Image via Lewis Jacobs / © AMC / Courtesy Everett Collection
Published May 23, 2026, 9:33 PM EDT
Remus is a writer, editor, journalist, and author with an eye for detail and an extremely active imagination. He is an enthusiast of everything to do with the graphic medium, whether it's Western comics and their adaptations or manga and anime. Remus is also the author of the sci-fantasy novel Once Upon a Time in Hyperspace and several works of short fiction in the mystery, comedy, and horror genres.
Sign in to your Collider account
Thriller shows have always held a special place in the hearts of audiences, providing endless entertainment through their suspenseful stories and fascinating characters. Most of the time, however, knowing the twist at the heart of a thriller show can take all the fun out of any potential rewatch. But not always.
The best thriller shows, the true masterpieces, are the ones that deliver perfect or near-perfect narratives that make each rewatch a rewarding experience. Whether it’s your first time or 15th, with these shows, you’re always in for something truly spectacular. Without further ado, here’s our handpicked selection of some of the most perfect thriller shows that are so good, you’ll want to watch them twice (at least).
1 ‘Fargo’ (2014–2024)
Image via FXCreated by Noah Hawley, Fargo is an anthology series based on the 1996 Coen Brothers film of the same name. The series follows a collection of crime stories taking place in and around Minnesota, where the interwoven lives of a diverse set of characters, including law enforcement, criminals, and civilians, collide with deadly outcomes. Each season explores a completely new story, each darker than the one before, with minor overlaps between seasons. The show features a huge ensemble of characters played by Martin Freeman, Billy Bob Thornton, David Thewlis, Carrie Coon, Jessie Buckley, Jon Hamm, and more across different seasons.
Though only the first season of Fargo is actually adapted from the film, the overall production of the show is heavily influenced and inspired by the storytelling style of the Coen Brothers, which comes out in the show’s cinematography, tone, and impeccable art design. Since its premiere, the black crime comedy has earned widespread acclaim, earning seven Primetime Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. Packed with crime, drama, suspense, and intriguing characters, propelled by powerful acting in every season, Fargo is unarguably one of the best crime thriller shows of the century so far.
2 ‘Breaking Bad’ (2008–2013)
Image via AMCCreated and produced by Vince Gilligan, Breaking Bad chronicles the life and crimes of Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an overqualified, undervalued, out-of-work chemistry teacher, who finds himself staring down a cancer diagnosis. Desperate to support his family, he enlists the help of a former student, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), to make and sell crystal meth, and soon gets sucked into the deadly and dangerous world of drug cartels. Anna Gunn, Dean Norris, Giancarlo Esposito, Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks, and more star in key supporting roles.
Breaking Bad was a career-defining performance for Cranston, who remarkably showcases a wide range of emotions as the story’s hero, villain, and victim, and for Paul, who delivers an equally compelling performance as the secondary lead. A groundbreaking crime thriller series for its time, the show’s layered characters, gritty narrative, and complex themes redefined how audiences look at crime stories. Every season of Breaking Bad is almost perfect and highly rewatchable, and the series is considered one of the greatest TV shows of all time, having earned numerous accolades and developed a worldwide fan following.
3 ‘The Innocent’ (2021)
Image via NetflixAn adaptation of Harlan Coben’s eponymous novel directed by Oriol Paulo, The Innocent (El Inocente), is a Spanish-language psychological crime thriller that centers on Mateo (Mario Casas), whose life goes haywire after he accidentally kills a man. Years later, as he tries to rebuild his life, a mysterious call forces Mateo to revisit his past and face his demons, pushing him down a dark and dangerous path that threatens everything, including his life. The series also stars Alexandra Jiménez, Aura Garrido, José Coronado, and Anna Wagener in supporting roles.
