Dead trilogy. But Hot Fuzz, where everyone is armed and he rides in makes me laugh out loud every time….and the plant!
My wife is a serious Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz fan, so I’ll have to suggest this series to her.
??? Peter Capaldi shows up. My kiddo calls it my British duffer mysteries but it is the ultimate comfort tv.
I’m currently enjoying Death in Paradise which is another BBC murder series set in the carribean. Stereotypically ‘British’ detective (seriously the guy wears a suit all the time while constantly complaining about the heat) and a female detective who casts yearning glances his way – which he is of course completely oblivious to.
So many murders on this small, sleepy carribean island and I’m only about half way through season 2.
Yes I was just about to suggest Death in Paradise – totally comfort murders :). Fun show!
Death in paradise has just finished its 5th season her in Britain, and on its 3rd senior detective
I have watched the first season but haven’t finished the second, got distracted and didn’t go back yet. The funny thing is in one of the episodes of the first season I believe pretty early on the detective from Sherlock is on it.
I absolutely love Death in Paradise, actors are awesome 🙂
Orlando Bloom features (briefly) at some point if i remember rightly. You can definitely play ‘who is famous now’ through the decades. There is a similar depopulation issue with Shetland (bit darker but still good) as there hasn’t actually been a murder there in over 10 years…
Hot Fuzz is brilliant though.
It is one of my favorite shows. Love the humor and enjoy guessing who the next victim will be in the episode.
I am a 26 year old British woman. I have been watching Midsummer Murders since I was about 12.
The whole ‘comfort crime’ thing is actually a genre is actually called ‘cosy crime’. It’s a bit of a thing in the UK, I’m not sure about anywhere else but all of the books/TV shows I can think of (many of them already mentioned) are set in the UK.
Midsummer (it’s always shortened in the UK, everyone knows what your talking about) is something of an ongoing gag really. Everyone is convinced that the whole area must be populated with people released from insane asylums or something; and while a lot of people will say that they find it ‘twee’ no body really objects to it. You can put it on the telly in any house in the country, with any audience, at any time and it my be mocked to within an inch of it’s life but it won’t be turned off.
It’s like our version of Law & Order. It’s an old standby, a lowest common denominator, something to watch while you wait for something else to come on because it’s been repeated so many times that you have probably seen it before (but you can’t quite remember). It is an institution.
What’s the British version of Law and Order? Midsummer! ??
No, we have a British version of Law and Order, it’s the same as the U.S series but set here.
Ilona and Gordon – you should really move to the UK. The telly is great here. Please come.
My wife and I always remark after a season of Lewis that Oxford really needs to look at it’s hiring process. Easily half the culprits are professors.
Good old midsummer, as a British person it’s nice to see our shows going over and being enjoyed as much as yours come over here and are enjoyed by us
I can definitely sad I love them across the channel here
Say of course.
I love Hot Fuzz. Its one of my favorite go to movies. Thanks for sharing this information, its great to have a new show to watch 🙂
Love Midsomer although we have often said we would not like to live there!
Hot Fuzz is a definite favorite at my house so I’ve already queued Midsomer Murders based on this post. Thanks for the recommendation!
Midsomer is the perfect “comfort” watch. Evil vanquished in the politest British fashion. Miss Marple always said that any sort of evil could be found in an English village ?
Foyle’s War is absolutely riveting. Highly recommend it.
I love that show! It’s funny and I love English crime tv serie!
So I LOVE Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, Rosemary and Thyme, Lewis, Brokenwood (New Zealand). Most people think I like old people tv!!! I’m 33 and totally enjoy watching old people tv!!!
Welcome to the English tv series!!!
I’m kind of surprised no one has mentioned Murder, She Wrote. Back in the ’80s(?), Angela Lansbury wrote and solved murders in sleepy little Cabot Cove, apparently the murder capital of Maine. It had the same cozy murder feel, but it’s a bit dated now. I remember one episode where the main character gets her first computer!
A classic! I watch it on TV every Friday lunch time!
Yes – I was going to mention that one. My husband jokes that Jessica Fletcher is actually a serial murderer and twists the facts so she can blame someone else. How else could murder follow a non police person around so much?
Also Columbo – “just one more thing …..”
They’re easy to watch when my hubby falls asleep early and I’m sitting there doing my loom knitting.
In the last seasons Jessica moves to New York maybe the producers finally realized the murder rate was more big city-ish. I love British murder mysteries tv series including midsummer murders but my favorite is Sherlock Holmes. Too bad they only air on pbs here.
I heard it was due to Angela Lansbury herself. Here is what I found:
13. By the seventh season, Murder, She Wrote had fallen in the ratings. In response, Angela Lansbury took over as executive producer. She brought in a new production team, including several of her relatives. Lansbury moved the character and story from Cabot Cove to New York City. Jessica Fletcher was now an urbanite who used a computer, dressed sharp and interacted with young people. Lansbury’s efforts paid off. By the ninth season, the show was in the top 5.
http://www.neatorama.com/2014/04/16/15-Facts-You-Might-Not-Know-about-Murder-She-Wrote/
It’s such a good show! They film the series around where I live so my family and I like to spot local pubs and landmarks on the show 🙂
Hot Fuzz is *literally* the best parody Simon Pegg has done!
Oh the SWAN! The Swan is a badass! I didn’t know Hot Fuzz was a parody movie now I need to watch Midsomer Murders. Does a swan have a counterpart in Midsomer Murders?
