A Stress-Free Streaming Guide For Coronavirus Isolation

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Spend your socially distant hours with Phryne Fisher and other glamorous detectives. / Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Two weeks ago, I was planning a costumed watch party for the new Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries movie when it comes out on streaming March 23. That, obviously, is off. I’m doing my best to keep away from others to help slow down the spreading coronavirus, so I’m not hosting half a dozen people in my house.

But we need Phryne Fisher, 1920s Melbourne’s glamorous and scandalous lady detective, more than ever in these days of worry and long stretches indoors, so I’ve moved the watch party online. We’ll marathon the whole series, not just the film, and share our thoughts and selfies. It should be a delight.

I’m also offering my friends tips for other shows to get lost in as they self-isolate. As an anxious TV obsessive who lived alone for a long time, I have some expertise in this field.

What we all need now is television that’s escapist with limited stakes (solving one murder, not saving the world). In other words, charming mystery serials, period stories about the very rich and, best of all, combinations of the two.

These are some of your best bets.

Delightful Mysteries

The greatest possible choice in trying times is a marathon of Death in Paradise (BritBox). It’s your basic small-town British murder mystery, but it happens on a Caribbean island. Instead of stone houses and dreary rain, you get sunshine and tropical flowers. A cute green lizard hangs out at the detective’s house. I really can’t overstate how charming and relaxing it is.

Another stellar option is Queens of Mystery (Acorn), in which a police detective investigates various murders with the help/interference of her three mystery novelist aunts. It’s got an arch, self-aware voiceover to boot. There’s also Agatha Raisin (Acorn), about a flashy PR guru who takes to solving crimes in her tiny Cotswolds village. The streaming service for these shows, Acorn, seems to agree they're good pandemic viewing as it's just extended the free trial to 30 days (with promo code FREE30).

Sumptuous Tales of the Long-Ago Rich

What better distraction than beautiful people in beautiful rooms, wearing beautiful clothes and grappling with dramas far in the past and far above your income bracket? This is a great moment for a watch or rewatch of Victoria (Passport, Amazon Prime), The Crown (Netflix), Downton Abbey (Passport, Amazon Prime), The Durrells in Corfu (Passport, Amazon Prime), basically any Jane Austen adaptation...you get the idea.

Tread carefully here, however. Unless you’re trying to get a reluctant loved one to take coronavirus seriously, you might wish to avoid the Victoria episode on cholera (season 3 episode 4), The Crown’s on the Great Smog of London (season 1 episode 4) and Downton’s foray into the 1918 flu (season 2 episode 8). It’s a lot of coughing and quarantines just at the moment.

Detectives In Ages Past

And now we’re back to the delightful Miss Fisher (Acorn). As you might have guessed, she’s my top recommendation here. This show has everything: a modern, independent woman who refuses to take life too seriously, glorious fashion, frequent dalliances and one of the best slow-burn, will-they-won’t-they relationships in TV history. Truly, watch this show.

You might also try the spinoff Miss Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries, which sees Phryne's long-lost niece inherit her estate and knack for sleuthing in the 1960s. It's a good deal sillier, and therefore probably perfect for these stressful times.

Poirot (Acorn, BritBox), meanwhile, is your companion for the long haul. The show began in 1989 and ran 13 seasons; by the time you get to the end you’ll have forgotten who all the murderers are and be ready to start over. The Belgian detective will run out of old friends’ country house parties where someone gets killed before you run out of Poirot to binge (which is to say, you never will). Plus, the man is fastidious and precise almost to a fault. He’d thoroughly approve all our hand-washing and surface-wiping.

It’s also tough to go wrong with Jeremy Brett’s Sherlock Holmes (BritBox). If you’re more familiar with the updated BBC series or the more steampunk action-hero Robert Downey Jr. iterations, I urge you to acquaint yourself with this. It hews much closer to the original stories, which means the mysteries are set up a bit like logic puzzles. Often, they’re not even murders!

For Austen fans, there’s also Death Comes to Pemberley (Passport), the miniseries adaptation of P.D. James’s Pride and Prejudice sequel. Spoiler alert: Wickham is still a scoundrel.

And check out Father Brown (Netflix, BritBox), in which a small-town priest in 1950s Britain investigates local mysteries. Fair warning: Grantchester has an almost identical premise and is a lovely show, but its side plots are heavy. If, like me, you need some levity in stressful times, it may not be your show right now.

Note: most of these shows are available for purchase or rental through Amazon, iTunes and other outlets in addition to the subscription services listed here. Passport is available with a sustaining contribution to GPB. Acorn and BritBox are both available as add-on subscriptions to Amazon Prime as well as standalone services. You can do a seven-day free trial of BritBox before committing, and Acorn has just extended its trial period to 30 days due to the pandemic; use the promo code FREE30 at acorn.tv.