A great thrillergets our hearts racing, gets us hyped, and even sticks with us for a long time. A show like that can keep you guessing, analyzing, and revisiting it long after the credits roll, and even when the entire season or series is over. The psychological warfare, the conspiracies, the nail-biting action and sequences, you name it—these are the landmarks of a thriller built for rewatching.
The greatest thriller shows that are worth watching over and over are some of the best shows ever made, too; from action and crime thrillers to psychological and spy ones, these are the shows every fan of the genre vowed to keep watching again, and again, and again.
1
‘Prison Break’ (2005–2017)
Prison Break was one of the biggest shows on TV when it came out. It first aired in 2005 and lasted until 2009; it was then revived for a season in 2017, and there are talks of another revival, again. We don’t need another remake of a beloved series, especially when the original is right there, ready to be obsessively rewatched and analyzed all over again. For a while, this action thriller was among many people’s favorite shows, and it had the recipe for greatness—a likable protagonist, even more dislikable antagonists, a greatly convoluted plot and infallible execution.
Prison Break follows Michael Schofield (Wentworth Miller), a structural engineer who plans to break out his brother, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell). Lincoln was unjustly locked up and is innocent, so Michael develops an elaborate plan to break him out—by getting locked up with him. This is a high-concept suspense that took the impossible and made it not just possible, but stylish and exciting. Every episode is a brand-new twist that makes you wonder, “How are they going to pull this off now?”
2
‘Luther’ (2010–2019)
Luther is one of the darkest crime thrillers out there, and it’s all about Idris Elba‘s John Luther. British crime dramas are usually a cut above the rest because the crime genre is somehow ingrained in the British DNA. They have numerous crime novelists (potentially more than the US and Scandinavia), they have Agatha Christie, and a crime writers’ association that hands out awards every year. You get the gist—no one can do it as stylishly and meticulously as the Brits. Luther is the quintessential British crime thriller that’s just as violent and scary as it is morally gray and dramatic.
Luther follows Detective Chief Inspector John Luther (Elba), who works in London and is known for being unpredictable; his violent impulses and anger issues get in the way of his crime-solving abilities, and when he meets a criminal that fascinates him (Ruth Wilson), he becomes even more of a loose cannon. The show is just so good, and it’s addictive; every rewatch reminds us of just how close Luther is to crossing the line, which makes him more human than we can imagine. Elba is charismatic and captivating, and his presence alone is enough to keep us coming back to Luther.
3
‘Mr. Robot’ (2015–2019)
Mr. Robot is the show that perfectly captures modern paranoia. It’s equal parts psychological thriller and social commentary, it’s exciting, intense, and often blurs the lines between reality and fiction. It drags viewers into the protagonist’s mind so deeply that we’re not always sure if everything that happens is facts, which makes it a perfect thriller series to watch again and again until you yourself go either a bit crazy or get to the bottom of things. It rewards rewatches as much as it does first-time viewing; Mr. Robot is a show that captured the zeitgeist perfectly.
Mr. Robot follows hacker Elliott (Rami Malek), who suffers from social anxiety, depression, and dissociative identity disorder. He’s found by the revolutionary anarchist known only as Mr. Robot (Christian Slater), who recruits Elliott to his cause. After Elliot joins him, his life starts becoming more complicated and intertwined with the technological revolution. Mr. Robot is definitely a show that demands a second viewing, and it’s especially rewarding to watch again after you’ve learned all its secrets.
4
‘The Americans’ (2013–2018)
One of the best shows of all time, period, is The Americans. This slow-burning masterpiece of a thriller is just incredible to watch; there are a lot of secrets, hidden identities, and anticipation, and even though there’s not a lot of action, the show is very tense and rewarding for those who stick around until the very end. Loyalty and deception are its main themes, and they often meet in a gray area within the show. We get attached to the protagonists even though we know their true face is one of betrayal, and it makes the whole duplicitous life a bit less black-and-white and a lot more nuanced than imagined.
The Americans follows a typical American couple in the 1980s, Elizabeth (Keri Russell) and Philip Jennings (Matthew Rhys). They’ve been married for a long time, live in a typical suburban home, have children, and a seemingly regular marriage. But their lives are upturned when their real identities resurface. Underneath all the spy thriller stuff sits a story of a marriage on the rocks and a test of love and devotion. Rewatching The Americans feels comforting in a strange way, because the atmosphere of the show was created in such a beautiful, transporting way; everything from hair and make-up to the costumes and set design, even the music, evokes the peak of the Cold War era and transports us into a time when paranoia and espionage were a hot topic.
5
‘Ozark’ (2017–2022)
If you like Jason Bateman, Ozark is one of his best shows ever. However, Ozark is not the thing you would expect when you first hear Bateman’s name. Usually connected to raunchy comedies, silly romcoms, and shows like Arrested Development, Bateman steps away from his comedic persona to produce, star in, and sometimes direct the crime thriller Ozark. The performances here are spectacular; it was a breakthrough series for Julia Garner, who, in later seasons, carries the show completely.
Ozark follows the Byrde family, when the patriarch Marty Byrde (Bateman) becomes involved with criminals through his business partner. Marty offers to establish a larger scheme in the Ozarks in exchange for them to spare his and his family’s lives. It’s a typical small-town-bad-vibes thriller, but what separates Ozark from many others is its relentless bleakness. It’s just dark and gloomy, but it’s also quite unpredictable; just like in life, it all happens suddenly and without too much pomp, which is why Ozark remains impactful.
