6 Thriller Miniseries That Are 10/10, No Notes

Published Nov 13, 2026, 3:08 PM EST

Ryan Heffernan is a Senior Writer at Collider. Storytelling has been one of his interests since an early age, with his appreciation for film and television becoming a particular interest of his during his teenage years. 

This passion saw Ryan graduate from the University of Canberra in 2020 with an Honours Degree in Film Production. In the years since, he has found freelance work as a videographer and editor in the Canberra region while also becoming entrenched in the city's film-making community. 

In addition to cinema and writing, Ryan's other major interest is sport, with him having a particular love for Australian Rules football, Formula 1, and cricket. He also has casual interests in reading, gaming, and history.

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With its unique ability to let a story unfold over the course of multiple hours while still delivering a succinct resolution that viewers don’t have to wait over the course of multiple seasons to see, the miniseries format has emerged as an outstanding forum for thriller entertainment. Even more impressive is that there has been no shortage of approaches that have worked within the parameters of limited series releases, with everything from action-packed bombast to simmering slow-burn anxiety and even piercing psychological horror having an impact.

These six series stand as true masterpieces of the genre in the format, with everything from murder mystery suspense to puncturing historical tension. Some of these series are universally heralded as being defining masterpieces of limited series drama and television entertainment at large, while others are criminally underrated gems that have never found the recognition and respect they so thoroughly deserve. All of them are faultless forays into small-screen thrills that all lovers of the genre must seek out if they haven’t seen them already.

6 'Dead Ringers' (2023)

Image via Prime Video

A bold recreation of David Cronenberg’s 1988 movie of the same name, Dead Ringers is a visceral descent into psychologically twisting dread that grounds its heart-stopping suspense in its arresting visuals and Rachel Weisz’s captivating dual performance. She stars as Beverly and Elliot Mantle, twin sisters who share everything from their career path to lovers, drugs, and a frightful determination to bring their aspirations to life. As they perform ethically questionable procedures on infertile women in preparation for them opening their own independent birthing center, a rift begins to form between the two sisters when Beverly enters into a serious relationship with one of her clients, the famous actress Genevieve Cotard (Britne Oldford).

The Amazon Prime series is certainly not for the faint of heart, and there have been viewers who voiced their displeasure with its graphic body horror, intentionally unlikable characters, and its abundant, vulgar profanity. However, if audiences can overcome the shocking content and grasp that it is intended to run as a thematically piercing and unrelenting exploration of co-dependency, identity, women’s healthcare, and the power amoral ambition can have when backed by immense wealth, Dead Ringers becomes an intriguing, albeit cold-hearted, viewing experience. Furthermore, it is one of the most fiendishly unsettling miniseries television has seen in many years, making it a must-see gem for genre enthusiasts.

5 'State of Play' (2003)

Image via BBC One

A BBC production from the early 2000s that has sadly been completely forgotten over time, State of Play is an engrossing mixture of political conspiracy thrills, murder mystery intrigue, and newsroom drama. While investigating the gang-related killing of a teenager, reporter Cal McCaffrey (John Simm) and his colleagues discover a link between the crime and the death of a young political researcher for rising MP, Stephen Collins (David Morrissey). As the newspaper’s investigation pries deeper, they uncover not only the connection of the murders, but a scandalous love affair as well as a conspiracy tying high-ranking British government figures to corruption in the petroleum industry.

Written and created by Paul Abbott and directed by David Yates, State of Play finds its suspense in its grit and realism. It embeds viewers in the raw, confronting truths of the institutions it explores, from the greed and ambition of political parties to the amoral, story-driven sensationalism of news media. This striking sense of ambiguous righteousness and authentic dread is only heightened by the incredible ensemble cast that includes Bill Nighy, James McAvoy, and Kelly Macdonald, the patient yet propulsive six-hour progression of the story, and the razor-sharp nature of the character dynamics and dialogue.

