Image credit: CBC, ABC, USA Network, A&E, CBS, TNT, FOX, Freeform, Netflix, BBC One, CTV
Here are the very best shows to watch if you feel like 'Castle' left you hanging off a cliff.
From snarky detectives with a side of sexual tension to crime-fighting duos that practically invented the term 'dynamic', we've ranked them in a way that'll make even the most hardcore Castle fan nod in approval.
25. "The Listener" (2009-2014) A young paramedic with the ability to read people's thoughts uses his gift to help solve crimes, while dealing with the personal and ethical implications of his secret ability.
24. "Tru Calling" (2003-2005) Rotten Tomatoes score: 39% A young woman working at the city morgue discovers she can relive the same day over again to prevent wrongful deaths by helping the dead "ask for her help."
23. "Instinct" (2018-2019) Rotten Tomatoes score: 54% A former CIA operative turned professor with a talent for profiling and a passion for normalcy is lured back into the field to help the NYPD stop a serial killer who is using his first book as inspiration for murders.
22. "Forever" (2014-2015) Rotten Tomatoes score: 57% A New York City medical examiner with a secret — he's immortal — uses his extensive knowledge gained over centuries to help the police solve crimes while trying to unlock the mystery of his own inexplicable existence.
21. "Unforgettable" (2011-2016) Rotten Tomatoes score: 60% A female police detective with a rare condition that allows her to remember everything she experiences in perfect detail solves criminal cases while trying to unravel the mystery of her sister's murder.
20. "Deception" (2018) Rotten Tomatoes score: 64% A disgraced magician uses his skills in illusion and deception to help the FBI solve crimes that require a more unorthodox approach, in an attempt to clear his name and find the person responsible for framing him.
19. "Frankie Drake Mysteries" (2017-2021) Rotten Tomatoes score: 67% Set in 1920s Toronto, the series follows the city's only female private detectives as they take on the cases the police don't want or can't handle, from speakeasies to war veterans and more.
18. "Body of Proof" (2011-2013) Rotten Tomatoes score: 76% A brilliant neurosurgeon turned medical examiner uses her unique background and skills to solve medical mysteries and unexplained deaths for the Philadelphia police department.
17. "Whiskey Cavalier" (2019) Rotten Tomatoes score: 78% An FBI agent and a CIA operative lead an inter-agency team of flawed, funny, and heroic spies who periodically save the world (and each other) while navigating friendships, romances, and office politics.
16. "Motive" (2013-2016) Rotten Tomatoes score: 83% This crime drama series takes a unique approach by identifying the killer and victim at the beginning of each episode, focusing on the 'why' rather than the 'who' as detectives work to uncover the motive behind the crime.
15. "Stitchers" (2015-2017) Rotten Tomatoes score: 84% A young woman is recruited into a covert government agency to be 'stitched' into the memories of the deceased, using their last moments to investigate murders and decipher mysteries that otherwise would have gone to the grave.
14. "Death in Paradise" (2011-present) Rotten Tomatoes score: 84% A British detective finds himself transferred to the island of Saint Marie in the Caribbean, where he solves complex murders with a team of local police, despite struggling to adapt to the island lifestyle.
13. "Perception" (2012-2015) Rotten Tomatoes score: 84% A talented but eccentric neuropsychiatrist with schizophrenia assists the FBI in solving complex criminal cases, using his unique perspective to unravel the mysteries of the human mind.
12. "Harrow" (2018-present) Rotten Tomatoes score: 86% A brilliant forensic pathologist with a total disregard for authority helps solve murder cases in Queensland, Australia, while harboring a dark secret that could not only ruin his career but also his life.
11. "Lucifer" (2016-2021) Rotten Tomatoes score: 87% The Devil, bored with life in Hell, retires to Los Angeles where he runs a nightclub and becomes a consultant to the LAPD, using his powers to assist in solving crimes and grappling with celestial and personal challenges.
10. "Lie to Me" (2009-2011) Rotten Tomatoes score: 87% A deception expert who can read microexpressions and body language helps law enforcement agencies solve crimes, often delving into the psychology behind lying and truth-telling.
9. "Rizzoli & Isles" (2010-2016) Rotten Tomatoes score: 88% This crime drama series focuses on a Boston police detective and a medical examiner who are complete opposites and best friends, solving crimes and navigating the complexities of their personal lives.
8. "The Mentalist" (2008-2015) Rotten Tomatoes score: 90% A former psychic medium, now working as a consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation, uses his keen observational skills to solve crimes, all the while pursuing his own agenda of finding the serial killer who murdered his family.
7. "Monk" (2002-2009) Rotten Tomatoes score: 91% A brilliant San Francisco detective, suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder, consults on cases with the police department while trying to solve the murder of his wife.
6. "Numb3rs" (2005-2010) Rotten Tomatoes score: 93% An FBI agent recruits his mathematical genius brother to help solve crimes in Los Angeles, using mathematics and algorithms to analyze criminal patterns and predict the perpetrators' next moves.
5. "Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries" (2012-2015) Rotten Tomatoes score: 93% In 1920s Melbourne, a glamorous and headstrong private detective defies social norms to solve crimes, with a flair for fashion, a sharp wit, and an even sharper intellect.
4. "Elementary" (2012-2019) Rotten Tomatoes score: 95% A modern-day take on Sherlock Holmes, set in New York City, featuring Holmes as a recovering addict and consultant for the NYPD, assisted by Dr. Joan Watson, a former surgeon turned sober companion.
3. "White Collar" (2009-2014) Rotten Tomatoes score: 96% A highly intelligent and charming con artist works as an informant for the FBI, partnering with an agent to solve white-collar crimes and seek redemption while engaging in a cat-and-mouse game with those from his criminal past.
2. "Pushing Daisies" (2007-2009) Rotten Tomatoes score: 96% A pie-maker with the ability to bring dead things back to life with his touch assists a private investigator in solving murder cases but struggles with the limitation that if something he resurrects stays alive for more than a minute, something else must die.
1. "Murdoch Mysteries" (2008-present) Rotten Tomatoes score: 97% Set in Toronto in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, an innovative detective uses radical forensic techniques for the time, including fingerprinting and trace evidence, to solve some of the city's most gruesome murders.
_15938.webp)
