Last updated March 2024
Looking for sensationally spectacular Best suspenseful Tv Shows? Check out our handpicked collection of 30 marvelous, universally adored Best suspenseful Tv Shows available for instant streaming. Backed by near perfect scores from revered IMDB critics and glowing praise from our community of savvy users, these world-class titles simply can't be matched. Help fellow viewers uncover hidden gems by voting for your favorites. We appreciate your stellar recommendations!
Band of Brothers (2001)
Plot Summary:
Drawn from interviews with survivors of Easy Company, as well as their journals and letters, Band of Brothers chronicles the experiences of these men from paratrooper training in Georgia through the end of the war. As an elite rifle company parachuting into Normandy early on D-Day morning, participants in the Battle of the Bulge, and witness to the horrors of war, the men of Easy knew extraordinary bravery and extraordinary fear - and became the stuff of legend. Based on Stephen E. Ambrose's acclaimed book of the same name
Duration: 594 min
IMDB Rating: 9.4/10
IMDB Votes: 508000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: UK, USA
Plot tags: world war two, military, combat, war, soldier, battles, courage, american soldier, behind enemy lines, paratrooper, nazi germany, infantry, sniper, war violence, warrior, military life, shooting, patriotism, friendship, squad, army, battlefield, leader, u.s. army, human spirit
The Wire (2002)
Plot Summary:
Told from the points of view of both the Baltimore homicide and narcotics detectives and their targets, the series captures a universe in which the national war on drugs has become a permanent, self-sustaining bureaucracy, and distinctions between good and evil are routinely obliterated
Duration: 59 min
IMDB Rating: 9.3/10
IMDB Votes: 367000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: organized crime, corruption, police detective, police, urban ghetto life, life is a bitch, working undercover, fighting crime, drug dealing, surveillance, shooting, police investigation, gang, urban decay, drug lord, murder, cop, black, wiretap, team, politics, criminal, journalism, legal, dirty cop
Sherlock (2010)
Plot Summary:
A modern update finds the famous sleuth and his doctor partner solving crime in 21st century London
Duration: 88 min
IMDB Rating: 9.1/10
IMDB Votes: 977000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Plot tags: sherlock holmes, investigation, private detective, murder mystery, mastermind, genius, friendship, british, murder, mind game, riddles and clues, prodigy, danger, partner, talented, buddies, eccentricity, intelligence, expert, friendship between men, inspector, police detective, deduction, mysterious character, teamwork
Black Sun (2017)
Plot Summary:
A historical fiction drama and thriller set in the turbulent period of the late 1930s in the Balkans as a place where high politics, local interests, capital and crime all merge together
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 8.9/10
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Serbia
Plot tags: secret society, conspiracy, police detective, law enforcement, secret movement, criminal, murder investigation, undercover, politician, partner, dishonesty, female nudity, political intrigue, political conspiracy, geopolitics, interwar period, female pubic hair, nudity, gangster, police, nude, female full frontal nudity, nudity (full frontal - brief), crime, crimes
Fargo (2014)
Plot Summary:
A close-knit anthology series dealing with stories involving malice, violence and murder based in and around Minnesota
Duration: 53 min
IMDB Rating: 8.9/10
IMDB Votes: 398000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: dark humor, psychopath, small town, police investigation, law enforcement, policewoman, cop, snow, killings, small town life, social relations, dishonesty, killer, female police officer, scheme, sheriff, police officer, winter, gory, shooting, blackmail, victim, crime gone awry, gangster, family relations
Undercover (2011)
Plot Summary:
Just an ordinary boy from the Sofia suburbs becomes the first bulgarian undercover cop. Forced by his father when he was young to lie and cheat, Martin becomes the perfect liar. That skill, and also the hatred of the 'underworld' makes him the perfect match for a dangerous mission - to infiltrate the crime organisation of a rich and powerful businessman. While infiltrating and living in fear of being uncovered, Martin falls in love with the most inappropriate woman - Djaro's girlfriend, Suni. Just when he gains the trust of the mobsters, it appears that the real enemy is in the police. Martin is alone against all, facing difficult decisions
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 8.9/10
IMDB Votes: 27000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: Bulgaria
Plot tags: hidden identity, undercover, mob boss, gang war, corruption, organized crime, mission, danger, peril, characters in danger, gangster, promotion, mafia, law enforcement, spy, passion, science, wartime, law firm, fight, police, street racing, undercover agent, police corruption, police operation
Death Note (2006)
Plot Summary:
Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects—and he’s bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But will Light succeed in his noble goal, or will the Death Note turn him into the very thing he fights against?
