Cosy to chilling: 10 oddly comforting crime dramas for this winter

Sydney Morning Herald

21-05-2025

As the nights get longer and colder, it's the perfect time to settle in with a crime drama. But not everyone wants their murder bleak – some prefer it as comforting as their doona. These are the shows that go down easy: clever, twisty and never too grim. Like being emotionally waterboarded by a very polite British detective. We've picked 10 winter-worthy crime dramas and ranked them by cosiness – from the snug and soothing to the cold and callous.
Ludwig
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Ludwig is a mystery wrapped in a riddle. It follows David Mitchell as puzzle designer John 'Ludwig' Taylor, who poses as his twin brother after he goes missing. The problem? His twin was a detective.
Ludwig most definitely isn't. He's more at home with a crossword than a crime scene, and watching him bumble his way around a world he doesn't belong in is part of the charm. 7plus
Cosiness rating: Sitting in a beanbag doing a crossword – comfy but thought-provoking, 10/10.
High Potential
Kaitlin Olson plays Morgan, a single mum with a photographic memory and an IQ of 160, who works as a night cleaner at the LAPD. One night she accidentally stumbles upon a case file and can't resist solving a crime – right there on the murder board. Morgan ends up in hot water – but also with a job. She's chaotic, unqualified and somehow brilliant. Is she OK? Unclear. Is the show addictive? Absolutely. Disney+
Cosiness rating: Watching a movie while sitting on the couch with your dysfunctional family, 9/10.
Only Murders in the Building
Murder, but make it charming. This one's for the true crime girlies, the theatre kids and anyone who's ever wondered what would happen if Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez bonded over a love of true crime, discovered a body in the lift of their bougie Manhattan apartment block and started a podcast about it. It'll make you want to befriend your neighbours – or suspect them. Disney+
Cosiness rating: Relaxing in an armchair in your impeccably appointed apartment, 8/10.
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Annika
Nicola Walker stars as DI Annika Strandhed, solving marine murders in Glasgow while delivering literary asides directly to camera. There's a body in the loch and a dead poet in her monologue – and somehow it all works. Strange, yes. Soothing, absolutely.
It's like watching Fleabag if Fleabag was a detective with a teenage daughter and a lot of emotional repression. The murders are irrelevant. Annika is the main event. ABC iview and BritBox
Cosiness rating: Sitting in a Scottish pub having a whisky on a winter's night, 7/10.
The Cleaner
Greg Davies plays Wicky, a man whose job is literally to clean up after murders. Each episode sees him arrive after a grisly crime to scrub the scene, only to end up in a bizarre but heartfelt conversation with whoever is still lingering. More philosophical than procedural – think After Life with more bleach and less crying. ABC iview and BritBox
Cosiness rating: Lying on top of your bed after it's been freshly made, 6/10.
Obituary
What if The Office was set in rural Ireland and also had a body count? That's the vibe. Elvira Clancy (Siobhan Cullen) works for the local paper, getting paid for each obituary she writes. But it's a small town, and not that many people are dying. Tired of waiting, she takes matters into her own hands. Somehow bleak and charming in equal measure, with the kind of deadpan delivery that makes you wonder if you're a terrible person for laughing. You probably are. BritBox
Cosiness rating: Getting out of the freezing Irish air into a slightly warmer office, 5/10.
Unforgotten (2015–)
Unforgotten is the kind of show that sneaks up on you. You think it's another police procedural – then you're weeping over a fictional postman who died in 1983. Instead of wrapping things up neatly each episode, it focuses on long-buried cases and the emotional fallout they leave behind.
Playing DCI Cassie Stuart and DI Sunny Khan, Nicola Walker and Sanjeev Bhaskar bring a quiet dignity to the show that makes even the most banal conversations feel like an emotional autopsy. BritBox, Stan* and ABC iview
Cosiness rating: The first sip of coffee on a cold winter's morning – at a crime scene, 4/10.
Slow Horses
Spies who've been dumped in MI5's equivalent of the naughty corner. They're bitter, underfunded and completely over it. Gary Oldman 's Jackson Lamb chain-smokes, has questionable hygiene and insults everyone in sight – and still manages to save the day (roughly half the time). Beneath the cynicism is a surprisingly warm show about losers (Lamb's words, not mine) trying to do something right. Just don't get too attached to anyone. Apple TV+
Cosiness rating: Trying to sleep while someone occasionally dumps ice blocks on you, 3/10.
Broadchurch
Yes, you've likely already seen it. No, that doesn't mean it shouldn't be here. This is the blueprint for small-town grief noir. Detectives Alec Hardy (David Tennant) and Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman) investigate a child's murder on the English coast, but the real gut-punch is the way grief ripples through a tight-knit community. And that first season ending … about as far away from cosy as you can get. It's blisteringly good, though – even if your mileage on seasons two and three may vary. BritBox, 7plus and SBS On Demand
Cosiness rating: Going to therapy. There might be a couch, but it's not going to be comfortable, 2/10.
Happy Valley
Sergeant Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire) is juggling a drug crisis, a personal vendetta and a roster of men making bad choices – and that's just her family. Happy Valley is brutal, brilliant and bone-dry funny, with Lancashire giving one of TV's great performances. Each episode leaves you emotionally concussed but oddly grateful – like a dramatic breakup with a partner you were kind of sick of anyway. BritBox and Foxtel Now
Cosiness rating: Standing in a walk-in freezer getting slapped in the face with a fish, 1/10.
When it's cold and your emotional bandwidth is shot, these are the crime dramas that meet you halfway – just enough darkness to keep things interesting, and just enough heart to keep you warm.