Crime thrillers are among the most gripping shows on television, keeping you invested all the way through, from start to finish. The best ones involve intense action, menacing characters, and an intriguing story. Plenty of them of late have delivered in spades in all three departments.
Whether you're in the mood to watch a detective hunting a creepy serial killer living a double life, an underestimated potential mob boss reaching his violent potential, or an FBI agent kick butt and take names, the crime thrillers that are perfect from start to finish are ones you'll be clamoring to watch again and again.
'The Fall' (2013–2016)
Told through three seasons, The Fall is about serial killer Paul Spector (Jamie Dornan) who lives a double life as a married husband, father, and ironically, a grief counselor. But when Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson (Gillian Anderson) begins investigating a rash of female victim killings, she quickly begins to close in on him.
A wonderful cat and mouse game, The Fall, which is set in Ireland, will keep you captivated from start to finish with its tremendous cast and compelling story. It's psychologically intriguing and narratively beautifully told. Dornan is quietly and terrifyingly convincing in the role of a troubled man with a compulsion, desperate to hide who he really is.
'The Night Agent' (2023–Present)
The Night Agent is technically still going, the action thriller ranking among the most watched shows on Netflix. But it's one of those shows that keeps getting better and better. While we don't know for sure how The Night Agent will end, we do know that the fourth season will be its last.
The series centers around FBI agent Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso), who eventually becomes a Night Action agent, working in the shadows to take down bad guys. It's like a popcorn action movie told through 10 episodes at a time for each story. It's a highly bingeable show with a satisfying ending each time, and an intense journey all through the middle. It's one of those rare thriller shows that's even better the second time around.
'Hannibal' (2013–2015)
A unique telling of the characters from Thomas Harris' novels, Hannibal follows the relationship between psychiatrist and secret serial killer and cannibal Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Madds Mikkelsen) and FBI special investigator Will Graham (Hugh Dancy), who become fast friends. On the surface, Hannibal tries to help Will through the trauma of the things he sees on the job and his own dark thoughts. But secretly, Hannibal is enjoying being able to manipulate Will, and get access to cases in the process, some of which he's involved in more ways than one.
The psychological horror thriller has an old school feel to it even though it's barely over a decade ago. Airing for just three seasons, fans were upset when Hannibal was cancelled, and the show remains one of the best serial killer series to ever grace the small screen. It has a fitting end, taking viewers through this complicated, psychological game between a doctor with a dark secret who feels no empathy and an agent who oddly believes Hannibal is the only one who truly understands him.
'The Penguin' (2024)
Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti are magic together in The Penguin based on the DC Comics villain. Farrell is Oswald "Oz" Cobb, otherwise known as The Penguin, in this crime drama, a disfigured man working a low-level job for a crime boss, but with big aspirations to move up. Milioti, meanwhile, is Sofia Gigante, the mob boss' daughter and a presumed psychopathic serial killer who crosses paths with Oz once she's released from Arkham State Hospital. As the two lobby for power, things get increasingly dangerous.
The Penguin, one of the most perfect HBO shows of the last decade, is an intense ride through all eight episodes that will leave you wanting more. The dark and ominous setting, the incredible make-up and costumes, and the clever backstory for a character we already know so well in the present, come together to make a worthy entry into the DC Comics universe. But what makes The Penguin especially fantastic is that it doesn't feel like a superhero show; it's more like The Sopranos, which means even non-comic fans will enjoy it.
'You' (2018–2025)
Though it's in ways a lesser copycat of Dexter, You does have one leg up on that fantastic crime drama: it ended in a satisfying way. The psychological thriller stars Penn Badgley as charming bookstore employee Joe Goldberg, who worms his way into the lives of different women through the course of the series. But he tends to become obsessed, stalking them until it escalates to something worse, all in the name of protecting his love and their relationship. That's in his twisted mind, at least.
Joe becomes increasingly unhinged as the series progresses, and it culminates in an exciting final season that puts a bow on the story, giving some characters a happy ending, others not. What's so wonderful about the way You ends is that we truly get to see the extent of Joe's narcissism, his complete inability to see beyond his own flaws. It's exactly the way the show should have ended.
'The Night Manager' (2016–Present)
The Night Manager was so good, it returned a decade later with a new season. The British spy thriller is about Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston), the ...