Intelligently crafted and well-acted, The Innocent is a brilliant psychological thriller with masterful storytelling, but it’s far too often overlooked. The series is anchored by Casas’ performance as the complex protagonist, which truly draws the audience in with his raw emotions and suspenseful character arc. Edgy, unpredictable, and practically flawless, the series intrigues and shocks you at several turns. One of the most underrated Spanish-language shows on Netflix, The Innocent is a testament to television done right that’s worth watching again and again.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Personality Quiz Which Sci-Fi Hero Are You Most Like? Paul Atreides · Captain Kirk · Princess Leia · Ellen Ripley · Max Rockatansky
Five iconic heroes. Five completely different ways of facing an impossible universe. One of them shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of refusing to back down. Eight questions will tell you which one.
🏜️Paul Atreides
🖖Capt. Kirk
✊Princess Leia
🔦Ellen Ripley
🔥Max Rockatansky
FIND YOUR HERO →
01
How do you lead when the stakes couldn't be higher? The way you lead under pressure is the most honest thing about you.
AI absorb everything — every variable, every pattern — and move only when I know the path forward. BI read the room, make the call, and own the consequences. Hesitation costs more than mistakes. CI rally people. A cause needs a voice, and I refuse to let fear be louder than conviction. DI assess the threat, establish what needs doing, and get it done without waiting for permission. EI don't lead. I act. Others can follow or not — I'm already moving.
NEXT QUESTION →
02
What is your greatest strength in a crisis? The quality that keeps you alive when everything else fails.
APrescience — the ability to see further ahead than anyone else and plan accordingly. BImprovisation — I'm at my best when the plan falls apart and I have to invent a new one. CConviction — I know what I'm fighting for, and that certainty doesn't waver under fire. DComposure — I stay functional when everyone around me is falling apart. Panic is a luxury. EEndurance — I outlast things. I take the hit and keep moving long after others have stopped.
NEXT QUESTION →
03
What is the thing you'd sacrifice everything else for? Your deepest motivation is your truest compass.
AThe survival and dignity of my people — even if I have to become something frightening to ensure it. BThe safety of my crew — every single one of them. No one gets left behind. CFreedom — for my people, for every world still crushed under the weight of an empire. DThe truth — what actually happened, what's actually out there, whether anyone believes me or not. EThe one person — or the one memory — that still makes any of this worth surviving for.
NEXT QUESTION →
04
How do you relate to the people around you? Who you are to others under pressure is who you really are.
AWith intensity and distance — I care deeply, but the weight I carry makes closeness complicated. BWith warmth and irreverence — I take the mission seriously, not myself. CWith directness and trust — I say what I mean, and I expect the people I work with to rise to it. DWith professional care but clear limits — I'll protect you, but I won't pretend we're family. EWith wariness that slowly becomes loyalty — I don't trust easily, but when I do, it holds.
NEXT QUESTION →
05
You're facing a threat that no one else believes is real. What do you do? How you respond when you're the only one who sees it defines everything.
APrepare in silence. If they won't listen, I'll be ready when they finally have to. BKeep pushing until someone listens — and if no one does, handle it myself. CBuild the case, find the allies, and make the threat impossible to ignore. DDocument everything. The truth matters even if no one believes it yet. EStop trying to convince anyone. Survive it. That's the only argument that counts.
NEXT QUESTION →
06
What has your heroism cost you personally? Every hero pays. The question is what — and whether they'd pay it again.
AMy innocence — I've seen what I'm capable of, and I can't unsee it. BPeople I loved — the command chair has a view, but it's a lonely one. CA normal life — I gave up everything ordinary the moment I chose the cause. DMy sense of safety — I know exactly what's out there now, and I can't pretend otherwise. EAlmost everything — and I'm still not sure what I'm carrying it all for. But I keep going.
NEXT QUESTION →
07
How do you feel about the rules of the world you're in? Every hero has a relationship with the system. What's yours?
AI understand them deeply — and I know exactly which ones must be broken, and why. BI respect the spirit of them and bend the letter when the situation demands it. CThe system is the problem. I'm not here to work within it — I'm here to dismantle it. DI follow protocol until protocol stops being useful. Then I make the call myself. EThe rules collapsed a long time ago. What's left is instinct, and mine are reliable.
NEXT QUESTION →
08
When everything is on the line, what keeps you going? The answer is the most honest thing about you.
