Best American Thriller TV Shows

This page is updated regularly. Subscribe, so you don't miss new recommendations. The list of "Best American Thriller TV Shows" contains films with the following parameters. Style: suspenseful, serious, exciting, detective, realistic and thrilling. Plot: investigation, supernatural, danger, murder, police officer, cop, pop culture, criminal, police and live action. Genre: Drama, Thriller and Crime. Country: USA, Canada and UK.
Best American Thriller TV Shows
Best American Thriller TV Shows
TOP TV Shows: Criminal Minds (2005), Nine Perfect Strangers (2021), Manifest (2018), Dexter (2006), Chicago P.D. (2014), The Handmaid's Tale (2017), Sons of Anarchy (2008), S.W.A.T. (2017), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000), Sherlock (2010), The X-Files (1993), The Mentalist (2008), Fargo (2014), Revenge (2011), How to Get Away with Murder (2014), Without a Trace (2002), Ozark (2017), Under the Dome (2013), Dark (2017), Sense8 (2015).

List of Best TV Shows

Watch Trailers From This List to Choose a Movie
 8.1
 217K
Criminal Minds (2005)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 42 min.
TV show
Story: An elite team of FBI profilers analyze the country's most twisted criminal minds, anticipating their next moves before they strike again. The Behavioral Analysis Unit's most experienced agent is David Rossi, a founding member of the BAU ...
Style: psychological, exciting, serious, rough, detective ...
Audience: teens, family outing
Plot: fbi, investigation, serial killer, team, law enforcement, crime investigation, murder, danger, forensics, profiler, investigator, intelligence ...
Time: future, 2010s, 2000s, 2020s, 21st century
Place: usa, virginia, seattle, new york, arizona
Is relevant ?
Nine Perfect Strangers (2021)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 50 min.
TV show
Story: At a boutique health-and-wellness resort that promises healing and transformation, nine stressed city dwellers try to get on a path to a better way of living. Watching over them during this 10-day retreat is the resort's director, Masha, a ...
Style: psychological, suspense, tense, disturbing, captivating ...
Plot: resort, magic mushroom, psychological manipulation, drug, secret, uncover truth, manipulation, animal death, secrets, social relations, self discovery, gay ...
Time: 2020s, 21st century
Is relevant ?
 7.1
 90K
Manifest (2018)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min.
TV show
Story: After landing from a turbulent but routine flight, the crew and passengers of Montego Air Flight 828 discover five years have passed in what seemed like a few hours. As their new realities become clear, a deeper mystery unfolds and some of the ...
Style: mysterious, suspense, exciting, captivating, suspenseful ...
Plot: time warp, mysticism, a vision, time travel, life & death, time traveler, investigation, airplane, starting over, supernatural, passenger, presumed dead ...
Time: future, 2010s, 21st century
Place: new york
Is relevant ?
 8.7
 760K
Dexter (2006)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 55 min.
TV show
Story: Dexter is an American television drama series. The series centers on Dexter Morgan, a blood spatter pattern analyst for 'Miami Metro Police Department' who also leads a secret life as a serial killer, hunting down criminals who have ...
Style: captivating, clever, serious, stylized, tense ...
Audience: teens
Plot: serial killer, crime investigation, right and wrong, hidden identity, double life, gory, vigilantism, anti hero, serial murder, loner, police station, dark humor ...
Time: 2000s, 2010s, y2k, year 2006, 21st century
Place: miami, usa, florida
Is relevant ?
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 8.1
 44K
Chicago P.D. (2014)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min.
TV show
Story: A riveting police drama about the men and women of the Chicago Police Department's District 21 who put it all on the line to serve and protect their community. District 21 is made up of two distinctly different groups: the uniformed cops who ...
Style: exciting, tense, suspenseful, serious, detective ...
Audience: boys' night, teens
Plot: police, law enforcement, cop, crime investigation, policewoman, victim, police detective, sergeant, shooting, murder, partner, abduction ...
Time: 2010s, 21st century
Place: chicago, illinois, usa
Is relevant ?
The Handmaid's Tale (2017)
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story: Set in a dystopian future, a woman is forced to live as a concubine under a fundamentalist theocratic dictatorship. A TV adaptation of Margaret Atwood's novel.
Style: psychological, rough, melancholic, bleak, captivating ...
Plot: rape, sexism, surrogate mother, infertility, dystopia, protest, totalitarianism, slavery, tyranny, religion, belief, women's rights ...
Time: future, near future, 2010s, 21st century
Place: syria
Is relevant ?
 8.6
 321K
Sons of Anarchy (2008)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 45 min.
TV show
Story: An adrenalized drama with darkly comedic undertones that explores a notorious outlaw motorcycle club’s (MC) desire to protect its livelihood while ensuring that their simple, sheltered town of Charming, California remains exactly that, charming. ...
Style: serious, tense, exciting, suspenseful, rough ...
Audience: boys' night, teens
Plot: biker, motorcycle, motorcycle gang, prison, organized crime, gang, power struggle, group of criminals, criminal, young man, arms dealing, friends ...
Time: 2010s, y2k, 2000s, 21st century
Place: usa, california, northern california
Is relevant ?
 7.2
 31K
S.W.A.T. (2017)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min.
TV show
Story: Follows a locally born and bred S.W.A.T. lieutenant who is torn between loyalty to the streets and duty to his fellow officers when he's tasked to run a highly-trained unit that's the last stop for solving crimes in Los Angeles.
Style: exciting, captivating, tense, suspense, detective
Plot: swat team, twists and turns, fight scenes, danger, friendship, gunfight, heroes, die hard, dialogue, propaganda, police officer, police ...
Time: 2020s, 2010s, 21st century
Place: los angeles
Is relevant ?
