20 Best Action TV Shows to Stream Right Now
Find the best action TV shows to stream, from Reacher and Lioness to House of the Dragon, with 20 picks across crime, drama, comedy, and thriller.
If you want the best action TV shows to stream, this list makes it easy to find your next binge without sorting through endless menus. We’ve pulled together a mix of high-stakes crime, sharp comedy, sci-fi adventure, and full-throttle drama, so there’s something here whether you want danger, tension, or a little dark humor. Start with The Gentlemen, Reacher, and Lioness for fast-moving tension, then shift gears with House of the Dragon or Star Trek: Strange New Worlds when you want bigger worlds and bigger stakes. You’ll also find smart genre blends like Major Crimes and Tires, plus newer buzz titles such as The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin. The full page includes 20 picks, giving you plenty of options across action, comedy, crime, drama, and thriller.
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01
Lanterns
action & adventure · crime · drama · mystery & thriller · science-fiction
Two intergalactic cops, new recruit John Stewart and Lantern legend Hal Jordan, are drawn into a dark, Earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland.
Directed by James Hawes, Geeta Vasant Patel, Alik Sakharov, Stephen WilliamsCast Aaron Pierre, Kyle Chandler, Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Poorna JagannathanMaxMore details on IMDb → -
02
Coven Academy
action & adventure · comedy · drama · fantasy · horror · kids & family · mystery & thriller · romance
Teen witch apprentices band together to defend New Orleans against an approaching dark force.
Directed by Aprill Winney, Shannon Kohli, Alexis Ostrander, Amanda Row, Tim FederleCast Malina Pauli Weissman, Malachi Barton, Jordan Leftwich, Ora Duplass, Louis ThresherDisney PlusMore details on IMDb → -
03
Lioness
1 Emmy nomination
action · drama · thriller
Cruz Manuelos, a rough-around-the-edges but passionate young Marine, is recruited to join the CIA's Lioness Engagement Team to help bring down a terrorist organization from within. Joe, the station chief of the Lioness program, is tasked with training, managing and leading her female undercover operatives.
Directed by Michael Friedman, John Hillcoat, Stephen Kay, Anthony Byrne, Paul CameronCast Zoe Saldaña, Laysla De Oliveira, Dave Annable, Jill Wagner, LaMonica GarrettParamount PlusMore details on IMDb → -
04
Neagley
action & adventure · crime · drama · mystery & thriller
Neagley, drawing from her experience with Jack Reacher and the 110 Special Investigators, embarks on a perilous mission to expose a sinister threat, risking her life to unravel the mystery.
Directed by Phil Abraham, MJ Bassett, Gary Fleder, Sam HillCast Maria Sten, Greyston Holt, Adeline Rudolph, Jasper Jones, Matthew Del NegroAmazon Prime VideoFreeveeMore details on IMDb → -
05
The Gentlemen
Won 1 Emmy Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series (2024) · 3 nominations
action · comedy · crime
When aristocratic Eddie inherits the family estate, he discovers that it's home to an enormous weed empire — and its proprietors aren't going anywhere.
Directed by Eran Creevy, Guy Ritchie, David Caffrey, Nima Nourizadeh, Nick RowlandCast Theo James, Kaya Scodelario, Daniel Ings, Joely Richardson, Vinnie JonesNetflixMore details on IMDb →
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06
Reacher
action · crime · drama · thriller
Jack Reacher, a veteran military police investigator, has just recently entered civilian life. Reacher is a drifter, carrying no phone and the barest of essentials as he travels the country and explores the nation he once served.
Directed by Sam Hill, Omar Madha, Gary Fleder, Carol Banker, Julian HolmesCast Alan Ritchson, Maria Sten, Malcolm Goodwin, Willa Fitzgerald, Serinda SwanAmazon Prime VideoFreeveeMore details on IMDb → -
07
Red Queen
action & adventure · crime · drama · mystery & thriller
A gifted woman's intellect brings chance to lead covert European police force. But it backfires, costing her everything. Following murder at her home and kidnapped heiress, her ex-supervisor enlists a policeman's aid to reinstate her.
