7 Thriller Shows Without a Single Flaw

Image via Hulu Published Jul 31, 2026, 6:47 AM EDT Jennie Richardson is a TV Features and Lists Writer for Collider, and a graduate student pursuing an MFA in Fiction Writing. In other words, she really loves stories. Sign in to your Collider account Excellent thriller shows keep viewers on the edges of their seats from start to finish. These shows draw viewers in with an unsettling atmosphere and the promise of eventual answers to questions that are set up from the beginning. The stakes are very high, and more often than not, many beloved characters will die before the show has come to an end. Still, fans are compelled to keep watching to see where the plot goes, and what will happen to their favorite characters. From mind-bending sci-fi and fantasy thrillers, to dark comedy thrillers that balance between suspense and humor, there are only a handful of truly flawless thriller shows. These shows never once dip in quality, and they stay focused on their main themes and storylines on the path towards ultimately delivering a phenomenal payoff to their biggest mysteries. These are thriller shows without a single flaw. 'Midnight Mass' (2021) Image via Netflix Midnight Mass is a horror thriller miniseries that follows Riley Flynn (Zach Gilford), a man who has just been released from prison after four years. Riley is still dealing with debilitating guilt after killing a teenage girl in a drunk driving accident, and he's concerned about sticking to his sobriety now that he's out of prison. He is also returning to Crockett Island, the tiny island where he grew up, for the first time in a very long time. At the same time that Riley comes back to Crockett Island, a new priest named Father Paul (Hamish Linklater) comes to town and takes over in the absence of the town's elderly priest who's been gone since falling ill. Father Paul eagerly jumps into his new role by performing impossible miracles that win the townspeople over. He's hiding some major secrets, though, and Riley's outside perspective allows him to pick up on what nobody else will. Midnight Mass is a suspenseful and gripping series from start to finish, all culminating in an absolutely gut-wrenching and unforgettable ending. 'Based on a True Story' (2023–2024) Image via Peacock Based on a True Story is a dark comedy thriller that follows Ava (Kaley Cuoco) and Nathan Bartlett (Chris Messina), an ordinary married couple that is expecting their first child. Neither one of them is content with their stilted professional lives and mundane personal lives. To cope, Nathan daydreams of his past as a successful tennis pro, and Ava obsesses over her favorite true-crime podcast. When Nathan and Ava learn that their plumber, Matt (Tom Bateman), is secretly a notorious serial killer called The Westside Ripper, Ava suggests holding off on turning him in. Instead, Ava and Nathan decide to use the situation to their advantage. They blackmail Matt into starting a podcast with them where he anonymously comes on as The Westside Ripper each week and talks about his kills. In doing so, Ava and Nathan become complicit in Matt's murders, even though they have the condition that he can't kill anyone else. Based on a True Story is a brilliant true-crime satire, and it's also laugh-out-loud funny and truly riveting. 'Paradise' (2025–Present) Image via Hulu Paradise is a post-apocalyptic political thriller that follows Agent Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown), the lead Secret Service agent to the President of the United States, Cal Bradford (James Marsden). For the past three years, a select community of people have been living in a massive underground bunker in the wake of a doomsday event that destroyed the world. When Cal is murdered, Xavier is desperate to find out the truth, even if that means disrupting the bunker's community and unraveling a web of secrets and lies. What makes Xavier's investigation all the more difficult, is that those in charge of the bunker are determined to hide the fact that Cal was murdered. Thus, Xavier has to go against orders to investigate Cal's murder, risking the life of himself and his kids in the process. Paradise is an intense roller coaster ride from the very beginning, setting up a number of long-running mysteries that slowly get revealed over time. 'Barry' (2018–2023) Image via HBO Barry is a darkly comedic thriller series about a former marine named Barry Berkman (Bill Hader), who now works as a hitman under the instructions of a family friend. When he follows his latest target to an acting class in Los Angeles, Barry unexpectedly falls in love with acting. After that job, he starts returning to acting class and building a community for the first time. He admires his acting teacher (Henry Winkler) and is enamored with his classmate (Sarah Goldberg), but he's risking a lot just by being there. As Barry becomes more involved with the acting class, he has to juggle this new life with his job as a hitman, as he works to keep his two very different worlds separate. Barry is a wildly clever thriller series that is full of tension throughout. There are the high stakes of Barry's job, of course, as well as Barry's constant fear that his job will be exposed to the new people in his life. The show is also absolutely hilarious, and it expertly balances its dark sense of humor with the constant feeling of suspense. Collider Exclusive · Universe Personality Quiz Which Iconic Universe Do You Belong in the Most? Star Wars · Lord of the Rings · Harry Potter · Game of Thrones · Star Trek Five legendary universes. Five completely different visions of what the world could be — or already was. One of them is the world your instincts, your values, and your particular way of existing were built for. Eight questions will tell you which one. 