Suspense – it’s a powerful tool. It’s what the best thriller series offer us as they create tension from the very first scene and keep us on the edge of our seats. They’re almost like psychological puzzles that challenge you to predict what will happen next – you’ve got great taste if you enjoy this genre! But with hundreds of series available, finding a show that truly grips you can be a difficult choice.
That’s where we come in. This guide brings you a credible, expert-curated list of the top 20 thriller series to watch right now. Our selection includes everything from tense crime thrillers to mind-bending psychological thrillers. Each show has been ranked by public sentiment and what’s currently trending.
What are the best thriller series to watch now?
We are absolutely transparent about how we curate our guides, and we’re pleased to say that this definitive list of the best thriller series isn’t based on a single critic’s opinion. What it instead does is to rank what’s trending on streaming platforms and what the audience is saying, and as we check out the public opinions on social media and online, across Australia, we ensure our recommendations genuinely reflect the series everyone is enthralled by.
We break our lists down to give you all the information you need at a glance. So, as you read, you will find the title, synopsis, director, cast, and runtime. But beyond this, we reveal the streaming service that’s showing these series and each series’ sub-genre, from crime to psychological thrillers, to help you find a series that’s exactly what you’re looking for.

Hostage
Drama •Mystery •Thriller •Crime
Overview
When the British prime minister’s husband is kidnapped and the French president starts receiving threats, both leaders must face an impossible choice.
Cast
Suranne Jones, Julie Delpy, Corey Mylchreest, Lucian Msamati, Ashley Thomas

Alien: Earth
Sci-fi •Horror •Mystery •Thriller •Drama
Overview
When a mysterious space vessel crash-lands on Earth, a young woman and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet’s greatest threat.
Cast
Sydney Chandler, Alex Lawther, Essie Davis, Adarsh Gourav, Kit Young

The Twelve
Crime •Drama •Mystery •Thriller
Overview
The story of 12 ordinary Australians who are selected for jury duty in a murder trial as traumatising as it is controversial, in which a woman stands accused of killing her teenage niece.
Director
Daniel Nettheim
Cast
Ngali Shaw, Kate Mulvany, Brendan Cowell, Pallavi Sharda, Hazem Shammas
Duration
50 minutes

The Hunting Wives
Drama •Mystery •Thriller
Overview
Sophie trades city life for East Texas and falls into a wealthy socialite’s magnetic orbit — where a clique of housewives hide deadly secrets.
Cast
Brittany Snow, Malin Åkerman, Jaime Ray Newman, Katie Lowes, Chrissy Metz

The Institute
Mystery •Thriller •Sci-fi •Horror
Overview
When 14 year old genius Luke Ellis is kidnapped, he awakens at The Institute, a facility full of children who all got there the same way he did, and who are all possessed of unusual abilities. In a nearby town, haunted former police officer Tim Jamieson has come looking to start a new life, but the peace and quiet won’t last, as his story and Luke’s are destined to collide.
Cast
Ben Barnes, Joe Freeman, Simone Miller, Fionn Laird, Hannah Galway

UNTAMED
Drama •Mystery •Thriller •Crime
Overview
In the vast expanse of Yosemite National Park, a woman’s death draws a federal agent into lawless terrain — where nature obeys no rules but its own.
Cast
Eric Bana, Sam Neill, Rosemarie DeWitt, Lily Santiago, Wilson Bethel

Department Q
Crime •Drama •Mystery •Thriller
Overview
A brash but brilliant cop becomes head of a new police department, where he leads an unlikely team of misfits in solving Edinburgh’s cold cases.
Cast
Matthew Goode, Chloe Pirrie, Jamie Sives, Alexej Manvelov, Leah Byrne

The Rainmaker
Drama •Mystery •Thriller •Crime
Overview
Fresh out of law school, Rudy Baylor goes head to head with courtroom lion Leo Drummond as well as his law school girlfriend, Sarah. Rudy, along with his boss, Bruiser, and her disheveled paralegal, Deck, uncovers two connected conspiracies surrounding the mysterious death of their client’s son.
Cast
Milo Callaghan, John Slattery, Madison Iseman, Lana Parrilla, P.J. Byrne

Playing Gracie Darling
Mystery •Thriller •Drama
Overview
When Joni was 14, her best friend Gracie Darling disappeared during a séance. Some 27 years on, the local kids in a small town get their kicks with a game of ‘Playing Gracie Darling’ – but the seemingly innocent game turns sinister when another girl disappears. Joni, by then a child psychologist, returns to the town and partners with a police sergeant Jay to uncover the truth, while Gracie’s sister Ruth faces a mother’s worst nightmare when her own daughter vanishes under hauntingly similar circumstances.
Cast
Morgana O’Reilly, Rudi Dharmalingam, Annie Maynard, Anne Tenney, Dominic Ona-Ariki

The Last of Us
Drama •Horror •Sci-fi •Mystery •Thriller •Action •Adventure
Overview
Twenty years after modern civilization has been destroyed, Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse the United States and depend on each other for survival.
Cast
Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey
Duration
73 minutes

Twisted Metal
Action •Adventure •Comedy •Drama •Fantasy •Sci-fi •Sport •Mystery •Thriller
Overview
A motor-mouthed outsider with no memory of his past is offered a chance at a better life, but only if he can successfully deliver a mysterious package across a post-apocalyptic wasteland. With the help of a badass axe-wielding car thief, he’ll face savage marauders driving vehicles of destruction and other dangers of the open road, including a deranged clown who drives an all too familiar ice cream truck.
Cast
Anthony Mackie, Stephanie Beatriz, Nuufolau Joel Seanoa, Will Arnett, Thomas Haden Church

