A great thriller is something that everyone enjoys now and then. IMDb has rated these thriller shows across the world to be the most popular and for good reasons!
A great thriller series can take over your whole day. One episode ends. You tell yourself you will stop. Then the next episode pulls you right back in. That rush keeps people talking about their favorite shows for years. Fans argue about which one is the best. It feels like those debates never end.
IMDb tries to make things clear by ranking the top thriller shows of all time. These rankings keep changing. New seasons drop, and people discover older gems again. Viewers share their opinions and rate what they watch. Those votes shape the list. Thriller shows stay exciting because they always find new ways to surprise us. So, let’s move ahead and see the greatest thriller TV series according to IMDb!
- Severance (2022–)
IMDb Rating: 8.7/10
Severance is one of those shows that gets inside your head. It is a sci-fi thriller with a wild idea. Your work self and your home self are split. Your memories are cut in two. Adam Scott plays Mark. He works at a place called Lumon Industries. He tries to live a normal life. But something dark is going on in that office. You feel the tension grow as each episode goes deeper into the truth. The look of the show is stunning. The actors give real and emotional performances. The story does not repeat itself. It keeps twisting. It becomes more strange and interesting every time you think you understand it. The show makes you think about modern jobs and busy lives. It shows a scary future that feels close to us. Severance is bold. It is chilling. It is a must-watch for anyone who loves good thrillers.
- Black Mirror (2011–)
IMDb Rating: 8.7/10
Black Mirror feels like a warning that we still try to ignore. Charlie Brooker created something bold. He knows how to take the tech we use every day and push it into a scary future. Phones. Social media. Tracking. He turns all of it into dark stories that hit close to home. You watch an episode. Then you sit there thinking. Could this happen to us? It feels possible. That is what makes the show so powerful.
The series has many famous names. Daniel Kaluuya and Jon Hamm. Bryce Dallas Howard and Hayley Atwell. Each one brings life to these strange and intense worlds. The stories never feel the same. Some episodes are soft and hopeful. San Junipero gives you a different kind of emotion. Then you get something like Hated in the Nation. That episode sticks with you. It chills you from the inside. Across five seasons, the show kept surprising fans. Then season six arrived and changed things. Some viewers loved that. Some did not. It added new ideas and kept the show fresh. Black Mirror keeps asking hard questions. It keeps us hooked.
- Stranger Things (2016–2025)
IMDb Rating: 8.7/10
Stranger Things is still one of the biggest Netflix shows in the world. It has that mix of mystery, adventure, and heart that pulled so many of us in. The story takes place in 1980s Indiana. A group of friends find out that their small town is hiding dangerous secrets linked to another world. The cast has become loved across the globe, with actors like Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown, and Natalia Dyer delivering some unforgettable moments. The Duffer Brothers created a sci-fi series that leans more into thriller vibes than full horror. It focuses on the characters and their relationships while the danger around them keeps growing. With the story heading toward its final chapter, this is the best time to catch up and relive what made the show such a massive hit.
- Twin Peaks (1990–1991)
IMDb Rating: 8.8/10
Twin Peaks is one show that always comes up when people talk about the best thriller series ever made. Created by Mark Frost and David Lynch, the story takes place in a strange little town filled with secrets. FBI Agent Dale Cooper teams up with Sheriff Harry S. Truman to solve the shocking murder of high school student Laura Palmer. The deeper they dig, the stranger everything gets. What made Twin Peaks stand out was its bold mix of mystery, quirky characters, and dark humor. It became a cult favorite and even returned in 2017 with a long-awaited continuation. Lynch’s surreal style and cinematic edge helped shape the entire thriller genre. You can still feel its influence in so many modern shows today, proving just how powerful and ahead of its time Twin Peaks truly was.
- Narcos (2015–2017)
IMDb Rating: 8.8/10
Narcos did a lot for crime thriller fans. It also gave Pedro Pascal a real moment to lead a show and prove how strong he is on screen. He worked with an amazing cast, too, including Wagner Moura, Boyd Holbrook, and Paulina Gaitan. Across three intense seasons, the series followed the rise and fall of Pablo Escobar and other powerful drug lords in Colombia. Later episodes took the story into the world of the Cali cartel and the long fight to bring them down. The show became a huge hit for Netflix and later inspired the spin-off series Narcos Mexico, which wrapped with its third season in 2021. Since these stories are based on real events, that makes everything feel more gripping.
