Why British Police Shows Are Better
Illustration by Mark Harris; images from AF Archive; Alamy; Allstar Picture Library; BBC; Des Willie / PBS / Masterpiece Theater / Everett CollectionThe British detective story is enjoying a golden age unparalleled since the days of Agatha Christie or perhaps even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The heroes of the current era are not the preternaturally gifted, idiosyncratic dabblers of old—not, as Sherlock Holmes preferred to describe himself, “consulting detectives.