Sartaj Singh
Created by Alma Har’el, ‘Lady in the Lake’ is a surreal mystery series that follows a rookie reporter seeking to uncover the truth behind a forgotten murder. Maddie Schwartz leaves family life behind to pursue her passion as an investigative journalist. She delves into the murder of a woman who was found in a lake, and her paths cross with Cleo Sherwood. The working mother is engaged in progressing the Black agenda of equity in 1960s Baltimore, promoting her interest in Maddie’s work. An adaptation of Laura Lippman’s eponymous novel, the Apple TV+ show thrills with its mind-bending sequences and explores feminist and racial themes in a historical era at the precipice of change.
10. A Murder at the End of the World (2023)
‘A Murder at the End of the World’ transports us to a luxurious Arctic resort owned by a billionaire in Iceland. Amateur sleuth Darby Hart is invited to the retreat along with 11 other guests by the host. Her emotions roil when she meets a former flame among them, and she maintains an uneasy relationship with the owner, Andy Ronson (Clive Owen). However, when one of the guests is murdered, Darby’s deduction instincts kick in, and she begins tracking down the perpetrator. While she cannot rule out anyone as a potential suspect, the teen recognizes the murder as the work of an experienced killer, one who will strike again.
From the creative minds of Zal Batmanglij and Brit Marling, the Hulu show will match the dark atmosphere of ‘Lady in the Lake’ with additions of an alarming murder mystery that combines themes of climate change and AI. Both shows have strong feminist themes, with the latter taking the patriarchal will of dominance into a techno-dystopian angle. Featuring a stellar cast, the series has no dearth of captivating performances and keeps us guessing regarding the motives and identity of the killer until the end.
9. Poker Face (2023-)
Charlie Cale is a casino host with a unique talent for being a human lie detector. When she is forced to go on the run from her past, Charlie finds herself solving crimes along the way. Stopovers bring her face to face with eclectic, humorous characters who assist her or end up revealing crucial details about her latest case. Despite its comedic elements, ‘Poker Face’ will likely appeal to fans of ‘Lady in the Lake’ owing to both shows featuring unconventional crime-solving protagonists who strive for their independence and are looking to prove themselves. Under the creative direction of Rian Johnson, the Peacock show is highlighted by its innovative, self-contained mysteries while also relying on classic sleuthing tropes.
8. The Undoing (2020)
Grace Fraser is a successful therapist who is living her dream in NYC with a loving husband and a private school-attending son. Her picture-perfect life comes crumbling down when a gruesome murder of an artist takes place in her community, and her husband disappears, leaving Grace questioning if she even knew who he was. She learns that her husband and the victim had been having an affair, and she has to reforge her life amidst a whirlwind of questions. As a family woman who is an outsider to detective work, Grace has much in common with Maddie, considering that both women are initially out of their depth when beginning their investigations. The HBO show created by David E. Kelley is further elevated by its star power, with notable performances from Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant, and Donald Sutherland.
7. Harry Wild (2022-)
Helmed by David Logan, ‘Harry Wild’ centers on the titular middle-aged English professor who retires from teaching and finds herself drawn to crime-solving. She gains particular notoriety in solving cases that the police haven’t been able to. Making things more interesting is the fact that these cases are usually led by her own son, who is a detective. The quirky and humorous characters bring to life the charming dynamics that exist between them, with some of the most interesting personalities to be found at the local pub. Harry pursues unsolved criminal cases like Maddie, breaking stereotypes and taking on truly confounding mysteries. With its serious investigations interspersed with irreverent comedy, the Acorn TV show promises wild entertainment with a touch of drama.
6. Under the Bridge (2024)
Created by Quinn Shephard and based on the true crime case of Reena Virk, Hulu’s ‘Under the Bridge’ takes the incident that shook a nation and retells it from an intimate lens. When the story of seven teenage girls and a boy being involved in a harrowing murder is uncovered, journalist Rebecca Godfrey travels to her homeland of Victoria, British Columbia, trying to open a channel of communication with the silent teens.
