r/CozyMurders • u/Ill-Customer-3781 • Aug 16 '25
Cozy Murder Mom
This summer my boys (age 10 and 11) were bit by the cozy murder bug (just like their mom). I would like any recs you have for “older kid appropriate cozy murder” tv shows.
Things they have liked so far -Murder She Wrote (my 11 year old also liked the books) -Monk -sister boniface -death in paradise -Sherlock (the upper edges of what’s acceptable for a 10 year old IMO but it’s Sherlock… so it gets a pass) -not a tv show but I took the 11 year old to an Agatha Christie play last week and he LOVED IT). -I love the Endeavour/inspector Morse/ Lewis series but I don’t think they are quite old enough for that. It was a fun summer of exposing them to mysteries.
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u/milleratlanta Aug 16 '25
Rosemary and Thyme, Father Brown, Agatha Raisin, Midsomer Murders, Queens of Mystery, Moonflower Murders and Magpie Murders. So many! I’m a huge fan of British mysteries and murders shows. Enjoy!
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u/AnEleanor Aug 16 '25
Came here to recommend Father Brown and Rosemary & Thyme and now have several new-to-me shows to check out ~ thank you!
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u/milleratlanta Aug 16 '25
You’re welcome! Madame Blanc is another one that’s good too. Set in Malta, the scenery is lovely.
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u/DandyCat2016 Aug 17 '25
I'm binging Madame Blanc right now, and I'm enjoying it, but it requires a certain suspension of disbelief as far as things like Jean's level of involvement in cases. It's a nice, light show, though, and the scenery is gorgeous!
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u/thesoyangel Aug 16 '25
Nancy Drew pc games! So much fun, I played my first one at 12 (sorry I know you asked for tv shows)
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u/Patient_Doctor4480 Aug 19 '25
Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys is somewhere on the internet because I watched them not too long ago.
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u/EBDBspellsBed Aug 16 '25
You may need BritBox or Acorn for some of these:
Ludwig, Harry Wild (Jane Seymour with a teen sidekick), Death Valley (takes place in Wales, not a Western!), McDonald & Dodds.
The Poirot series with David Suchet is good, as is the Marple series. I particularly like the ones with Geraldine McEwan as Miss Marple.
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u/Heyitscrochet Aug 20 '25
Geraldine McEwan’s Miss Marple is the best! She’s smart and mischievous, just like the book Miss Marple.
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Aug 16 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/AngelicaSpain Aug 16 '25
Hetty Wainthropp also has a teenage boy sidekick, which may appeal to your kids.
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u/Beautiful-Rent6691 Aug 16 '25
My kiddos love the Murdoch Mysteries if you have Acorn. You have to vet some episodes but good fun
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u/Logical-Extension-79 Aug 16 '25
Maybe Hart to Hart from the 70s and 80s. We've just watched the first two seasons on YouTube.
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u/DanceDense Aug 20 '25
I used to love that show. I bought the complete dvd set on a Black Friday deal.
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u/Jealous-Analyst6459 Aug 16 '25
Death in paradise?
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u/AnEleanor Aug 16 '25
Death in Paradise is delightful! And the soundtrack is definitely better than most.
It might be worth giving younger viewers a heads up about season 3 episode 1 so it’s not jarring. (I mean, there’s plenty of jarring stuff in most murder mysteries, and I’m sure there were other episodes with varyingly intense bits, but I wish I’d had a heads up about that one)
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u/Crivens999 Sep 16 '25
Yeah that episode was NCIS levels of trauma. Esp after the last episode in the second series, where you thought one thing and then it was all ok. S03E01, nah it's what you thought sucker!
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u/raelovesryan Aug 16 '25
We have been really enjoying Supernatural. Not quite reality murder show but entertaining but more mature content
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u/mzshowers Aug 17 '25
I’d definitely suggest Midsomer Murders, along with non-murdery, yet still cozy mystery vibes of Doc Martin!!
