The spookiest time of year is upon us, and I have been indulging in all the treats that the season brings…fresh-baked pumpkin bread, crisp temperatures, cozy sweaters, and loads of mystery-filled binge-watching opportunities with my WTIU PBS Passport member benefit! Now is the perfect time to cuddle up on the couch with a cup of hot cider and tune into a good old-fashioned murder mystery—or an edgy contemporary one—and escape into a world of shadows and secrets.
In today’s edition of Handpicked by Heather, I am dialing into the British mystery genre, featuring selections from the much-loved MASTERPIECE Mystery! series. I’ll share which shows I’m enjoying, including all-new seasons and series, plus a few extras I’ve thrown in just for fun, like this Cozy Mystery Bingo Card and a trivia quiz you can take to find out if you are a MASTERPIECE Mystery! super fan.
Miss Scarlet & the Duke
I’m not one to bury the lead, so gather your case files and don your most fashionable hat for some big news! Miss Scarlet & the Duke is back for an all-new season and you, dear Passport user, will have exclusive access to every single episode of Season 5 well in advance of its broadcast premiere date. Get ready to meet the newest man in Eliza’s life when Tom Durant Pritchard (whom you may recognize from The Crown) joins the cast as Alexander Blake, The Duke’s replacement on the force at Scotland Yard. Every bit as dashing as his predecessor, Alexander gets off to a rocky start with Eliza, thanks to his policy of barring private detectives from aiding in his cases. Find out how their relationship unfolds when the newest season of Miss Scarlet (as the series is now called) drops on Sunday, December 8. That gives you just enough time to watch (or rewatch) the first four seasons with your PBS Passport member benefit . Want a sneak peek of the new guy? Go on set with Kate Phillips for a fun behind-the-scenes look!
Marlow Murder Club
Some women start book clubs; others start dinner clubs or wine & cheese clubs. And then there’s Judith, Suzie, and Becks, who together manage to start a murder club. (Fortunately for all involved, the ladies work to solve the murders—not commit them!). The intrigue begins in this brand-new series, adapted by Robert Thorogood from his best-selling novels, as retired archaeologist Judith Potts takes a morning dip in the Thames, which flows through the idyllic village of Marlow. Hearing a gunshot and convinced her neighbor has met an untimely end, Judith embarks on a journey to solve what turns out to be a string of murders; along the way, she meets up with Suzie, an empty-nested dog walker, and Becks, an unfulfilled vicar’s wife, who form an unlikely trio of besties. These ladies are sure to delight viewers with their warmth and humor, but if you need further motivation to watch, here are six more reasons why you will want to tune into The Marlow Murder Club . PBS Passport viewers can watch all four episodes of the debut season, starting the night of its broadcast premiere, October 27!
Moonflower Murders
Last week, I started feeling a bit under the weather. By the weekend, I was feeling the effects of a full-blown sinus infection. Between the sneezing and sniffling, I was unable to get much sleep, so I decided to make the most of my wakefulness with my PBS Passport member benefit. Cozying up under a warm blanket and popping a Sudafed tablet, I scanned the options on the PBS app and decided to check out the first episode of the latest MASTERPIECE Mystery! offering, Moonflower Murders. Some five hours later, I started the final episode of the series, determined to find out who the killers were. I won’t spoil it, but let me just say that it was a most unexpected ending. Maybe you can sleuth out the truth better than I did, but you will need to watch closely to keep up with the many twists and turns! If you enjoy this sort of “whodunit inside a whodunit,” be sure to also check out 2022’s Magpie Murders, featuring many of the same characters. You can watch both series anytime you wish with your WTIU PBS Passport benefit!
Grantchester
Perhaps the epitome of the classic Cozy Murder Mystery, Grantchester is now in its ninth season and, despite three different actors portraying the leading man over the years, this 1950s period piece continues to charm viewers with its picturesque setting and endearing characters, including its furry ones! While the Cambridgeshire village of Grantchester may seem peaceful from the outside, there is no shortage of murder and mayhem to keep a vicar turned sleuth and a grumpy cop on their toes. If you are a fan of All Creatures Great & Small, I think you will find Grantchester similarly appealing in the warmth of its setting and characters, who, much like the residents of Darrowby, have formed their own version of family. Stream all 9 seasons any time with your PBS Passport member benefit and be sure to keep an eye out for updates on the arrival of Season 10 in 2025.
Ridley
I recently spoke on the phone with one of our loyal WTIU members who called me in somewhat of a panic as he had lost his Passport access right in the middle of Season 2 of Ridley. Fortunately, we were able to quickly diagnose the problem and get him back to his streaming. Later that week, another viewer called to renew her WTIU membership so she could also continue watching the same series without interruption. Those two phone calls were recommendation enough for me! I am barely into the first season, but I can certainly see the appeal. The moody, modern-day crime drama features Alex Ridley, a retired detective inspector haunted by a tragic past, who returns to the force as a police consultant alongside his former protégée DI Carol Farman. Filmed along the very rural border of Yorkshire and Lancashire in Northern England, the show’s atmospheric setting is both stark and beautiful. Take it all in when you watch with your PBS Passport member benefit.
Van der Valk
The hubs and I just celebrated the anniversary of our first date, which seems a rather silly occasion to observe at this point in our relationship, but it does provide an excuse to put on reasonably decent clothes and go out for dinner. This year, however, we decided to stay in as I was still feeling the effects of a relentless head cold. We ordered in our favorite chicken pad thai, turned down the lights, and settled in to start another new (to us, anyway) series with Passport. As John is a veteran fan of the long-running crime procedural Law and Order, I was correct in my hunch that Van der Valk might be right up his alley. Set in Amsterdam, the series features the steely-eyed police detective Piet Van der Valk alongside his crack team of quirky investigators as they navigate the city in pursuit of high-profile cases. We will need a few more date nights in to watch all four seasons, but with Passport, Van der Valk and all our favorites shows will be there for us!
Think you qualify as a MASTERPIECE Mystery! super fan? Take The Ultimate MASTERPIECE Mystery! Trivia Quiz to find out!