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Best Thriller TV Shows

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639 results

639 results

1. Homicide: Life on the Street

Jan 31, 1993 • Rated TV-14

This series was the most reality-based police drama that has ever aired on television. It was shot entirely with handheld cameras on location in the Fells Point Community of Baltimore, MD. One of the series' executive producers, Barry Levinson, is a Baltimore native. He has written and directed at least three films that take place in Baltimore: "Diner", "Tin Men" & "Avalon". Doing this show was a natural for him. The series was based on a book called "Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets," by David Simon, a writer who spent a year with the members of Baltimore's homicide unit. Some of the series' characters and cases were based on the book. This series was unlike most cop shows of that time, in that there were almost no car chases, gunfights and etc. This show was about closing cases and the act of the crime was usually never seen. Generally, the viewer first sees the case when the detective(s) arrive on the scene. Open cases are kept track of on a board, open cases under the primary detective's name are shown in red ink, when the case is closed the red is replaced by black ink. During the first season it aired, it didn't have great ratings and the chances for a second season looked bleak. When Steven Bochco's NYPD Blue premiered in the Fall of '93 and got great ratings, police dramas "were in" and the series was given the go-ahead for a second season (the two Emmy Awards probably didn't hurt either). The better ratings of the second season led to a full third and subsequent seasons. When the Lifetime cable channel picked the show up for syndication in 1997 it helped guarantee that there would be a fifth season. Then NBC made it possible for the series to have a sixth and seventh season. With the great cast, acting, writing, and directing the series has won awards including a few Emmy Awards, Writer's Guild Awards and George Foster Peabody Awards. Most of these awards were earned by Tom Fontana, one of the series' executive producers, whose other credits include St. Elsewhere. In the 1995-1996 television season Andre Braugher was finally nominated for Best Actor in a Drama. While he didn't win that year, two years later in the 1997-1998 television season he was again nominated, this time the Television Academy recognized what we already knew, that Andre Braugher was the best actor working in television drama. One of the highlights of the series, starting with the second season was the use of music. All varieties of music have been featured throughout the series, most often it was featured in a montage of the detectives conducting their investigation. First air date: January 31, 1993 Last air date: May 21, 1999 Original air time: Friday 10:00:00 pm (Eastern)

2. Samurai Jack

Aug 10, 2001 • Rated TV-MA

Long ago, in a distant land, I, Aku, the shape shfiting Master of Darkness, unleashed an unspeakable evil. But a foolish samurai warrior wielding a magic sword stepped forward to oppose me. Before the final blow was struck, I tore open a portal in time and flung him into the future, where my evil is law. Now, the fool seeks to return to the past and undo the future that is Aku! This cartoon from Dexter's Labratory creator Genndy Tartakovsky tells the story of a great warrior displaced to the distant future by the evil shape-shifting wizard Aku. The world has become a bleak place under the rule of Aku, segregated into fantastic tribes and ruled by Aku's evil robot warlords. Jack travels this foreign landscape in search of a time portal that can return him to his home time so he can "undo the future that is Aku!". Samurai Jack is currently shown around the world on the following networks: Cartoon Network in US, Australia, Hong Kong, Latin America (dubbed into Spanish) and Japan (dubbed into Japanese). YTV in Canada Toonami in UK A total of 52 episodes have been ordered by Cartoon Network. On DVD you can still get the opening Movie (first 3 episodes), and from 4th May 2004, the first 13 episodes will be released in a "Season One" box set. (All releases in Region 1(US/Canada) only) There was a live action movie rumoured to be "in the works" but news of this has dried up, and we don't know its current status.

