20 Best Thriller TV Shows to Stream Right Now
Discover 20 gripping thriller TV shows to stream, from Reacher and Lioness to Dark Matter and The X-Files, with crime, action, drama, and sci-fi picks.
If you want a tense new binge, this roundup brings together 20 sharp picks that span crime, drama, action, sci-fi, and full-on suspense. You’ll find recent standouts like Reacher, Lioness, Dark Matter, Furious, Lucky, Sterling Point, and The Edge of Sleep, alongside a classic like The X-Files for anyone who likes their mysteries strange and addictive. The mix leans hard into fast pacing, dangerous secrets, and characters who never quite know who to trust. Whether you prefer grounded investigations or bigger genre twists, these series make it easy to line up your next watch without wasting time scrolling.
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01
War
drama · mystery & thriller
Two top London law firms clash over a shocking divorce case that rocks the legal world, with elite attorneys from Cathcarts and Taylor and Byrne battling for supremacy.
Directed by China Moo-Young, Ben Taylor, Lisa Mulcahy, Jennifer SheridanCast Dominic West, Archie Renaux, Phoebe Fox, James McArdle, Sienna MillerMaxMore details on IMDb → -
02
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 → -
03
American Horror Story
Won 17 Emmys 101 nominations
drama · horror · sci-fi · thriller
An anthology horror drama series centering on different characters and locations, including a house with a murderous past, an asylum, a witch coven, a freak show, a hotel, a farmhouse in Roanoke, a cult, the apocalypse and a summer camp.
Directed by Bradley Buecker, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, Jennifer Lynch, John J. Gray, Michael UppendahlCast Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Denis O'Hare, Emma Roberts, Jessica LangeAmazon Prime VideoHuluMore details on IMDb → -
04
Slow Horses
Won 3 Emmys 2x Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series · 23 nominations
drama · thriller
Follow a dysfunctional team of MI5 agents—and their obnoxious boss, the notorious Jackson Lamb—as they navigate the espionage world's smoke and mirrors to defend England from sinister forces.
Directed by Adam Randall, Saul Metzstein, James Hawes, Jeremy Lovering, Robert McKillopCast Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott Thomas, Saskia Reeves, Christopher ChungAmazon Prime VideoApple TV PlusMore details on IMDb → -
05
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Won 6 Emmys Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (2006) · 25 nominations
crime · drama · mystery · thriller
In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.
Directed by Jean de Segonzac, David Platt, Peter Leto, Juan José Campanella, Norberto BarbaCast Mariska Hargitay, Ice-T, Dann Florek, Richard Belzer, Kelli GiddishHuluPeacock PremiumMore details on IMDb →
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06
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 → -
07
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 → -
08
Law & Order
Won 6 Emmys Outstanding Drama Series (1997) · 52 nominations
crime · drama · mystery · thriller
In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to convict the perpetrator by proving the person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Working together, these expert teams navigate all sides of the complex criminal justice system to make New York a safer place.
Directed by Constantine Makris, Edwin Sherin, Jace Alexander, David Platt, Richard DobbsCast Sam Waterston, S. Epatha Merkerson, Jerry Orbach, Steven Hill, Jesse L. MartinNetflixHuluPeacock PremiumMore details on IMDb → -
09
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 → -
10
Dark Matter
1 Emmy nomination
drama · sci-fi · thriller
Jason Dessen is abducted into an alternate version of his life. To get back to his true family, he embarks on a harrowing journey to save them from the most terrifying foe imaginable: himself.
Directed by Alik Sakharov, Jakob Verbruggen, Roxann Dawson, Logan George, Celine HeldCast Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Connelly, Alice Braga, Jimmi Simpson, Dayo OkeniyiAmazon Prime VideoApple TV PlusMore details on IMDb → -
11
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 → -
12
Furious
crime · drama · thriller
FBI agent Alice Black is on the hunt for a mysterious and calculating female serial killer. Both walk their own paths toward justice, and as their lives start to intertwine, the line between right and wrong begins to blur.
