The BEST episodes of Vera

Every episode of Vera ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Vera!

DCI Vera Stanhope is obsessive about her work. With her caustic wit and guile, the unorthodox but brilliant detective investigates chilling crimes set in Northumberland with her trusted colleagues.

Last Updated: 3/16/2024Network: ITV1Status: Continuing
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Dark Road
star
8.11
398 votes

#1 - Dark Road

Season 6 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/31/2016

Vera investigates the murder of a 56-year-old grandmother discovered by a young girl on the wild and desolate Northumberland moors.

Directors: Marek Losey
Watch Now:Amazon
Death of a Family Man
star
8.04
339 votes

#2 - Death of a Family Man

Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 5/18/2014

Vera delves into the tangled life of a businessman found floating in the water under the Gateshead Millennium Bridge.

Directors: William Sinclair
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Darkest Evening
star
8.03
147 votes

#3 - The Darkest Evening

Season 12 - Episode 4 - Aired 2/19/2023

On the night of a massive storm, trying to get home, DCI Vera Stanhope (Brenda Blethyn) comes across an abandoned car with a baby inside. With no mobile signal and blocked roads at every turn, Vera is forced to seek refuge somewhere she’d rather not be, Brockburn House, the Stanhope’s ancestral pile. Vera doesn’t exactly receive a warm welcome from her estranged family as there’s a function in full swing and her turning up with a baby isn’t a great look. Things start to look even worse and take a far sinister turn when a body is found on the track leading to Brockburn House.

Directors: Paul Gay
Writer: Colette Kane
Watch Now:Amazon
Blood and Bone
star
8.02
343 votes

#4 - Blood and Bone

Season 8 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/7/2018

Vera is called to a chilling murder scene when the charred remains of a body are discovered in an abattoir incinerator.

Directors: Paul Gay
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Seagull
star
7.99
289 votes

#5 - The Seagull

Season 9 - Episode 4 - Aired 2/3/2019

Vera must find the connection between a skeleton discovered underneath the site of a notorious burnt-out nightclub and a present day murder.

Directors: Declan O’Dwyer
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Salt & Vinegar
star
7.97
106 votes

#6 - Salt & Vinegar

Season 13 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/21/2024

Vera uncovers secrets, lies and unforgivable behaviour as she unwraps a case where the body of the co-owner of a chip shop has been found in a freezer.

Directors: Paul Gay
Writer: Phil Mulryne
Watch Now:Amazon
For the Grace of God
star
7.96
151 votes

#7 - For the Grace of God

Season 12 - Episode 2 - Aired 2/5/2023

Lance Corporal Conn Burns was a dedicated, diligent and decorated soldier with a loving young family but all of that fell apart when he left the army. Adapting to civilian life was not easy and after a series of bad life choices, Conn found himself desolate, down and out on the streets of Newcastle. Attempting to get his life back on track, Conn had recently been making moves that would see him repay old debts, rebuild relationships and get him off the streets but a dark secret from his past, and betrayal in the present, left his future looking uncertain, and deadly.

Directors: Claire Winyard
Writer: Sally Abbott
Watch Now:Amazon
Prodigal Son
star
7.94
333 votes

#8 - Prodigal Son

Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 9/15/2013

Vera's investigation into the murder of an ex-Met officer turns out to be far more complicated than initially imagined.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Blue
star
7.94
142 votes

#9 - Blue

Season 12 - Episode 3 - Aired 2/12/2023

Joel Kingston is a copper’s copper from a respected and notable police family but when he is found dead, floating in a park lake, DCI Vera Stanhope (Brenda Blethyn) finds herself investigating both sides of the thin blue line in order to find his killer. A complex family dynamic, tensions at work, and brushes with the underworld, paint a dark and complex picture. Joel was there to serve and protect but did his stubborn commitment to justice at any price lead to his death? Or, was he killed to stop him revealing a secret that would destroy someone’s life? Vera steps on toes and ruffles a few police feathers as she searches for answers as to why PC Joel Kingston is no longer on the beat.

Writer: Paul Logue
Watch Now:Amazon
Broken Promise
star
7.94
408 votes

#10 - Broken Promise

Season 7 - Episode 3 - Aired 4/2/2017

Vera is called to Northumberland University when a student plummets to his death from the top of a disused faculty building.