6
‘The Fall’ (2013–2016)
The Fallis another British crime thriller, and if you loveHannibal with Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy (which is brilliant, but I’m not sure how rewatchable it is, considering it borders on body horror), you will also love The Fall. It stars Jamie Dornan as an unnerving serial killer and Gillian Andersonas the detective whose purpose becomes to catch him. However, it isn’t that straightforward; there’s a certain strange and hypnotic bond between them that transcends the simplicity of justice and crime.
The Fall is set in Belfast, and it shows the arrival of detective Stella Gibson, whose task it is to find a serial killer that’s been ravaging the community. Stella is sharp-witted, intelligent, and an unstoppable force. On the other hand, we see a family man, Paul Spector (Dornan) who has a wife and a daughter, is a guidance counselor, and, as we soon realize, is stalking young women. This isn’t the situation in which you would empathize with the killer; Spector is heavily disturbing and not a person you’d freely feel empathy for. However, he is just a person, one who feels no constraints in enacting their hidden desires. The Fall is one of the most psychologically intense thrillers you’ll see, and it really turns eerie at times.
7
‘True Detective’ (2014–)
Of course, True Detectiveis one of the most rewatchable thrillers ever, partly due to its anthology concept. An anthology has every episode or every season encompassing a particular story, so that you never really watch the same thing over and over. True Detective has four seasons thus far and each season is a story for itself; across several episodes, a pair of detectives solve crimes while dealing with personal struggles. True Detective is the gold standard of atmospheric storytelling, and its philosophical and intense narratives tend to stick around with you long after it’s over.
Many people consider the first season of True Detective to be the best, although each has that relentless gloomy atmosphere that was first established in Season 1. It follows two detectives in rural Louisiana, as they try to solve a ritualistic murder of a young woman. Season 2 follows detectives in a small Californian town, trying to battle systemic corruption; in Season 3, an aging detective with Alzheimer’s reminisces about his most difficult case; and in Season 4, two Alaskan detectives try to solve the deaths of an entire research team. No matter which season you like the best, they’re all equally remarkable. Maybe try rewatching the seasons you disliked the most first—it could reawaken a spark or allow you to understand all of its moving parts a little better.
8
‘Breaking Bad’ (2008–2013)
Obviously, Breaking Bad is the reigning champion of slow-burn tension, and it’s one of the most methodical shows you’ll ever see. It escalates with such logic and precision throughout its five-season run, and you won’t be able to help but admire how beautiful it is in all its tension and gloom and doom. From stunning ensemble performances to tight writing that evokes many emotions, Breaking Bad is a real treat. Even when you know how it ends, it’s even more thrilling to rewatch because the rise and fall of Heisenberg hits harder.
Breaking Bad follows high school chemistry teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston), who seems to be fed up with his small-town suburban life. After getting a cancer diagnosis, he realizes he doesn’t have a lot to leave his family. After a chance encounter with an old student, Jesse (Aaron Paul), White decides to recruit Jesse and make crystal meth with him. Unaware that he made the purest product on the market, White goes from this sort of pushover teacher to a prideful crime lord. This sort of personality lies within even the unlikeliest of people, and all it takes is a little bit of power to get a taste of the good life. It’s a crime thriller of epic proportions and a Shakespearean tragedy like no other.
9
‘Mindhunter’ (2017–2019)
Mindhunter is easy to watch and rewatch because it has only two seasons, so that’s one reason. The second, it was based on real events and people, and it’s haunting, to say the least. Mindhunter is one of the darkest psychological thrillers out there that helps us not only understand the minds of serial killers, but the minds of those investigating them. It was based on the non-fiction book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit, and one of its co-writers, agent John Douglas, was the inspiration for the show’s protagonist, Holden Ford, played by Jonathan Groff.
Mindhunter follows FBI agents Holden Ford (Groff) and Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) as they begin the arduous process of profiling—they’re the first agents to sit down with notorious serial killers and dive into their mindsets to understand the psychological profile of a serial murderer. They talk to the likes of Ed Kemper, Charles Manson, and Son of Sam, and it’s all utterly fascinating. The first watch makes Mindhunter impressive because of these meetings, but upon rewatching, it’s much better to take notice of Ford and Tench and their personal lives and psyches, too. Mindhunter is one of the best shows to ever happen.
10
‘Severance’ (2022–)
If you’ve ever wanted to watch a show that completely understands what it’s like to have a corporate job, Severance encompasses those emotions perfectly. And, if corporate work gives you an existential crisis, well, Severance is just going to make those emotions heavier and harder. Jokes aside, Severance is a hard sci-fi thriller and a great way to introduce some satire and existential dread into the genre’s conventions; it’s masterfully made and performed, establishing a lore that feels like we’ve been deep in this rabbit hole for decades rather than just a couple of years (or in the show’s timeline, like, several months).
Severance is about employees of Lumon Industries, a biotechnological corporation that performs “severance” on its employees—this means installing a chip into their brains to divide them between work and personal life. The protagonist is Mark (Adam Scott), who works in a department with three other people, and we watch his efforts to understand what actually happens at his job, since he has no memory of it at all. Severance is visually gorgeous, meticulously planned out to the detail, and superbly acted; a true thriller powerhouse.
