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Genres

Drama Comedy Animation Action Crime Adventure Romance Reality-TV More genres →

Decades

2020s 2010s 2000s 1990s 1980s 1970s 1960s 1950s 1940s 1930s 1920s 1900s

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Genres

Drama Comedy Animation Action Crime Adventure Romance Reality-TV More genres →

Decades

2020s 2010s 2000s 1990s 1980s 1970s 1960s 1950s 1940s 1930s 1920s 1900s

Tags Search My ratings Sign in

Best Thriller TV Series

Top 500 most popular Thriller series, ranked by votes

Filter & sort

Genres

Genres as assigned by IMDb. Selecting several means a show must match all of them.

Action 343 Adult 4 Adventure 59 Animation 20 Biography 5 Comedy 151 Crime 1078 Documentary 21 Drama 2025 Family 23 Fantasy 75 Game-Show 3 History 49 Horror 252 Music 4 Musical 1 Mystery 616 News 1 Reality-TV 14 Romance 183 Sci-Fi 175 Short 14 Sport 5 Talk-Show 0 Thriller 4067 War 18 Western 2

Decades

By first-air year. Several selections widen the range; a specific year narrows within its decade.

2020s 2011 2010s 1237 2000s 344 1990s 198 1980s 138 1970s 77 1960s 43 1950s 16 1940s 1 1930s 0 1920s 0 1900s 0

Specific year

2026 152 2025 284 2024 309 2023 364 2022 331 2021 322 2020 249 2019 210 2018 182 2017 181 2016 139 2015 119 2014 100 2013 93 2012 84 2011 76 2010 53 2009 52 2008 49 2007 41 2006 38 2005 32 2004 30 2003 25 2002 28 2001 29 2000 20 1999 19 1998 21 1997 27 1996 25 1995 24 1994 15 1993 15 1992 17 1991 22 1990 13 1989 19 1988 20 1987 13 1986 11 1985 15 1984 10 1983 11 1982 17 1981 14 1980 8 1979 15 1978 9 1977 8 1976 4 1975 6 1974 13 1973 6 1972 5 1971 5 1970 6 1969 5 1968 1 1967 7 1966 10 1965 7 1964 3 1963 2 1962 6 1961 1 1960 1 1959 2 1958 3 1957 2 1956 3 1955 3 1954 1 1953 1 1951 1 1945 1

Tags

Rating patterns, computed from IMDb episode-rating trajectories. Deliberately strict: only shows with an unmistakable pattern carry one, so expect small numbers.

Rating patterns

Fumbled the Finale 6 Stuck the Landing 5 Grew the Beard 2 Rock Solid 5 Past Its Prime 1 Roller Coaster 0

Taste tags, judged by our AI taste model. They cover the 5,000 most-rated shows.

Tone & mood

Bleak 33 Gritty 84 Dark tone 196 Feel-good 0 Cozy 1 Wholesome 0 Melancholic 4 Tense 326 Unsettling 56 Whimsical 0 Campy 4 Cynical 33 Hopeful 0 Sentimental 0 Nostalgic 0 Bittersweet 1 Chaotic energy 3 Deadpan cool 8

Pacing & structure

Slow burn 39 Fast-paced 21 Episodic 9 Serialized 206 Procedural 17 Mystery box 57 Anthology 7 Cliffhanger-driven 42 Sprawling saga 5 Tight limited run 146 Puzzle plot 26 Vignette style 0

Humor style

Dry humor 5 Absurdist 3 Satirical 3 Cringe comedy 3 Slapstick 0 Witty banter 6 Dark comedy 16 Warm humor 0 Raunchy 0 Parody 0 Ironic & meta 1

