Your heartbeat races, your palms start to sweat, and right when you are sitting on the edge of your seat, the episode ends. A good thriller TV series
Your heartbeat races, your palms start to sweat, and right when you are sitting on the edge of your seat, the episode ends. A good thriller TV series knows how to keep its viewers engaged and coming back for more. From heart-pounding suspense to shocking plot twists, thrillers are some of the most addictive TV shows of any genre.
The past decade has been no exception when it comes to producing some truly memorable and magnificent thrillers. From subgenres that offer everything from comedy to drama, a thriller TV show knows how to get and hold an audience’s attention. These titles are the best of the best and prove that the past 10 years have been more than successful when it comes to creating remarkable thrillers for the compact screen.
10
‘Dark’ (2017–2020)
Louis Hofmann as Jonas wearing a yellow jacket on a road in DarkImage via Netflix
A sci-fi thriller set in Germany, Dark is a deep dive into the interconnected drama of four families. When two children go missing in a compact town, it sets off a chain of events that will change their lives forever. The characters and the viewers at home share in the confusion, and Dark will keep you hooked from start to finish.
Dark excels at creating plot twists and serpentine storylines. It leaves viewers guessing at every turn and becomes a bingeworthy compulsion as you simply have to see what happens next. Time travel, parallel universes, and more intertwine in this highly cerebral mystery.
9
‘The ‘Burbs’ (2026–Present)
Keke Palmer as Samira pushing her baby in a stroller at a block party and looking perplexed in The ‘BurbsImage via Peacock
When juvenile married couple Samira (Keke Palmer) and Rob (Jack Whitehall) relocate with their infant son to Rob’s ancient neighborhood and family home, everything is not quite as it seems in The ‘Burbs. A creepy Victorian house across the street is the source of many rumors and speculations, and it turns out that the “safest town in America” has a few deadly secrets. Murder, mystery, and malarkey are all on the table in this Peacock original series.
The ‘Burbs is absolutely packed with talent. Palmer and Whitehall are both veterans of the compact and silver screen, and TV titans Mark Proksch, Julia Duffy, and Paula Pell round out the infinitely talented core cast. The ‘Burbs is an ideal introduction to the thriller genre. It has enough suspense to keep heartbeats aflutter, but it also adds a good dose of joviality to keep the overall tone lighter and steer the series away from being too gloomy. In a streaming war that competes quick and viciously for viewership, The ‘Burbs has already been renewed for a second season. The ‘Burbs has proven its potential, and its inaugural season has no bad episodes.
8
‘How to Get to Heaven from Belfast’ (2026–Present)
Caoilfhionn Dunne as Dara in How to Get to Heaven from Belfast.Image via Christopher Barr / ©Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection
From Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee comes an unhinged mystery like none other. How to Get to Heaven from Belfast blends McGee’s witty writing with a secretive and intriguing premise. The show follows three lifelong friends, Saoirse (Roisin Gallagher), Robyn (Sinéad Keenan), and Dara (Caoilfhionn Dunne), who travel back to attend the wake of their mutual friend Greta (Natasha O’Keeffe), whom they haven’t talked to in several years.
When the trio arrives, they start to get suspicious about Greta’s life and death, and a much larger conspiracy soon unfolds. Haunted by a tragic secret in their past, the protagonists are both chasing ghosts and running away from them. At one season long, How to Get to Heaven from Belfast is the perfect weekend binge. It is a must-watch for fans of McGee’s and makes for a crazy, comedic, and cryptic experience.
7
‘The Beast in Me’ (2025)
Claire Danes as Aggie sitting at her office desk at her laptop in The Beast in MeImage via Netflix
Reeling with grief after the loss of her son, author Aggie Wiggs (Claire Danes) tries to mentally distract herself by writing a recent book. Unable to write her newest novel and given to distraction, she becomes obsessed with her enigmatic neighbor, Nile Jarvis (Matthew Rhys), a man who is suspected of killing his first wife. As Aggie digs herself deeper and deeper into a hole filled with suspicion and manipulation, The Beast in Me leaves no character unexamined and everyone’s morality is called into question.
The Beast in Me is aptly described by Collider’s Michael Block as “an unrelenting cat-and-mouse game that forces its audience to question everything and everyone.” It toys with themes of privilege, power, and perception. At eight episodes, it makes a perfect capsule thriller, and it never stops delivering on high-stakes twists and growing tension.