Directed by Koldo Serra, Julián de TaviraCast Victoria Luengo, Hovik Keuchkerian, Bruno Sevilla, Karmele Larrinaga, Alex BrendemühlAmazon Prime VideoMore details on IMDb → -
08
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
2 Emmy nominations
action · adventure · sci-fi
Follow Captain Christopher Pike, Science Officer Spock and Number One in the years before Captain Kirk boarded the U.S.S. Enterprise, as they explore new worlds around the galaxy.
Directed by Chris Fisher, Dan Liu, Jordan Canning, Sydney Freeland, Maja VrviloCast Melissa Navia, Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, Christina Chong, Rebecca RomijnParamount PlusMore details on IMDb → -
09
Line of Fire
action & adventure · crime · drama · mystery & thriller
A family of law enforcement agents bridges personal differences and crosses professional boundaries as they tackle cases for the FBI, US Marshals, Secret Service and Department of Justice. After a seemingly cut-and-dry case turns into a deadly conspiracy, they must use the expertise from a lifetime of protecting civilians and politicians to protect one another and bring the killer to justice … even if it means betraying their sworn code.
Directed by Rebecca ThomasCast Peter Krause, Hope Davis, Tommy O'Brien, Kat Cunning, Taylor BloomPeacock PremiumMore details on IMDb → -
10
RJ Decker
action · crime
Ex-con photographer RJ Decker becomes a PI in South Florida, solving strange cases with help from his journalist ex, her cop wife, and an enigmatic woman from his past who may help or destroy him.
Directed by Paul McGuigan, Christine Moore, Kenneth Biller, Holly Dale, Michael LehmannCast Scott Speedman, Jaina Lee Ortiz, Kevin Rankin, Adelaide Clemens, Bevin BruHuluMore details on IMDb → -
11
Battlestar Galactica
Won 3 Emmys 2x Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series · 19 nominations
action · adventure · drama · sci-fi
When an old enemy, the Cylons, resurface and obliterate the 12 colonies, the crew of the aged Galactica protect a small civilian fleet - the last of humanity - as they journey toward the fabled 13th colony, Earth.
Directed by Michael Rymer, Michael Nankin, Rod Hardy, Sergio Mimica-Gezzan, Robert M. YoungCast Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Jamie Bamber, James Callis, Tricia HelferParamount PlusMore details on IMDb → -
12
Fauda
action · crime · drama · thriller · war
A top Israeli agent comes out of retirement to hunt for a Palestinian militant he thought he'd killed, setting a chaotic chain of events into motion.
Directed by Rotem Shamir, Omri Givon, Assaf BernsteinCast Netta Garti, Lior Raz, Itzik Cohen, Yaakov Zada-Daniel, Doron Ben-DavidNetflixMore details on IMDb → -
13
The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin
action & adventure · drama · fantasy · science-fiction
Showcases a retelling of the Arthurian legend set in a Roman-occupied Britain where barbarian invaders threaten to lay claim to the island.
Directed by Jeremy Boreing, Ryan Whitaker, Jesse V. JohnsonCast Tom Sharp, Rose Reid, Alex Laurence-Phillips, Brett Cooper, Paul ClerkinAmazon Prime VideoMore details on IMDb → -
14
Marshals
action · crime · drama · western
With the Yellowstone Ranch behind him, Kayce Dutton joins an elite unit of U.S. Marshals, combining his skills as a cowboy and Navy SEAL to bring range justice to Montana, where he and his teammates must balance family, duty and the high psychological cost that comes with serving as the last line of defense in the region's war on violence.
Directed by Christopher Chulack, Gonzalo Amat, John Erick Dowdle, Guy Ferland, Greg YaitanesCast Luke Grimes, Ash Santos, Tatanka Means, Logan Marshall-Green, Arielle KebbelParamount PlusMore details on IMDb → -
15
Paradise
Won 1 Emmy 2x Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series · 11 nominations
action · drama · thriller
The tranquility in a serene, wealthy community inhabited by some of the world's most prominent individuals explodes when a shocking murder occurs and a high stakes investigation unfolds.
