Last updated March 2024
Want to watch extraordinarily awesome Best Thriller Tv Shows 2013? Check out our compilation of 30 marvelous, critic- and user-adored Best Thriller Tv Shows 2013 ready for your viewing pleasure. Hailed as sensationally great by IMDB reviewers and our own legion of discerning users, these world-class titles represent the absolute best of the best. Help fellow fans uncover buried treasures by voting for your top picks. We value members who contribute stellar recommendations!
Wentworth (2013)
Plot Summary:
Bea Smith is locked up while awaiting trial for the attempted murder of her husband and must learn how life works in prison. A modern adaptation and sequel of the iconic Prisoner series
Duration: 45 min
IMDB Rating: 8.6/10
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Australia
Plot tags: prison, lesbian, women in prison, prison life, women's prison, power struggle, protest, lesbian relationship, life is a bitch, danger, government facility, survival, sadism, convict, lgbtq, warden, female prisoner, lawyer, lgbt, smuggling, racial issues, anti hero, confined, blood, arrest
Hannibal (2013)
Plot Summary:
Both a gift and a curse, Graham has the extraordinary ability to think like his prey—he sees what they see, feels what they feel. But while Graham is pursuing an especially troubling, cannibalistic murderer, Special Agent Jack Crawford teams him with a highly respected psychiatrist – a man with a taste for the criminal minded – Dr. Hannibal Lecter
Duration: 1680 min
IMDB Rating: 8.5/10
IMDB Votes: 271000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: serial killer, cannibal, psychopath, mind game, cannibalism, death, murder, psychiatrist, mental patient, graphic violence, fbi, mental health, troubled, blood, killer, murder investigation, manipulation, homoeroticism, profiler, violence, deception, psychiatry, psycho killer, gore, doctor
Banshee (2013)
Plot Summary:
Banshee is an American drama television series set in a small town in Pennsylvania Amish country and features an enigmatic ex-con posing as a murdered sheriff who imposes his own brand of justice while also cooking up plans that serve his own interests
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
IMDB Votes: 120000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: ex convict, sheriff, tough heroes, female nudity, organized crime, shooting, cop, sexual activity, small town, thief, gory, social relations, double life, nudity, cons and scams, mysterious past, law enforcement, mob boss, small town life, corruption, machismo, hacker, hidden identity, villain, one man army
Utopia (2013)
Plot Summary:
The Utopia Experiments is a legendary graphic novel shrouded in mystery. When a group of strangers find themselves in possession of an original manuscript, their lives suddenly and brutally implode
Duration: 50 min
IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
IMDB Votes: 50000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: UK
Plot tags: conspiracy, danger, hidden truth, politician, dishonesty, who to trust, mysterious character, scientist, twists and turns, graphic violence, epidemic, life turned upside down, virus, blackmail, group of strangers, strong violent content, on the run, secret, violence, paranoia, dystopia, violent content, politics, torture, fear
The Americans (2013)
Plot Summary:
Set during the Cold War period in the 1980s, The Americans is the story of Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, two Soviet KGB officers posing as an American married couple in the suburbs of Washington D.C. and their neighbor, Stan Beeman, an FBI Counterintelligence agent
Duration: 44 min
IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
IMDB Votes: 109000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: cold war, espionage, spy, undercover, kgb, mole, surveillance, double life, working undercover, investigation, parents and children, double agent, fbi, top secret, family relations, couple relations, government agency, neighbor, secret agent, intrigue, marriage, soviet spy, cold war era, mission, shooting
Orphan Black (2013)
Plot Summary:
A streetwise hustler is pulled into a compelling conspiracy after witnessing the suicide of a girl who looks just like her
Duration: 44 min
IMDB Rating: 8.3/10
IMDB Votes: 116000
Genere: Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Canada
Plot tags: lesbian, strong female character, female protagonist, shooting, family relations, uncover truth, lesbianism, danger, heroine, suicide, supernatural, killings, lesbian relationship, lgbt, lookalikes, boyfriend, experiment, characters in danger, eugenics, top secret, strong female lead, female assassin, mad scientist, conspiracy, clone
Steven Universe (2013)
Plot Summary:
A young boy takes his mother's place in a group of gemstone-based beings, and must learn to control his powers
Duration: 11 min
IMDB Rating: 8.2/10
IMDB Votes: 38000
Genere: Animation, Short, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Musical, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: supernatural ability, gem, goodhearted, danger, intergalactic, youth, heroes, save the world, supernatural, imaginary, alien, escapades, child protagonist, outer space, beach, training, father son relationship, child, island, boy, single parent, autistic, coming of age, strong female lead, supernatural power
The Fall (2013)
Plot Summary:
When the Police Service of Northern Ireland are unable to close a case after 28 days, Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson of the Metropolitan Police Service is called in to review the case. Under her new leadership, the local detectives must track down and stop a serial killer who is terrorising the city of Belfast
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 8.1/10
