Vote for your favourite TV detective

There have been some ripping TV detectives over the years, but who is the greatest? Have your say.

There’s nothing better than sinking your teeth into a good crime series.

The latest obsession would be Kate Winslet’s gripping Mare of Easttown, which drops new episodes weekly on Binge*.

Winslet plays the unassumingly brilliant detective Mare Sheehan, and it got us thinking that our infatuation with crime series’ can have more to do with the characters than the storylines at play.

So without further speculation, here are some of our favourite TV detectives, with all these shows streaming locally on Binge.

You can also have your say in our poll below.

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PERRY MASON

Matthew Rhys is Perry Mason.

Character: Perry Mason

Actor: Matthew Rhys

Synopsis: Stylish origin story for criminal defence lawyer Perry Mason, a low-level private investigator living in 1930s Los Angeles.

Character profile: Divorced. Can be scrappy in his demeanour. Former WWI veteran who has a problem with alcohol. Got his big break thanks to the high-profile case of a missing boy.

TRUE DETECTIVE

Matthew McConaughey As Rust Cohle.

Character: Rust Cohle

Actor: Matthew McConaughey

Synopsis: Anthology of disturbing crimes solved by brilliant yet troubled investigators. Among them is first-season standout Rust Cohle.

Character profile: Troubled and aloof. Martin Hart (Woody Harrelson) is his crime fighting partner. Knack for being able to get the bad guys to talk and later confess to their worst crimes.

THE OUTSIDER

Cynthia Erivo as Holly Gibney.

Character: Holly Gibney

Actor: Cynthia Erivo

Synopsis: A mutilated body and a suspect who seems to be in two places at once set off this Stephen King miniseries featuring gifted investigator Holly Gibney.

Character profile: Eccentric. Suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder, sensory processing disorder and is on the autism spectrum. She is refreshingly unfiltered. Quietly observant and extremely gifted.

THE WIRE

Dominic West as Jimmy McNulty.

Character: Jimmy McNulty

Actor: Dominic West

Synopsis: Critically acclaimed drama set in Baltimore that highlights how cops and courts affect the city. Representing the police is detective Jimmy McNulty.

Character profile: Has a healthy ego, which often rubs people the wrong way. Obsessive personality, which has led to infidelity and alcoholism. Self-destructive nature, but brilliant at his job and catching crims.

THE VICTIM

John Hannah as DI Steven Grover

Character: DI Steven Grover

Actor: John Hannah

Synopsis: When a teenage boy is murdered, his mother exposes the man she thinks did it – but did he? It’s up to DI Steven Grover to clear the man’s name.

Character profile: Mantra: “Innocent until proven guilty”. Is hiding a very big secret of his own from a former job. Doesn’t suffer fools and is like a dog with a bone – he won’t let go until he gets justice.

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