3. The Wire

Jun 2, 2002 • Rated TV-14

In chronicling a multi-generational family business dealing illegal drugs and the efforts of the Baltimore police to curb their trade, this series draws parallels between these organizations and the men and women on either side of the battle.The words of Gary W. Potter, Professor of Criminal Justice and Police Studies at Eastern Kentucky University, in writing about the savings and loan scandals of the 1980s, can also be used to illuminate some of the central premises of the show:"There is precious little difference between those people who society designates as respectable and law abiding and those people society castigates as hoodlums and thugs. The world of corporate finance and corporate capital is as criminogenic and probably more criminogenic than any poverty-wracked slum neighborhood. The distinctions drawn between business, politics, and organized crime are at best artificial and in reality irrelevant. Rather than being dysfunctions, corporate crime, white-collar crime, organized crime, and political corruption are mainstays of American political-economic life."Tim Goodman, the television critic for The San Francisco Chronicle, summed the show up perfectly when he wrote: "This show is precisely the reason you pay for HBO."In New York's Newsday, Diane Werts says: "Most TV crime series aspire to John Grisham's level. 'The Wire' aspires to Dostoevsky's."Season ThemesSeason One centers around a family of drug dealers and the innerworkings of their empire. It also follows the detectives who are trying to catch the high members of the empire. Season Two steps away from the drug trade (while still mentioning characters from the previous season) to a case of dead prostitutes which turns into a look at the corruption surrounding the Port. Season Three investigates politics and finishes the main stories that were left open in season one. Season Four focuses on four middle school students and their journeys through the public school system and continues to address the politics of an inner-city and the issues of an election. Season Five is rumored to be about the media's role in Baltimore. Season Five will be the show's final season.Theme MusicIn the Season One opening credits, the Blind Boys of Alabama did Tom Waits's "Way Down in the Hole". The Season Two opening credits feature Waits's version of the song. According to creator David Simon, "It was our way of saying: This is the same show (song) but this year, the tale itself (singer, tonality) will be different." The Neville Brothers's version of the song opens Season Three. The theme which plays over the end credits was composed by the show's music supervisor, Blake Leyh. International AiringsAustralia -- Monday at 12:00 p.m. on Ch.9. Currently airing Season 3. New Zealand -- Wednesday at 11:40 p.m. on TV2, beginning December 15, 2004.

4. Boomtown

Sep 29, 2002 • Rated TV-MA

Boomtown depicts crime in Los Angeles from the very different perspectives of the four groups most intimately involved in the pursuit of justice -- the police, the citizens, the politicians, and the media -- and artfully illustrates how they interconnect.

5. The Shield

Mar 12, 2002 • Rated TV-MA

The Shield breaks the conventional formula of the cop genre. It plays out in a tough, morally ambiguous world in which the line between good and bad is crossed every day. The series focuses on the tension between a group of corrupt but effective cops and a captain torn between bringing them down and advancing his own political ambitions. The Shield stars Michael Chiklis (The Commish) as rogue cop "Det. Vic Mackey," leader of the elite Strike Team unit, who is effective at eliminating crime but who operates under his own set of rules. Benito Martinez (Outbreak & Her Costly Affair) plays "Captain David Aceveda," the young precinct head who doesn't like Mackey's tactics and wants to bust him off the force. And the Emmy-nominated CCH Pounder (ER & Boycott), plays "Det. Claudette Wyms," a veteran detective who understands Mackey and knows how to play both sides of the fence.

6. Murder One

Sep 19, 1995 • Rated TV-MA

One of several crime and law dramas created by Steven Bochco (Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue, L.A. Law), Murder One boasted a then-unique concept: it would tell a single story -- that of a major murder trial -- over the course of an entire season. In the first season, Daniel Benzali portrayed the lead defense attorney, Patricia Clarkson played his wife, and Jason Gedrick the accused man he represented. Audiences at the time seemed deterred by the serialization, with low ratings leading to major cast and format changes in season two.

7. The Americans

Jan 30, 2013 • Rated TV-MA

Elizabeth (Keri Russell) and Philip Jennings (Matthew Rhys) are KGB agents posing as married Americans just outside of Washington D.C. during the 1980s.

8. Sherlock

Oct 24, 2010 • Rated TV-14

This three-part series retells the tale of England's most celebrated detective but in a modern-day setting, with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman taking the leads as Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson respectively.

9. The Responder

May 24, 2022 • Rated TV-MA

Working as a Liverpool police officer has taken a toll on Chris Carson's (Martin Freeman) marriage as he gets a new partner, tries to help a young addict (Emily Fairn), and sees a therapist in the British drama series created by Tony Schumacher.

10. Happy Valley

Apr 29, 2014 • Rated TV-MA

As West Yorkshire police sergeant Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire) works on a kidnapping case, she spots Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton), the man she believes drove her daughter to commit suicide, in town.