🚀Star Wars 💍Lord of the Rings 🧙Harry Potter 👑Game of Thrones 🖖Star Trek FIND YOUR UNIVERSE → 01 What gives your life its deepest sense of meaning? Every universe is built around a different answer to this question. ABeing part of something larger than myself — a cause, a rebellion, a fight for freedom that outlasts me. BThe journey itself — the places I'll go, the companions beside me, the world I'll discover on the way. CLearning — unlocking what I'm capable of, understanding the world's hidden mechanics, growing into something more. DLegacy — the name I leave behind, the power I build, the mark I make before the world moves on without me. EUnderstanding — exploring what exists beyond the horizon and asking what it means to be alive in a universe this vast. NEXT QUESTION → 02 Which kind of world do you most want to inhabit? The environment shapes who you become. Choose carefully. AA galaxy of planets, each with its own culture — connected by conflict, trade, and the Force. BAncient lands of breathtaking beauty, deep history, and a creeping darkness at the edges. CA world hidden inside our own — full of wonder, community, and magic waiting to be learned. DA brutal, beautiful continent where power is everything and every alliance is a calculation. EA future where humanity has reached the stars — and must decide what kind of species it wants to be. NEXT QUESTION → 03 How do you prefer your conflicts resolved? The shape of a world's conflicts tells you everything about its soul. AThrough sacrifice and courage — someone has to make the impossible choice so others don't have to. BThrough fellowship — the impossible becomes possible when the right people walk the same road. CThrough growth — confronting what you fear, understanding what you lack, and becoming equal to the challenge. DThrough strategy — outthinking, outmaneuvering, positioning yourself so the outcome was never in doubt. EThrough dialogue — finding the third option, the peaceful resolution, the answer that doesn't require a body count. NEXT QUESTION → 04 Who do you want beside you when things get difficult? Your ideal companions reveal the world you were made for. AA small crew — a pilot, a rogue, a warrior — each broken in their own way, unbeatable together. BA fellowship of different kinds of people, bound by purpose and deepened by the long road. CFriends who grew up alongside me — who knew me before I knew myself, and stayed anyway. DAllies whose loyalty I've earned — and tested — and whose ambitions align with mine, for now. EA crew of brilliant, curious, principled people from every corner of known space. NEXT QUESTION → 05 What is your relationship with power? How you seek, wield, or resist power is the map of who you are. AI want to use it to protect — and I'm terrified of what I might become if I'm not careful. BI distrust it. The most important power in this story is the courage to give it up. CI want to earn it — through knowledge, through effort, through becoming someone worthy of it. DI want to wield it. Preferably before someone else decides to wield it against me. EI want to understand it — its structures, its limits, its ethical dimensions. Power without accountability is the real threat. NEXT QUESTION → 06 How does your universe treat good and evil? A world's moral architecture tells you more about it than any map. AThere is a dark side and a light side — and the choice between them is always present, always personal. BEvil is real and ancient and patient — and goodness, however small, is the only thing that can undo it. CGood and evil are real, but they live inside people — and people are complicated, always capable of both. DGood and evil are mostly a matter of perspective and proximity. Power is the only honest currency. EEvil is usually the result of ignorance, fear, or broken systems — and understanding it is the first step to solving it. NEXT QUESTION → 07 What role would you naturally fall into? Every universe has archetypes. Which one fits you without trying? AThe reluctant hero — ordinary origins, extraordinary moment, changed forever by the choice to act. BThe unlikely carrier — the one nobody expected to matter most, quietly bearing the weight of everything. CThe student — not yet who I'll become, learning through every mistake, growing into something the world needs. DThe player — sharp enough to see the game for what it is, ambitious enough to try to win it. EThe explorer — drawn to the unknown, driven by curiosity, most alive when standing somewhere no one has stood before. NEXT QUESTION → 08 What do you ultimately believe about the future? The answer to this is the clearest window into which universe already lives inside you. AThat hope is real — that even in the darkest galaxy, a new hope is always possible. CThat even the smallest person can change the course of the future, if they have the courage to try. CThat love and friendship and doing what's right will matter in the end, even when everything says otherwise. DThat the wheel keeps turning — that power shifts, winters end, and what endures is those willing to fight for it. EThat humanity — or whatever we become — is capable of extraordinary things, if we choose to be. REVEAL MY UNIVERSE → Your Universe Has Been Chosen You Belong In…Your answers point to the iconic universe your values, your instincts, and your particular way of seeing the world were built for. This is where you would find your people — and your purpose. Star WarsYou believe in the cause — in the idea that freedom is worth fighting for even when the odds are impossible and the empire is vast. You are drawn to the moral clarity of a universe where hope itself is a form of resistance. You'd find your people in the Rebellion — a ragtag coalition of true believers held together by conviction more than resources. Star Wars is fundamentally a story about ordinary people choosing to matter in an extraordinary conflict — and that is exactly your kind of story. The Force may or may not be with you. But the will to use it for something larger than yourself certainly is. Lord of the RingsYou understand, in the deepest