4 'Devs' (2020)

Image via FX

An excellent blending of mystery, suspense, and sci-fi intrigue, Devs is one of the best miniseries of the 2020s so far. Unfortunately, its hostile tone of suspicion and corporate cynicism was a far cry from what audiences were craving at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it has since faded from memory. However, the FX/Hulu release is well worth revisiting, with the eight-part miniseries revolving around the mysterious and shocking death of a newly promoted employee, and the endeavor of Lily Chan (Sonoya Mizuno)—the deceased’s colleague and romantic partner—to figure out the truth behind Amaya and its enigmatic CEO, Forest (Nick Offerman).

Written, directed, and created by Alex Garland, Devs combines its patient and meticulous pacing with an overwhelming sense of thematic gravitas. Lily’s investigation doesn’t just examine the nature of corporate secrecy and professional malpractice; it revels in the depths of such ideas as determinism and free will, theories of multiverses and alternate realities, and the piercing influence of grief and the search for absolution. Complimented by astonishing production design, a uniquely haunting soundscape comprised of expressionistic quantum computer sounds and its eerie score, and the layered complexity of the performances, Devs stands as a sorely overlooked thriller that blends techno-thriller boldness with philosophical depth and mystery suspense to perfection.

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Collider · Action Heroes Which Action Hero Would Be
Your Perfect Partner? Ten questions · five legends · one partner

Five legends. Five completely different ways of getting out alive: with style, with muscle, with charm, with luck, or with a plan so intricate it probably should not work. Ten questions will reveal which action hero was built to have your back. Choose your channel

Rambo

James Bond

Indiana Jones

John McClane

Ethan Hunt

Find your partner

Mission clock00:10 remaining

Question 01 of 10THE MISSION

01 You are dropped into a dangerous situation with no warning. What do you need most from a partner? The first few seconds tell you everything about who belongs beside you.

ASomeone who already has three contingency plans running and is calmly working through all of them. BSomeone who reads the terrain by instinct and knows exactly how to use it against the enemy. CSomeone who keeps their nerve and their sense of humor while everything falls apart. DSomeone who knows the history of wherever we are and what we are walking into. ESomeone with the right contact, the right cover identity and the right exit already arranged.

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Question 02 of 10TRAVEL STYLE

02 You have to get somewhere dangerous, fast. How do you travel? How you get there is half the mission.

AOn foot through terrain nobody else would attempt. I move where vehicles cannot follow. BOn a motorcycle, a cargo plane, or anything that gets me there before I think too hard about it. CIn something that belongs to someone else: borrowed, stolen, or improvised under fire. DFirst class, with a cover identity and a gadget I will not explain until it is needed. EBy whatever is available. I have driven, flown, and once arrived by camel. The destination matters, not the method.

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Mission clock00:08 remaining

Question 03 of 10UNDER PRESSURE

03 You are cornered and outnumbered. What does your ideal partner do? This is when you find out what somebody is really made of.

ADisappears into the environment, comes around behind them, and has it finished before I have moved. BCracks a one-liner, grabs a fire extinguisher or a chair, and improvises something that somehow works. CProduces a gadget designed for this exact scenario and uses it with infuriating precision. DPulls out a whip, a bluff and an archaeological insight that somehow gets us out alive. EShuts it down with maximum efficiency and minimum words. They were already three moves ahead.

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Mission clock00:07 remaining

Question 04 of 10DOWNTIME

04 The mission is paused. You have one evening to decompress. What does your partner suggest? Who somebody is when the pressure drops is who they really are.

AThe finest restaurant in the city, a bottle of something expensive, and a conversation that is equal parts brilliant and exhausting. BA local dig site, a museum after hours, or a long story about why that one artifact matters to human civilization. CPizza. Bad TV. Falling asleep halfway through a film neither of you was watching anyway. DA bar with terrible lighting, cold beer, and absolutely no questions about feelings. EA debrief that turns into three hours of contingency planning and somehow becomes the most fun you have had all week.

