Best thriller TV shows of all time
Tension that builds and does not let go. Ranked by the Boxlist quality score, from TV shows with over 300 audience ratings.
See which ones match your taste- 1
Fargo (2014)
A close-knit anthology series dealing with stories involving malice, violence and murder based in and around Minnesota.
- 2
Breaking Bad (2008)
When Walter White, a New Mexico chemistry teacher, is diagnosed with Stage III cancer and given a prognosis of only two years left to live. He becomes filled with a sense of...
- 3
Chernobyl (2019)
The true story of one of the worst man-made catastrophes in history: the catastrophic nuclear accident at Chernobyl. A tale of the brave men and women who sacrificed to save...
- 4
The Wire (2002)
Told from the points of view of both the Baltimore homicide and narcotics detectives and their targets, the series captures a universe in which the national war on drugs has...
- 5
True Detective (2014)
An American anthology police detective series utilizing multiple timelines in which investigations seem to unearth personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within...
- 6
Sons of Anarchy (2008)
An adrenalized drama with darkly comedic undertones that explores a notorious outlaw motorcycle club’s (MC) desire to protect its livelihood while ensuring that their simple...
- 7
Dexter (2006)
Dexter Morgan, a blood spatter pattern analyst for the Miami Metro Police also leads a secret life as a serial killer, hunting down criminals who have slipped through the cracks...
- 8
Lioness (2023)
Cruz Manuelos, a rough-around-the-edges but passionate young Marine, is recruited to join the CIA's Lioness Engagement Team to help bring down a terrorist organization from...
- 9
The Shield (2002)
The story of an inner-city Los Angeles police precinct where some of the cops aren't above breaking the rules or working against their associates to both keep the streets safe and...
- 10
Mr. Robot (2015)
A contemporary and culturally resonant drama about a young programmer, Elliot, who suffers from a debilitating anti-social disorder and decides that he can only connect to people...
- 11
The Haunting of Hill House (2018)
The Crains, a fractured family, confront haunting memories of their old home and the terrifying events that drove them from it.
- 12
Justified (2010)
A character drama based on the 2001 Elmore Leonard short story "Fire in the Hole." Leonard's tale centers around U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens of Kentucky, a quiet but strong-willed...
- 13
The Handmaid's Tale (2017)
Set in a dystopian future, a woman is forced to live as a concubine under a fundamentalist theocratic dictatorship. A TV adaptation of Margaret Atwood's novel.
- 14
The Mentalist (2008)
Patrick Jane, a former celebrity psychic medium, uses his razor sharp skills of observation and expertise at "reading" people to solve serious crimes with the California Bureau of...
- 15
Slow Horses (2022)
This quick-witted spy drama follows a dysfunctional team of MI5 agents—and their obnoxious boss, the notorious Jackson Lamb—as they navigate the espionage world’s smoke and...
- 16
The Expanse (2015)
A thriller set two hundred years in the future following the case of a missing young woman who brings a hardened detective and a rogue ship's captain together in a race across the...
- 17
Prison Break (2005)
Due to a political conspiracy, an innocent man is sent to death row and his only hope is his brother, who makes it his mission to deliberately get himself sent to the same prison...
- 18
The Americans (2013)
Set during the Cold War period in the 1980s, The Americans is the story of Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, two Soviet KGB officers posing as an American married couple in the...
- 19
Teen Wolf (2011)
Scott McCall, a high school student living in the town of Beacon Hills has his life drastically changed when he's bitten by a werewolf, becoming one himself. He must henceforth...
- 20
Adolescence (2025)
When a 13-year-old is accused of the murder of a classmate, his family, therapist and the detective in charge are all left asking: what really happened?
- 21
The Walking Dead (2010)
Sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes awakens from a coma to find a post-apocalyptic world dominated by flesh-eating zombies. He sets out to find his family and encounters many other...
- 22
Lost (2004)
Stripped of everything, the survivors of a horrific plane crash must work together to stay alive. But the island holds many secrets.
- 23
24 (2001)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode...
- 24
Veronica Mars (2004)
In the fictional town of Neptune, California, student Veronica Mars progresses from high school to college while moonlighting as a private investigator under the tutelage of her...