part of yourself, that the journey matters as much as the destination — and that the world's beauty is worth protecting even at great cost. Middle-earth is a world of ancient wonder, deep friendship, and a darkness that only retreats when enough small acts of courage accumulate. You would thrive here because you value the fellowship more than the glory — the road more than the arrival. Tolkien's universe rewards patience, loyalty, and the willingness to carry something heavy across a very long distance. Those are not burdens to you. They are simply how you move through the world. Harry PotterYou believe that love, loyalty, and doing what's right are not naive sentiments — they are the most powerful forces in any world, magical or otherwise. The Wizarding World is a place of wonder hidden in plain sight, where learning is transformative and the bonds you form at school follow you into every battle. You would flourish here because you take both the magic and the friendships seriously — and you understand that one without the other is incomplete. Harry Potter's universe ultimately rewards those who choose to stand for something even when standing is terrifying. That choice — made quietly, without guarantee — is something you understand completely. Game of ThronesYou see the world clearly — its power structures, its hypocrisies, its brutal arithmetic — and you are not paralysed by that clarity. You use it. Westeros is a world that rewards intelligence, adaptability, and the willingness to understand that every alliance is also a negotiation. You would survive here — possibly thrive here — because you don't confuse the world as it is with the world as you'd like it to be. Game of Thrones is a story about what happens when the idealists and the realists collide. You are sharp enough to know which one lasts longer. Winter always comes. You are already prepared. Star TrekYou believe the future is worth building — that curiosity, cooperation, and the expansion of understanding are not just ideals but the most practical path forward for any civilisation. Star Trek is a universe where the questions matter as much as the answers, and where encountering something utterly alien is cause for wonder rather than fear. You would belong here because you are fundamentally optimistic about what intelligence and decency can achieve — while being honest about how hard that achievement is. The Federation is the universe's most ambitious thought experiment: what if we actually got better? You don't just hope that's possible. You think it's the only thing worth working toward. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ 'School Spirits' (2023–Present) Image via Paramount+ School Spirits is a paranormal thriller series about a teenage girl named Maddie Nears (Peyton List), who has suddenly and mysteriously gone missing. Maddie's spirit is trapped in her high school alongside the ghosts of all the students and faculty members who have died there, and she's pretty sure that she's dead as well, but she can't remember anything. Desperate for answers, Maddie investigates her death with the help of the other ghosts — as well as her best friend, Simon Elroy (Kristian Ventura), the only living person who can see or hear her. School Spirits is brilliantly written, and each season dives deeper into the lore of Maddie's school, town, and personal backstory. The show's attention to detail is outstanding, and it hints at long-running mysteries early on, then slowly builds up to the eventual reveals with each episode. Between the threats to Maddie from the living world, and the threats to all of the ghosts from the spirit world, School Spirits is an intense and thrilling horror series that keeps viewers gripped throughout. 'Severance' (2022–Present) Severance may only have two seasons under its belt so far, but they are both absolutely extraordinary. The sci-fi thriller follows Mark Scout (Adam Scott), a grieving widower who previously underwent a procedure to split his brain in half. Mark's outside self only knows a life at home, while his work self has never known a life outside of the office. This procedure is a requirement for all employees who work on the severed floor of Lumon Industries, in order to keep the details of their work confidential. Severance is a brilliant and riveting mystery box series that is constantly throwing viewers for a loop with shocking twists. Even in the quieter moments, Severance fills its viewers with constant dread as it slowly builds up to its more explosive moments. The viewers are in the unique position of getting to see both the severed floor and the outside world, so they know more than most of the characters. This only deepens the intensity of each scene, as viewers are left to watch each storyline unfold and hope that it all can somehow work out for the characters. 'The Leftovers' (2014–2017) Image via HBO The Leftovers is a post-apocalyptic thriller that takes place three years after a mysterious event that made 2% of the world's population suddenly disappear. In the aftermath, everyone has had different long-lasting reactions to the grief and lack of answers. Kevin Garvey (Justin Theroux) is the police chief of a small town in New York, and he struggles to keep tensions at bay as a cult called the Guilty Remnant tries to forcibly stop people from moving on from the Departure. Each season of The Leftovers is drastically different, but equally phenomenal. It starts out as a quiet and grounded drama that finds its conflict in human cruelty and post-Departure tension. Then, the series starts to lean more into its speculative elements, leading both Kevin and the viewers to question what's real and what isn't. Every episode of The Leftovers is breathtaking, and its series finale is one of the best of all time. The Leftovers Release Date 2014 - 2017-00-00 Showrunner Damon Lindelof Writers Damon Lindelof, Tom Perrotta Seasons 3 Story By Tom Perrotta Streaming Service(s) MAX