Mystery shows are a wonderful way to engage curiosity, logic skills, and observation—things that makes kids and teens sharp thinkers!
Unfortunately, many mysteries on television are dark, gritty tales aimed at an adult audience with an edgy taste.
Whether you want to keep your kids away from bad language, sexualization, and gratuitous violence, or you just prefer to keep your enjoyment relatively light, it can be hard to find a show that doesn't push boundaries.
Luckily we at Murder & Mayhem have put in the work for you.
Here are six family-friendly mystery shows you can stream tonight!
The Hardy Boys
Based on the classic young readers book series of the same name, this show contains three seasons and 31 episodes. It's been given a PG rating, and contains mild violence and very soft profanity.
The Hardy boys, Frank (Rohan Campbell) and Joe (Alexander Elliot) move to the town of Bridgeport with their father, they are trying to overcome a recent tragedy. As the brothers search for answers in their own personal life, they unravel the mystery of something far more sinister.
Monk
Though this series centers on more adult themes, the show is a mostly clean watch. With a PG rating, there is no sexually explicit content, however, there can be mid-range violence and infrequent light swearing.
With eight seasons and 124 episodes, this show follows obsessive-compulsive private detective Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub). As he helps the police solve crimes in San Francisco, his peculiarities both hinder his investigations and tune him into details others miss.
Granite Flats
Granite Flats is a three-season, 37-episode series that has Mormon roots. With a G rating, it contains only very light violence.
Set in a small town in Colorado during the Cold War, three amateur sleuths try to unravel the mysteries of their home after an unidentified object falls out of the sky and an army base explodes.
This series features notable stars like Christopher Lloyd, Parker Posey, and Cary Elwes in supporting roles.
Get Even
This British television series follows four teen girls who form a group to expose school bullies. But when one of the girls' targets turns up dead, they'll have to find more high stakes answers to clear their names.
This series has one 10-episode season rated PG.
Psych
While this series occasionally tackles more serious topics, Psych is mostly a feel-good, funny mystery show. With eight seasons and 121 episodes, the series is rated PG, with non-graphic violence and light profanity.
The show follows Shawn Spencer (James Roday Rodriguez) and his best friend and investigative partner Burton “Gus” Guster (Dulé Hill). Shawn works with the Santa Barbara police as a psychic consultant—though he's really just a hyper-observant private detective posing as a man with supernatural talents.
Alex Rider
This series has a bit more thrills and edge, and may not be appropriate for small children—though it's still a great watch for young teens!
Consisting of three seasons and 24 episodes, this show is rated TV-14 for moderate violence and intense scenes, though the profanity stays mild for the most part.
Alex Rider (Otto Farrant) is a typical London teenager. That is, until MI6 recruits him to infiltrate a controversial corrective academy for wealthy kids.
