Summary
- Procedural TV shows like Doctor Who and Lucifer have transcended the traditional format and added expansive worlds and fantastical elements.
- Shows like Psych and iZombie have taken the procedural format and infused it with comedy, making for unique and entertaining storylines.
- Suits and Monk deviate from typical procedural shows by featuring characters who break the rules and have distinct traits.
Procedural TV shows are some of the most popular and enduring shows in existence thanks to their one-shot narratives, but some shows managed to take this format even further. Typical procedural shows deal with criminal activity, court cases, or medical dramas. They tell a new story in each installment which allows viewers to drop in and out as they please without relying on understanding a complex or long-winded backstory.
While many of these shows continue the tradition of their predecessors and stick squarely within the lines that dictate what makes a procedural show a procedural show, there have been a handful who take risks and transcend the format. From the outlandish alien stories that are wrapped up in each episode of Doctor Who, to the mysterious and mystical plot of shows like Lucifer, modern procedurals have moved beyond the rigid format that gave birth to the format and applied them to new, imaginative stories which explore expansive worlds and fantastical elements.
10 Doctor Who
1963 - 1989, 1996, 2005 - Present
While all of Doctor Who may not fit into the label of "modern," the show has geniusly recreated itself and adapted to evolve with the times and become beloved by multiple generations. Early episodes followed a serialized procedural format with four or five 20-minute episodes making up one story, before the modern era changed to having single adventure episodes with a longer runtime at around 40 minutes each. The series allows viewers to dip in anywhere as long as the basic premise is understood.
The Doctor is an alien who travels through time and space. He has a special affection for planet Earth and its inhabitants, and he frequently saves the universe from harm. Every episode sees the doctor face off with an alien threat, some deeply human problem, or inner conflict, usually aided by a companion. The show is by definition procedural, although it also adds in threads of a larger narrative throughout each season and fans are awarded for viewing more of the story as a whole.
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9 The Flash
2014 - 2023
The Flash is a superhero TV show that follows Barry Allen and his friends as they work to keep Central City safe from metahuman threats. The show adopts a procedural format with the team solving crimes and apprehending criminals, with each episode typically dealing with a single criminal threat, as the larger narrative builds in the background toward each season finale. Taking the crime procedural format and applying it to a superhero story works surprisingly well as the series also weaves in elements of comedy and romance throughout.
8 Suits
2011 - 2019
Suits is a legal drama series which follows Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht), a lawyer who plays fast and loose with the rules, and his protégé, Mike Ross (Partrick J. Adams) who games the system to land a prestigious job in a large law firm. The series strayed away from typical procedural shows that had clear lines between the good guys and the bad guys, with the main protagonists being two very shady characters. While they are extraordinary and intelligent, their methods are unorthodox, and the series feels distinct from other procedurals thanks to this willingness to break the rules.
7 Psych
2006 - 2014
While most procedurals are intertwined with the drama genre to the point that it is often called "procedural dramas," Psych decides to shake things up with the series focusing on comedy instead. When Shawn Spencer (James Roday Rodriguez) convinces the local police force that he has psychic powers, he manages to land a job as a special consultant. He and his friend, Burton Guster (Dulé Hill) then go on to solve crimes with their unique approach that takes them on unwitting adventures that somehow often manages to work out.
6 iZombie
2015 - 2019
When Olivia Moore (Rose McIver) is turned into a zombie, her life is turned upside down. However, as she adjusts to her new way of life and finds ways to satisfy her craving for brains, she also discovers her unique ability to absorb peoples' memories and abilities, a talent which comes in useful in assisting the police to solve crimes. From there, the series takes a number of twists and turns to unravel a larger storyline, but for the most part, it runs like a crime procedural with the star detective being a zombie.
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5 Lucifer
2016 - 2021
The devil grows bored with his position as the ruler of Hell and decides to journey upward and indulge in the best life has to offer the human race on Earth in Lucifer. The story begins with Lucifer leaving behind his unsupervised shenanigans, and developing a keen interest in a detective and her work solving crimes. Tom Ellis delivers an incredible performance as the fallen angel with a good heart who has the power to compel others to be honest, or scare them into the afterlife by revealing his demonic visage.
4 Chuck
2007 - 2012
Chuck stars Zachary Levi as a man struggling to figure out his future when an old friend sends him a mysterious email. As a result, Chuck has the secrets of all the top American secret agencies ed to his brain and becomes the most valuable asset of the US government. Chuck becomes an integral part of a small specialist team of agents who are able to intercept and stop major crime from happening thanks to the information in Chuck's head. Espionage, romance, crime and more, Chuck hits all the right notes for a modern twist on procedural drama.
3 House
2004 - 2012
While many crime procedurals tend towards more drama, many medical procedurals lean towards romance and comedy instead. House decidedly pushes back the stereotype with dramatic storylines and tense medical situations that result in each episode handling a life or death case. Instead of inflating the likelihood of outlandish diagnoses which appear in standard medical dramas far more than is common in real life, House sets the stage by showing that House and his team are a specialist diagnostic team who only take on patients with the most unusual, dangerous, and challenging circumstances.
By setting the stage with this explanation early on, the rest of the series is able to easily carry the narrative of a show that deals with life-threatening rare illnesses on a daily basis. The series also draws a great deal of inspiration from Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, with the titular character sharing many of the same strengths and weaknesses in both stories. House is brilliant, technical, and puts much of its focus on the disease with some exploration of the characters and their relationships in between without feeling like one overpowers the other.
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2 Quantum Leap
1989 - 1993, 2022 - Present
Quantum Leap takes the standard crime procedural format and shakes things up with a man who is able to leap through time. The original series followed Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula) who finds himself entangled in peoples' lives in the past and only able to move forward after helping to resolve their issues. Each episode deals with a new adventure in a new place, with new people to assist.
The modern reboot of the series picks up 30 years later, with Ben Song (Raymond Lee) volunteering to embark on this quantum leap experiment to discover what happened to Dr. Sam Beckett and possibly bring him back. The series shakes up the usual format and adds major sci-fi elements to make things interesting, much like Doctor Who, but with a more human story. There is also a larger narrative which is more clearly defined in the modern series, but the changes in time and location keep things fresh each episode and allow viewers to dip in and out.
1 Monk
2002 - 2009
Monk is another procedural TV drama series which follows Adrian Monk (Tony Shaloub), a former detective who now offers his services to the police as a consultant. The reason Monk stands out from other detectives is due to his obsessive compulsive disorder, which can be a hindrance at times, but also makes him incredibly meticulous and able to spot finer details that most other people miss. The series shares many things in common with typical procedural crime shows, but takes a closer look at mental health and OCD with its positives and negatives in a fresh take on the genre.