You’ve done a good job of explaining how these procedurals are bad and why they’re popular. But that doesn’t mean they have to be bad in order to be popular.

British / Irish procedurals are for the most part interesting and seldom formulaic — and the bad guys usually get caught (although it tends to take more than 45 minutes): Single-Handed, Broadchurch, Line of Duty, Happy Valley, Hinterland…. Scandanavian procedurals tend to be refreshingly complex. And no series I’ve seen can compare with the depth and innovation of Jane Campion’s Top of the Lake — the two seasons so far are more like a movie than television.