IMDB Votes: 116000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Plot tags: serial killer, female detective, forensics, police detective, policewoman, police investigation, victim, evidence, police, violence against women, crime investigation, cop, law enforcement, coworker, killer, police officer, murder mystery, police procedural, misogyny, investigation, strong female lead, female protagonist, psychopath, female warrior, lgbtq
Bates Motel (2013)
Plot Summary:
A "contemporary prequel" to the 1960 film Psycho, depicting the life of Norman Bates and his mother Norma prior to the events portrayed in Hitchcock's film, albeit in a different fictional town and in a modern setting. The series begins after the death of Norma's husband, when she purchases a motel located in a coastal Oregon town so she and Norman can start a new life
Duration: 45 min
IMDB Rating: 8.1/10
IMDB Votes: 115000
Genere: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: serial killer, motel, mental disorder, obsession, dysfunctional family, hotel, family problems, insanity, murder, small town, half brother, incestuous desire, danger, mother son relationship, high school, twists and turns, taxidermy, taxidermist, teenage life, small town life, sexual initiation, graphic violence, violent content, psychopath, sexual awakening
The Blacklist (2013)
Plot Summary:
Raymond "Red" Reddington, one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives, surrenders in person at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. He claims that he and the FBI have the same interests: bringing down dangerous criminals and terrorists. In the last two decades, he's made a list of criminals and terrorists that matter the most but the FBI cannot find because it does not know they exist. Reddington calls this "The Blacklist". Reddington will co-operate, but insists that he will speak only to Elizabeth Keen, a rookie FBI profiler
Duration: 43 min
IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
IMDB Votes: 274000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: fbi, investigation, unlikely partners, master criminal, law enforcement, danger, intrigue, secret, mind game, terrorism, killings, murder investigation, criminal, threat, outsmarting, twists and turns, partners against crime, shooting, spy, rivalry, cia, mastermind, coworker, characters in danger, surveillance
The Tunnel (2013)
Plot Summary:
The plot follows detectives Karl Roebuck and Elise Wasserman working together to find a serial killer who left the upper-half body of a French politician and the lower-half of a British prostitute in the Channel Tunnel, at the midpoint between France and the UK. They later learn that the killer—who comes to be nicknamed the "Truth Terrorist"—is on a moral crusade to highlight many social problems, terrorising both countries in the process
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, France
Plot tags: serial killer, police investigation, partners against crime, partner, police detective, murder, law enforcement, social worker, hunt down, tunnel, casual sex, bodies, lesbian, investigation, police procedural, police officer, underground, legal, judiciary, nordic, female police officer, dead, social problems, female partner, gay couple
The Bridge (2013)
Plot Summary:
A murdered body on a bridge between El Paso and Juarez bring together El Paso detective Sonya Cross and Chihuahua State Police detective Marco Ruiz
Duration: 43 min
IMDB Rating: 7.6/10
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: serial killer, police detective, police investigation, twists and turns, policewoman, murder, drug cartel, social problems, interrogation, u.s. mexico border, corruption, victim, mind game, secret, partner, marital problem, riddles and clues, characters in danger, fbi, danger, bodies, antisocial behavior, forensics, casual sex, workplace
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013)
Plot Summary:
Agent Phil Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division) puts together a team of agents to investigate the new, the strange and the unknown around the globe, protecting the ordinary from the extraordinary
Duration: 45 min
IMDB Rating: 7.5/10
IMDB Votes: 224000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: good versus evil, master villain, superhuman powers, save the day, hacker, heroes, superhero, secret government organization, s.h.i.e.l.d., scientist, espionage, save the world, teamwork, team, secret agent, martial arts, danger, government agency, supernatural, multiverse, top secret, superpower, comic book, hi-tech, villain
Top of the Lake (2013)
Plot Summary:
A woman haunted by her past, Detective Robin Griffin, investigates complex and unsettling cases
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 7.4/10
IMDB Votes: 37000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, Australia, New Zealand, USA
Plot tags: female detective, missing child, disappearance, police detective, police investigation, policewoman, bodies, child rape, life is a bitch, self discovery, child abuse, secret, hidden truth, suspicion, female protagonist, serial killer, children, women, feminist, murder mystery, sexual abuse, rape, victim, heroine, multiple suspects
The Following (2013)
Plot Summary:
Notorious serial killer Joe Carroll, after being found guilty of murdering 14 female students on the Virginia college campus where he taught literature, escapes from death row. The FBI calls former agent Ryan Hardy to consult on the case, as he was the one responsible for Carroll’s capture in 2003. Ryan, working closely with an FBI team, including Mike Weston and FBI Specialist Debra Parker, piece together the ever-growing web of murders orchestrated by the devious Carroll
Duration: 43 min
IMDB Rating: 7.4/10
IMDB Votes: 91000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: serial killer, psychopath, murderer, mind game, fbi, criminal, investigation, violence, serial murder, killings, murder, victim, religions or cults, special agent, police investigation, police, organized crime, killer, social network, psycho killer, fighting crime, violent, homicidal maniac, crime investigation, forensics