11. Breaking Bad

Jan 20, 2008 • Rated TV-MA

Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle) stars in this drama focused on a mid-life crisis gone bad for a high school chemistry teacher who becomes a drug dealer after he discovers that he has lung cancer. Breaking Bad is produced by High Bridge Productions, Inc. and Gran Via Productions in association with Sony Pictures Television for AMC.

12. Justified

Mar 16, 2010 • Rated TV-MA

This show is about U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, a modern day 19th century-style lawman, who enforces his brand of justice to put a target on his back with criminals and puts him at odds with his bosses in the Marshal service. As a result, he gets reassigned to the U.S. District covering the town where he grew up.

13. Line of Duty

Aug 21, 2012 • Rated TV-14

DS Steve Arnott (Martin Compston) is transferred to the Anti-Corruption Unit 12 (AC-12) run by Superintendent Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar) and partners with D.I. Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure) to investigate possible corruption in the police force in this BBC police drama created by Jed Mercurio.

14. Top Boy

Oct 31, 2011 • Rated Not Rated

Dushane (Ashley Walters) and his friend Sully (Kane Robinson aka Kano) deal drugs from their East London housing estate in this crime drama series written and created by Ronan Bennett. [The first two season are called Top Boy: Summerhouse on Netflix]

15. The Last of Us

Jan 15, 2023 • Rated TV-MA

Set 20 years after the destruction of civilization, Joel (Pedro Pascal) is hired to smuggle 14-year-old Ellie (Bella Ramsey) out of a quarantine zone in this drama series based on the PlayStation video game of the same name.

16. Fargo

Apr 15, 2014 • Rated TV-MA

The series based on the Coen brothers’ Oscar-winning film begins with the arrival of Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton) to Minnesota. Lorne's actions brings major changes to the lives of insurance salesman Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman); Officer Molly Solverson (Alison Tolman), the daughter of former chief (Keith Carradine); and Duluth Deputy Gus Grimly (Colin Hanks). Other people in town include grocery chain owner Stavros Milos (Oliver Platt), widow Gina Hess (Kate Walsh), and Deputy Bill Oswalt (Bob Odenkirk).

17. Too Close

Dr. Emma Robertson (Emily Watson), a forensic psychiatrist must determine Connie Mortensen's (Denise Gough) sanity before trial in this adaptation of Clara Salaman's novel written under pseudonym Natalie Daniels. [Premiered originally in the UK on 12 Apr 2021 and in the US on AMC+ on 20 May 2021]

18. Lost

Sep 22, 2004 • Rated TV-14

After Oceanic Air Flight 815 tears apart in mid-air and crashes on a Pacific island on September 22nd 2004, its survivors are forced to find inner strength they never knew they had in order to survive. But they discover that the island holds many secrets, including a mysterious smoke monster, polar bears, housing with electricity and hot & cold running water, a group of island residents known as "The Others," and a mysterious man named Jacob. The survivors also find signs of those who came to the island before them, including a 19th century sailing ship called The Black Rock and the ruins of an ancient statue, as well as bunkers belonging to the DHARMA Initiative -- a group of scientific researchers who inhabited the island in the recent past. Lost has won a Golden Globe, 9 Saturn Awards and 8 Emmy awards.

19. Twin Peaks

Apr 8, 1990 • Rated TV-MA

"She's dead. Wrapped in plastic." Date: Friday, February 24, 1989: Homecoming Queen Laura Palmer is found dead, washed up on a riverbank, wrapped in plastic sheeting. FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper is called in to investigate the murder of this young woman in the small, Northwestern town of Twin Peaks. What he doesn't know is that in Twin Peaks, no one is innocent.Twin Peaks was created by TV veteran Mark Frost (Hill Street Blues) and edgy filmmaker David Lynch, Academy Award nominated director of The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet and Mulholland Dr. It aired on ABC from 1990 - 1991. The series, with a few exceptions, followed the interesting convention that one episode equaled one day in the town of Twin Peaks. This means that after 30 episodes, the series covers just slightly more than one month.After Twin Peaks was canceled by ABC, David Lynch went on to make the prequel film, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, the story of the last seven days of Laura Palmer.

20. Severance

Feb 18, 2022 • Rated TV-MA

Mark Scout (Adam Scott) is one of several employees at Lumon Corporation who undergo a procedure which separates their work and home memories so they can only recall the ones related to where they are in this sci-fi thriller from Ben Stiller and created by Dan Erickson.

