15 TV Series Set In Small Towns: The Strange & The Spooky

What is it about a small town that attracts viewers like a magnet?

For me, the love affair with small town drama began thirty odd years ago with Twin Peaks. Who could forget the cherry pie-obsessed FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper investigating Laura Palmer's murder (a girl with a lot of secrets), or the simply bizarre dancing dwarf in the Red Room?

Thanks to iconic shows like this, audiences have certain expectations about series set in small towns. Namely, that they should deliver deliciously eccentric characters and enough twists and turns to keep us guessing. The underlying assumption is that things are about to get spooky and downright strange. Don't deliver and viewers will click away.

But it's not only an intriguing set-up from the audience's point of view. The stifling atmosphere of a small town offers so much potential to a writer. The complex relationships, the tangled web of lies and deceit combined with a winning story premise can provide enough juice for a series to run for several seasons.

Any setting where an ensemble cast is pinned down for a limited period is the ideal environment to grow drama – like germs in a petri dish. This is partly why series such as The Perfect Couple or White Lotus are so successful. Confine a bunch of privileged people to a small town or island like Nantucket or Sicily and watch them implode during (or in the run-up to) a murder investigation. It's no wonder The Perfect Couple clocked an impressive 3.4 billion minutes of viewing time in its opening week on Netflix.

Let's look at how to construct a tv series set in small towns.

Five Tips for TV Writing: Creating A Small Town Mystery Series:

1. Anchor the story. Don't skimp on descriptions of the town; it's a key character in your series. The more local flavour and authenticity you can provide (even if it's a fictional place), the more time your audience will want to spend there.

   
   

2. Make it peculiar: quaint but quirky with a generous dash of sinister. We're here for the characters, sure, but also the vibes.

   
   

3. Send in an outsider on a mission. Better yet, someone originally from the town who finds themselves forced to return. Cliché? Yup, but there are always ways to make it different. Conveniently, the audience can enter the world through this character's eyes.

   
   

4. Give everyone a secret; we're here to lift the veil on some unpleasant truths. Ideally, the main character should have some meaty, dark personal trauma to work through. Thing is, these issues should in some way impact or influence the main dramatic question of the show. In some cases, it may even be crucial to solving the core mystery (see Sharp Objects).

   
   

5. Blend drama with supernatural, period, mystery, action or horror. Think Stranger Things, Dark or Riverdale – all successful examples of genre mashups that make their premise stand out from the crowd.

   
   

15 Successful TV Drama-Mystery-Crime Series Set in Small Towns:

1. Twin Peaks (1990 -1991)

   
   

   When a homecoming queen is found murdered, FBI special agent Dale Cooper arrives in the town of Twin Peaks to roll back the curtain on all kinds of devious behaviour.

   
   

   The 90s was when TV started to get really interesting, blurring the lines between genre, television and cinematic aesthetic. The dawn of peak TV was stirring, ready to inundate us with shows worth staying home for.

2. Pretty Little Liars (2010 - 2017)

A mystery teen drama based on the books by Sara Shepard and set in the fictional town of Rosewood, Pennsylvania. The story centers on five best friends after the leader of their clique goes missing. The friends' secrets are constantly at risk of being exposed by an anonymous figure known as "A".

A spin-off subsequently aired from 2022 billed as a teen-slasher-drama- mystery.

3. Banshee (2013 - 2016)

Set in the small fictional town of Banshee, the series revolves around an enigmatic ex-convict (Antony Starr) who takes on the identity of Lucas Hood, the town's deceased sheriff, in order to evade the powerful crime Lord Rabbit (Ben Cross).

Enforcing his own version of justice, Hood tries to reconnect with his former flame, Rabbit's daughter Anastasia. She also assumed a new identity, married, and started a family while Hood was in prison. There's plenty of subterfuge going on here as well as a delicate balancing act of remaining a criminal while updholding the law.

4. Broadchurch  (2013-2017)

The core concept for Broadchurch is how a tight-knit local community, impacted by the death of a child, deals with the ensuing media attention and mutual suspicion.

Creator and writer of the series Chris Chibnall admitted that one of the major inspirations behind this show was Twin Peaks. Since then, Broadchurch has similarly become a benchmark crime series in the U.K.

5. The Leftovers (2014 - 2017)

The series starts three years after a global event has caused 2% of the world's population to disappear into thin air. Based on Tom Perrotta's 2011 novel, the show follows the lives of two families in particular as they grapple with the ensuing fall-out and trauma.