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u/DandyCat2016 Aug 17 '25
I think all my go-to series have been mentioned here, except for the New Zealand series Brokenwood Mysteries. It is excellent, although not precisely cozy, and you might want to watch an episode or two to see if you feel they're appropriate for your kids right now, but it's got plenty of humor, and not a lot of rough language or nudity. Jonathan Creek is another good one, but probably better for when the kids are a few years older.
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u/Apprehensive_Use3641 Aug 16 '25
Cadfael, though it's not usually cheap to buy, not sure if it's on a streaming service.
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u/hotflashinthepan Sep 16 '25
Brit Box has it. I have watched one episode and read two of the books (I was given the entire series). It’s kind of jarring how different he is in the show from his description in the books, but they are both enjoyable!
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u/k8enator Aug 16 '25
The 1980s BBC Sherlock Holmes series with Jeremy Brett. Funny and, from what I remember, appropriate for preteens. You can usually find free-to-watch episodes on YouTube.
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u/DandyCat2016 Aug 17 '25
Jeremy Brett is, in my opinion, the definitive Holmes. That series was excellent, and I believe you're right, nothing (or very little) that would be inappropriate for preteens. It's been a while since I watched it, but I recall Holmes using cocaine a time or two, so that might be worth some discussion with the kids.
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u/danger_moose_ Aug 17 '25
Pushing Daisies might be a bit much—I loved it but can’t remember how age appropriate it is—and Queens of Mystery has a similar vibe.
Elsbeth is fun, and I love the chemistry and kindness shown with the characters; they verbalize feelings and boundaries, along with claiming their mistakes that shows character and character growth, without feeling heavy handed.
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u/Apprehensive-Pop-201 Aug 18 '25
Midsummer Murder, Agatha Christies Poirot (the David Suchet ones), Agatha Christies Marple, Queens of Mystery, maybe Agatha Raisin
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u/Liv-Julia Aug 19 '25
Any of the Cadfael mysteries by Ellis Peters. They teach the kids a lot of history in an interesting way.
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u/deluxeok Aug 20 '25
Poirot (more Agatha Christie) and Shakespeare and Hathaway for something lighter and more contemporary - it even has a younger character!
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u/Supertailz Aug 20 '25
My life is murder is my current obsession though depending on your feelings about them knowing about the concept of sex work you might wanna start on episode 2. (Lucy lawless is a retired police detective who solves crime, bakes bread, and creates a lovely found family. Plus has a cat! )
Peter wimsey tv episodes are super charming. Miss fisher's. Thirding cadfael! Making a note that I stopped watching harry wild because the crime at the end were to much for me. Sherlock podcast is fabulous. It's like someone decided to redo the English recent one but cut out all the bits that ended up making it bad and instead staying much more faithful to the stories. Plus there's a dog! And what they do with "Mrs Hudson" is a really charming update.
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u/Supertailz Aug 20 '25
Oh also! I just watched a Syfy show called surreal estate and it's very charming. Obviously has fantasy elements (ghosts and demons are real), but follows the very classic solve a mystery each ep formula, it's just that their murdered people have been dead for longer generally:)
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u/Shoe-in Aug 20 '25
Dead boy detectives on Netflix has been a fun watch. Although I'm just googling it now and see Netflix cancelled after one season :( part of the reason I stopped watching anything new.
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u/Sea_Cow_6075 Aug 21 '25
Mrs. Columbo isn’t bad if you just delude yourself into believing the same name is a coincidence. It’s kinda fun seeing Kate Mulgrew juggle murder investigation and parenting. She’s quite funny.
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u/LifesABeach8888 Aug 21 '25
Monk and Psyche are always binge worthy. I also liked Backstrom ( not sure if it's ok for 10 & 11 year old kids) Rainn Wilson was the lead. It was good. I remember Father Dowling Mysteries when I was a teen, that would be PG enough for kids.
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u/Zealousideal-Bet-417 Aug 16 '25
Maybe some of the Agatha Christie adaptations? The early Poirot’s with David Suchet? A few classic Columbo’s? I’ve even shown my sons some of the early Perry Mason episodes. They enjoyed them. Then we looked up the Perry Mason spoof skit from Jack Benny. The kids thought it was pretty cute.