Are There Too Many Detectives on TV?

New BBC One controller Danny Cohen recently said he axed Zen, the Italian detective drama starring Rufus Sewell, because he felt there were too many detectives on television already. The decision to axe Zen was not a popular one but we want to know whether or not you agree with Cohen – are there too many detectives on television?

Just take a moment to think of all the detective programmes on the BBC at the moment; Wallander, Silent Witness, Inspector George Gentley, Sherlock, Luther and Waking the Dead recently finished its run but spin-off The Body Farm is heading out way. Over on ITV1 there’s Agatha Christie’s two sleuths Poirot and Miss Marple, Lynda La Plate’s Above Suspicion, Whitechapel, Vera, Law & Order UK, Midsomer Murders, Foyle’s War, Case Sensitive, Taggart and within the last two years or so ITV has axed The Bill, Heartbeat and Blue Murder.

Now not all of those are specifically detective dramas, some are more general crime/police dramas, but they do still count in a way because most will feature one or two detectives as the main focus of the storyline (Law & Order and Heartbeat for example).

So having taken a few moments to consider all the different detective dramas on television do you agree with Danny Cohen? Are There Too Many Detectives on TV?

Voting couldn’t be simpler. Our poll is located on in the top right-hand side of our site. Select your choice and click vote. You will then be re-directed to our results page where you can see how the poll is progressing.