Sleepy Hollow (2013)
Plot Summary:
Ichabod Crane is resurrected and pulled two and a half centuries through time to unravel a mystery that dates all the way back to the founding fathers
Duration: 45 min
IMDB Rating: 7.3/10
IMDB Votes: 64000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: supernatural, determination, characters in danger, good versus evil, shooting, investigator, victim, legends and myths, fate of humanity, curses spells and rituals, time travel, murder, investigation, ghost, escapades, monster, ancient mystery, danger, law enforcement, witchcraft, police detective, black magic, horse, killings, buddy cop
Twisted (2013)
Plot Summary:
A one-hour mystery full of twists and turns that follows Danny Desai, a charismatic 16-year-old with a troubled past who returns to his hometown after spending five years in juvenile detention. Immediately branded an outcast, Danny attempts to reconnect with his two childhood best friends, Jo and Lacey. But when a fellow student is found dead in her home, Danny instantly becomes the prime suspect and town spirals into a frenzy of suspicion and mystery. Jo and Lacey must decide if their childhood friend is unforgivable, or if he's really a victim being persecuted for his own twisted secrets
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 7.2/10
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: teenage life, social misfits, homecoming, protagonist as suspect, parents and children, starting over, haunted by the past, murder, best friend, society, suspicion, old friend, gain trust, confession, social relations, teenager, teenage girl, high school, small town, lesbian, gay, adolescence, young adult, troubled teen, murder suspect
Mistresses (2013)
Plot Summary:
Meet Savi, a successful career woman working toward the next phase in her life -- both professional and personal -- simultaneously bucking for partner at her law firm while she and her husband, Harry, try to start a family of their own. Savi's free-spirited and capricious baby sister, Josselyn, couldn't be more different - living single, serial dating and partying, and regularly leaning on her big sister along the way. Their common best friend, April, a recent widow and mother of two, is rebuilding her life after tragedy and learning to move forward, with the support and guidance of her closest girlfriends. And friend Karen, a successful therapist with her own practice, reconnects with the girls after her involvement in a complicated relationship with a patient goes far too deep
Duration: 43 min
IMDB Rating: 7.1/10
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA, UK
Plot tags: casual sex, mistress, love affair, family relations, infidelity, lifestyle, female friendship, best friend, female protagonist, lesbian, women, trust, strong female presence, swindle, friends, couples, crumbling relationship, marital problem, woman, gay, strong female lead, lgbt, lust, lgbtq, bisexual woman
Hemlock Grove (2013)
Plot Summary:
One cannot quench his all-consuming thirst. The other cannot tame the beast clawing its way out. In the sleepy Pennsylvania village of Hemlock Grove, two young men struggle to accept painful truths: about family, themselves, the mystery of the White Tower - and a terrifying new threat so powerful it will turn them from predators into prey
Duration: 46 min
IMDB Rating: 7.0/10
IMDB Votes: 42000
Genere: Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: werewolf, supernatural, danger, vampire, small town, family secret, protagonist as suspect, social relations, investigation, desire, family relations, gypsy, sheriff, small town life, poverty, uncover truth, brother sister sex, murder, witchcraft, deformity, sex with brother, twists and turns, gory, multiple suspects, superhuman powers
Hostages (2013)
Plot Summary:
Hostages is an American drama television series that airs on CBS as part of the 2013–14 American television season. The series is based on a similar Israeli series created by Alon Aranya, Omri Givon, and Rotem Shamir which will premiere on October 13, 2013, almost 3 weeks after the American version's premiere. Jeffrey Nachmanoff wrote and directed the pilot episode for the American version. The series premiered on September 23, 2013
Duration: 42 min
IMDB Rating: 6.7/10
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: hostage, political conspiracy, husband wife relationship, blackmail, moral dilemma, family in danger, u.s. president, escape attempt, surgery, kidnapping, family relations, danger, confined, doctors and patients, treason, held captive, dishonesty, state affairs, politics, criminal, die hard, mature, anti hero, surgeon, dog
Under the Dome (2013)
Plot Summary:
Under the Dome is based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King. It tells the story of the residents of the small town of Chester's Mill in Maine, where a massive, transparent, indestructible dome suddenly cuts them off from the rest of the world. With no Internet access, no mobile signals and limited radio communication, the people trapped inside must find their own ways to survive with diminishing resources and rising tensions. While military forces, the government and the media positioned outside of this surrounding barrier attempt to break it down, a small group of people inside attempt to figure out what the dome is, where it came from, and when (and if) it will go away
Duration: 43 min
IMDB Rating: 6.5/10
IMDB Votes: 111000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: supernatural, survival, stephen king, trapped, small town, twists and turns, life turned upside down, isolation, teenage girl, small town life, human existence, society, danger, human nature, contingency plan, alien invasion, post apocalypse, distopia, chaos, power struggle, sex, agent, invasion, crisis, super powers