Directed by Glenn Ficarra, John Requa, Hanelle M. Culpepper, Gandja Monteiro, Liza JohnsonCast Sterling K. Brown, Sarah Shahi, Nicole Brydon Bloom, Julianne Nicholson, Aliyah MastinHuluMore details on IMDb → -
16
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Won 2 Emmys Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (2000) · 14 nominations
action · adventure · drama · fantasy · horror · romance
Into every generation a slayer is born: one girl in all the world, a chosen one. She alone will wield the strength and skill to fight the vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their number. She is the Slayer.
Directed by Joss Whedon, James A. Contner, David Solomon, David Grossman, Michael GershmanCast Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan, Anthony Head, James MarstersHuluMore details on IMDb → -
17
House of the Dragon
Won 2 Emmys Outstanding Drama Series (2023) · 15 nominations
action · adventure · drama · fantasy · romance
The Targaryen dynasty is at the absolute apex of its power, with more than 15 dragons under their yoke. Most empires crumble from such heights. In the case of the Targaryens, their slow fall begins when King Viserys breaks with a century of tradition by naming his daughter Rhaenyra heir to the Iron Throne. But when Viserys later fathers a son, the court is shocked when Rhaenyra retains her status as his heir, and seeds of division sow friction across the realm.
Directed by Clare Kilner, Geeta Vasant Patel, Miguel Sapochnik, Greg Yaitanes, Loni PeristereCast Matt Smith, Emma D'Arcy, Steve Toussaint, Sonoya Mizuno, Kurt EgyiawanMaxMore details on IMDb → -
18
Sleepy Hollow
1 Emmy nomination
action · adventure · crime · drama · fantasy · horror · mystery · thriller
Ichabod Crane is resurrected and pulled two and a half centuries through time to unravel a mystery that dates all the way back to the founding fathers.
Directed by Russell Lee Fine, Paul A. Edwards, Doug Aarniokoski, Ken Olin, Marc RoskinCast Tom Mison, Lyndie Greenwood, Nicole Beharie, Orlando Jones, Katia WinterAmazon Prime VideoHuluMore details on IMDb → -
19
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Won 1 Emmy Outstanding Drama Series (2026) · 9 nominations
action · adventure · drama · fantasy
A century before the events of Game of Thrones, two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros: a young, naive but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg. Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne and the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits await these improbable and incomparable friends.
Directed by Owen Harris, Sarah Adina Smith, Andrea HarkinCast Peter Claffey, Dexter Sol Ansell, Daniel Ings, Shaun Thomas, Danny WebbMaxMore details on IMDb → -
20
The Rookie
6 Emmy nominations
action · crime · drama
Starting over isn't easy, especially for small-town guy John Nolan who, after a life-altering incident, is pursuing his dream of being an LAPD officer. As the force's oldest rookie, he’s met with skepticism from some higher-ups who see him as just a walking midlife crisis.
Directed by Bill Roe, Tori Garrett, Michael Goi, Chi Yoon Chung, Lisa DemaineCast Nathan Fillion, Alyssa Diaz, Richard T. Jones, Melissa O'Neil, Eric WinterHuluMore details on IMDb →
Wrapping Up
With so many strong series available, this roundup saves you time and helps you zero in on the shows worth pressing play on first. Whether you’re here for crime-solving grit, military suspense, fantasy battles, or lighter genre twists, the picks here cover a wide range of moods and streaming tastes. Keep this page bookmarked so you can return whenever you need a fresh watchlist, because it’s updated regularly with new recommendations and current favorites. As more standout series arrive, the lineup will keep evolving to stay useful.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often is this list updated?
We refresh this list regularly as titles are added or removed from streaming catalogs, so rankings and availability stay current.
How are these action shows ranked?
We rank by a combination of audience rating and current popularity, so you're seeing the action titles people are actually watching right now, not just an old fixed list.