This list of the best TV detectives includes some of the greatest crime-solving sleuths in television history. While some movie detectives are a little clueless, TV is full of amazing detectives with lots of different kinds of skills. Supernatural, intuitive, or just plain brilliant... it's like comparing apples to oranges in some ways. But you have to pick. Which one would you want following the clues that would bring your murderer to justice? Vote for your favorite detectives, psychics, cops, or scientists, and rerank your own version if you want. Feel free to add anyone who's missing!
Many of the TV detectives listed here are part of some of the best serial cop dramas and legal dramas of all time. They are fierce, intelligent, and dogged in their determination to solve some of the most complex fictional crimes on television.
Who would you want investigating your murder? Choose carefully, because obviously you'll want the TV detective with the best skill set to uncover the clues that will bring your killer to justice. And keep in mind that looks and mannerisms can be deceiving: Adrian Monk is certainly a little goofy and neurotic, but he gets the job done. Columbo can be disarmingly bumbling, but he's sharp as a tack. Sometimes, being cleverly disarming can make all the difference in solving crimes.
1
1,757828Columbo
Columbo2
2,1311,110Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock3
1,1766964
1,456982Adrian Monk
Monk5
962435Spencer Reid
Criminal Minds6
846540Abby Sciuto
NCIS7
1,285888Olivia Benson
Law & Order: SVU8
751463Anthony DiNozzo
NCIS9
1,288925Patrick Jane
The Mentalist10
743503Ziva David
NCISNCIS11
1,14283412
857640Jim Rockford
The Rockford Files13
665423Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner
Criminal Minds14
528288Derek Morgan
Criminal Minds15
881670Thomas Magnum
Mangum P.I.16
956683Richard Castle
Castle17
627406John Munch
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit18
1,002739Shawn Spencer
Psych19
644401David Rossi
Criminal Minds20
660437Lennie Briscoe
Law & Order21
1,131863The Scooby Gang
Scooby Doo22
1,013847Hercule Poirot
Agatha Christie Universe23
596431Timothy McGee
NCISNCIS24
475303Emily Prentiss
Criminal Minds25
1,001767Kate Beckett
Castle