Pluto TV: The Mystery Channels Overview and Our February Favorite Channel
In a previous post, I wrote a great deal about FAST Channels and promised we would provide you with weekly overviews of different services and our favorite FAST Channels. This is the first installment.
It felt appropriate to choose Pluto TV since it was the first official FAST channel, launched in 2014. Pluto TV is operated by Paramount Streaming, a division of Paramount Global, which is a subsidiary of National Amusements. Why do you care? Because you will have access to programming from all the Paramount Global subsidiaries, which currently include: Paramount+, Paramount Pictures, CBS, Nickelodeon, CBS News, Paramount Media Networks, Telefe, BET, Philo, Simon & Schuster, Chilevison, The CW, CMT, CBS Sports, CBS Studios, Miramax, Paramount Home Entertainment, Paramount International Networks, CBS News and Stations, SportsLine.com Inc., CBS Media Ventures, NickJr.com, AwesomenessTV, RTV News Inc., CBS Home Entertainment, King Street Productions, ComicBook.com LLC, Paramount Streaming, TeenNick, Smithsonian Channel, Championship Productions, Dimension Films, Nickelodeon Animation Studio, Game One, South Park Digital Studios LLC, MTV, Television City, Paramount Networks EMEEA, Big Ticket Entertainment, Paramount Television International, and MTV Animation, to name some of their holdings. In layman’s terms, that means a lot (but, by no means, all) of your programming will come from those sources since it’s ‘free’ to Pluto TV. Obviously, it is far more complicated than that and there are licensing fees paid to themselves and complicated deals to extol the most profit available, but I’m not trying to give you an in-depth lesson in Television Profits 101. If it was at one time a Paramount, Viacom, or CBS product, it will likely end up streaming on Pluto TV.
Pluto TV is set up with linear channels to emulate the traditional broadcasting model. Marketing Architects defines linear channels as:
Linear TV, often referred to as traditional broadcast TV, encompasses cable and satellite television. It's called “linear” because content follows a predetermined programming schedule, unlike on-demand content which the individual viewer decides to watch based on their own preferences and schedule.
Therefore, Pluto TV is a FAST Channel and any channel on the Pluto TV lineup would be considered a linear channel. There are over two hundred fifty linear channels that are currently part of Pluto TV. In terms of relevance, I am only listing the channels that feature or incorporate mystery programming. In this case, I am not singling out only female-centric mysteries, I am listing all mystery channels and hoping you will be a critical reader. While you might find a majority of the mysteries featuring male leads (detectives), it is just as relevant to look at the female supporting cast to see what sort of contribution they do or do not make. If nothing else, it is an eye-opening experience. Finally, I will list my pick of the week.
These listings follow the Pluto TV genre/category chart. Sometimes, you will find that channels in two different genres such as Drama and Crime Drama might have the same shows running on the linear channels. I will list some relevant shows the channel airs. If you were hoping for TV listings, that is more of a pipe dream. Most available listings out there don’t make sense. You are better off scrolling through the linear channels you enjoy and noting the shows and times. The good news? A lot of these shows can also be watched on demand.
PLUTO TV MYSTERY CHANNELS AS OF 02/12/2024
Category: Classic TV
Classic Drama TV Channel: MacGyver, Thriller (a 1970s anthology)
Classic TV Crime Drama: Streets of San Francisco, Hawaii Five-0, In the Heat of the Night, Mannix
Matlock Channel: All Matlock, all the time
Perry Mason Channel: All Perry Mason, all the time
Mission: Impossible Channel: All Mission: Impossible, all the time
Category: Drama
CSI Channel: All CSI, all the time
CSI Miami Channel: All CSI Miami, all the time
CSI NY Channel: All CSI NY, all the time
Criminal Minds Channel: All Criminal Minds, all the time
Blue Bloods Channel: All Blue Bloods, all the time
Pluto TV Crime Drama Channel: Crime Story, Elementary, FBI
TVLand Drama: Diagnosis Murder, MacGyver, Walker, Texas Ranger
More TV Drama Channel: JAG, NCIS
Action Drama Channel: Flashpoint, SEAL Team
Stories by AMC: TURN: Washington Spies
Midsomer Murders Channel: All Midsomer Murders, all the time
Britbox Mysteries Channel: Quirke, Wallander, Jonathan Creek, Silent Witness, New Tricks, Daiziel and Pascoe, Hetty Wainthrope, The Body Farm
Pluto Suspense Channel: Medium, Silk Stalkings
Pluto Supernatural Drama: Ghost Whisperer, Charmed, Medium
ION Channel under the Entertainment category features a number of police shows and mysteries. You can check their website for up-to-date listings.
There are several True Crime Channels and Reality TV Channels that might be of interest; however, they reach beyond the scope of our blog as we are focusing on fiction. Feel free to peruse.
This Month’s Pluto TV Channel Pick:
Pluto Suspense Channel
This channel features two of my favorite crime-fighting females: Patricia Arquette as a fictional version of the real-life Allison DuBois in Medium, the series that ran for seven seasons, as well as Mitzi Kapture, who starred as crime-fighter Rita Lee Lance on the highly stylized series, Silk Stalkings. You had to live through the 1990s as an adult to fully appreciate that show.
© Paramount
These women are complete polar opposites. On one hand, you have the Allison DuBois character, a former stay-at-home mom, married with three daughters, who starts working in the Phoenix District Attorney’s office. Her psychic abilities allow her insights into the mysteries each week since she can talk to the murder victims, who can only guide her but never have all the answers. If you do watch Medium, start from the beginning. There are family drama arcs that help to inform how the characters react to situations and each other throughout the series. Whether you believe in psychic abilities or not, you should be able to appreciate all of Allison’s melodrama on the homefront, coupled with the danger of her work life. Grab some cookies and hunker down. One thing to look out for: nothing is ever black and white in this show and they often make some shocking choices about right and wrong. It’s one of my favorite things.
© USA Network
Silk Stalkings couldn’t be further from Medium in every way. Chris (Rob Estes) and Rita (Mitzi Kapture) are partners and best friends, both beautiful cops (seriously, you’ve never seen such a good-looking crime-fighting duo), who clean up the mean streets of…Palm Beach. There are a lot of drugs and crime lords there. Crime does happen everywhere, after all. Stephen J. Cannell created the show. I recently re-watched a few episodes and was shocked to see how truly dated it looked since a lot of the shots resemble something out of an MTV video and half of Mitzy Kapture’s wardrobe seems to come from Victoria’s Secret; however, despite that, I still like the show. While some women might not agree, I enjoyed seeing a woman being able to take out evil criminals in stiletto heels and mini skirts because sadly, it was stylish back then. I know it was a complete sell-out to patriarchal culture and objectification; however, I also like to think of it as a challenge. Remember, if you are in danger, always use that heel and go for the eye or any other vulnerable parts. I will say this: Rita Lance was solving crimes. She wasn’t filing noise complaints. And before anyone screams that I might be perpetuating objectification, I am pointing out that I’m most definitely a feminist. What some audience members need to remember is that cultural change can be slow. But sometimes you can be entertained along the way. Besides, Rob Estes is objectified as well, so I feel it is a truly egalitarian objectification fest. You’re welcome.
For a concise and insightful history of what brought us to FAST channels, read this article from Little Dot Studios.
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