Duration: 851 min
IMDB Rating: 8.9/10
IMDB Votes: 365000
Genere: Animation, Crime, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan
Plot tags: mind game, anti hero, secret identity, vigilante, police, rivals, battle of wits, supernatural, heart attack, law enforcement, supernatural ability, intelligence, serial killer, teenage life, fighting crime, outsmarting, artifact, student, arrogance, police detective, moral dilemma, fbi, mature, eternal love, darkness
Peaky Blinders (2013)
Plot Summary:
A gangster family epic set in 1919 Birmingham, England and centered on a gang who sew razor blades in the peaks of their caps, and their fierce boss Tommy Shelby, who means to move up in the world
Duration: 2109 min
IMDB Rating: 8.8/10
IMDB Votes: 621000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Plot tags: organized crime, gangster, gang, mafia, gang war, determination, cruelty, mob boss, power struggle, crime boss, rivalry, family relations, society, rise to the top, shooting, business venture, leader, killings, corruption, urban, world war one, brother brother relationship, criminal heroes, gypsy, fighting crime
Twin Peaks (1990)
Plot Summary:
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
Duration: 1505 min
IMDB Rating: 8.8/10
IMDB Votes: 211000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: serial killer, small town, surrealism, murder, nightmare, supernatural, investigation, secret, hallucination, mysterious death, mysterious villain, small town life, double life, under the surface, murder investigation, mysterious place, hotel, who done it, evil spirit, parapsychology, small town sheriff, death, another dimension, riddles and clues, coffee
The Boat (1985)
Plot Summary:
Life aboard a German U-Boat during World War II
Duration: 293 min
IMDB Rating: 8.8/10
IMDB Votes: 33000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: West Germany, France, UK, Italy
Plot tags: submarine, world war two, underwater, navy, sinking ship, battles, torpedo, military, survival, nazism, life is a bitch, confined, military life, boat, moving, cthulhu, kriegsmarine, world war, convoy, sea, war, ocean, profanity, anti war, escapades
The Bureau (2015)
Plot Summary:
Within the DGSE (General Directorate for External Security), a department called the Office Of Legends (BDL) forms and remote pilot the most important agents of the French intelligence services: Clandestine. Immersion in hostile country, their mission is to identify individuals who may be recruited as sources of information. Operating "under caption", that is to say in a fabricated identity from scratch, they live for many years in a permanent duplicity. Our hero just returned from a clandestine mission six years in Damascus. But contrary to what is required by safety rules, he does not abandon his legend and the identity under which he lived in Syria, thus putting in danger the whole system
Duration: 52 min
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: France
Plot tags: spy, espionage, undercover agent, terrorism, secret service, investigation, danger, national security, characters in danger, twists and turns, secret identity, mission, obsession, cia, military, mentally unstable, pow, paranoia, uncover truth, middle east conflict, intelligence, parents, reconnaissance, female nudity, hostage
The Shield (2002)
Plot Summary:
The story of an inner-city Los Angeles police precinct where some of the cops aren't above breaking the rules or working against their associates to both keep the streets safe and their self-interests intact
Duration: 47 min
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
IMDB Votes: 86000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: law enforcement, police corruption, police detective, corrupt cop, dirty cop, cop, police brutality, cruelty, dishonesty, murder, tough law enforcer, peril, victim, machismo, corrupt law enforcer, crime investigation, police, racism, honest law enforcer, police protagonist, investigator, officer, policewoman, robbery, partner
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (2006)
Plot Summary:
Japan has been invaded and conquered by the Britannian Empire. Japan is now known as Area 11 and its citizens known as Elevens. The Britannian Empire takes away Japan's autonomous power and imposes its rule through the use of Knightmares. The Empire's rule has never faltered, but cracks have begun to show
Duration: 24 min
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
IMDB Votes: 77000
Genere: Animation, Action, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Japan
Plot tags: mind control, youth, rebelliousness, peril, rebellion, military, battles, young heroes, civil rights, emperor, leader, resistance, siblings relations, rivalry, vengeance, supernatural ability, imaginary, chess, prince, invasion, parents and children, supernatural power, mature, superhero, incest