Themes & subject matter

Criminal underworld 78 Detective mystery 61 True crime 6 Heists & cons 7 Legal 11 Medical 6 Political intrigue 61 Espionage 44 War & military 13 Family saga 20 Coming of age 2 Workplace 9 School & campus 12 Love story 11 Friendship 0 Found family 4 Survival 22 Post-apocalyptic 6 Dystopia 8 Supernatural 12 Space & sci-fi 5 Near-future tech 9 Time travel 3 High fantasy 0 Urban fantasy 0 Monster horror 6 Psychological horror 11 Addiction & vice 4 Mental health 9 Faith & religion 6 Sports 2 Music scene 0 Food & cooking 1 Nature & science 0 Real history 23 Royalty & aristocracy 1 Small town 20 Big city life 6 Rural & frontier 5 Suburban underbelly 18 Class divide 20 Immigrant experience 2 Queer stories 2 Female perspective 49 Social commentary 37 Philosophical 5 Existential dread 7 Revenge 27 Redemption 1 Secrets & lies 252

Characters & perspective

Antihero lead 57 Morally gray 141 Villain's POV 5 Ensemble cast 48 Central duo 11 Strong female lead 72 Child's perspective 2 Outsider lead 7 Genius lead 7 Working class 11 Elites & privilege 28 Unreliable narrator 16 Character study 45 Banter chemistry 3

Emotional payoff

Tearjerker 2 Adrenaline 29 Intellectual challenge 6 Comfort rewatch 1 Romantic yearning 6 Cathartic 1 Wonder & awe 1 Mounting dread 10 Warm glow 0 Gut punch 16

Craft & style

Dialogue-driven 13 Visually striking 21 Stylized direction 22 Naturalistic 14 Big-budget spectacle 2 Lo-fi charm 2 Atmospheric 73 Distinctive score 8 Experimental 5 Deep worldbuilding 2 Tight writing 5

Format & audience

Sitcom 0 Adult animation 0 Anime 4 Kids & family 0 Young adult 13 Soap & telenovela 11 Event miniseries 38 Reality competition 1 Lifestyle reality 0 Docuseries 1 Sketch & variety 0 Game & quiz show 0 Talk & panel 0 Period piece 45 Contemporary life 0 Long-runner 2 Built to binge 6

Viewing-culture clusters

British TV 67 Nordic noir 12 K-drama 12 Turkish drama 2 Indian TV 51

Intensity & content character

Graphic violence 30 Disturbing 25 Sexually explicit 5 Family-safe 0 Emotionally heavy 55 Easy watching 7

Sort

500 series (top 500 shown)

The Resort

15K 8 2022–2022

Mystery box · Tight limited run

La Mante

15K 6 2017–2017

Detective mystery

The Cleaning Lady

15K 46 2022–2025

Immigrant experience

How to Get to Heaven from Belfast

15K 8 2026–present

Dark comedy · British TV

The Gone Game

15K 9 2020–2022

Indian TV · Secrets & lies

Childhood's End

14K 3 2015–2015

Space & sci-fi · Philosophical

Mistresses

14K 53 2013–2016

Love story · Secrets & lies

Freud

14K 8 2020–2020

Unsettling · Atmospheric

The Great Indian Murder

14K 9 2022–present

Detective mystery · Indian TV

Black Sun

14K 29 2017–2026

Serialized · Tense · Dark tone

Abhay

14K 24 2019–present

Disturbing · Indian TV

Miss Scarlet

14K 42 2020–2027

Detective mystery · Period piece

Smoke

14K 11 2018–2019

Morally gray · Serialized · Tense

A Gentleman in Moscow

14K 8 2024–2024

Period piece · Bittersweet

Cat

14K 8 2022–present

Tight limited run · Tense

Treadstone

14K 10 2019–2019

Espionage · Serialized · Tense

Prime Target

14K 8 2025–2025

Genius lead · Tense · Espionage

Worst Roommate Ever

13K 10 2022–2024

True crime · Docuseries

Teacup

13K 8 2024–2024

Unsettling · Tense

Mission: Impossible

13K 171 1966–1973

Heists & cons · Espionage

The K2

13K 16 2016–2016

K-drama · Political intrigue

Echo 3

13K 10 2022–2023

War & military · Serialized

The Testaments

13K 11 2026–present

Dystopia · Female perspective

The Plot Against America

13K 6 2020–2020

Real history · Social commentary

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Action Adult Adventure Animation Biography Comedy Crime Documentary Drama Family Fantasy Game-Show History Horror Music Musical Mystery News Reality-TV Romance Sci-Fi Short Sport Talk-Show Thriller War Western

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