September 28, 2025 | by ltcinsuranceshopper
Thriller shows are among the most addictive productions on the small screen, presenting gripping plotlines that keep you hooked from episode to episode, sometimes for years at a time. But while there are a lot of great thriller shows that have spanned multiple seasons, some of the greatest of all time have managed to thrill audiences and raise the bar for the industry with just a single season. It just goes to show that when it comes to truly suspenseful storytelling, it’s quality that matters — not quantity.
Bridging the high production values of movies with the intimate storytelling of television, the miniseries format has been used to great effect over the years in multiple genres, so it’s not surprising that so many of the best thrillers of recent times have been miniseries. And the best of these shows are true masterpieces — far better than what their longer-running counterparts could ever dream of. Read on to discover our handpicked selection of some of the greatest thriller miniseries that outshine most (if not all) longer shows.
A semi-autobiographical drama-thriller miniseries, Baby Reindeer was created by Scottish comedian Richard Gadd, who also stars in the show. Adapted from Gadd’s one-man show and inspired by his real-life experience of being stalked, the series follows the story of a struggling comedian dealing with an obsessive stalker and navigating the traumatic memories of his past. Besides Gadd, the show also features Jessica Gunning, Nava Mau, and Tom Goodman-Hill in lead roles.
Baby Reindeer was highly popular when it first premiered on Netflix in April 2024, quickly hitting the streamer’s Top 10 lists and earning near-universal acclaim from critics. An engaging thriller with painful emotional drama and a dark sense of comedy, it’s a complex, unpredictable, and brilliantly conceived series that artfully blends fiction and reality. The show earned several accolades, including two Golden Globes out of three nominations and six Emmy Awards out of 11 nominations.
Created by Marti Noxon, Sharp Objects is a psychological thriller miniseries adapted from Gillian Flynn‘s eponymous 2006 debut novel. The series stars Amy Adams as Camille Preaker, a crime reporter recently discharged from a psychiatric hospital, who returns to her hometown to investigate the murders of two young girls. Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée in his final directorial work before his death, the show also features Patricia Clarkson, Chris Messina, Eliza Scanlen, Matt Craven, Henry Czerny, Elizabeth Perkins, and more as part of its ensemble cast.
Sharp Objects had its world premiere at the 2018 ATX Television Festival in Austin, Texas, ahead of its release on HBO. The series was highly acclaimed at the time, earning praise for its visuals, atmosphere, direction, and performances. It’s a moody, slow-burning thriller that’s essentially a psychological character study, further elevated by Adams and Clarkson’s stellar performances. The show earned multiple accolades, including eight Emmy nominations and three Golden Globe nominations.
Created and written by Brad Ingelsby and directed by Craig Zobel, Mare of Easttown is a seven-episode crime drama miniseries starring Kate Winslet as the titular small-town detective. The show follows Mare as she investigates the mysterious murder of a teenage mother while struggling with a custody battle, the trauma of losing a son to suicide, and a missing persons case that she’s been unable to solve for over a year. Besides Winslet, the series also stars Julianne Nicholson, Jean Smart, Angourie Rice, Evan Peters, Sosie Bacon, David Denman, Guy Pearce, and more in supporting roles.
Mare of Easttown premiered on HBO in April 2021 to universal acclaim and record ratings, praised by critics and viewers alike for its narrative, performances, and representation of women. Widely hailed as one of the best shows of the year, the series received several accolades, including four Primetime Emmy Awards out of 16 nominations. A slow-burn mystery with a character-driven story and brilliant performances, it’s a highly engaging watch that’s easily one of the most compelling thriller shows ever made.
Developed by Dennis Lehane, Black Bird is a true crime drama miniseries based on James Keene and Hillel Levin’s 2010 autobiographical novel In with the Devil: A Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption. The series stars Taron Egerton as Keene, a once-promising football star who falls into a life of crime and is arrested in a sting operation. Facing 10 years in prison without parole, he accepts a risky deal: a fully commuted sentence in exchange for getting suspected killer Larry Hall (Paul Walter Hauser) to confess to his crimes.
Black Bird premiered on Apple TV+ in July 2022, earning critical acclaim. It’s a gritty and absorbing crime drama thriller that’s further elevated by mindblowing performances from Egerton, Hauser, and supporting stars Sepideh Moafi, Greg Kinnear, and the late Ray Liotta (who passed away shortly before the show’s release). A concise yet hard-hitting chronicle of real-life events, Black Bird is easily one of the most compelling true-crime shows released in recent years.
