How Our Favorite TV Detectives Have Changed Since We First Saw Them Onscreen

Our favorite detective series taught us that successful crime investigation is always the result of a team effort. Brave police officers, meticulous forensic experts, private detectives, and, of course, crime consultants with phenomenal memories and even psychic powers all come together and work as one to make sure that justice is served. Today we want to see how the heroes of The Mentalist, Bones, Castle, and other detective TV series have changed since we first saw them onscreen, and we hope you’ll join us!

Nash Bridges, 1996

Don Johnson (as Nash Bridges)

Cheech Marin (as Joe Dominguez)

Psych, 2006

James Roday Rodriguez (as Shawn Spencer)

Dulé Hill (as Burton Guster)

Then:

Now:

The Mentalist, 2008

Simon Baker (as Patrick Jane)

Robin Tunney (as Teresa Lisbon)

Owain Yeoman (as Wayne Rigsby)

Then:

Now:

Amanda Righetti (as Grace Van Pelt)

Then:

Now:

Castle, 2009

Stana Katic (as Kate Beckett)

Nathan Fillion (as Richard Castle)

Jon Huertas (as Javier Esposito)

White Collar, 2009

Matt Bomer (as Neal Caffrey)

Tim DeKay (as Peter Burke)

Then:

Now:

Bones, 2005

Emily Deschanel (as Temperance Brennan)

David Boreanaz (as Seeley Booth)

Then:

Now:

Law & Order, 1990

S. Epatha Merkerson (as Anita Van Buren)

Benjamin Bratt (as Rey Curtis)

Sam Waterston (as Jack McCoy)

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, 2000

Marg Helgenberger (as Catherine Willows)

Then:

Now:

George Eads (as Nick Stokes)

Then:

Now:

Eric Szmanda (as Greg Sanders)

Then:

Now:

Jorja Fox (as Sara Sidle)

Then:

Now:

True Detective, 2014

Woody Harrelson (as Marty Hart)

Matthew McConaughey (as Rust Cohle)

Then:

Now:

Do you like detective TV series? Which of them is your favorite and why?