Murder mystery TV shows may not be in abundance on HBO Max, but the ones it does have are very impressive.
During the few times that HBO has gone all-in on mystery, it’s often lined up movie stars to give the shows even more prestige.
The Watch With Us team has recently revisited the genre to select the four great murder mystery TV shows on HBO Max, as ranked by IMDb rating.
No. 1 on the list is a show you’ve almost certainly seen before if you subscribe to HBO or HBO Max.
4. ‘The Undoing’ (2020)
Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant lent their star power to The Undoing, a psychological thriller and a murder mystery that debuted on HBO Max just over half a decade ago. The story revolves around Grace (Kidman) and Johnathan Fraser (Grant), a couple who appear to be content on the surface. In reality, Jonathan is secretly having an affair with Elena Alves (Matilda De Angelis), an enigmatic woman whom Grace keeps running into.
When Elena is found dead, Jonathan emerges as one of the prime suspects. Even Grace can’t say for certain if her husband is guilty of murder or not. Grace intends to discover the truth, but she may not like the things she learns about Jonathan and their life together.
The Undoing is streaming on HBO Max.
3. ‘Perry Mason’ (2020 – 2023)
The original Perry Mason TV series was almost exclusively centered on murder cases that the title character solved through dramatic moments in court. HBO’s TV reboot embraced the character’s origin, but leaned more into detective stories by introducing a much younger Perry Mason, as played by Matthew Rhys.
In this incarnation, Perry is a private detective in the early ’30s who is drawn into the investigation of a child kidnapping gone wrong. John Lithgow costars as Perry’s frequent employer, Elias Birchard “E.B.” Jonathan, a lawyer who utilizes the former’s services. But to get the answers he needs, Perry will eventually embrace the law as his own profession and become a lawyer himself.
Perry Mason is streaming on HBO Max.
2. ‘Mare of Easttown’ (2021)
Mare of Easttown was only intended as a standalone miniseries, but it made quite an impression thanks to Kate Winslet‘s Emmy-winning performance as Marianne “Mare” Sheehan. Near the beginning of the show, Mare’s personal life is falling apart, as her ex-husband, Frank Sheehan (David Denman), moves on with a new lover while she deals with the fallout of their son’s suicide.
As Mare struggles to solve the case of a missing girl, Katie Bailey (Caitlin Houlahan), another young woman, Erin McMenamin (Cailee Spaeny), is found murdered. Mare reluctantly accepts help from Detective Colin Zabel (Evan Peters) on both cases. But the search for answers will ultimately come down to Mare herself, especially after some shocking twists along the way.
Mare of Easttown is streaming on HBO Max.
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1. ‘True Detective’ (2014 – Present)
There have been four seasons of True Detective to date, each with its own cast of Hollywood A-list actors. But the first season starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson is easily among the greatest HBO shows ever made. That season embraced non-linear storytelling set between two time periods. In the past, homicide detectives Rustin “Rust” Cohle (McConaughey) and Martin “Marty” Hart (Harrelson) tackle a gruesome murder case that makes their careers.
However, Rust and Marty are estranged from each other in the present, and they reluctantly revisit their shared history when a new investigation mirrors the one they supposedly closed years ago. Marty and Rust are hiding some pretty big secrets, but they’re also invested in finding out who’s really behind these murders, even if it costs them their lives.
True Detective is streaming on HBO Max.