It is kind of funny how many murder mystery shows are placed in small towns. One would think that people wouldn’t travel to them anymore. That being said I have watched and enjoyed Midsomer and others like that thru public television. Thanks for the reminder about Netflix type viewing now I can look up some old favorites.
I watch Midsomer and Father Brown on Netflix. There was one called Rosemary & Thyme, where a botanist and a forme police woman work as landscapers and end up solving murders, on Netflix that I enjoyed, but it only had three seasons.
I’ve been thinking about getting Acorn TV, mainly because they have the Canadian series Murdoch Mysteries, a sort of Edwardian era police procedural set in Toronto. Netflix had it until season 7, but now it’s gone completely, and Acorn TV has season 11, which just finished running in December. No word yet on season 12.
Acorn TV runs their own stand alone streaming videos. To truly get all the British shows I think one needs Acorn and BritBox.
If you are still on Barnaby 1, you’ve got a lot of good series ahead of you.
There were complaints once that not enough people were dying, so they had to up the body count.
(there were also complaints about how very, very English it was, but they’ve brought the cast diversity into oh, at least 1980).
I’d also recommend the Midsomer Murders Bot on twitter (@midsomerplots). All the joy in a few short lines.
Recommend George Orwell’s essay, “The Decline of the English Murder” for the amusing real-life background for cosy English murders. “Your pipe is drawing sweetly, the sofa cushions are soft underneath you, the fire is well alight, the air is warm and stagnant. In these blissful circumstances, what is it that you want to read about? Naturally, about a murder.”
We all know it is the riff raff from Badgers Drift!
Cadfael. Love, love, love Cadfael.
BTW – is Renee Raudman going to do Hugh’s book? Dying to know …
No. Hugh is a man.
Okay your answer made me think of the movie “Robin Hood Men in Tights” where they sing about being men in tights – tight tights!
?
This is a favorite of mine as well , finally caught up and have seen all 19 seasons .
Death in Paradise is also good if you have not seen it yet
I have seen many an odd episode of Midsomer, but never watched it consistently. It’s hard not to love Bergerac though (aka, a younger John Nettles doing the same thing, but in Jersey, as in the small island between the UK and France). I watched a LOT of Bergerac when I was a kid. Home sick from school, it was good daytime tv 😉
Hi you Guy’s over in U.S , can I recommend another cosy mystery . Its called “Father Brown”. Yes you’ve guessed it , it all happens in a quaint village , circa 1940’s and 1950’s . Dont worry no religion pushed down our throats . But again why would anybody live in a village with so many murders ? Would love to visit the “Death in Paradise “Island . Enjoy
I watch both of these!
Yes, indeed, known as a “cozy” mystery as someone pointed out. Agatha Christie might have started it with her Miss Marple and Tommy & Tuppence novels. Funny, but I want to move to “Midsomer” even with the high body count (a shame it isn’t real), although I never felt that way about Cabot Cove, Maine where Jessica Fletcher lived.
My husband and I have watched it for years. I think there are only one or two episodes where 3 people aren’t killed. Barnaby’s sidekicks have come and gone – I think Toby was the best of the lot. When he was replaced by his ‘cousin’, we had to stop watching.
My favorite Midsummer moment occured when Joyce Barnaby wanted to move to a small village and Tom said, “Absolutely not, do you know what goes on in those places!”
Brokenwood, from New Zealand, is another good choice if you like Midsummer. And check out Britbox, they have many excellent british mysteries as well as all of the classic Dr Who episodes.
Love the series. It’s perfect for relaxing with a snack. 🙂
If you like Foyle’s War try Goodnight Mr Tom. A Touch of Frost is also very good. Heartbeat is also what you might call cozy. It is set in the 60s in a Yorkshire village. A young copper moves from London to a small village and there are quite a cast of colourful characters.
Try the new BBC series ‘Shakespear and Hathaway’ – more of a comic vibe, but loving it. I love Midsummer, it’s like Alice through the looking glass. Everything is chocolate box pretty on first glance, and then all those twisted emotions appear. It’s wonderful.
I always thought J B Fletcher was a serial killer – it was more fun working out how she committed the murder, and then framed someone for it!
Has anyone else read Gaslight? It came out last week. The 4th book in the Crossbreed series by Dannika Dark?
I am loving this series, I highly recommend you try it if you need another author to check out. B&N has the 1st book in the series for .99.
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/keystone-dannika-dark/1125127968?ean=2940157523480
I’m reading it now. I love this series.
I love both Hot Fuzz and Midsomer Murders
My local PBS advertises Midsomer by having Midsomer, population (and a number counting down) haha!
I’ll also add to the list
Keeping Mum, with Rowan Atkinson, Kristen Scott Thomas, and Maggie Smith, and a lot of people die, but it’s funny and “cozy”
In Midsomer keep your eye out for Orlando Bloom
Have tried “Lewis”? I used to love that show.
Midsomer is a county, so lots of little villages to go to. Orlando Bloom is also in an episode. We’ve watched all 19 available seasons a number of times at my house.
I’ve loved this show for years. I watch every new season and often watch the back seasons on Netflix. The reason they don’t run out of people is because it’s several villages and people from the city keep moving in. LOL Hot Fuzz is one of my go to favorites on girls night! We even have a drinking game.
I love that show! MM and Foyles War.
Death in Paradise, Poirot and Agatha Raisin are all similar shows I’d recommend. Death in Paradise is actually set on Saint Marie in the Caribbean but it has a main British detective and that kind of cozy mystery feel to it.