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Mission clock00:06 remaining

Question 05 of 10COMMUNICATION

05 How do you want your partner to communicate mid-mission? Good communication is the difference between a partner and a liability.

APrecise and minimal. Tell me what I need and nothing else. Every word has a cost. BDeadpan and dry. Keeping it light keeps me sharp, even when everything is on fire. CEnthusiastic and slightly chaotic, but always with useful information buried in the noise. DCalm and controlled through an earpiece, with a plan covering every variable I have not thought of yet. EBarely at all. Silence is a language and they speak it fluently.

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Mission clock00:05 remaining

Question 06 of 10THE VILLAIN

06 Your enemy is powerful, well-resourced and holds the upper hand. How should your partner go at them? The approach to the enemy defines the partnership.

AInfiltrate the inner circle, learn everything, and take them apart from inside before they know we are there. BStudy the historical pattern. Every villain of this type has a weakness written down somewhere in the past. CGet them talking. The longer they monologue, the more time I have to work out how to beat them. DGo straight at them, directly, using every inch of the terrain. EFind the one thing they have not accounted for, because there is always one, and make sure we are holding it.

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Mission clock00:04 remaining

Question 07 of 10LOYALTY

07 It goes badly wrong and you are stranded somewhere hostile. What do you trust your partner to do? Who somebody is when you need them most is the only thing that counts.

ACome in alone, quietly, and get me out before anybody knows they were there. BHave been working the extraction since the moment I vanished. The plan is already running. CCome in loud, come in fast, and worry about the collateral damage later. I would do the same for them. DUse every resource, every contact, and bend every rule until I am out. They do not leave people behind. ECharm their way in somehow, bluff through the hard part, and still manage to look good doing it.

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Mission clock00:03 remaining

Question 08 of 10TOOLKIT

08 What does your ideal partner bring that you could not replace? A great partner fills the gap you did not know you had.

ATechnology that should not exist yet and the training to use it in any conditions. BSurvival instinct so refined it borders on supernatural, and the scars that prove it has been tested. CKnowledge of history, language and culture that makes them priceless where force is useless. DThe ability to walk into any room on earth and immediately become the most trusted person in it. EStubbornness that will not accept a situation is hopeless, and the improvisation to back it up.

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Mission clock00:02 remaining

Question 09 of 10THE COST

09 Every partnership has a cost. Which of these can you live with? Nobody comes without baggage. The question is whether you can carry it together.

AA partner who never fully switches off, always watching exits and counting threats, even at dinner. BA partner who does the job brilliantly and has the emotional availability of a locked filing cabinet. CA partner who makes everything ten times more complicated than it needs to be, and always comes through. DA partner who gets personally attached to every relic and ruin we pass, which slows the whole thing down. EA partner who was never built for this and knows it, but turns up anyway, every time, unasked.

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Mission clock00:01 remaining

Question 10 of 10THE LAST STAND

10 Final moment. Everything is on the line. What do you need from your partner right now? The last question is the most honest one.

AOne line. Absolutely dry. Delivered like the world is not ending. Then we move. BNothing said at all. Just a look that means you both already know what happens next. CA plan I do not fully understand that somehow accounts for everything, laid out in thirty seconds. DA piece of historical context that reframes the whole situation and says exactly what to do. ESomebody who steps forward instead of back, because that is who they have always been.

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Reveal my partner

Partner assignedYour perfect partner is

Olive channel locked

Rambo The 1982 original You will never need to ask whether he has your back. You will just know.

Your partner does not talk much, does not need to, and will have counted every threat around you before you finish your first sentence. John Rambo is not a man of plans or politics. He is a force shaped by survival, loyalty and an endurance that no amount of training produces on its own. He does not leave people behind. What you get is the most quietly ferocious partner imaginable, somebody who went through what would have broken anybody else and decided to keep going. Why he is your partner

• He reads ground the way other people read a room.
• He will stand between you and the worst of it without discussing it.
• He says almost nothing, and never the wrong thing.

