"Sherlock" may not return for its fourth season until -- say it ain't so -- 2017, due to the hectic film schedules of in-demand stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. In the meantime, you can rewatch all three seasons and soon you can binge on Cumberbatch in "The Imitation Game" and Freeman in "The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies." But what then?
If you're craving more veddy British crime solving, you don't have far to look. Here are some of the best series the BBC (and ITV) has to offer, with private detectives, psychiatrists, cops, spies, and forensic pathologists all cracking cases, catching criminals and drinking lots of tea.
1. "Sherlock Holmes" (1984-1994)
If it's more Sherlock you crave (and not just Mr. Cumberbatch), then you must see Jeremy Brett's intensely intellectual (and equally arrogant) period-appropriate take on the legendary detective. This Watson is also solid, especially in "The House of the Baskervilles."
2. "Prime Suspect" (1991 - 2006)
The crème de la crème of British police shows. Helen Mirren is a force of nature as DCI Jane Tennison, who grapples with serial killers, gangsters and unrelenting sexism. Look for a young Ralph Fiennes in "Prime Suspect 1" as the grieving boyfriend of the murder victim.
3. "Foyle's War" (2002 -)
In this top-notch series set during World War II, Michael Kitchen stars as Detective Chief Superintendent Foyle, who's still got murders to solve, even though there's a war on. Guest stars include James McAvoy and Emily Blunt.
4. "Case Histories" (2011, 2013)
Jason Isaacs plays rugged private detective Jackson Brodie, a former soldier and cop who's often juggling several clients at once. Like any hardboiled P.I., he often takes a beating won't won't be shaken from even the toughest of cases.
5. "Touching Evil" (2004-2005)
Robson Green stars as Detective Inspector Dave Creegan, the leader of the Organized and Serial Crime Unit who's back on the job after being shot in the head and nearly dying. The cases are damn good and troubled detectives don't get much more compelling. The U.S. remake, starring Jeffrey Donovan (and Bradley Cooper!) wasn't bad, actually.
6. "Wire in the Blood" (2002 - 2008)
Robson Green's follow-up to "Touching Evil." This time, he's a gifted clinical psychologist who treats serial criminals, with an uncanny ability to stop them before they strike again. It's just been acquired by ABC for an American remake. (http://ift.tt/1wCMLYn)
7. "Waking the Dead" (2000 - )
A cold case unit, led by Det. Supt. Peter Boyd (Trevor Eve), unearths some fascinating mysteries involving a child abduction, a body unearthed in a church and London's gangland underworld.
8. "Luther" (2010 - 2013)
Idris Elba is a cop whose dedication to his job has cost him his wife and possibly his sanity. His case advisor; A sociopath (Ruth Wilson) he could never prove murdered her entire family.
9. "Cracker" (1993-1996)
Robbie Coltrane (aka Hagrid in the "Harry Potter" films) is a short-tempered, overweight, chainsmoking, gambling- and sex-addicted detective who is also damn good at his job: Getting criminals to confess merely by talking to them.
10. "MI-5" (2002 - )
A tense, terrific series (called "Spooks" in the U.K., slang for "spies"), about a unit who must stop terrorists at home and abroad. Matthew McFadyen and Keeley Hawes starred in the first seasons, as did David Oyelowo, who's now drawing raves for his portrayal of Martin Luther King, Jr. in "Selma."
11. "Wallander" (2008 -) Kenneth Branagh is great as the Swedish cop, even if the mysteries are all too obvious much of the time. Bonus: Tom Hiddleston is in six episodes. Credit: Courtesy of BBC for MASTERPIECE
12. Agatha Christie: Poirot (1989 - )
If you like arrogant detectives, it's hard to top Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie's Belgian detective who solves mysteries no else can quite crack. Davd Suchet is fussy perfection as the eccentric crime solver. Set in 1920s England, the cars and clothes are half the appeal.
13. "Broadchurch" (2013)
The U.S. remake "Gracepoint" is currently airing, but you can't beat the original, also starring David Tennant, as a disgraced detective heading the murder investigation of a young boy in a small coastal town where everyone has secrets best kept hidden.
14. "Endeavor" (2012 - )
Set in the '60s - 20 years before the long-running "Inspector Morse" series -- with young Detective Constable Morse (Shaun Evans) finding his way as a policeman.
15. "Second Sight" (1999-2000)
Clive Owen stars as a detective who is losing his eyesight, but desperate to conceal the fact so he can stay on the job, especially since he's just been appointed to head the elite Special Murder Unit.
16. "The Last Enemy" (2008)
As an Amazon reviewer put it, "I came for the Cumberbatch, and stayed for the excellent techno-thriller." Benedict stars as a man who returns home for his brother's funeral, falls for his widow and finds himself being relentless pursued by a rogue government agent (Robert Carlyle).
17. "Whitechapel" (2009-2013)
A Jack the Ripper copycat is loose in London and it's up to DI Joseph Chandler (Rupert Penry-Jones of "MI-5") to stop him before he kills again.
18. "Silent Witness" (1996 - ) Inspired by a real-life forensic pathologist, the series originally starred Amanda Burton as Professor Sam Ryan, who often finds herself challenging the police's interpretations of how the body on her slab died.
19. "Hinterland" (2013 - )
Much as in "Broadchurch," a big-city detective lands in a small backwater, in this case, Aberystwyth, Wales, to solve crimes and ponder his own sins. Richard Harrington stars as DCI Tom Mathias.
20. "Fargo" (2014)
Okay, it's not a British mystery series, but it does star our favorite Doctor Watson, Martin Freeman, as a beleaguered insurance salesman who ends up on the wrong side of the law, doggedly pursued by female cop (Allison Tolman) and various criminals.
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