TV Shows Like Elementary
If you like Elementary, here are 11 similar TV shows — each with its current AI renewal verdict, so you can see which are still going and which have been cancelled.
CBS · Drama · Elementary is ended
Elementary works because it never lets the case be the only thing. Yes, Sherlock Holmes solves murders at a pace that would exhaust a lesser show, but the real engine is the slow, sometimes uncomfortable rebuild of a person. Jonny Lee Miller plays Sherlock as someone genuinely difficult to be around, and the show is honest about that. His recovery is not a subplot tucked into act three; it shapes how he reads a room, why he needs Watson, and what he stands to lose when he pushes too hard. New York City is used well, too. The cases feel rooted in the boroughs rather than dropped in front of a skyline postcard.
The best shows like Elementary
1. Castle
Castle pairs a sharp, eccentric outsider with a skeptical NYPD detective to solve New York homicides, and the dynamic has the same warm friction that makes Elementary's central partnership so watchable. The show leans more into comedy than Elementary does, but the cases are clever and the banter earns it. If you liked watching Sherlock talk his way through a crime scene, Castle's novelist-turned-consultant does something similar with considerably more charm and considerably less menace.
Stream on Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Cancelled0%
2. Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Criminal Intent shares Elementary's interest in how a detective's mind actually works, focusing on the psychological unraveling of a criminal rather than just the physical evidence. The lead detective's approach, reading behavior and pushing pressure points, feels like a procedural cousin to Sherlock's deductive method. It's a darker, slower show, but fans who appreciated Elementary's willingness to get inside a suspect's head will find a lot to like here.
Stream on Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus
Ended0%
3. Agatha Christie's Marple
Also drama
Stream on Hulu, Britbox Apple TV Channel , PBS, Acorn TV
Ended0%
4. Sherlock
The BBC's Sherlock is the most direct comparison to Elementary, using the same source material with a modernized London setting and a Holmes who is, if anything, even more abrasive than Miller's version. The two shows made different choices in almost every direction, which makes watching both genuinely interesting rather than redundant. Sherlock runs in longer, film-length episodes that prioritize spectacle and plot intricacy, so it feels like a companion piece rather than a substitute.
Stream on Hulu, AMC Plus Apple TV Channel , Britbox Apple TV Channel , AMC+ Amazon Channel
Ended0%
5. Unforgettable
Unforgettable is probably the closest match to Elementary's specific combination of NYPD cases, a protagonist defined by an unusual cognitive ability, and a personal backstory that the investigation slowly circles back to. Carrie Wells's hyperthymesia functions the way Sherlock's deductive skills do, making her both exceptional and isolated, and the show is honest about the cost of that. The New York setting and the procedural rhythm will feel immediately familiar to Elementary fans.
Stream on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Cancelled0%
More on shows like Elementary
Fans of Elementary are usually looking for a few specific things in their next show: a detective who solves cases through observation and deduction rather than forensics alone, a partnership that has real friction, and a procedural that gives you a satisfying answer by the end of an episode without abandoning longer character arcs. They tend to prefer crime drama that stays grounded rather than going full thriller, and they respond to shows that treat the police as part of the ecosystem rather than as the sole heroic force.
The five shows here hit those notes in different ways. Castle and Unforgettable are the closest cousins in terms of tone and setting, both set in New York with NYPD cases at the center, though Castle leans more comedic and Unforgettable leans harder on its lead's internal story. Sherlock is the obvious companion piece, the same source material transposed to London, faster and more stylized, worth watching even if you've spent years in Manhattan with Miller's version. Law and Order: Criminal Intent slows down the deduction and puts it under a microscope, following detectives who get inside a criminal's psychology before they close the case. And Agatha Christie's Marple is the outlier in the best sense: quieter, British, and built around a detective whose whole method is watching people carefully and waiting for them to give themselves away, which is exactly what Sherlock Holmes has always done, with considerably less shouting.
These five shows, taken together, give Elementary fans a decent map of where the genre has been and where their specific tastes fit within it. None of them are perfect replacements, but that is probably the point. You are not looking for another Elementary; you are looking for what scratched the same itch first.
More shows like Elementary
Frequently asked
- What is the most popular show like Elementary?
- Castle is the most popular show similar to Elementary in the IsItRenewed catalogue.
- Are shows like Elementary still on the air?
- Of the 11 shows similar to Elementary listed here, 0 currently carry a renewed verdict — the rest are cancelled, ended, or awaiting a decision.
- How does IsItRenewed pick shows like Elementary?
- The recommendations come from TMDB's similar-titles data, and each is shown with its current AI renewal verdict so you know which are still going.