10 Best Recent & Upcoming Psychological Thriller Shows, Ranked
Psychological thrillers have proven to be a popular genre among television audiences because of how they combine tones of mystery and suspense to examine the complex mental states of characters and question the reality surrounding them, heightening viewers’ sense of curiosity and investment.
Some notable examples of psychological thrillers are AMC’s Breaking Bad, Showtime’s Dexter, and USA’s Mr. Robot. These series have been met with critical acclaim and praise from audiences, but they are only a handful of many series within the genre. Plus, these series ended long ago and more light should be shed on recent series that have continued to propel the popularity of the genre.
Settle in for a list of the 10 best recent and upcoming psychological thriller series that exhibit excellent storytelling, complex characters, and a gripping narrative.
The Patient
Therapy takes hard work and introspection. Hulu’s The Patient takes this sentiment to the extreme by having Sam (Domhnall Gleeson), a serial killer, seek out therapist Alan (Steve Carell) to help him control his homicidal urges. The issue is Sam’s commitment, however. He keeps Alan captive until the therapist can successfully convince Sam to stop killing. Alan comes to terms with his own repressed issues against the backdrop of counseling Sam before the therapist becomes implicated in his kills.
The Midnight Club
The Midnight Club series creator Mike Flanagan is no stranger to horror and thriller tinged with emotionality. Based on the work of mystery writer Christopher Pike, The Midnight Club takes place in Brightcliffe Home, a hospice for young terminally ill patients. The characters tell ghost stories to each other as a way to cope with their own impending deaths, unraveling a supernatural history within Brightcliffe itself along the way. The Netflix series was canceled after one season, but it is a beautiful story about death, grief, and friendship that is worth the watch.
Servant
Married couple Dorothy (Lauren Ambrose) and Sean Turner (Toby Kebbell) lose their newborn son, Jericho. In an effort to process his death, the couple have a reborn doll made in his likeness and employ a nanny (Nell Tiger Free) to take care of it as if Jericho was alive. If this isn’t haunting enough, supernatural events begin taking place in the home. Creator M. Night Shyamalan’s Servant will leave you unnerved as it examines the path trauma takes when it ripples through a household.
Beef
In A24’s upcoming Netflix series, Beef tells the tale of how a moment of rage can consume your whole life. The series depicts the aftermath of a road rage incident between Danny Cho (Steven Yeun) and Amy Lau (Ali Wong). What starts out as a feud between the two devolves into a mutual obsession that takes psychological tolls on each, bringing their darkest qualities out of the woodwork. The series premieres on April 6.
You
Delve into the twisted mind of Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley), a serial killer whose charming demeanor disguises a murderous obsession with love. A commentary on the intersections of violence, obsession, and privilege in the time of social media, You draws you in from the first instance Badgley utters the infamous, “Hello…you.”
Dead Ringers
A modern take on David Cronenberg’s 1988 psychosexual thriller film, Dead Ringers is an upcoming Prime Video series starring Rachel Weisz who plays twin OBGYNs Beverly and Elliot Mantle. The twins are intertwined to an unsettling extent, sharing everything from lovers to drugs to a tendency to cross medical and ethical boundaries because of their ambition. The trailer promises a tale of intrigue that will also comment on the state of women’s access to reproductive healthcare. The series premieres April 21.
Swarm
Created by Donald Glover and Janine Nabers, Prime Video’s Swarm follows Andrea “Dre” Green (Dominique Fishback), a super fan of pop star Ni’Jah whose dedication becomes murderous after she suffers a devastating loss. Swarm is a poignant meditation on how fandom can simultaneously comfort and hurt the psyche in times of trauma. Surreal imagery coupled with Fishback’s brilliantly nuanced performance as Dre make this an engrossing watch.
Fargo
The FX crime drama anthology series is based on the 1996 Coen Brothers film. Created by Noah Hawley, each season revolves around a central crime (murder, corruption, gangs, you name it) and the consequences it brings to the town and citizens. The classic thriller premise set against the backdrop of a desolate, wintry Midwestern setting makes Fargo a chilling series through and through. Season 5 is currently in development and will star, among others, Jon Hamm, Juno Temple, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Promo for Season 5 centers around the questions “When is a kidnapping not a kidnapping, and what if your wife isn’t yours?”
Severance
It was one of 2022’s most talked about shows, and for good reason. Apple TV+’s Severance follows the workers of the Macrodata Refinement division of mysterious Lumon Industries; their consciousnesses have been surgically severed into their work and their personal selves. After a worker mysteriously disappears, Mark (Adam Scott) and the rest of the division embark on a journey to uncover the truth about their jobs and the corporate conspiracy at Lumon. The second season is currently in production.
Yellowjackets
It’s the Showtime series that has everyone buzzing. While traveling on a plane to Seattle for the national championship tournament, a New Jersey high school girls soccer team crashes deep in the Canadian wilderness and is stranded for 19 months. The series deftly chronicles the team’s journey by flashing between unsettling scenes of survival in the aftermath of the crash and the turmoil the survivors endure in the present-day. Yellowjackets is an expertly written and acted series and, with Season 2 currently airing, it will have you scavenging for clues as to what exactly happened in those woods.