ADestiny — or something that feels so much like it that the difference no longer matters. BThe people on my ship — their faces, their trust, the fact that they're counting on me. CThe belief that what we're fighting for is worth every sacrifice, including this one. DSheer refusal to let it win — whatever it is. I don't stop. That's just who I am. EI'm not sure anymore. But the road is still there, and I'm still on it.
REVEAL MY HERO →
Your Hero Has Been Identified Your Sci-Fi Hero Is…
Your answers point to the iconic sci-fi hero who shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of facing the impossible.
Paul Atreides
You carry a weight most people would crumble under — the knowledge of what you're capable of, and the burden of what you might have to become.
- You see further ahead than others and you plan accordingly, even when the vision frightens you.
- You are driven by loyalty to your people and a sense of destiny you didn't ask for but can't escape.
- Paul Atreides is not simply a hero — he is someone who understands the cost of power and chooses to bear it anyway.
- That gravity, that willingness to carry what others won't, is exactly you.
Captain Kirk
You lead with instinct, warmth, and an absolute refusal to accept a no-win scenario — because you've always believed there's a third option nobody else has thought of yet.
- You take the mission seriously without ever taking yourself too seriously.
- Your crew would follow you anywhere, not because you demand it, but because you've earned it.
- Kirk's genius isn't tactical — it's human. He reads people, bends rules with purpose, and wills outcomes into existence through sheer conviction.
- That combination of warmth, audacity, and relentless optimism is unmistakably yours.
Princess Leia
You are the kind of person who holds the line when everyone else is losing faith — not because you're fearless, but because giving up simply isn't something you're capable of.
- You lead through conviction. Your voice carries because your belief is unshakeable.
- You gave up everything ordinary the moment you chose the cause, and you've never looked back.
- Leia is not a supporting character in her own story — she is the moral centre of the entire rebellion.
- That same fierce, principled, unbreakable core is what defines you.
Ellen Ripley
You are not reckless, not grandiose, and not particularly interested in being anyone's hero — you just refuse to stop when it matters.
- You see threats clearly, you document the truth even when no one listens, and when the time comes you handle it yourself.
- Ripley's heroism is earned, not performed. She doesn't have a speech — she has a flamethrower and a plan.
- You share her composure under the worst possible pressure, and her refusal to pretend the monster isn't there.
- When it counts, you don't flinch. That's everything.
Max Rockatansky
You have been through fire that would break most people — and what came out the other side is something the world underestimates at its peril.
- You don't ask for help, don't need validation, and don't wait for anyone to tell you the rules no longer apply.
- Your loyalty, when it finally arrives, is absolute — but it's earned in silence and tested in action, not in words.
- Max is not a nihilist. He is someone who lost everything and found, against his will, that he still has something worth protecting.
- That bruised, stubborn, ultimately human core is exactly yours.
↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ
4 ‘Dark’ (2017–2020)
Image via NetflixA sci-fi mystery thriller created by Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese, Dark is a German series that revolves around a mysterious disappearance in the small, fictional town of Winden. As the investigation uncovers the town’s past, involving four estranged families, it exposes a dark time travel conspiracy that spans several generations of the town’s residents. The ensemble cast includes Louis Hofmann, Karoline Eichhorn, Lisa Vicari, Maja Schöne, Moritz Jahn, and more in key roles.
Dark is a uniquely elevated thriller that explores themes of free will, destiny, and the existential implications of time on human life through a time travel paradox plot that will scare and fascinate you at the same time. The narrative successfully combines high-concept sci-fi with philosophical and supernatural elements, psychological horror, and crime. The storytelling feels like an intricate puzzle, full of twists and curious characters, where the mystery unfolds so deliberately that even Stephen King considers it to be a show worth watching. Since its premiere, Dark has been widely praised for its concept, direction, music, visual effects, and performances.
5 ‘Sherlock’ (2010–2017)
Image via BBCCreated by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, BBC’s Sherlock is a modern reimagination of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary detective and his most iconic cases. Set in 21st-century London, the series follows Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his new roommate-turned-partner Dr. John Watson (Martin Freeman) as they embark on a series of adventures, with Sherlock using his unparalleled mind and strange methods (and a little bit of modern technology) to solve uncanny crimes and beat his biggest nemesis, James Moriarty (Andrew Scott). Gatiss, Rupert Graves, Una Stubbs, Amanda Abbington, and Louise Brealey star in other main roles.
