10 Addictive Thriller Shows That Are Impossible To Stop Watching

Image via Apple TV Published Aug 15, 2026, 6:02 AM EDT Liam Gaughan is a film and TV writer at Collider. He has been writing film reviews and news coverage for ten years. Between relentlessly adding new titles to his watchlist and attending as many screenings as he can, Liam is always watching new movies and television shows. In addition to reviewing, writing, and commentating on both new and old releases, Liam has interviewed talent such as Mark Wahlberg, Jesse Plemons, Sam Mendes, Billy Eichner, Dylan O'Brien, Luke Wilson, and B.J. Novak. Liam aims to get his spec scripts produced and currently writes short films and stage plays. He lives in Allentown, PA. Sign in to your Collider account There’s no sign that a thriller show is working more significantly than not being able to look away, as binge-watching has completely transformed the way that the medium is perceived. There are plenty of great shows out there that are worth watching as they are released on a weekly basis, but would never inspire enough enthusiasm to be finished in a single viewing. Streaming has offered an opportunity for the best of the best to prove their merits by generating addictive patterns among those who consume them; watching a show that has no weak parts can be an all-consuming experience. A great thriller is rare, given how hard it is to sustain the same degree of tension over an extended period of time, and the shows that do so deserve praise for their ability to remain as consistent as they are riveting. 10 'Twin Peaks' (1990–2017) Image via ABC Twin Peaks is the foundational text of modern television that completely rewrote the medium and opened up its possibilities. David Lynch was already an established arthouse filmmaker with a keen sense of style, but Twin Peaks saw him tearing down the clichés that had become common within procedurals; rather than allowing the detective to move on from one case to another, Lynch explored how dread and despair could envelop an entire community in the aftermath of a tragedy that exposed its deepest, darkest secrets. Twin Peaks presented an all-time great television mystery that kept the entire world guessing as to who the real culprit was, and Lynch’s return to the much-anticipated Season 3 in 2017 offered a completely bizarre, surrealist block of 18 episodes that provided one of the greatest finales in history. There will never be anything like it. 9 'The Shield' (2002–2008) Image via FX The Shield was a crime show that was ahead of its time because it offered a dose of reality regarding law enforcement, given that procedurals and network television had tended to lionize the efforts of the police department. Although The Shield exposed the degree to which corruption had become an issue within the Los Angeles Police Department, it also presented a truly complex anti-hero in Vic Mackey, an all-time great television character played by Michael Chiklis. Vic was a unique character who was violent, dangerous, and unpredictable, yet also generated sympathy because of his acute loyalty to his fellow strike team members and desire to be a good father. The Shield went in disturbing directions and charted unforeseen territory for a drama series, and its experimental, grounded style of filmmaking has only made it look even better with time. 8 'The Leftovers' (2014–2018) Image via HBO The Leftovers is unlike any other supernatural thriller because it was an adaptation that went beyond the source material. The first season of Damon Lindelof’s ambitious HBO science fiction drama was fairly accurate to the novel that it was based on, but the series charted new territory in its following two seasons, which opened it up to more experimentation and existential questions. The Leftovers asked huge questions about life, faith, destiny, and true love, but it was so grounded in characters and inventively told that it never feels pretentious. The Leftovers has one of the most famously satisfying endings of all-time, and it’s one that only could have been achieved if the series had been willing to take the risks that it did. It’s often a grueling watch because of how dark the material can get, but it is nonetheless a rewarding one. 7 'The Curse' (2023–2024) Image via Showtime The Curse saw the meeting of two geniuses with completely different creative minds in Benny Safdie and Nathan Fielder, who joined forces to create one of the most riveting and thought-provoking shows ever made. Safdie’s aptitude for highly intense, paranoid thrillers about self-destructive characters was perfectly melded with Fielder’s awkward yet provocative blend of social satire, and The Curse is so layered with nuance that it takes several viewings to soak up all the details. The Curse is a show that can be interpreted in different ways because of its themes of gentrification, media sensationalism, bigotry, classism, and depression, but that subtext only serves the feelings of dread that make the show so deeply unsettling. It’s also worth noting that Emma Stone gives one of the best performances of her career, and manages to shed her inherent charisma to play a detestable anti-hero. 6 'Boardwalk Empire' (2010–2014) Image via HBO Boardwalk Empire is a highly underrated HBO gangster drama that feels like a cinematic crime classic, which is probably because it was executive produced by Martin Scorsese, who also directed the pilot. No one understands the world of the mafia better than Scorsese, and Boardwalk Empire offered a sprawling history of America’s prohibition era that manipulated aspects of real history into a riveting epic about the country’s fading idealism. Boardwalk Empire was an expensive series where the money was on the screen, as expensive lengths were taken in order for it to be as historically accurate as possible. Steve Buscemi is a lifelong character actor who was finally given the chance to play a lead with the corrupt treasurer Nucky Thompson, but Boardwalk Empire was filled with great performances, including Stephen Graham with one of the best depictions ever of Al Capone. Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you'd actually make it out of alive. 💊The Matrix 🔥Mad Max 🌧️Blade Runner 🏜️Dune 🚀Star Wars TEST YOUR SURVIVAL → 01 You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one. APull on every thread until I understand the system — then figure out how to break it. BStop asking questions and start stockpiling — food, fuel, weapons. Questions don't keep you alive. CKeep my head down, observe carefully, and trust no one until I know who's pulling the strings. DStudy the patterns. Every system has a rhythm — learn it, and you learn how to survive it. EFind the people fighting back and join them. You can't fix a broken galaxy alone. NEXT QUESTION → 02 In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires. AKnowledge. If you understand the system, you don't need resources — you can generate them. BFuel. Everything else — movement, power, escape — runs on it. CTrust. In a world of fakes and informants, a truly reliable ally is rarer than any commodity. DWater. And after water, information — the two things empires are truly built on. EShips and credits. The galaxy is big — you survive it by being able to move through it freely. NEXT QUESTION → 03 What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you're honest about what you're actually afraid of. AThat reality itself is a lie — that everything I experience has been constructed to keep me compliant. BA raid. No warning, no mercy — just the roar of engines and then nothing left. CBeing identified. Once someone with power decides you're a problem, you're already out of time. DBeing outmanoeuvred — losing a political game I didn't even know I was playing. EThe Empire tightening its grip until there's nowhere left to run. NEXT QUESTION → 04 How do you deal with authority you don't trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything. ASubvert it from the inside — learn its rules well enough to weaponise them against it. BIgnore it and stay out of its reach. The further from any power structure, the better. CAppear to comply while doing exactly what I need to do. Visibility is the enemy. DManoeuvre within it carefully. You can't beat a system you refuse to understand. EResist openly when I have to. Some things are worth the risk of being seen. NEXT QUESTION → 05 Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn't just tactical — it's physical, psychological, and very much about where you are. AUnderground bunkers and server rooms — cramped, artificial, but with access to everything that matters. BOpen wasteland — brutal sun, no shelter, constant movement. At least the threat is honest. CA dense, rain-soaked city where you can disappear into the crowd and nobody asks questions. DMerciless desert — extreme heat, no water, and something enormous living beneath the sand. EThe fringe — backwater planets and busy spaceports where the Empire's attention rarely reaches. NEXT QUESTION → 06 Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are. AA tight crew of believers who've seen behind the curtain and have nothing left to lose. BOne or two people I'd trust with my life. Any more than that and someone talks. CNobody, ideally. Alliances are liabilities. I work alone unless I have no choice. DA community bound by shared hardship and mutual survival — people who need each other to last. EA ragtag team with wildly different skills and total commitment when it counts. NEXT QUESTION → 07 Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they're actually made of. AI won't harm the innocent — even the ones who'd report me without hesitation. BI do what I have to to protect the people I've chosen. Everything else is negotiable. CThe line shifts depending on who's asking and what's at stake. DI draw a long-term line — nothing that compromises my people's future, even if it'd help now. ESome lines, once crossed, can't be uncrossed. I know which ones they are. NEXT QUESTION → 08 What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another. AWaking others up — dismantling the illusion so no one else has to live inside it. BFinding somewhere — or someone — worth protecting. A reason to keep moving. CAnswers. Understanding what I am, what any of this means, before time runs out. DLegacy — shaping the future in a way that outlasts me by generations. EFreedom — for myself, for others, for every world still living under someone else's boot. REVEAL MY WORLD → Your Fate Has Been Calculated You'd Survive In…Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for. The MatrixYou took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You're a systems thinker who can't help but notice the seams in things. You're drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it. You'd find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines' worst nightmare. You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it. The Matrix built an airtight prison. You'd be the one probing the walls for the door. Mad MaxThe wasteland doesn't reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That's you. You don't need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon. You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you're good at all three. You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider. In the wasteland, that distinction is everything. Blade RunnerYou'd survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely. You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer. In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional. You're not a hero. But you're not lost, either. In Blade Runner's world, that distinction is everything. DuneArrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards. Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they're survival tools. You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory. Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You'd learn its logic and earn its respect. In time, you wouldn't just survive Arrakis — you'd begin to reshape it. Star WarsThe galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn't have it any other way. You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion. You'd gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire's grip can be broken. You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn't something you're capable of. In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ 5 'Fargo' (2014–2024) Image via FX Fargo was an incredibly risky prospect because the 1996 film on which it is based is considered to be both an all-time classic and the embodiment of why Joel and Ethan Coen are such fascinating, unparalleled filmmakers. Instead of trekking into the same territory that the Coen brothers already had, creator Noah Hawley created an anthology series that adopted a similar tonal approach to the Oscar-winning film, yet switched up its ensemble by cycling through different casts of characters with each season. Fargo is the perfect binge-watch because of how it builds on top of itself, adding new details and meaning as it connects the stories together. While every season of the show is worth watching as a standalone achievement in storytelling, Season 2 is one of the runs in modern television thanks to the wonderful dynamic between Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunst. 4 'The Pitt' (2025–Present) Image via Warrick Page / ©HBO MAX/ Courtesy Everett Collection The Pitt is unambiguously the biggest drama on television right now, and it’s the type of show that leaves viewers consistently riveted because of its unique narrative approach. The Pitt is set in a Pittsburgh trauma center and is told in real time, meaning that audiences get to experience the increasing severity of the working environment as the 15-hour shift gets more grueling. The Pitt has earned a tremendous amount of praise from the medical community because of the accuracy with which it depicts real working conditions, and for the respect it shows to public service workers who have faced increasingly hostile scenarios in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s unsurprising that The Pitt has swept all of the major television awards so far, as it retained a consistent level of quality across its first two seasons and is expected to return in a timely manner. 3 'Severance' (2022–Present) Image via Apple TV Severance is a downright brilliant work of science fiction storytelling that shows that the “mystery box” set-up can still work, given that there is actual substance to the intrigue and characters that are worth following. Although Severance has a colorful visual design and a good deal of idiosyncratic humor behind it, the show also offers a searing commentary on work-life balance that offers a speculative version of the future that doesn’t feel all that far off from reality. Severance is an example of what true ambition looks like, as the series required meticulous attention to detail in order to pull off its singular prose. While the speculation that comes with the territory of a science fiction series with such rich worldbuilding is part of the appeal, Severance is such a joy to watch that having to be glued in is by no means a significant ask. 2 'Justified' (2010–2015) Image via FX Justified is a neo-Western for the modern age because it loosely adapted an Elmore Leonard short story to become a sprawling, multi-season thriller show that created one of television’s best modern heroes in Raylan Givens, a U.S. Marshall portrayed by Timothy Olyphant in one of his greatest performances. Olyphant’s presence is only matched by Walton Goggins in the role of the smooth-talking gangster Boyd Crowder, who transforms from a ruthless villain into a reluctant anti-hero as the series continues. Justified has some of the sharpest dialogue and most concise writing out of any modern show, as it managed to offer a serialized story that succeeded on an episodic basis, and featured a revolving door of terrific television villains. Those who loved the series can also check out the sequel Justified: City Primeval, which saw Boyd Holbrook joining the fray as a new villain. 1 'Angel' (1999–2004) Image via 20th Century Fox Angel is one of the greatest spinoff shows of all-time because it went deeper and darker into the character Angel (David Boreanaz), a vampire introduced on Buffy the Vampire Slayer who was cursed with a soul. Set after the events of the Season 3 finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel picks up with its titular protagonist after he moves to Los Angeles to start his own detective agency that investigates supernatural occurrences related to ancient sources of evil. Angel is a monster-of-the-week horror show, a compelling mystery drama, a paranoid thriller, an anti-hero epic, and an existential study of the never-ending battle between good and evil all at once. While the show was sadly cancelled too early, Angel delivered a Season 5 so excellent that it served as the perfect conclusion to the entire “Buffyverse” saga that started in 1997. Angel Release Date 1999 - 2004-00-00 Network The WB Cast Alexis Denisof Wesley Wyndam-Pryce