Slow Horses
Drama •Thriller •Comedy •Mystery
Overview
Follow a dysfunctional team of MI5 agents—and their obnoxious boss, the notorious Jackson Lamb—as they navigate the espionage world’s smoke and mirrors to defend England from sinister forces.
Cast
Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden, Kristin Scott Thomas

Dexter: Resurrection
Drama •Crime •Mystery •Thriller
Overview
Dexter Morgan awakens from a coma to find Harrison gone without a trace. Realizing the weight of what he put his son through, Dexter sets out for New York City, determined to find him and make things right. But closure won’t come easy. When Miami Metro’s Angel Batista arrives with questions, Dexter realizes his past is catching up to him fast. As father and son navigate their own darkness in the city that never sleeps, they soon find themselves deeper than they ever imagined – and that the only way out is together.
Cast
Michael C. Hall, Jack Alcott, Uma Thurman, Peter Dinklage, David Zayas

Dexter
Crime •Drama •Mystery •Thriller
Overview
Dexter Morgan, a blood spatter pattern analyst for the Miami Metro Police also leads a secret life as a serial killer, hunting down criminals who have slipped through the cracks of justice.
Cast
Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, Geoff Pierson, David Zayas, James Remar
Duration
53 minutes

Little Fires Everywhere
Drama •Mystery •Thriller
Overview
The intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and an enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives. Explore the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, the ferocious pull of motherhood – and the danger in believing that following the rules can avert disaster.
Cast
Reese Witherspoon, Kerry Washington, Joshua Jackson, Rosemarie DeWitt, Jade Pettyjohn

The Assassin
Drama •Mystery •Thriller
Overview
Secluded on a remote Greek island, retired assassin Julie has a somewhat thorny reunion with her estranged son, Edward, visiting from England. Armed with questions around new information on his paternity, Edward battles to find the right time to speak to his frustratingly distant mother. But, when the moment finally presents itself, things take a deadly turn as Julie’s dangerous past catches up with her and they are forced to flee the island and go on the run together.
Cast
Freddie Highmore, Keeley Hawes, David Dencik, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Gerald Kyd

9-1-1
Drama •Action •Adventure •Mystery •Thriller •Crime
Overview
Explore the high-pressure experiences of police officers, paramedics and firefighters who are thrust into the most frightening, shocking and heart-stopping situations. These emergency responders must try to balance saving those who are at their most vulnerable with solving the problems in their own lives.
Cast
Peter Krause, Angela Bassett, Oliver Stark, Kenneth Choi, Aisha Hinds

Butterfly
Drama •Action •Adventure •Mystery •Thriller
Overview
David Jung, a mysterious former US intelligence operative living in hiding in South Korea, has his life blown to pieces when the consequences of an impossible decision from his past come back to haunt him, and he finds himself hunted by Rebecca, a deadly young assassin, and Caddis, the sinister spy organization she works for.
Cast
Daniel Dae Kim, Reina Hardesty, Piper Perabo, Louis Landau, Kim Tae-hee

Severance
Drama •Thriller •Sci-fi •Mystery
Overview
Mark leads a team of office workers whose memories have been surgically divided between their work and personal lives. When a mysterious colleague appears outside of work, it begins a journey to discover the truth about their jobs.
Cast
Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Zach Cherry, Tramell Tillman, Jen Tullock

The Last Anniversary
Drama •Mystery •Thriller
Overview
A mystery that touches on family matters, motherhood and those women whose legacy defines the generations that blossom after them.
Cast
Teresa Palmer, Miranda Richardson, Danielle Macdonald, Claude Scott-Mitchell
Frequently asked questions
There’s some overlap here, but the main difference is that mystery series are all about solving a puzzle that has already happened, which might be a crime, while thriller series focus on the tension and suspense of an impending danger. What unfolds in thriller series is a story about a protagonist’s survival and what might happen next.
We know – you definitely don’t want the disappointment of finding a thriller series and discovering it’s unavailable, and that’s why we have checked every thriller series to confirm they’re available on a major Australian streaming service. All that’s left is to pick any title from our guide and start your binge without any hassle.
Never seen a thriller series before? No worries, you can begin with the psychological or crime thriller sub-genres to start your viewing experience. Compelling characters and a clear central mystery story, plus a strong build of tension – this will all keep you on the edge of your seat in these sub-genres. That’s why they’re are a good entry point to start getting comfortable with the suspense.
If you’re wondering why psychological thrillers are so popular – that’s because they are incredibly engaging, going beyond action to explore the complex mind of an unreliable narrator or to resolve a complex web of deceit. Some might even make you question what is real in the series! Gripping and thought-provoking, they keep you guessing until the very end.
A great choice for a weekend binge, plenty of these TV series have shorter seasons, but where can you get this information? We advise first looking at the runtime to fit the series into your schedule. It’s available for each show in our guide, so you can use it to rule out some of the longer series and instead experience an epic story without a huge time commitment.
These awesome series build suspense around political intrigue and power plays – and they often centre on politically themed conspiracies. They often feature high stakes tension, as the fate of a country or powerful organisation can be at risk. But they also intermix the actions of a hero with the actions of a villain to keep us on our toes.
The world of thriller series is vast, so we couldn’t include every single incredible show. Our ranking is based on public sentiment and what’s currently trending, not just personal opinions. It’s an objective look at what viewers are loving right now. We’re confident you’ll find a new favourite here.
The world of streaming changes quickly, and so does what people are watching. This list will be updated to reflect what’s currently trending and what new shows are generating a buzz. We will keep this guide fresh to ensure you always have a truly great binge-watch option.