Rebecca’s youthful appearance and knowledge of the town allow her to get through to the suspects, providing insight into the true act of savagery. Similar to ‘Lady in the Lake,’ the show follows a journalist investigating a shocking true crime that she is uniquely equipped to tackle. With each episode, more layers of the case are peeled back, unveiling struggles of immigration, integration, troubled homes, and rivalries.
5. Bodkin (2024-)
Conceived by British writer Jez Scharf, ‘Bodkin’ revolves around an unlikely reporting team covering a decades-old disappearance in an Irish coastal town and accidentally stumbling into a criminal conspiracy. Tracking a confounding cold case involving the vanishing of three individuals, two podcasters and a disgraced investigative journalist interview the uncooperative locals and become embroiled in the titular town’s secrets. Like Maddie Schwartz, Dove is an investigative journalist looking into a forgotten case and finding that it is linked to a current conspiracy. Both shows are further set apart by their intriguing settings, which become characters in themselves.
4. Happy Valley (2014-2023)
Crafted by Sally Wainwright, ‘Happy Valley’ centers on Catherine Cawood, a steely cop who leads a team in rural Yorkshire valley. When a kidnapping leads to a series of crimes terrorizing their town, Catherine finds herself embroiled in a mess far above her pay grade. Sarah Lancashire steals the show as the jaded former detective who has as many issues in her personal life as she does with modern crime. The show is unequivocally grounded, oozing believability and authenticity from the simplest stories of everyday troubles to brutal crimes. For fans of ‘Lady in the Lake,’ ‘Happy Valley’ presents an extremely well-written crime show with a strong yet empathetic woman investigator taking on cases in what seems to be a past setting but with contemporary issues.
3. Marcella (2016-2021)
Created by Hans Rosenfeldt and Nicola Larder, ‘Marcella’ introduces us to the titular protagonist who left detective work for twelve years to commit herself to family. When her husband leaves her, Marcella returns to police work and is thrown into solving a case of serial murders. Unable to meet her daughter and having lost everything she was working towards, the detective finds herself disoriented and in the middle of a killer’s maze. Compared to Maddie of ‘Lady in the Lake,’ it is interesting to see that Marcella did the opposite: leaving investigative work for her family. Yet both characters find themselves walking along similarly lonely paths in a dark noir setting.
2. Truth Be Told (2019-2023)
Nichelle D. Tramble’s ‘Truth Be Told’ approaches murder mysteries from a podcast angle, with Poppy Scoville-Parnell (Octavia Spencer) challenging the public narrative of crimes by delving deeper into differing perspectives of the truth. Poppy is contacted by a convicted murderer (Aaron Paul), who she helped put behind bars after he killed the father of twin girls. He confesses his innocence, plunging us back into the riveting case and the shocking revelations that come with altering our viewpoint. Like the protagonist of ‘Lady in the Lake,’ Poppy’s work involves reporting on, solving, and revisiting old cases. Both productions have mind-bending elements that thrill and make us question our own perceptions.
1. Sharp Objects (2018)
Masterfully crafted by Marti Noxon, ‘Sharp Objects’ follows crime reporter Camille Preaker as she returns to her hometown to cover the murder of two young girls after a brief admittance to a psychiatric hospital. She stays at her ancestral Victorian mansion along with her troubled mother and younger sister. While she covers the harrowing crime, Camille is haunted by her own demons, repressing trauma while her dysfunctional relationship with her mother takes its toll.
Besides sharing a reporter protagonist with Lady in the Lake, the mini-series explores dark themes and damaged human beings, featuring impactful twists. Both works delve into the psyche of their protagonists, briefly allowing us glimpses of their unsound minds. Based on Gillian Flynn’s eponymous 2006 novel, the HBO series is lauded for its performances, cinematography, and character-driven story propelled by a murder mystery.
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