From the Collider file

• The 1982 original came from David Morrell's 1972 novel, which ends very differently.
• Stallone cut most of his own dialogue in the edit to make the character nearly silent.
• Five films across thirty-seven years, from 1982 to the fifth in 2019.

Says little Leaves nobody Built to endure

Gold channel locked

James Bond Dr. No, 1962 He has survived things that have no business being survivable, and he does it with style.

Your partner arrives perfectly dressed, perfectly briefed, and with a cover story convincing enough that you will need a moment to recall what is true. Bond is the most professionally dangerous person in any room he walks into and the most disarmingly charming, which is the whole point. He works in layers, where nothing is what it looks like and every advantage gets used without apology. You will never be bored. You will occasionally be furious. Why he is your partner

• He is better in the room than he is on paper, and he is excellent on paper.
• He will not explain the plan, and the plan will work.
• He treats charm as a tool, and it is a remarkably effective one.

From the Collider file

• Eon has made twenty-five Bond films since Dr. No in 1962, across six actors.
• Denis Villeneuve is directing the next one for Amazon MGM, which took creative control in 2025.
• The search for the new 007 was still running through 2026, with screen tests under way.

Charm as a tool Always briefed Unbothered

Tan channel locked

Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981 A scholar's eye and a brawler's instinct, which is an unusual pairing and a very effective one.

Your partner knows the history, the language, the cultural context, and exactly why the thing everyone else is ignoring is the most important object in the room. Indiana Jones is brilliant, reckless and occasionally impossible, and also one of the most genuinely resourceful people you could have beside you. He hates snakes and gets attached to objects of historical significance, both of which will slow you down at least once. It will not matter. Why he is your partner

• He has read the thing nobody else thought to read.
• He will risk the whole plan for the artifact, and be right about half the time.
• He improvises better than most people prepare.

From the Collider file

• The Cairo swordsman scene was improvised on the day because Harrison Ford had dysentery.
• Raiders was filmed in about 73 days, which was fast even in 1981.
• Dial of Destiny in 2023 was Ford's fifth and last outing, at the age of eighty.

Knows the history Reckless scholar Improviser

Red channel locked

John McClane Die Hard, 1988 His superpower is stubbornness and his contingency plan is improvisation.

Your partner was not supposed to be here. He does not have the right equipment, the right information, or anything resembling the right odds. He has a sarcastic remark and a flat refusal to accept that the situation is as bad as it plainly is. John McClane is the great accidental hero of action cinema, a man whose capacity to absorb more than anybody should and keep going would be alarming if it were not so useful. He will complain the entire time. He will come through. Why he is your partner

• He turns whatever is in the room to his advantage.
• He is funniest when things are at their worst.
• He has never once agreed that it is over.

From the Collider file

• Die Hard came from Roderick Thorp's novel Nothing Lasts Forever, a sequel to a book filmed in 1968.
• Nakatomi Plaza is Fox Plaza, which was the studio's own headquarters at the time.
• Bruce Willis was a television comedy actor then, and a long way down the casting list.

Pure stubbornness Improvises Complains throughout

Blue channel locked

Ethan Hunt Mission: Impossible, 1996 The mission will be impossible. He will complete it anyway.

Your partner has run seventeen scenarios before you finished the briefing, and the one he settled on involves at least two things that should not be physically possible. Ethan Hunt works at the outer edge of human capability, technically and physically, and he brings the same relentless precision to protecting his partners that he brings to dismantling organizations that should not exist. He is not easy to know and he will never tell you everything. He will carry the weight anyway. Why he is your partner

• He takes the risk himself rather than assigning it.
• He is three moves ahead and will not say which three.
• He treats your survival as the actual objective.