Directors: Lee Haven Jones
Watch Now:Amazon
The Sea Glass
star
7.92
323 votes

#11 - The Sea Glass

Season 6 - Episode 4 - Aired 2/21/2016

Vera investigates the mysterious death of a fisherman found tangled in the nets of a North Sea trawler.

Directors: Paul Gay
Watch Now:Amazon
Tuesday's Child
star
7.92
368 votes

#12 - Tuesday's Child

Season 6 - Episode 2 - Aired 2/7/2016

Vera investigates the death of a local lad whose body is found wrapped in plastic sheets at a rural teenage hang out.

Directors: Jill Robertson
Watch Now:Amazon
Blind Spot
star
7.91
317 votes

#13 - Blind Spot

Season 9 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/13/2019

Vera investigates the murder of a trainee forensic psychologist found dead on a Northumberland landfill site.

Directors: Paul Gay
Writer: Paul Logue
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Dirty
star
7.91
215 votes

#14 - Dirty

Season 10 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/26/2020

DCI Vera Stanhope must piece together Luke Sumner's final hours in order to investigate his murder.

Directors: Delyth Thomas
Writer: Sally Abbott
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Young Gods
star
7.91
347 votes

#15 - Young Gods

Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/8/2013

Vera investigates the death of an extreme sports fanatic, who was seen by a group of campers jumping into the lake while on fire from head to toe.

Directors: Dusan Lazarevic
Writer: Gaby Chiappe
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Darkwater
star
7.89
329 votes

#16 - Darkwater

Season 8 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/28/2018

Vera is confronted with a tragic mystery when the dead body of teenager Ethan Dewley is found floating in a reservoir.

Directors: Lee Haven Jones
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Old Wounds
star
7.89
310 votes

#17 - Old Wounds

Season 5 - Episode 2 - Aired 4/12/2015

When the remains of a teenage girl are found half-buried in a wood, Vera and her team find themselves investigating a 30-year-old mystery.

Directors: Daikin Marsh
Watch Now:Amazon
Castles in the Air
star
7.89
372 votes

#18 - Castles in the Air

Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 8/25/2013

A young physiotherapist is brutally murdered and Vera leads the investigation into her death.

Directors: Will Sinclair
Watch Now:Amazon
Protected
star
7.88
300 votes

#19 - Protected

Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 5/4/2014

Vera unearths a 30-year-old mystery after a brutal murder on the sands of a seaside resort.

Directors: Daikin Marsh
Watch Now:Amazon
The Blanket Mire
star
7.87
419 votes

#20 - The Blanket Mire

Season 7 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/9/2017

Surveyors out on the Northumberland moors make a shocking discovery: the body of a young woman buried beneath the soil.

Directors: John Hayes
Watch Now:Amazon
The Deer Hunters
star
7.86
292 votes

#21 - The Deer Hunters

Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 5/11/2014

Vera delves into the tragic last months of a failed novelist after he is gunned down on a remote Northumberland moor.

Directors: Will Sinclair
Watch Now:Amazon
The Escape Turn
star
7.86
222 votes

#22 - The Escape Turn

Season 10 - Episode 4 - Aired 2/2/2020

Vera investigates the case of a wealthy betting shop tycoon who was murdered during a home invasion in front of his wife and daughter.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Dark Angel
star
7.85
427 votes

#23 - Dark Angel

Season 7 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/26/2017

The body of a young man is discovered face down in a river by Thrunton Woods. But tracing the victim's identity proves difficult for Vera and her team.

Directors: Louise Hooper
Watch Now:Amazon
The Moth Catcher
star
7.85
357 votes

#24 - The Moth Catcher

Season 6 - Episode 3 - Aired 2/14/2016

Vera investigates the murder of 22-year-old Alex Gartside, victim of a hit and run in a remote Northumberland Valley.

Directors: Jamie Childs
Watch Now:Amazon
Shadows in the Sky
star
7.85
307 votes

#25 - Shadows in the Sky

Season 5 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/26/2015

Vera uncovers a life of secrets and lies when a well-loved family man plummets to his death from a multi-story car park.

Directors: William Sinclair
Watch Now:Amazon