7 TV crime shows to watch this week (December 4-10, 2023)

After a quiet week with few offerings, there are a lot more crime shows to check out on TV as December begins! Here’s a quick look at what’s coming!

With network TV dramas set to finally return in January, there won’t be a lot of time left to catch up on some shows. But there are still a few unique projects this week featuring the farewell to a beloved crime character, some intriguing Hulu dramas, and Lifetime putting a spin on the Christmas season in their own way.

Here are seven crime dramas to check out from Dec. 4 to 10, 2023.

7 must-watch crime shows to watch this week

Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Mystery Movie

Tony Shalhoub is back in his Emmy-winning role as Adrian Monk in a big reunion film with the cast of the beloved USA Network series. Naturally, the COVID-19 pandemic did a number on the germaphobic, obsessive-compulsive detective, preventing him from completing his memoirs. But when his stepdaughter Molly’s fiance suspiciously dies, Monk is pulled out of the house to investigate.

The whole cast is back to aid Monk as we find out what they’ve been up to. The focus, as always, is on Shalhoub as it’s clear Monk will be weirder and quirkier than ever to make this a wonderful farewell for the beloved character.

Mr. Monk’s Last Cast: A Monk Mystery Movie premieres on Friday, Dec. 8 on Peacock.

Fargo

Any season of FX’s nutty comedic crime drama is worth watching and the fifth is no different. Juno Temple is a seemingly normal woman who’s targeted for abduction but uses surprising skills to fight off her attackers. It turns out her misogynist sherrif husband (Jon Hamm) wants her back by any means necessary but may regret hiring a strange hitman while Temple’s husband is discovering her secrets.

Cue the usual quirky Fargo hijinks with a  stellar cast including Jennifer Jason Leigh, a pair of kind-hearted cops with no idea what case they’re about to unravel and crazy turns (what other show suddenly flashes back to 16th century Wales for a plot point?) to make this show unlike any on TV.

Fargo Season 5 airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on FX and streams on Hulu.

Culprits

The pitch for this new Hulu crime drama is great: Ocean’s 11 meets And Then There Were None. A pack of elite thieves pull off a fantastic heist, the payday of a lifetime, and go their separate ways. But when someone starts killing them off, the gang has to reunite to find out who’s hunting them.

The mystery is if it’s one of them taking out the rest for more loot or if the person they robbed is coming for them. The great cast includes Gemma Arterton, Niamah Algar, Kirby Howell-Baptiste and more, with the eight-episode series delivering a complex murder mystery thrill ride.

Culprits premieres on Friday Dec. 8 on Hulu.

Midsomer Murders Season 24

It’s amazing how this cozy British murder mystery series keeps chugging along. Once again, DCI John Barnbary, partner Jamie Winter, and pathologist Fleur Perkins tackle the murders that keep popping up in the seemingly quiet villages of Midsomer.

Cases this year will include a treasure hunt, a pet detective found inside an animal’s stomach, and a “green” village overwhelmed by an oil magnate. Expect the usual charm and dry humor that’s made this show a success for almost a quarter of a century.

Midsomer Murders Season 24 premieres on Monday, Dec. 4 on Acorn TV.

Shetland Season 8

The popular British drama undergoes a big change in Season 8 as longtime lead Jimmy Perez (Douglas Henshall) has left. Ashley Jenkins (last seen in Agatha Raisin) takes over as new top cop Ruth Calder, a former native of the Shetland Islands who returns after 20 years.

Ruth has a hard go at first as she has to handle a murder case that leads to the hunt for a missing witness and ties to a darker crime. This new lead will shake up the series even as it retains its usual gripping air.

Shetland Season 8 premieres new episodes on Wednesdays on BritBox.

Obituary

This dark comedy offers a truly twisted ride. Elvira Clancy (Siobhán Cullen) is making ends meet by writing obituaries for her small-town newspaper. When budget cuts threaten her job, Elvira figures there’s only one thing to do: Start killing people off to give herself more entries to write about.

The show’s bleak humor comes from Elvira targeting those she figures deserve to die and her often bumbling murder attempts. There’s also her dark obsession with death itself, not to mention romancing a crime reporter looking into this spree of deaths. It’s a strange crime show but worth watching to show how a woman embraces death for her new life.

Obituary now streaming on Hulu.

Silent Night, Fatal Night

Usually, Lifetime is filled with wonderful, light-hearted holiday fare. But of course, Lifetime Movie Network has to tackle it with a gender-flipped spin on Misery. Alex Camacho is a mystery writer who decides to end her popular series. Unable to let his cash cow go, her editor kidnaps her, fakes her death, and holds her prisoner so she can complete a “posthumous” novel.

Now, Camacho has to figure out a way to escape while playing a game of wits with her captor and using her experience of mysteries to survive the worst Christmas imaginable.

Silent Night, Fatal Night premieres on Thursday, Dec. 7 at 8/7c on Lifetime Movie Network.

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