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1984)
Plot Summary:
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1984–1985), The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1986–1988), The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (1991–1993) and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1994), collectively known as Sherlock Holmes, are a series of adaptations of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories which were produced by Granada Television and originally broadcast by ITV in the United Kingdom. The series starred Jeremy Brett as Holmes and David Burke (in the Adventures series) and Edward Hardwicke (Return, Case-Book, Memoirs) as Dr. Watson. The programme adapted 42 of the original stories in 41 episodes, with 36 running for 50 minutes (in a one-hour timeslot), and five being feature-length specials. Adventures ran for two series totalling 13 episodes, from April to June 1984 and August to September 1985. Return ran for two series from July to August 1986 and April to August 1988, as well as the specials "The Sign of Four" and "The Hound of the Baskervilles", which aired on 29 December 1987 and 31 August 1988 respectively. Case-Book ran for one series from February to March 1991 and three specials which aired on 2 January 1992 and 27 January and 3 February 1993. Memoirs ran for one series from March to April 1994. A short episode was also produced as part of "The Four Oaks Mystery" which aired during the ITV Telethon in 1992. Sherlock Holmes appeared in the first part, with the casts of Van der Valk, Taggart and Inspector Wexford appearing in the second, third and fourth parts respectively
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Plot tags: sherlock holmes, private detective, investigation, riddles and clues, partners against crime, murder, victorian england, who done it, ego clash, rivalry, danger, law enforcement, talented, misfit partners, friendship, brother brother relationship, police, murder mystery, asexual, christmas, serial killer, steampunk, writers, driver, taxi
Yellowstone (2018)
Plot Summary:
Follow the violent world of the Dutton family, who controls the largest contiguous ranch in the United States. Led by their patriarch John Dutton, the family defends their property against constant attack by land developers, an Indian reservation, and America’s first National Park
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
IMDB Votes: 199000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Plot tags: ranch, family business, family relations, cowboy, rivalry, death, cattle ranch, society, old west, dishonesty, violence, killings, small town, dishonor among criminals, gunfight, sheriff, boss, shooting, greed, lifestyle, racial slur, small town life, tough guy, hunting, criminal
Battlestar Galactica (2004)
Plot Summary:
When an old enemy, the Cylons, resurface and obliterate the 12 colonies, the crew of the aged Galactica protect a small civilian fleet - the last of humanity - as they journey toward the fabled 13th colony, Earth
Duration: 44 min
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
IMDB Votes: 173000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Plot tags: space travel, outer space, space and aliens, space wars, cyborgs, space opera, space battle, androids and robots, artificial intelligence, extinction, human in outer space, military, heroes, alien planet, robot, end of the world, female assassin, space, apocalypse, invasion, androids, spacecraft, battles, prophecy, totalitarianism
Dark (2017)
Plot Summary:
A missing child causes four families to help each other for answers. What they could not imagine is that this mystery would be connected to innumerable other secrets of the small town
Duration: 1455 min
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
IMDB Votes: 429000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Germany, USA
Plot tags: time travel, investigation, time loop, time machine, mysterious past, cave, time portal, missing child, repeated event, changing the future, disappearance, alternate dimension, deja vu, small town, loss of father, mysterious disappearance, butterfly effect, corpse, time traveler, family crisis, family relations, conspiracy, nuclear waste, apocalypse, school
Ezel (2009)
Plot Summary:
Ömer, a young man returning from military service, is set up by his friends and fiancé and ends up in prison for ten years. He fakes his own death and manages to escape. He re-creates himself as ‘Ezel’, a high-end gambler who is outwardly a successful man, but inwardly driven by one thing - his determination to understand why the people he loved betrayed him, and take his revenge
Duration: 90 min
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
IMDB Votes: 36000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Turkey