- Death Note (2006–2007)
IMDb Rating: 8.9/10
Death Note is one of those anime series that pulls you in right from the start. It is based on the iconic manga by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata and centers on Light Yagami. He is a brilliant high school student who feels fed up with the world around him. Everything changes when he finds a strange notebook that fell from the hands of a shinigami named Ryuk. Light learns that all he has to do is write someone’s name in the notebook, and they die. That power turns his life into a dangerous game of cat and mouse as he tries to create his own version of justice.
The world-building is gripping, and the tension grows every episode. It is a great pick for anyone curious about anime because it’s fast-paced and never drags. Even with all the adaptations out there, the 2006 anime series remains the most loved and most true to the original story.
- Fargo (2014–2024)
IMDb Rating: 8.9/10
When Fargo was first announced as a TV series, a lot of people doubted it. Fans of the original Coen Brothers movie were worried the show would hurt its legacy. But the first season arrived and proved everyone wrong. It delivered bold storytelling, strange and unforgettable characters, and a thriller vibe that kept viewers hooked. Across five seasons, Fargo brought in amazing stars like Martin Freeman, Patrick Wilson, Ewan McGregor, and Chris Rock. The fifth season continued the show’s streak of mixing dark comedy with crime, featuring Juno Temple, Jon Hamm, and Joe Keery in a wild kidnapping story gone very wrong. Each season stands on its own, but they all capture the style and attitude that made the movie a classic. Fargo is still one of the smartest and most entertaining thriller series out there.
- True Detective (2014–)
IMDb Rating: 8.9/10
True Detective changed the way people look at TV. When the first season arrived, it brought Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson together for a dark and intense story that pulled in a huge audience. The show follows different investigators each season as they try to make sense of brutal crimes, and it leans into mystery, heavy emotions, and characters who feel completely real. The first season especially stood out because of its twists and the powerful performances that still get talked about today.
Not every season hits the same level, but each one has something worth watching. The second and third seasons may not have reached the original’s highs, but they still offer strong drama and interesting stories. The latest chapter, Night Country, stars Jodie Foster and brings the series back to that chilling and gripping energy fans loved at the start. So while True Detective can be a mixed bag, its first and newest seasons feel essential for anyone who loves crime thrillers done right.
- Şahsiyet (2018–)
IMDb Rating: 9.0/10
Şahsiyet is one of those hidden gems that more people need to discover. It is a Turkish crime thriller miniseries that many viewers call the best show the country has ever made. The story follows a man diagnosed with Alzheimer’s who decides to take justice into his own hands while he still remembers who he is. That setup alone pulls you in, but the show goes even deeper as it explores revenge, morality, and the unfair roles society places on people. Haluk Bilginer gives a standout performance that stays with you long after the final episode. The writing is sharp, the pacing keeps you hooked, and every twist hits at the right moment. If you want something gripping and a bit different from the usual crime shows, Şahsiyet is the perfect short series to binge next.
- The Twilight Zone (1959–1964)
IMDb Rating: 9.0/10
The Twilight Zone is one of those shows that completely changed what sci-fi on television could be. Created by Rod Serling, who also wrote many of its most unforgettable episodes, the series set the standard for anthology storytelling. Sure, not every episode is a hit, but the majority are so clever and engaging that the show still feels timeless. Anyone who loves sci-fi or thrillers owes it to themselves to watch at least a few. For decades, IMDb users have called The Twilight Zone smart, eerie, and full of imagination. Even the episodes that feel a little dated still deliver twists that stick with you. Many fans say that a “weak” Twilight Zone episode is still better than most modern sci-fi TV. It continues to inspire new creators and remains one of the most unique series ever made.
- Sherlock (2010–2017)
IMDb Rating: 9.1/10
Sherlock took one of the most legendary detectives in fiction and made him feel completely fresh for a new generation. Inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic stories, the show follows Sherlock Holmes. It is played with razor-sharp intensity by Benedict Cumberbatch, and his loyal friend Doctor John Watson is played by Martin Freeman. At first, the focus is on each case they take on, from strange murders to clever criminal schemes that only Sherlock’s mind can untangle. But as the show continues, their personal lives move into the spotlight. We see their friendships tested, their families come into the picture, and their biggest enemies step forward with dangerous plans. All of that adds an emotional punch that fans still talk about.
