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Mysteries make sense of a senseless world.
Thats why we love them.
They tell us there are puzzles out there that can be solved.
I find that my anxiety levels and my mystery-show consumption are a 1:1 correlation.
The more stressful the real world, the more I revert to some British sleuths domain.
And Im not the only one.
The rules of the cozy mystery are simple.
The victim is an asshole who the audience usually does not see die.
Nothing that reminds you of real-life problems.
Its a murder with aSudokus level of emotional engagement.
The chirpy USA dramasPsychandMonkpulled them off almost every week.
Here are the coziest murder mysteries around (and where to stream them).
The prolific queen of crime fiction is still the name most closely associated with a cozy mystery.
NotKenny Branaghs stuff, though.
Ustinov often seems to be amiably chuckling his way through all these murders.
Where Suchet is fussy and Branagh is overwrought, Ustinov is almost trolling.
Murder at the Gallop
This ones just silly.
The 60s Miss Marple movies are the goofiest Christie adaptations, perhaps because theyre contemporary.
If you cant decide between a cozy mystery andA Hard Days Night,watchMurder at the Gallop.
Agatha Christies Poirot, Lord Edgware Dies
The tone of David SuchetsPoirotseries varies wildly.
The first season or so is basically a sitcom.
Later entries are deep melodrama and really lay the pathos on thick.
In the middle are some of the best Christie adaptations ever done.
The seventh-season episode Lord Edgware Dies has comic asides but still stays a little grim.
The plot is implausible but not impossible.
Whats more, this episode hasgowns, honey.
And plot-relevant hats, to boot.
The At Bertrams Hotel episode ofAgatha Christies Marplehas the best balance between Christmas and mystery of all these offerings.
Miss Marple visits a hotel she once spent Christmas at as a girl, and wouldnt you know it?
Amateur sleuths Nick and Nora Charles are still solving murders, but they have a cute son now.
The son bonds deeply with the previous comic-relief character, Asta the dog.
This mystery starts on a casino boat, which is great.
And on top of that, its about jazz musicians?
Its all wit and alcoholism jokes.
Bones, The End in the Beginning
Bonesis the grossest show for moms ever made.
Not this episode, however.
Its just all our friends playing dress-up.
John Francis Daleys real-life band does a song.
And its not even the biggest musical sequence.
When Motley Crue is the guest star, you know its a deeply unserious time.
It is a frivolous show, with a supporting cast full of rom-com tension.
Columbo, Any Old Port in a Storm
This is basically an episode ofFrasierif Frasiercommitted a murder.
Donald Pleasance plays a wine snob who murders his brother to protect his winery.
As per usual inColumbo,he runs afoul of the slovenly detective.
Fans love the chemistry between the two stars.
When Pleasance is finally caught, Columbo offers him a dessert wine that pairs well with handcuffs.
8 Women
Another Christmas banger.
The French musical8 Womencenters on the death of Marcel, the patriarch of a high-class family in 1950s France.
Each of the eight women are hiding the usualmurder-mystery secrets hidden fortunes, pregnancies, lesbianism, etc.
which are revealed in song.
LikeMurder by Deathbut actually fun.
The movies multiple-choice ending only underscores just how little the mystery matters in this madcap comedy.
We are here to laugh and to gasp at twists, not think or care.
Each episode was rounded out by a repertory cast that takes on new supporting roles each time.
It gives the whole thing a lovely sense of continuity and presentationalism.
In this episode, a dog witnesses a murder, then is adopted by Wolfe and his assistant.
When a pet is pivotal to a mystery, you know youre in for a goofy time.
