12 killer crime dramas coming to TV in 2018
From Luther to Marcella, Collateral to JK Rowling's Strike, here's everything you need to know about the best thrillers coming to the small screen in 2018
From returning hits like Luther and Unforgotten to new shows Collateral and Save Me – it's a great year for crime drama...
Maltese: The Mafia Detective
Sunday 4th February – Channel 4
This is the first Italian drama to be chosen by Walter Presents curator Walter Iuzzolino. Set in Sicily in the 1970s, it focuses on Detective Dario Maltese (Kim Rossi Stuart, right) and a simple murder investigation that quickly escalates. The first of the eight episodes is on Channel 4 with the rest available on All4 straight after. Watch on All4
Collateral
Monday 12th February – BBC2
Carey Mulligan stars as DI Kip Glaspie, investigating the murder of a pizza delivery man. The repercussions of the shooting are far-reaching in David Hare’s four-part drama, with a stellar supporting cast including Billie Piper, John Simm, Nicola Walker and Nathaniel Martello-White.
Shetland
Tuesday 13th February – BBC1
The fourth series is an original story, which steers DI Jimmy Perez away from Ann Cleeves’s novels. But with Douglas Henshall returning as the Scottish sleuth, viewers (and Shetland residents) remain in safe hands.
Strike: Career of Evil
February – BBC1
Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger return for the third novel in the Strike series written by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling). With Robin’s wedding approaching and a dismembered leg landing on his desk, tensions are high for Cormoran…
Marcella
February – ITV
When Marcella learns that the body of a boy discovered inside a wall is that of her son’s missing friend, the detective is determined to find out what happened. Anna Friel returns for the second series of this Scandinoir drama set in Britain.
Save Me
February – Sky Atlantic
Reunited with the producers of Line of Duty, Lennie James has written and stars as “Nelly” Rowe, who is the prime suspect when his estranged daughter disappears. Alongside the girl’s mother (Suranne Jones), he sets out to clear his name.
American Crime Story
February – BBC2
The follow-up to Bafta-winning The People v OJ Simpson, The Assassination of Gianni Versace focuses on the 1997 murder of the fashion designer played by Edgar Ramirez. Shot dead outside his Miami mansion by serial killer Andrew Cunanan, the motive for the crime remains unexplained.
The City & the City
April – BBC2
This adaptation of China Mieville’s novel stars David Morrissey as Inspector Tyador Borlú of the Extreme Crime Squad, in the crumbling fictional city of Beszel. It’s a police procedural but set in a weird world that will bend the mind.
The Bridge
Late spring – BBC2
The Scandinavian series moves to BBC2 (it was BBC4’s highest rated drama). Sofia Helin returns as Swedish detective Saga to solve one final case alongside her Danish partner Henrik, played by Thure Lindhart.
Midsomer Murders
Late spring – ITV
The stalwart whodunnit series celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Neil Dudgeon returns as DCI John Barnaby for his seventh series, alongside Gwilym Lee as DS Charlie Nelson and new pathologist Dr Fleur Perkins (Annette Badland).
Unforgotten
Summer – ITV
Filming began this month on series three, which follows London detectives DCI Cassie Stuart (Nicola Walker) and DI Sunny Khan (Sanjeev Bhaskar), as they work together to solve cold cases involving historic disappearances and murders.
Luther
Autumn – BBC1
Idris Elba has just begun filming the new four-part series. Writer Neil Cross says he felt compelled to revisit the detective — “Now what? It’s a question Idris and I get asked a lot. It can’t be over, can it? There’s so much unfinished business...”
