For TV people, the problem is clear: Their audiences are smaller and older and less-engaged.
And one solution? Try more mysteries.
Americans are pretty good at making mysteries; the British and their colonists are great at it. Such shows — less action, more thinking — can be done on TV’s tightening budgets.
So now there’s an abundance, including two streamers (Acorn and Britbox), the Sunday stronghold on PBS and scattered shows elsewhere.
On Sunday (Sept. 28), PBS wraps up three of its mysteries, including the richly layered “Unforgotten.” The next day, Acorn starts an engrossing six-parter, “Murder Before Evensong” (shown here). The following Sunday (Oct. 5), PBS introduces one of its best shows, “Maigret.” And in between, there’s more, led by Fox’s “Murder in a Small Town” and CBS’ “Elsbeth.” Let’s take a chronological look:
Sunday (Sept. 28), PBS
The current PBS shows cover the full range: This season, “Professor T” (8 p.m.) has six one-hour shows … “The Marlow Mystery Club” (9 p.m.) has three two-hour ones … “Unforgotten” (10) has one six-hour one.
This season, “Professor T” has become tangled in its characters’ back stories, sometimes settling for so-so mysteries. “Marlow” has had stronger ones … and “Unforgotten” has a dandy: The victim had a brutal life (and a more brutal death); suspects abound and the finale is compelling.
Monday (Acorn)
Three years after “Murder Before Evensong” became a best-seller in England, it’s been adopted into a six-week mini-series.
The ending isn’t nearly as good as what precedes it … but those early parts are great. In a quaint village (are all English villages quaint and charming?), Daniel Clement, a clergyman, finds himself at the center of a murder probe.
The Rev. Richard Coles, now 63, wrote the novel and put much of himself into the character. Like Coles, Daniel grew up with a shoe business that prospered under his grandfather and failed under his father.
Daniel went directly into the ministry; Coles took a while. He was in pop groups (getting three songs in the British top-10), then turned to religion.
Coles is gay; Daniel’s sexuality isn’t mentioned in the mini-series, but he’s a strong supporter of gay rights and AIDS patients, at a time in the ’80s when that was controversial.
Into Daniel’s busy life come new complications — his mother, widowed and homeless; death threats; and the first of several murders.
There are a few flaws. Matthew Lewis (who was the bumbling Neville Longbottom in Harry Potter movies) remains fairly bland as Daniel …. The local police detective, a terrific character most of the time, at one point takes the cliche of a cop whose mind is made up …. And then there’s that ending.
But by then, “Murder Before Evensong” has given us great characters, a warm setting and surprise twists — all the things that make mysteries popular.
TUESDAYS (Fox)
One of TV’s best characters arrived gently … which fits the setting.
Karl Alberg is the police chief in a gorgeous British Columbia town. He’s fond of plaid shirts, quiet conversations and the new librarian.
He’s played by Rossif Sutherland (Donald’s son, Keifer’s half-brother), 6-foot -4 and reassuring. She’s played by Kristen Kreuk, who’s been a star since playing a teen Lana Lang in “Smallville.”
These are profoundly decent people (as are his deputies), chasing the blips in small-town life. The one misfit was added this season — a scheming mayor (Marcia Gay Harden) who seems out-of-sync with the show and the town.
But that’s a minor flaw. The season’s second episode (8 p.m. Sept. 30), involving a mismatched wedding, again offers depth and surprises.
PBS Sundays
When the new Sunday line-up arrives Oct. 5, only one of the shows is a mystery. But that one — “Maigret,” at 9 p.m. — is one of the best.
Jules Maigret, a French police inspector, has been around — in books, movies and TV shows — for 95 years. In this case, he’s played by a handsome Englishman (Benjamin Wainwright). The usual Maigret hat is gone, but the rest remain — the overcoat, the frown, the unbudging curiosity and the wife.
Most crimesolvers have no spouse or an invisible one or one who mutters don’t-take-any-chances cliches. Maigret’s wife is none of those; in the final hour, she stands out as unique and vital.
There are three stories, each running for six weeks. At 10 p.m. is “The Gold,” a six-part true-crime tale, boosted by Hugh Bonneville (“Downton Abbey”) as an upper-crust police official, confronting lower-crust suspects.
More streaming
— Britbox has just wrapped the first season of “Lynley,” rebooting the “Inspector Lynley” series. Coming next are new seasons of “Karen Pirie” (Lauren Lyle, who was Marsali in “Outlander,” as a young detective sergeant) on Oct. 2 and “Beyond Paradise” on Oct. 14.
— Acorn is loading up with mysteries, some old (it’s returning the first six seasons of “Poirot”) and some not. There are new seasons of “The Light in the Hall” (Oct. 23), “The Gone” and “Black Snow” (both Nov. 3) and “Scrubland” (Nov. 10), plus a two-parter of Jane Seymour’s “Harry Wild” (Nov. 24).
— And any mystery list has to include the work of brilliant writer-producer Rian Johnson. There’s no word yet on a new “Poker Face” season, but his third “Knives Out” movie arrives Dec. 12 on Netflix.
More broadcast
— Next to “Poker Face,” TV’s best light mystery is “Elsbeth.” Now CBS has a flurry of reruns — 8-11 p.m. Oct. 2, 10 p.m. Oct. 9, 8 p.m. Oct. 11 — leading into the season-opener. That’s 9:30 p.m. (9 p.m. on the West Coast) Oct. 12; it has an arrogant talk-show host — played by Stephen Colbert, no less — with Amy Sedaris as his head writer and Andy Richter as her husband, the on-air sidekick. Then the shows moves to its regular Thursday spot.
— And yes, PBS has more mysteries ahead. “Annika” returns Oct. 15, “Miss Scarlet” is expected early in 2026 and “Grantchester” is expected to air its 11th and final season next summer. There will be more.