Widely regarded as one of the best Sherlock Holmes adaptations of all time, Sherlock is sharp, slick, and cleverly written, with a narrative that feels like a contemporary detective procedural while retaining the spirit of the original stories. Reimagining and restructuring the original Sherlock Holmes stories for a modern audience, the BBC show excels in its masterful cinematography, intricate storytelling, and great visual design. But above all, Sherlock is most noteworthy for the performances and chemistry of Cumberbatch, Freeman, and Scott, who have effectively redefined the legacy characters they portray.
6 ‘Broadchurch’ (2013–2017)
Image via BBCA mystery thriller series created by Chris Chibnall, Broadchurch follows Detective Inspector Alec Hardy (David Tennant) and Detective Sergeant Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman) as they solve complicated crimes in the titular, fictional English coastal town. The first two seasons center on the mysterious death of Danny, an 11-year-old boy, and its aftermath on the small community, while the third season focuses on the duo investigating the rape of a local woman. The ensemble cast also includes Jodie Whittaker, Andrew Buchan, Arthur Darvill, Carolyn Pickles, Jonathan Bailey, Matthew Gravelle, and Charlotte Beaumont.
A well-scripted and well-acted crime thriller, Broadchurch stands apart from the more common cozy, small-town English mysteries with its intense, slow-burning exploration of darker themes. Powered by the gripping performances of Colman and Tennant, as well as the remarkable cinematography, Broadchurch is easily one of the best British detective series of modern times that genre fans would love to rewatch. The series has also earned three BAFTAs and several other awards for its distinguished storytelling, cinematography, and performances.
7 ‘True Detective’ (2014–Present)
Image via HBOCreated by Nic Pizzolatto, True Detective is an anthology crime drama thriller series, where each season follows a self-contained story involving a disparate set of characters and settings. The series focuses on uncanny crimes, mostly homicides, across different locations within the United States, exploring how the local detectives search for truth and justice, even as they are forced to question their own beliefs and knowledge. True Detective boasts a huge ensemble of A-list stars across seasons, including the likes of Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Colin Farrell, Michelle Monaghan, Rachel McAdams, Vince Vaughn, Mahershala Ali, and Jodie Foster.
True Detective is noted for its neo-noir narrative and the intimidating atmosphere that pervades every season. With stories ranging from Southern Gothic thrillers to urban corporate crimes and involving a wide array of intriguing characters, settings, and events, the series offers diverse stories to satisfy all kinds of genre fans. Since its premiere, True Detective has been critically acclaimed for its stories, direction, acting, and overall production values, winning several Primetime Emmy Awards, a BAFTA, and several other accolades.
8 ‘Black Mirror’ (2011–Present)
Image via NetflixCreated by Charlie Brooker, Black Mirror is a speculative fiction anthology series set in an indeterminate dystopian future where various characters navigate the impact of state-of-the-art technology in their personal, social, and professional lives. The narrative uses tropes of sci-fi, dystopian drama, crime fiction, and tech-noir to comment on contemporary social, cultural, and behavioral issues. Black Mirror features a massive ensemble cast each season, and has starred the likes of Miley Cyrus, Salma Hayek, Daniel Kaluuya, Peter Capaldi, Awkwafina, Benedict Wong, and more.
While Black Mirror is inspired by The Twilight Zone and often compared to the television classic, the British anthology thriller is more avant-garde and incisive in its approach, pushing the boundaries of storytelling as we know it. In every season, the series explores different narrative styles and themes, including psychological drama, surrealism, existentialism, space-adventure, dark humor, and even supernatural elements. Since its premiere, Black Mirror has evolved into a groundbreaking series that defies classification by genres and styles, and remains one of the best sci-fi series of the last 25 years, which feels more relevant and timely with every watch.
Release Date December 4, 2011
Network Channel 4, Netflix
Writers Jesse Armstrong
English (US) ·