Created by Jeremy Slater, Moon Knight is a superhero miniseries set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and starring Oscar Isaac as the titular Marvel superhero. Essentially a psychological thriller blended with superhero action, the show follows Isaac as Marc Spector and Steven Grant, two alternate personalities of a man with dissociative identity disorder, as they are pulled into a conspiracy involving ancient Egyptian gods. Besides Isaac, the series also stars May Calamawy, Karim El Hakim, F. Murray Abraham, Ethan Hawke, and more in key roles.
Moon Knight premiered on Disney+ in March 2022 and ran for six highly acclaimed episodes, earning praise for its performances, its handling of the protagonist’s psychological condition, and the darker tone that sets it apart from the majority of MCU content. Anchored by its ensemble cast’s amazing performances, it’s a hard-hitting and thoroughly engrossing thriller that’s further boosted by its spectacular effects, sharp humor, deeply emotional themes, and excellent soundtrack. It’s by far one of the best Marvel shows released so far, a superhero show that trades in the usual tropes of the genre for some truly mindbending psychological storytelling.
A British crime drama miniseries, Adolescence was created by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham, with the latter also starring in the show in a lead role. The series revolves around the arrest of 13-year-old Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper), who is accused of murdering a girl at his school. The show also features Ashley Walters, Erin Doherty, Faye Marsay, Christine Tremarco, and more as part of its ensemble cast.
All four episodes of Adolescence premiered on Netflix in March 2025, garnering record-high viewership and universal acclaim. Praised by critics and audiences for its outstanding direction, writing, cinematography, and performances, the show is an unsettling exploration of how a young boy is negatively influenced by severe bullying and exposure to misogynistic ideology online. Easily one of the most talked-about shows of 2025, the series has sparked conversations from living rooms to the British Parliament about the negative impact of social media on developing minds. It earned several accolades, including nine Emmy Awards out of 14 nominations.
Inspired by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ eponymous 1986 DC Comics series, Watchmen is a sci-fi thriller miniseries developed by Damon Lindelof that effectively works as a sequel to the legendary comics. The show picks up 34 years after the events of the comics, following a series of events in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where a white supremacist group inspired by the vigilante Rorschach targets police officers and their families, forcing cops to take up masked identities. When the chief of police is murdered, Detective Angela Abar (Regina King) investigates the case, uncovering a massive decades-spanning conspiracy connected to the mysterious Doctor Manhattan. Don Johnson, Tim Blake Nelson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Andrew Howard, Louis Gossett Jr., Jeremy Irons, Jean Smart, Hong Chau, and more appear in supporting roles.
Easily one of the greatest superhero shows of all time, Watchmen earned universal acclaim during its original run on HBO in 2019. It’s a stunning reimaging of the comics that expands the source material while staying true to its ethos, creating a story that’s thought-provoking, conceptually brilliant, and rooted in real history. With spectacular performances, writing, direction, and visuals, the show is a bona fide masterpiece that went on to earn 11 Emmy Awards, the most of any show that year.
Created, written, and directed by Steven Zaillian, Ripley is a period thriller miniseries inspired by Patricia Highsmith’s Tom Ripley novels. Starring Andrew Scott as Tom Ripley, the show follows the events that take place when Tom, a New York City con man, is hired to go to Italy and convince the prodigal son of a shipping magnate to return to America. Tom, however, chooses a different, more dangerous path as he sees an opportunity to live the life he’s always wanted. The series features a star-studded ensemble cast that also includes Dakota Fanning, Johnny Flynn, Eliot Sumner, and more.
Released on Netflix in April 2024, Ripley earned acclaim from critics and audiences and debuted at number six on Netflix’s list of top 10 English TV shows. An undeniable masterpiece of writing, directing, and cinematography, it’s a gorgeous black-and-white production that draws inspiration from classic Italian cinema and Renaissance art, further enhanced by its layered, masterfully executed performances. The show went on to receive several accolades, including four Emmy Awards out of thirteen nominations, three Golden Globe nominations, and a Peabody Award.
2024 – 2023
Steven Zaillian
Steven Zaillian
Steven Zaillian
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