Plot tags: tragic love, warden, mafia, intrigue, vengeance, manipulation, ex convict, hidden identity, tragic hero, betrayal, murder, seduction, life is a bitch, organized crime, frame up, rivalry, disorder, false arrest, trial, regret, prison, muslim, kurd, love, heroes
The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1986)
Plot Summary:
Dr. Watson, finds a mystery in an empty house, while Holmes and he later solve the mysteries of an abbey grange, the Musgrave ritual, a second stain, a man with a twisted lip, the priory school, and a half-dozen plaster busts of Bonaparte
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: UK
Plot tags: sherlock holmes, private detective, investigation, mind game, mastermind, serial killer, police, writers, spirituality, murder mystery, murder, prodigy, who done it, law enforcement, partner, partners against crime, uncover truth, riddles and clues, gangster, isolation, mystery, crime, tv show, crimes
Friday Night Lights (2006)
Plot Summary:
Friday Night Lights is an American drama television series based around a high school football team situated in Texas. The series takes place in the fictional town of Dillon: a small, close-knit community in rural Texas. Particular focus is given to team coach Eric Taylor and his family, Tammy and Julie. The show uses this small town backdrop to address many issues facing contemporary American culture, including family values, child development, life lessons, school funding, racism, drugs, abortion and lack of economic opportunities
Duration: 44 min
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
IMDB Votes: 71000
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Plot tags: high school, football, athlete and trainer, american football, coach, sport team, friendship, contests and competitions, cheerleader, small town, teenage boy, teenager, career, human spirit, lifestyle, ambitious, leadership, training, championship, small town life, character change, youth, boyfriend girlfriend relationship, brother brother relationship, fitness
Oz (1997)
Plot Summary:
The daily lives of prisoners in Emerald City, an experimental unit of the Oswald Maximum Security Prison where ingroups - Muslims, Latinos, Italians, Aryans - stick close to their mutual friends and terrorizes their mutual enemies
Duration: 55 min
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
IMDB Votes: 105000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: prison life, prison, gay, life is a bitch, confined, violence spree, rape, homosexual rape, rapist, strong sexual content, gang violence, racism, prison rape, survival, power struggle, punishment, african american, solitary, lgbt, ku klux klan, neo nazism, electric chair, danger, warden, peril
Dexter (2006)
Plot Summary:
Dexter is an American television drama series. The series centers on Dexter Morgan, a blood spatter pattern analyst for 'Miami Metro Police Department' who also leads a secret life as a serial killer, hunting down criminals who have slipped through the cracks of justice
Duration: 5076 min
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
IMDB Votes: 753000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: serial killer, crime investigation, right and wrong, hidden identity, double life, gory, vigilantism, anti hero, serial murder, loner, police station, dark humor, murder, dark secret, corpse, killings, expert, forensics, secret life, psycho, murder investigation, police detective, blood splatter, law enforcement, police department
Naruto: Shippuden (2007)
Plot Summary:
Naruto Shippuuden is the continuation of the original animated TV series Naruto.The story revolves around an older and slightly more matured Uzumaki Naruto and his quest to save his friend Uchiha Sasuke from the grips of the snake-like Shinobi, Orochimaru. After 2 and a half years Naruto finally returns to his village of Konoha, and sets about putting his ambitions to work, though it will not be easy, as He has amassed a few (more dangerous) enemies, in the likes of the shinobi organization; Akatsuki
Duration: 24 min
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
IMDB Votes: 154000
Genere: Animation, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Plot tags: friendship, master warrior, supernatural ability, young heroes, ninja, heroes, good versus evil, mission, team, youth, sword fight, self discovery, fight, teenage boy, ninja warrior, heroic mission, naruto, fight for supremacy, superhero, ninjitsu, friends, journey, comeback, mythology, teen superhero
Monster (2004)
Plot Summary:
Kenzou Tenma, a Japanese brain surgeon in Germany, finds his life in utter turmoil after getting involved with a psychopath that was once a former patient
Duration: 24 min
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
IMDB Votes: 41000