21. Blue Lights

Mar 17, 2023 • Rated TV-MA

The British police drama focuses on three probationary Northern Ireland police officers (Sian Brooke, Katherine Devlin and Nathan Braniff) in Belfast. [Premiered originally in the UK on BBC one on 27 Mar 2023 and in the US on BritBox on 17 Jan 2024]

22. NYPD Blue

Sep 21, 1993 • Rated TV-14

"This police drama contains adult language and scenes with partial nudity. Viewer discretion is advised." The potential images those words created alone caused more controversy for this series, before it had even premiered. The "Bible Belt" was up in arms and no-one had even seen an episode. In most of those southern states the local ABC affiliates refused to carry the show, which was a shame because aside from a "little" bare flesh and a couple of harsh words, they missed out on a quality television show. Of course it wasn't long before they realized it really was no big deal. Late during the first season, Steven Bochco said during an acceptance speech at the 20th Annual People's Choice Awards: "In spite of those who seek to legislate what we can and cannot see on our own television sets in the privacy of our own homes. NYPD Blue has succeeded because the American people, properly so, prefer to judge for themselves." At those awards the show was voted "favorite new television dramatic series" and "favorite television dramatic series" the first year it was eligible. The show has been nominated for and won numerous awards. Check out this IMDb link for more information. Most notably the series has been nominated for an Emmy 84 times and has won 20 of those times and Dennis Franz has claim to four of those statues. Before this series, some of the stars had an affiliation with Steven Bochco from his previous highly acclaimed series Hill Street Blues. David Caruso had guest starred in two episodes and during the 3rd season, Dennis Franz guest starred as Det. Sal Benedetto in 5 episodes and was killed off in his last appearance. Franz officially joined the cast in that show's 6th season as Lt. Norman Buntz and stayed with the show until it ended. Then the Buntz character was brought back for a short-lived comedy series called Beverly Hills Buntz the following season. This series didn't last because it was erratically scheduled as a fill-in and then couldn't build an audience. James McDaniel also appeared in a Hill Street Blues episode and then also appeared in Steven Bochco's attempt at something new, a musical police drama called Cop Rock. When Caruso left early on in the series, another Bochco veteran was called upon; Jimmy Smits who played Victor Sifuentes on Bochco's L.A. Law was brought in to play new detective Bobby Simone. While other actors have left with big screen ambitions, two actors have left the series to move onto other Bochco created programs. In 1996 there was an attempt to launch a comedy that featured as one of the characters in the ensemble PAA John Irvin played by Bill Brochtrup. Public Morals only aired one episode and was pulled. I would hesitate to call it a spin-off, since only one (at that time) minor character from this series appeared on it, but I suppose an argument could be made. After all, Dennis Franz did take his Norman Buntz character from Hill Street Blues to Beverly Hills Buntz, a comedy series that lasted much longer than Public Morals did. Bill Brochtrup returned back to the 15th and made several guest appearances before becoming a full cast member in the 6th season. In 2001 Kim Delaney left this series (with a loophole that would allow her to come back) to star in Philly. That series wasn't too long lived and Det. Russell has subsequently returned for a guest spot or two. While this cast has undergone a rotation of lead actors, Dennis Franz was the glue that held this series together. Most of the show's run was at Tuesdays at 10pm ET on ABC. The show was simulcast in HDTV. With the 2000-2001 TV season, the show became ABC's first regularly scheduled entertainment series to be broadcast in high definition. First air date: September 21, 1993 Last air date: March 1, 2005 Original air time: Tuesday 10:00:00 pm (Eastern)

23. And Then There Were None (2016)

Dec 26, 2015 • Rated TV-14

Originally aired on the BBC in Dec 2015, the adaptation of Agatha Christie's novel of the same name, begins with eight people invited to a small island off the coast of Devon and at dinner hear a message that accuses them all of murder. One by one, the guests and the two servants of the house are killed.

24. Why Didn't They Ask Evans?

2022 • Rated TV-MA

Bobby Jones (Will Poulter) and his friend, Lady Frances "Frankie" Derwent (Lucy Boynton) find a dying man while playing golf in this three-part adaptation of Agatha Christie's book of the same name from Hugh Laurie (who also had a minor part and directed).

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