”Cozy murder” certainly seems like an oxymoron, but it’s actually an entire subgenre of television over on BritBox, Britain’s leading streaming service, which was founded by BBC Studios and ITV.
BritBox is absolutely worth checking out if you love gripping mysteries and charming period dramas. You don’t need to be British to enjoy the best of U.K. television. Right now, get 75% off a month for 2 months in a Britbox Black Friday deal (via Prime Video).
Set against an immersive backdrop of charming villages, historic estates and lush countrysides, these British series tend to differ from darker detective stories with their quirky characters, lighthearted humor and emphasis on the intellectual challenge of solving the mystery over the suspense or horror of the crime itself. (Don’t worry, you won’t find any gore or gruesomeness here.)
If you’re looking for a good mystery series to watch this weekend while curled up on the couch with a copy of tea and warm blanket, here are three cozy mysteries on BritBox that you should add to your next binging session.
‘Agatha Christie’s Towards Zero’
The undisputed queen of the cozy mystery genre is, of course, Agatha Christie, the best-selling novelist of all time, whose classic detective tales and closed-quarter mysteries with their country settings, clever misdirections and character-driven plots pretty much defined the form.
BritBox unsurprisingly has many Agatha Christie adaptations in its vast library but one of the newest is “Towards Zero,” based on the 1944 novel of the same name. With a star-studded ensemble that includes Anjelica Huston, Matthew Rhys, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Ella Lily Hyland and “Sex Education” star Mimi Keene, among others, the three-part serial brings a troubled detective to a coastal estate in 1930s England to investigate a murder case involving a recently divorced tennis star, his ex-wife and a formidable matriarch.
Watch “Towards Zero” on BritBox now
‘Death Valley’
After its six-part inaugural season aired this May and June, BBC One’s “Death Valley” was quickly picked up for a second installment, expected to hit the small screen in 2026. You can get caught up on the new cozy murder mystery via BritBox, where you’ll find Timothy Spall and Gwyneth Keyworth starring as retired actor John Chapel (who, in meta cheekiness, is famous for a fictional detective TV show called “Caesar”) and detective sergeant Janie Mallowan, respectively, who team up to investigate murders each week in scenic South Wales.
Written and created by Paul Doolan, “Death Valley” received a positive reception from critics, with The Observer’s Barbara Ellen calling it “classic British Sunday night viewing,” a charming whodunnit that “evolves into a poem to small-town eccentricity, with some characters politely bumped off.“
Watch “Death Valley” on BritBox now
‘Father Brown’
A wholesome watch set in the early 1950s, BritBox original “Father Brown” is based on the eponymous character created by English author G.K. Chesterton (featured in 53 short stories published between 1910 and 1936), a Roman Catholic priest slash amateur detective who uses his keen powers of observation and his sacred intuition to solve mysteries in the idyllic (albeit fictional) village of Kembleford, located in the Cotswolds.
Running for twelve seasons and 130 episodes (that’s a lot of cozy mysteries), the period detective series stars Mark Williams as the crime-busting clergyman Father Brown, leading a cast that includes Sorcha Cusack, Nancy Carroll, Alex Price, John Burton, Jackie Deam and more.
Watch “Father Brown” on BritBox now
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