Collider Exclusive · Horror Survival Quiz
Which Horror Villain Do You Have the Best Chance of Surviving?
Jason Voorhees · Michael Myers · Freddy Krueger · Pennywise · Chucky
Five killers. Five completely different ways to die — if you’re not astute enough, quick enough, or self-aware enough to avoid it. Only one of them is the villain your particular set of instincts gives you a fighting chance against. Eight questions will figure out which one.
Jason
Michael
Freddy
Pennywise
Chucky
TEST YOUR SURVIVAL →
01
Something feels wrong. You can’t explain it — you just know. What do you do?
First instincts are the difference between the survivor and the first act casualty.
ALeave immediately. I don’t need to understand a threat to respect it.
BStay peaceful and observe. If I can see it, I can understand it. If I can understand it, I can avoid it.
CStay awake. Whatever this is, I am not going to sleep until I feel protected again.
DConfront it directly. Fear grows in the gloomy — I’d rather know what I’m dealing with.
ECheck everything, trust nothing. The threat might be closer than I think — and smaller.
NEXT QUESTION →
02
Where are you most likely to find yourself when things go wrong?
Setting is everything in horror. Where you are determines which rules apply.
ASomewhere remote — a cabin, a campsite, off the grid and away from people.
BA peaceful suburban neighbourhood where nothing ever happens. Except tonight.
CIn my own head — the most unsafe place of all, depending on what’s already in there.
DWherever children are — because something about this place attracts the worst things.
ESomewhere ordinary — a house, a toy store, a place where the last thing you’d expect is a threat.
NEXT QUESTION →
03
What is your most reliable survival asset?
Every survivor has a quality the villain didn’t account for. What’s yours?
APhysical fitness — I can run, I can swim, I can outlast something that relies on brute persistence.
BSpatial awareness — I always know the exits, the hiding spots, the fastest route out.
CPsychological resilience — I’ve faced my worst fears before. They don’t have the same power over me.
DEmotional steadiness — I don’t panic. Panic is what gets you caught.
EScepticism — I don’t underestimate threats because of how they look. Size is irrelevant.
NEXT QUESTION →
04
What kind of fear is hardest for you to fight through?
Knowing your weakness is the first step to not dying because of it.
AThe unstoppable — something that will not stop, cannot be reasoned with, and is always getting closer.
BThe imperceptible — a threat I can feel but can’t locate, watching from somewhere I can’t see.
CThe psychological — something that uses my own mind and memories against me.
DThe unknowable — something archaic, shapeless, that feeds on the fear itself.
EThe mundane — a threat so ordinary-looking that no one will believe me until it’s too tardy.
NEXT QUESTION →
05
You’re with a group when things start going wrong. What’s your role?
Horror movies are brutally clear about who survives group situations and who doesn’t.
AThe one who says “we need to leave” first — and means it, even when no one listens.
BThe one who stays peaceful, watches the others, and figures out the pattern before anyone else does.
CThe one who holds the group together when panic sets in — because someone has to.
DThe one who asks the questions nobody wants to ask — because ignoring them gets people killed.
EThe one who takes the threat seriously when everyone else is laughing it off.
NEXT QUESTION →
06
What’s the horror movie mistake you’re most likely to make?
Honest self-assessment is a survival skill. Denial is not.
AGoing back for someone — I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t leave them behind.
BAssuming I’m protected once I’ve found a hiding spot. That’s when it finds me.
CFalling asleep when I absolutely cannot afford to. Exhaustion is its own enemy.
DLetting my curiosity override my instincts — I always need to understand what I’m dealing with.
EDismissing the threat because of how it looks. That’s exactly what it wants.
NEXT QUESTION →
07
What’s your best weapon against something that can’t be stopped by conventional means?
Every horror villain has a weakness. The survivors are always the ones who find it.
AThe environment itself — I utilize the terrain, the water, the geography against it.
BPatience — I wait, I watch, and I strike at the one moment it doesn’t expect.
CLucidity — if I can stay in control of my own mind, it loses its primary weapon.
DCourage — facing it directly, refusing to run, taking away the fear it feeds on.
EImprovisation — I utilize whatever’s at hand, however unconventional. Creativity over brute force.
NEXT QUESTION →
08
It’s the final scene. You’re the last one standing. How did you make it?
The final survivor always has a reason. What’s yours?
AI kept moving. I never stopped, never hid for too long, never let it corner me.
BI figured out the pattern before anyone else did — and I used it against the thing following it.
