Netflix Officially Finds Its Next Psychological Thriller To Compete With Mindhunter & True Detective

Published Sep 7, 2026, 5:01 PM EDT Cathal Gunning has been writing about movies, television, culture, and politics online and in print since 2017. He worked as a Senior Editor in Adbusters Media Foundation from 2018-2019 and wrote for WhatCulture in early 2020. He has been a Senior Features Writer for ScreenRant since 2020. Sign in to your ScreenRant account While classics of the genre like Mindhunter and True Detective are tough to compete with, Netflix’s next psychological thriller has the chance to be just as great as these iconic efforts. Some genres feel particularly well suited to the small screen, while others fit cinema screens better than television and streaming. For example, although Shudder’s disturbing anthology Slasher arguably subverted this trend, the mixed reception of shows like Scream Queens and MTV’s Scream: The Series proves the slasher format typically works better with a shorter runtime. In much the same way, the success of shows like His & Hers and Sharp Objects prove that procedural psychological thrillers are uniquely well suited to the TV miniseries treatment. Netflix’s recent original movie The Whisper Man might have boasted top-tier A-list cast members like Adam Scott and Robert De Niro and a superb director in The Rule of Jenny Pen’s James Ashcroft, but its disastrous critical reception couldn’t compare to the praise heaped on hits like Dexter, Hannibal, and Netflix’s earlier hit psychological thriller You. Similarly, the success of both Netflix’s Mindhunter and HBO’s True Detective are further evidence of how well the procedural psychological thriller fits into the miniseries format. This is all great news for Netflix’s upcoming show based on author SA Cosby’s novel All the Sinners Bleed, the first adaptation of the prolific writer’s trademark Southern noir. To date, Cosby has published five novels, with his breakout hit Razorblade Tears making him one of the biggest names in crime writing back in 2021. All the Sinners Bleed Can Be Netflix’s Next Massive Psychological Thriller Image via MovieStillsDB All the Sinners Bleed arrived in 2023, and was hailed as another superb, dark crime thriller from the writer. Set in a small town in southern Virginia, the novel sees a Black sheriff hunt down a serial killer who is targeting victims in the community. This plot synopsis alone has enough similarities to earlier hit psychological thriller shows like Sharp Objects and True Detective to get viewers invested, but it is the upcoming show’s top-shelf talent in front of and behind the camera that truly makes the series stand out. While Cosby’s All the Sinners Bleed provides the show with acclaimed bestselling novel source material that can rival Sharp Objects, the show also boasts an incredible cast including Sope Dirisu, Giancarlo Esposito, and Nicole Beharie. The adaptation is created by Joe Robert Cole, co-writer of both Black Panther movies and the underrated 2020 crime drama All Day and a Night, as well as the producer and writer of 2016’s acclaimed The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story. All the Sinners Bleed Has The Best Parts of Mindhunter and True Detective With the sweaty southern setting of the latter and the serial killer hunt plot of the former, All the Sinners Bleed has the potential to feel like a thrilling, dark blend of Mindhunter and True Detective. While Mindhunter’s two-season run remains Netflix’s best psychological thriller series ever, the show’s abrupt cancellation left viewers wishing for a replacement that took the work of criminal profiling as seriously as that intense series. Meanwhile, True Detective season 1’s story of troubled cops hunting down the mysterious assailants behind a string of ritualistic killings was a revelation that remains a major influence on the entire detective drama genre over a decade later. As such, it goes without saying that viewers would love to see a new True Detective, and Netflix’s upcoming thriller has all the right ingredients. Between the original novel’s disturbing, uncompromising, and thoroughly unpredictable plot and the impressive cast and creatives behind the adaptation, this thriller could be an all-time great for the streaming service. In any case, All the Sinners Bleed is guaranteed to feel like True Detective and Mindhunter when the adaptation arrives. Release Date January 12, 2014 Network HBO Max Showrunner Nic Pizzolatto Directors Cary Fukunaga Writers Nic Pizzolatto Creator(s) Issa López, Nic Pizzolatto