'Fortitude' And 8 Other Best Detective Shows About Small Towns, Ranked by IMDb
Quiet streets, local pubs, houses lost in the woods, and whispers behind your back.
Beneath the veneer of idyll and comfort in small towns, the darkest secrets often lurk.
Detective series set in these locations have a special allure – they skillfully blend suspenseful investigations with in-depth explorations of closed communities where everyone knows each other but no one trusts anyone.
9. 'A Nearly Norman Family', 2023
IMDb Score: 6.9/10
Adam Sandell is a priest at a small parish in the suburbs of Lund. Four years ago, his daughter, Stella, experienced a traumatic event: she was raped by a coach's assistant during a school trip.
Her parents decided not to report the incident to the police, and Stella withdrew from school and her favorite activities. When she is arrested for the murder of 13-year-old Chris Olsen, a drama unfolds about the consequences of trauma and silence.
8. 'Landscapers', 2021
IMDb Score: 7.0/10
Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. In the late 1990s, Susan and Christopher Edwards, a modest British couple, lived here.
Years later, after moving to France, Christopher accidentally confessed to his stepmother that he and Susan had murdered her parents many years earlier and buried the bodies in the garden.
This confession set off an investigation. The series is based on real events that took place in Mansfield in 1998.
7. 'The Breakthrough', 2025
IMDb Score: 7.1/10
In 2004, a double murder occurred in Linköping, Sweden: Adnan, a young boy, and his teacher, Gunilla, fell victim to an unknown assailant on their way to school.
Investigator John took on the case, but he was unable to identify the killer. Sixteen years later, new genetic genealogy techniques and the police's persistence finally identified the perpetrator, bringing long-awaited relief to the victims' families who had lived in fear for years.
6. 'Three Pines', 2022
IMDb Score: 7.2/10
Quebec detective Armand Gamache is sent to the village of Three Pines. In this remote location, socialite and writer CC de Poitiers was murdered during a game of curling.
Each case in the series lasts exactly two episodes, after which Gamache moves on to a new one. Each resident of Three Pines has a dark secret, sometimes more than one.
5. 'Black Snow', 2022-...
IMDb Score: 7.3/10
Brisbane, 2019. Detective James Cormack is the lead detective in the Cold Case Unit, which focuses primarily on missing children cases.
In the first season, he travels to the small town of Ashford, where 17-year-old Isabel Baker was murdered in 1994. At the time, the police believed she was a random victim of a serial killer.
Twenty-five years later, during the opening of a school time capsule, a letter from Isabel is found in the box. In the letter, she confesses to knowing secrets that could get her killed.
4. 'Fortitude', 2015-2018
IMDb Score: 7.3/10
The action in Fortitude takes place not just in a small town, but in one of the most northern settlements on the planet.
Two English scientists, Charlie and Vincent, arrive in Fortitude. One is killed with a vegetable peeler and the other is mauled by bears. Detective Morton arrives from the UK to investigate these tragic events.
Meanwhile, local Sheriff Anderssen tries to catch the killer himself while strange occurrences in the polar town continue.
3. 'Dark Woods', 2020
IMDb Score: 7.4/10
The German series is based on shocking real events. In 1989, an unknown assailant shot people in the Gerde Forest right in front of investigators.
Around the same time, the police chief's sister, Barbara, disappeared after failing to return home from a party. Suspicion fell on her husband, whom she was trying to divorce.
Over the course of six episodes, viewers follow the victims' relatives, who have found no peace in the decades since the tragedy and remain frozen in time.
2. 'Sharp Objects', 2018
IMDb Score: 8.0/10
The series follows journalist Camille as she returns to her provincial hometown. She is tasked with writing an article about a missing girl, but the deeper she delves into the investigation, the more vividly her own childhood emerges.
Her memories of youth and her ongoing conflicts with her mother intensify her inner struggles and bring long-forgotten traumas to light.
1. 'Mare of Easttown', 2021
IMDb Score: 8.4/10
Detective Mare is a seasoned investigator from a small Pennsylvania town. The series begins with the reopening of Katie's case, who disappeared a year ago, and her mother accuses the police of inaction.
Meanwhile, Mare's ex-husband, Frank, is preparing for a new wedding, and her drug-addicted daughter-in-law announces that she will seek full custody of her son – Mare's grandson.
One day, Erin, a young single mother, is found murdered in the woods, sparking a new investigation.