CI stayed awake, stayed lucid, and refused to give it the one thing it needed most.
DI stopped being afraid of it. And the moment I did, everything changed.
EI took it seriously from the start — and I never once made the mistake of underestimating it.
REVEAL MY VILLAIN →
Your Survival Odds Have Been Calculated
Your Best Chance Is Against…
Your instincts, your strengths, and your particular way of thinking under pressure point to one villain you actually have a fighting chance against. Everyone else — good luck.
Jason Voorhees
Jason is relentless, but he is also predictable — and that is the gap you would exploit.
- He moves in straight lines toward his target. He doesn’t strategise, doesn’t adapt, doesn’t outsmart. He simply pursues.
- Your ability to keep moving, utilize the environment, and resist the panic that freezes most victims gives you a genuine edge.
- The Crystal Lake survivors were always the ones who stopped running in circles and started thinking about terrain, water, and distance.
- You think like that. Which means Jason, for all his indestructibility, would face someone who simply refused to be where he expected.
Michael Myers
Michael watches before he moves. He is patient, methodical, and almost impossible to detect — until it’s too tardy for anyone who isn’t paying close enough attention.
- But you are paying attention. You notice the shape in the window, the car parked slightly wrong, the silence where there should be sound.
- Michael’s power lies in the invisibility of ordinary suburbia — the fact that nothing ever looks wrong until it already is.
- Your spatial awareness and instinct to map every room, every exit, and every shadow before you need them is precisely the quality Laurie Strode had.
- You are not a victim waiting to happen. You are someone who already suspects something is wrong — and acts on it.
Freddy Krueger
Freddy wins by getting inside your head — using your own fears, your own memories, your own subconscious as weapons against you. That strategy requires a target who can be destabilised.
- You are harder to destabilise than most. You’ve faced uncomfortable truths about yourself and you haven’t looked away.
- The survivors on Elm Street were always the ones who understood what was happening and chose to face it rather than flee from it.
- Freddy’s greatest weakness is that his power evaporates in the presence of someone who refuses to give him the fear he feeds on.
- Your psychological resilience — the ability to stay grounded when reality itself becomes unreliable — is exactly the quality that keeps you alive here.
Pennywise
Pennywise is archaic, shapeshifting, and feeds on terror — but it has one critical vulnerability: it cannot function against someone who genuinely stops being afraid of it.
- The Losers Club didn’t survive because they were braver than everyone else. They survived because they faced their fears together, and faced them honestly.
- You ask the questions others avoid. You look directly at what frightens you rather than turning away.
- That directness — the refusal to let fear fester in the gloomy — is Pennywise’s worst nightmare.
- It chose the wrong target when it chose you. You are exactly the kind of person whose fear tastes like nothing at all.
Chucky
Chucky’s greatest advantage is that nobody takes him seriously until it’s already too tardy. He exploits the gap between how something looks and what it actually is.
- You don’t have that gap. You take threats seriously regardless of how they present — and you never make the mistake of underestimating something because of its size or appearance.
- Chucky relies on surprise, on the delay between recognition and response. You close that delay faster than almost anyone.
- Your instinct to treat every unfamiliar thing with appropriate scepticism — rather than dismissing it because it seems absurd — is the exact quality that keeps you breathing.
- Against Chucky, not laughing is already winning. You are very good at not laughing.
↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ
6
‘The Boroughs’ (2026)
Alfred Molina sits next to Robert Benedetti at a fraudulent bus stop inside a care center in The BoroughsImage via Netflix
Aging is inevitable. Some fight against it, some accept it, but either way, it happens. The sci-fi thriller The Boroughs features both approaches and is a fascinating exploration of the subject. The Boroughs is a masterclass in tension from the very start. It simultaneously involves an thrilling creature feature premise and a human, relational drama about getting older, independence, grief, and mortality.
The story revolves around the residents of a retirement community who witness strange creatures and other unusual circumstances in their picturesque cul-de-sac. The Boroughs is brimming with talent and includes Hollywood icons such as Alfred Molina, Alfre Woodard, and Geena Davis. As with all meaningful science fiction premises, The Boroughs uses the setting of sci-fi to examine some of the most profound human conditions. It has a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and is perfect from the first episode to the last.