Genere: Animation, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan
Plot tags: moral dilemma, false accusation, mastermind, doctor, hospital, murder, protagonist as suspect, life is a bitch, choice, manipulation, guilt, society, police detective, nihilism, orphanage, murderer, boy, investigator, mature, human experiment, mental disorder, psychology, bad guy, sexual content, mind game
Stranger Things (2016)
Plot Summary:
When a young boy vanishes, a small town uncovers a mystery involving secret experiments, terrifying supernatural forces, and one strange little girl
Duration: 51 min
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
IMDB Votes: 13000000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: supernatural, monster, telekinesis, small town, parallel universe, experiment, parallel world, friendship, supernatural power, super powers, government conspiracy, missing person, boy, parents and children, group of friends, fear, middle school, teenage boy, investigation, missing child, alternate dimension, paranormal phenomena, teenager, single mother, secret experiment
Line of Duty (2012)
Plot Summary:
Steve Arnott is a young officer who’s fallen foul of his superiors for refusing to help in the cover-up of an operation that ended in the shooting of an innocent father. He seems ideal to join AC-12, an anti-corruption police unit, just as it starts to investigate Detective Chief Inspector Tony Gates, the regional force’s Officer of the Year
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
IMDB Votes: 68000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Plot tags: police corruption, honest law enforcer, corruption, female police detective, dirty cop, police detective, police, british police, policewoman, twists and turns, law enforcement, law enforcer, police procedural, secret, evidence, corrupt law enforcer, right and wrong, interrogation, police officer, officer, dishonesty, squad, investigation, internal affairs, murder mystery
The Mandalorian (2019)
Plot Summary:
Plot under wraps
Duration: 40 min
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
IMDB Votes: 570000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Plot tags: star wars, outer space, space travel, space opera, bounty hunter, space and aliens, warrior, one man army, loner, alien civilization, gunslinger, tough guy, space exploration, androids and robots, giant animal, gunfight, space, spacecraft, galaxy, baby, heroism, male protagonist, star trek, child in peril, man with no name
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)
Plot Summary:
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. The show is set in the nearby regions of the Milky Way galaxy, approximately during the 2360s and features a new crew and a new starship Enterprise
Duration: 44 min
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
IMDB Votes: 132000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Plot tags: space travel, space opera, star trek, outer space, space exploration, alien planet, space, spacecraft, captain, alien encounter, alien, benign alien, spaceship, alien species, alien contact, teleportation, space and aliens, escapades, space battle, androids and robots, danger, liberal, artificial intelligence, female alien, time travel
Agatha Christie's Poirot (1989)
Plot Summary:
From England to Egypt, accompanied by his elegant and trustworthy sidekicks, the intelligent yet eccentrically-refined Belgian detective Hercule Poirot pits his wits against a collection of first class deceptions
Duration: 100 min
IMDB Rating: 8.6/10
IMDB Votes: 50000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Plot tags: private detective, investigation, whodunit, murder, murder mystery, who done it, private investigator, murder investigation, danger, multiple suspects, uncover truth, riddles and clues, sleuth, police, suicide, captain, hercule poirot, magical, sherlock holmes, conspiracy, spirituality, lady, team, inspector, crime solving
Justice League (2001)
Plot Summary:
Justice League is an American animated television series which ran from 2001 to 2004 on Cartoon Network. It is part of the DC animated universe. The show was produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It is based on the Justice League of America and associated comic book characters published by DC Comics. After the second season, the series was renamed Justice League Unlimited, and aired for an additional three seasons
Duration: 22 min
IMDB Rating: 8.6/10
IMDB Votes: 51000
Genere: Animation, Action, Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Plot tags: superhero, superman, justice league, green lantern, superpower, team, super powers, destruction, vigilantism, escapades, disguise, master villain, wonder woman, superheroine, outer space, batman, christmas, new year, winter, multiverse, girl power, black superhero, comic book, badass, space