Seasons two and three in particular have been highly praised, with some placing it in the same league as the iconic show Lost (incidentally, also co-created by Damon Lindelhof).

6. Fargo (2014 - 2024)

An anthology black comedy crime series tonally following on from the brilliantly quirky film of the same name by the Cohen brothers.

The stories are all set in towns of the American mid-west, primarily Minnesota, but often take place in different time zones. There's enough death, mishaps and bad weather to keep any die-hard lover of quirky murder happy.

7. Stranger Things (2016 - 2025)

This hugely successful, genre-defying mash-up of supernatural/horror/period TV needs no introduction. Even if you've somehow never seen an episode, you'll most probably be familiar with the set up.

The creators (the Duffer brothers) took all the beloved elements of the 80s and combined them into one glorious TV series. There's a scary alternate dimension that the government is covertly probing, a girl who escapes the secret testing facility, and teenage boys exploring the area on bikes. It all takes place in the fictional town of Hawkins.

8. Dark (2017 - 2020)

   
   

The plot centres on the dysfunctional inhabitants of the fictional town of Winden, Germany, as they try to make sense of a child's disappearance.

A truly elevated, complex show, so put the phone down or you'll miss something crucial. Your full attention is required here – we're delving into the philosophical consequences of time travel, no less.

9. Riverdale (2017 - 2023)

Based on the characters of the Archie comics, the show is essentially a highly stylized teen soap that has ventured into several other genres as the seasons progressed.

The show's core premise follows a group of teenagers in the town of Riverdale who are trying to make sense of a murder. During its many seasons, the series has continually up-ended expectations and at times veered wildly off-course. But, it has proved hugely popular, earning its place in the canon of teen drama.

10. Sharp Objects (2018)

Starring the brilliant Amy Adams, the miniseries is based on the best selling debut novel by Gillian Flynn (she subsequently wrote Gone Girl).

The psychological thriller follows the story of a reporter (Camille), an alcholic who's recovering from years of self-harm. Returning to her hometown of Wind Gap, Missouri, she investigates the murder of two young girls. But while she's back living with her hyper-critical mother, Camille has to confront some personal demons and shocking truths that will ultimately help her solve the case.

11. Cruel Summer (2021 - 2023)

Another teen drama-mystery-thriller but this time in an anthology format.

The initial season is about two teenage girls in the mid-1990s. When one vanishes, the other appears to assume her identity (classic yet always enjoyable story trope there). The subsequent season delves into the tumultuous teenage friendship of two girls during 1999 and 2000, and a love triangle that ends in, you guessed it, murder.

12. The White Lotus (2021 - )

An anthology murder-mystery series set in an international chain of luxury resorts. Notorious for its unflinching look at the upper end of society, the show is not afraid to poke a stick at messy subjects that require some nuanced thinking.

Not only has the series earned its place in TV history, it has become an economic phenomenon (known as "The White Lotus Effect") for increasing tourist numbers in shooting locations.

13. Three Pines (2022)

Adapted from the series of novels written by Louise Penny, the show focuses on Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, a man who can see hidden meaning behind the seemingly normal.

While delving into a series of homicides in Three Pines (a picturesque village in Quebec), the Chief Inspector uncovers deeply buried truths and confronts some of his personal demons.

14. Deadloch (2023 - )

A criminally underrated show set in Tasmania, Australia, where tensions are high between the more established, traditional folk (let's call them narrow- minded) and the town's newer, more diverse inhabitants (let's call them lesbians).

It's a fusion of suspense and black comedy, with some of the most entertaining "lady" detectives ever written for the screen. I'm actually desperate to hang out with the quintessential odd-couple, Eddie Redcliffe and Dulcie Collins. Season two (set in Darwin!) coming soon.

15. The Perfect Couple (2024)

    
    

    The secrets of the wealthy and successful Winbury couple are spilled when a bridesmaid is found drowned on the eve of their son Benji's nuptuals.

    
    

    It's a fun whodunit (that doesn't seem to take itself too seriously) with an easy-on-the-eyes cast and stunning scenery. Set on the small, isolated island of Nantucket, the show is based on the 2018 novel by Elin Hilderbrand.

About Story Inkubator

Story Inkubator was founded by writer, scriptwriter and teacher, Kristina Jilly, an Australian living in Central Europe who's written for HBO Europe and RTL Television. A teacher at the University of Applied Sciences in Upper Austria, Kristina also writes online content about the art of storytelling and topics that inspire creativity. 

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