5
‘Dark Winds’ (2022–Present)
Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) and Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) on ‘Dark Winds’ Season 4Image via AMC
When your series has George R. R. Martin as an executive producer, there is a good chance it’s going to be something epic, and Dark Winds has been exactly that. The western-themed thriller is set in the 1970s and follows Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) and Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon), two police officers who protect and serve the local Navajo people. In Dark Winds, Joe and Jim must deal with their own personal struggles while trying to ensure the safety of those they are charged with protecting, including solving a murder case and tracking down a professional killer.
Dark Winds has ranked high with critics and fans alike and is enjoying a renaissance of streaming success as all four seasons are currently streaming on Netflix. Being available on the streaming giant has been a great one for the series, and it continues to be a favorite. New audiences are finally able to discover why this AMC series has stood out among the rest, and it shows no signs of slowing down.
4
‘Slow Horses’ (2022–Present)
‘Slow Horses’ image shows Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb sitting at a restaurant and talking on the phoneImage via Apple TV
Gary Oldman is a chameleon. His ability to morph into a character and completely disappear into a role is well known in the industry, and it made him a perfect cast for the Apple TV series Slow Horses. Oldman plays Jackson Lamb, a jaded MI5 agent who is rugged around the edges. Thrown together with a motley crew of other MI5 less-than-desirables, the team at Slough House does what they do best and takes an unorthodox approach to espionage.
The thrilling plotlines and biting wit of Slow Horses make it an absolute hit. Oldman is irreplaceable as the unpolished veteran who has a rugged exterior but ultimately cares about the people he works with. Like an onion slowly peeling back layers, devotees are rewarded for following his character’s journey as he is given more emotional depth and pathos as the series goes on. Slow Horses Season 6 premieres this September, and it will undoubtedly be as stellar as the rest of the show’s tenure.
3
‘Paradise’ (2025–Present)
James Marsden and Sterling K. Brown facing off in ParadiseImage via Hulu
It is challenging to describe Paradise without giving too much away. This gripping drama has so many reveals and twists and turns that it feels like an enigma wrapped in a riddle. The series features Sterling K. Brown and Julianne Nicholson in key roles, and they give phenomenal performances. Brown and Nicholson play consummate career professionals on two flip sides of a situation that are given opportunities for their vulnerability to sneak through.
Nothing in Paradise is as it seems, and audiences are waiting on the edge of their seats to see what happens in the upcoming third and final season. It is sporadic to find thriller TV shows where it is almost impossible to predict what happens next, but Paradise is refreshingly one of them. Fans of post-apocalyptic, political, and survivalist series should definitely check it out and get caught up to speed before the finale.
2
‘Squid Game’ (2021–2025)
Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) leads his allies into the final round of Mingle in ‘Squid Game’ Season 2Image via Netflix
Netflix is known for its resilient selection of award-winning South Korean TV shows and movies, and one of the best is Squid Game. In this high-stakes thriller, contestants who are under immense financial pressure agree to participate in a contest that involves children’s games. With a multi-million dollar prize and seemingly infantile obstacles, the allure of the games is irresistible. However, contestants soon find out that elimination means exactly that, and they pay for a loss with their lives.
Squid Game is one of Netflix’s most successful TV series ever. It became a worldwide phenomenon and has inspired countless other projects. Although there are some shady characters in the show, most of the contestants are truthful, ordinary people simply trying to make their lives a little better. This everyman setting tugs at the heartstrings of viewers and allows Squid Game to have a greater impact than most thriller shows. Every audience member can identify with the struggle of those who participate and imagine what they would do in a contestant’s place. Squid Game has won six Primetime Emmys and continues to be one of the best thriller TV shows of the past decade.
1
‘Severance (2022–Present)
In only two seasons, Severance has delivered more twists and turns and psychological mayhem than most TV series do in their entire run. Starring an impeccable cast that includes Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Zach Cherry, and Tramell Tillman, Severance is a workplace drama like no other. The core premise is that employees of the secretive Lumon Industries agree to have a procedure done that allows their minds to separate into two personas, one for work and one for personal life.
Severance is brilliantly designed to create an uneasy tension and unsettling feeling that lingers in the back of viewers’ minds. The cinematography and mise en scène are stylized and gorgeous, all the while staying inside an intentionally melancholy and monotonous theme. Most people have to deal with a work/life balance, and Severance tugs at that string like a violinist playing a concerto. Severance has won 10 Primetime Emmys over its two seasons thus far, and only greatness is expected in the future for this perfect TV thriller masterpiece.
Severance
Release Date
February 17, 2022
Network
Apple TV
Showrunner
Dan Erickson, Mark Friedman
