Each episode is a crime-solution reenactment of a real murder. The actual detectives offer commentary throughout the show.

"Real Detective" is about real-life detectives and the true cases that consume and haunt them. Every detective has one. A case that pushes them to the brink. A case that takes hold of them and won't let go. A case so intense and personal that it haunts them. When a real detective tells you their case, you never forget.