Solving the mystery of what to watch tonight
The wife and I finished a rewatch of The X-Files and settled on the 1st of 7 made-for-TV movies, Stone Cold. This series is based on the Jesse Stone books by Robert B. Parker. I'm not sure where they aired originally but you can find this one(and the others) on Amazon Prime - for a limited time.
It's a by the book procedural that doesn't feel the need to be anything more. While this one was rated "R", I didn't see anything that actually deserved the rating. They are "adult" issues, but nothing more than you'd see on SVU. We are 2 movies into the series which ran from (2005-2012), and they've done a good job of keeping us entertained.
This made me think of a few other series that we enjoyed based off of Mystery Novels.
1st up is Justified.
The show follows a US Marshall who returns to where he grew up. It's based on the Elmore Leonard book Pronto which introduces us to the Raylan Givens character.
I'm sure everyone who wants to see it, has ... but just in case. I am a Olyphant fanboy, and will never not suggest his shows and movies. It's got a much harder edge than the Stone movies (so far), and the cast of characters are way more colorful. The dynamics of what makes Olyphant's character tick is fascinating to watch. Stream it on HULU ... another season is in the works.
2nd we have Longmire.
This is based on a series of books I haven't checked out yet, but they are on my list. Craig Johnson has 19 books in the Walk Longmire series, so I'm not sure how many of the stories made it into the 6 seasons.
This series focuses on an aging sheriff in a small town - kinda like a modern day western.
We were late to the game with this one, and just streamed it in 2022. It was a show that had me rushing to see what was going to happen next. Stream it on Netflix.
Lastly, I'm going to say Haven.
This one is loosely based on Stephen King's The Colorado Kid. It's more like Warehouse 13 and The X-Files had a baby than The Dead Zone or It. While there is a compelling mystery in the beginning, it's the characters that keep you coming back to this show. If you like a bit of science fiction in your crime solving, this is the show for you. It used to be on Netflix, but it looks like right now you can only stream the first season for free (on something called VIX). Or you can buy them on Amazon or Google Play.