From the Collider file

• Cruise hung off the side of an Airbus A400M at a thousand feet for the opening of Rogue Nation.
• The HALO jump in Fallout took 106 takes, filmed at dusk for the light.
• The Final Reckoning in 2025 was the eighth film, and was sold as the last.

Takes the risk Never explains Finishes it

Field report · your top three

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Mission filed byCOLLIDERCollider.com · The Movies Desk

3 'Sharp Objects' (2018)

Image via HBO

Using the murder mystery format as a platform for piercing character drama and introspective thematic journeys rather than simply as a tightly-paced whodunit thriller, Sharp Objects stands as one of the more psychologically impressionable miniseries in recent years. Based on Gillian Flynn’s novel, it follows crime reporter Camille Preaker (Amy Adams) as she returns to her hometown of Wind Gap, Missouri, to investigate the murders of two young girls. As she investigates the disturbing case, she must also navigate the re-emerging traumas of her youth, many of which pertain to her strained relationship with her cruel, socialite mother and her shy half-sister.

The underappreciated HBO miniseries benefits greatly from Jean-Marc Vallée’s direction in all eight episodes, with the consistent vision allowing for the story to unfurl with a methodical majesty against a backdrop of small-town malevolence and eerie Southern Gothic atmosphere. Even as it flicks between Camille’s investigation and her troubled youth, juxtaposing an adult’s jaded world-weariness against young Camille’s (Sophia Lillis) arduous existence under her domineering mother, Sharp Objects maintains a patient though propulsive drive, one defined by a litany of shocking plot twists and outstanding performances from all involved.

2 'The Night Of' (2016)

Image via HBO

Most miniseries that excel do so by mastering one form of storytelling. The Night Of effectively perfects four different subgenres of crime suspense throughout its eight-episode run. It initially runs as a framed innocent man thriller with murder mystery inflections, following Pakistani-American youth Nasir (Riz Ahmed) as he awakens after a night of partying to find his date has been stabbed to death. As he stands trial and awaits prosecution, the series incorporates courtroom thrills and prison yard tension into the fold, while dogged defense attorney John Stone’s (John Turturro) story mixes investigative lawyer case work with a certain social commentary about wealth and corporate power.

The miniseries as a whole runs as a transfixing crime thriller that asks demanding questions about the integrity and fairness of America’s legal system. This rousing thematic focus is brilliantly supported by exceptional performances and stunning cinematic visuals that exude a sense of simmering, slow-burning intensity. The novelistic ambition of The Night Of as both a character-focused drama and a skewering critique of criminal justice institutions is remarkable, making for a flawless masterpiece of crime thriller television that, even 10 years on from its release, remains an underrated gem from HBO.

1 'Chernobyl' (2019)

Image via HBO

It may not immediately spring to mind when one thinks of television thrillers—after all, it is defined as being a historical drama—but it is difficult to name a more relentlessly intense and agonizingly suspenseful miniseries than Chernobyl. A defining masterpiece of HBO’s production prowess, it explores the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster of 1986, covering the horrific experiences of the unsuspecting first responders, the enormity of the operation to contain the radioactive fallout, and the scheming of the Soviet leaders to conceal the true scale of the catastrophe from the world.

The series excels as a commentary on political corruption, an ode to the heroes who sacrificed their lives to restrict the fallout, and an eye-opening cautionary tale of the dangers of nuclear power, but Chernobyl is best remembered by many for its ferocious sense of tension. Much of it comes because the audiences know the devastating scope of the reactor meltdown, whereas the characters are examining it as it happens, an approach that makes the inescapable threat of radiation poisoning feel like a damning certainty, a stalking, invisible monster. The ticking clock of objectives that must be completed only heightens this sense of fatalistic dread, especially as the desperate stakes are only interrupted by the folly of bureaucratic process. Great performances and rousing thematic sharpness are the icing on the cake, consolidating Chernobyl as the most gripping and grueling television thriller of all time, miniseries or otherwise.

Chernobyl