Directed by Destiny Ekaragha, Karena Evans, Brian KirkCast Emmy Rossum, Lola Petticrew, Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Scoot McNairy, Jake LacyHuluMore details on IMDb → -
13
The Americans
Won 4 Emmys Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (2018) · 18 nominations
crime · drama · mystery · thriller
Set during the Cold War period in the 1980s, The Americans is the story of Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, two Soviet KGB officers posing as an American married couple in the suburbs of Washington D.C. and their neighbor, Stan Beeman, an FBI Counterintelligence agent.
Directed by Chris Long, Daniel Sackheim, Thomas Schlamme, Daniel Attias, Stefan SchwartzCast Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, Keidrich Sellati, Holly Taylor, Noah EmmerichHuluMore details on IMDb → -
14
Last Seen
crime · drama · mystery & thriller
When emergency dispatcher Ian Ridley receives a frantic call from a teenager he believes could be his long-missing daughter, he stops at nothing to find her.
Directed by Christian SchwochowCast Patrick Brammall, Maxine Peake, Carolyn Bock, Brendan Cowell, Daniel HenshallApple TV PlusMore details on IMDb → -
15
The Rainmaker
crime · drama · mystery & thriller
Fresh out of law school, Rudy Baylor goes head to head with courtroom lion Leo Drummond as well as his law school girlfriend, Sarah. Rudy, along with his boss, Bruiser, and her disheveled paralegal, Deck, uncovers two connected conspiracies surrounding the mysterious death of their client's son.
Directed by Russell Lee Fine, Randy Zisk, Michael SeitzmanCast Milo Callaghan, Lana Parrilla, Madison Iseman, P.J. Byrne, Wade BriggsAmazon Prime VideoPeacock PremiumMore details on IMDb → -
16
The Diplomat
Won 1 Emmy Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (2026) · 10 nominations
drama · thriller
Amid an international crisis, a US diplomat contends with her high-profile job as ambassador to the UK and her strained marriage to a political star.
Directed by Alex Graves, Liza Johnson, Tucker Gates, Andrew Bernstein, Simon Cellan JonesCast Keri Russell, Rufus Sewell, David Gyasi, Ali Ahn, Rory KinnearNetflixMore details on IMDb → -
17
Twin Peaks
Won 2 Emmys 2x Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series · 18 nominations
crime · drama · mystery · thriller
The body of Laura Palmer is washed up on a beach near the small Washington state town of Twin Peaks. FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper is called in to investigate her strange demise only to uncover a web of mystery that ultimately leads him deep into the heart of the surrounding woodland and his very own soul.
Directed by David Lynch, Lesli Linka Glatter, Caleb Deschanel, Duwayne Dunham, Tim HunterCast Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean, Mädchen Amick, Dana Ashbrook, Richard BeymerParamount PlusMore details on IMDb → -
18
The X-Files
Won 16 Emmys Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (1996) · 62 nominations
adventure · crime · drama · mystery · sci-fi · thriller
The exploits of FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully who investigate X-Files: marginalized, unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena. Mulder believes in the existence of aliens and the paranormal while Scully, a skeptic, is assigned to make scientific analyses of Mulder's discoveries that debunk Mulder's work and thus return him to mainstream cases.
Directed by Kim Manners, Rob Bowman, David Nutter, Chris Carter, R.W. GoodwinCast Gillian Anderson, David Duchovny, Mitch Pileggi, William B. Davis, Robert PatrickHuluMore details on IMDb → -
19
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 → -
20
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 →
Wrapping Up
From undercover missions and tough-minded detectives to eerie sci-fi twists, this list is built for viewers who want tension that actually pays off. The 20 shows here cover a wide range of moods, so you can choose something gritty, cerebral, or high-adrenaline depending on the night. Save this page if you like keeping a running queue, because it’s updated regularly with newer releases and fresh additions. When you’re ready for another strong recommendation, come back and see what’s been added next.
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 thriller shows ranked?
We rank by a combination of audience rating and current popularity, so you're seeing the thriller titles people are actually watching right now, not just an old fixed list.