This is certainly true, but I'm sure we all agree that some shows simply do this better than others.
For example, it seems that the German crime show "Tatort" has been trying to jump on the train of the "broken investigator with a dark secret/a dark past" just because some international crime shows have been doing this quite successfully. But from what I've seen (and I haven't seen much, because like I said, it's just not my cup of tea) it often comes across as forced and artificial. So they try to give us the human approach, but more often than not they fail.
 

You are all quite right. I rarely watch crime shows in German TV, and I'm not fond of "Tatort" either.

So... have you seen the new show? It wasn't bad but lacks... hm the special something? It wasn't very clever, somewhat predictable and even though it is hinted at that the main character has a past, I doubt that he will be as multi layered as Sherlock as a character. And he was a bigger arseh... than Sherlock could ever be, even when looking back to series 1. ;)

Oh and they have clearly been inspired by Sherlock, I believe. A shot on a rooftop above the skyline of Cologne, where the main character and someone else meet. And I even thought the main actor copied some of the mannerisms/facial expressions from Benedict's Sherlock.^^