Sherlock stands out because it mixes mystery, humor, and character depth in a way that feels smart and fun. The writing is solid. The dialogue is quick and memorable. The chemistry between the leads is one of the biggest reasons people kept coming back. And of course, the Baker Street setting is iconic on its own. Over the years, the show became a huge part of global pop culture. Sherlock and Watson’s bond, their adventures, mystery solving, and their battles with evil will always be a big part of TV history.
- Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story (2020)
IMDb Rating: 9.2/10
Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story is one of the most gripping Indian web series ever made. It tells the true story of Harshad Mehta, a bold stockbroker who changed the Indian financial world forever before his empire collapsed in the 1992 market scam. The show became a massive hit and is one of the highest-rated crime dramas on IMDb, earning praise far beyond the usual fan base for business-related stories. With just ten episodes, it is an easy binge that never loses momentum. Pratik Gandhi’s performance as Mehta is powerful, confident, and unforgettable. The directing and writing are sharp and packed with detail, giving viewers both the excitement of a thriller and the depth of a real historical drama. The series does not force a moral stance, either. It lets you decide how to view Mehta’s ambition and downfall. It deserves far more global attention.
- Chernobyl (2019)
IMDb Rating: 9.3/10
Chernobyl is one of those rare shows that hits hard from the opening scene and never lets up. The five-episode HBO miniseries tells the story of the 1986 nuclear disaster in Soviet Ukraine, an accident that became one of the worst human-caused tragedies in history. What stands out most is how detailed and honest the show is. It doesn’t shy away from the horrifying consequences of the explosion or the reckless decisions that made everything worse. Some scenes make you angry and heartbroken at the same time because you see how denial and bad leadership put countless lives in danger.
Even with such a short run, Chernobyl left a massive impact on viewers around the world. The performances are unforgettable, especially from Jared Harris and Stellan Skarsgård, who each earned Emmys for their roles, and Jessie Buckley, who brings so much humanity to the chaos. The show blends thriller-style pacing with real history, making every moment feel urgent and terrifying. Chernobyl is more than a retelling of a disaster. It is a powerful reminder of real people who suffered and the importance of acknowledging what went wrong so it never happens again.
- The Wire (2002–2008)
IMDb Rating: 9.3/10
The Wire has one of the greatest casts ever seen on TV. Dominic West, Lance Reddick, Wendell Pierce, Idris Elba, and more. Every actor gives everything. The show ran from 2002 to 2008. It changed how crime stories feel on screen. The story takes us into the drug world of Baltimore. We see both sides. Cops try to control the streets. Dealers try to survive and win. The show points at greed and power in big institutions. It shows how leaders fail people. It also shows how regular lives get hurt in the middle of this fight. The writing feels real and heavy. The choices feel painful and true. It keeps you hooked in every scene. If you love crime stories that feel close to life, The Wire is a must. It is one of the best thrillers to binge.
- Breaking Bad (2008–2013)
IMDb Rating: 9.5/10
Breaking Bad stands at the top for a reason. The acting hits deep. Bryan Cranston becomes Walter White in a way that feels scary and real. Aaron Paul gives so much heart as Jessie Pinkman. Their scenes stick with you long after the episode ends. The show starts with a simple idea. A man who wants to care for his family. Then the world pulls him into crime. Walt changes into Heisenberg. He wants power. He wants money. He loses pieces of himself in every step.
The bond between Walt and Jessie feels painful and true. They fight. They break. They still need each other. That mix makes the show more powerful. It is not only about crime. It is about pride. It is about control. It is about how far someone can fall once they start down a dark path. Vince Gilligan builds a world that feels alive. Every small detail matters. Every decision leads to the next moment. Better Call Saul shows the same care in writing and makes this whole universe stronger. Breaking Bad grabs you from the first episode. It keeps the tension high until the end.
If you are someone who enjoys thrillers, this list is going to be very precious to you. So, how many of these shows have you binge-watched??