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CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story: The series follows Las Vegas criminalists working for the Las Vegas Police Department as they use physical evidence to solve grisly murders in this unusually graphic drama, which has inspired a host of other cop-show "procedurals". The ...
Style: detective, serious, psychological, suspenseful, rough ...
Audience: teens, boys' night
Plot: police, police procedural, investigator, forensics, murder investigation, murder, teamwork, medical examiner, scientist, police investigation, expert, police detective ...
Time: future, 2010s, 2000s, 21st century
Place: usa, las vegas, nevada
Is relevant ?
 9.1
 990K
Sherlock (2010)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 88 min.
TV show
Story: A modern update finds the famous sleuth and his doctor partner solving crime in 21st century London.
Style: clever, detective, witty, captivating, serious ...
Audience: teens
Plot: sherlock holmes, investigation, private detective, murder mystery, genius, mastermind, friendship, british, murder, mind game, riddles and clues, prodigy ...
Time: 2000s, 2010s, 21st century
Place: london, england, scotland yard, afghanistan, britain ...
Is relevant ?
 8.6
 247K
The X-Files (1993)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 45 min.
TV show
Story: The exploits of FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully who investigate X-Files: marginalized, unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena. Mulder believes in the existence of aliens and the paranormal while Scully, a skeptic, is assigned to ...
Style: captivating, psychological, mind bending, atmospheric, detective ...
Audience: boys' night, kids, teens
Plot: ufo, supernatural, investigation, fbi, conspiracy, paranormal investigation, alien, top secret, paranormal activity, alien contact, space and aliens, female fbi agent ...
Time: 2010s, 90s, future, jurassic, 20th century ...
Place: washington d.c., usa, arizona, phoenix arizona
Is relevant ?
 8.2
 199K
The Mentalist (2008)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min.
TV show
Story: Patrick Jane, a former celebrity psychic medium, uses his razor sharp skills of observation and expertise at "reading" people to solve serious crimes with the California Bureau of Investigation.
Style: exciting, intellectual, serious, suspenseful, suspense ...
Audience: teens, adult
Plot: serial killer, investigation, partners against crime, fighting crime, police, murder, police investigation, law enforcement, danger, talented, justice, outsmarting ...
Time: future, 2000s, 2010s, 21st century
Place: california, usa
Is relevant ?
 8.9
 417K
Fargo (2014)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 53 min.
TV show
Story: A close-knit anthology series dealing with stories involving malice, violence and murder based in and around Minnesota.
Style: neo noir, atmospheric, captivating, detective, clever ...
Plot: dark humor, psychopath, small town, law enforcement, police investigation, cop, snow, killings, small town life, social relations, scheme, policewoman ...
Time: 2010s, year 1979, year 2014, future, year 2006 ...
Place: minnesota, north dakota, east germany, usa
Is relevant ?
 7.8
 125K
Revenge (2011)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 44 min.
TV show
Story: When Emily Thorne moves to the Hamptons, everyone wonders about the new girl, but she knows everything about them, including what they did to her family. Years ago, they took everything from her. Now, one by one, she's going to make them pay.
Style: captivating, serious, soap opera, realistic, suspenseful ...
Audience: teens, chick flick, adult
Plot: high society, vengeance, pretense, hidden identity, strong female character, twists and turns, revenge, enemy, half sister, suspicion, haunted by the past, victim ...
Time: 2010s, 21st century
Place: usa, new york
Is relevant ?
How to Get Away with Murder (2014)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min.
TV show
Story: A sexy, suspense-driven legal thriller about a group of ambitious law students and their brilliant, mysterious criminal defense professor. They become entangled in a murder plot and will shake the entire university and change the course of their ...
Style: serious, realistic, suspenseful, captivating, thrilling ...
Audience: teens
Plot: murder mystery, legal, hotshot lawyer, lawyer, murder, law student, defense attorney, court case, college, lgbt, teachers and students, courtroom ...
Time: 2010s, 21st century
Place: usa, philadelphia, idaho, chicago
Is relevant ?
Without a Trace (2002)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story: Without a Trace was an American police procedural television drama series that originally ran on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009. The series follows the ventures of a Missing Persons Unit of the FBI in New York City.
Style: serious, atmospheric, suspenseful, realistic, captivating ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: criminal, law enforcement, murder investigation, kidnapping, murder, police, fbi, missing person, police detective, female detective, investigation, federal bureau of investigation ...
Time: future, 2000s, 21st century
Place: usa, new york
Is relevant ?
 8.5
 343K
Ozark (2017)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story: A financial adviser drags his family from Chicago to the Missouri Ozarks, where he must launder $500 million in five years to appease a drug boss.
Style: serious, realistic, suspense, suspenseful, spectacular ...
Plot: money laundering, drug cartel, danger, family relations, rivalry, murder, investigation, drug, teenage girl, organized crime, mafia, violence ...
Time: 2020s, 2010s, 21st century
Place: mexico, missouri, chicago
Is relevant ?
 6.5
 112K
Under the Dome (2013)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min.
TV show
Story: 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 ...
Style: exciting, mind bending, surreal, teen, tense ...
Audience: teens
Plot: supernatural, survival, stephen king, trapped, small town, life turned upside down, twists and turns, isolation, teenage girl, small town life, human existence, society ...
Time: 21st century
Place: new england, usa
Is relevant ?
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9787
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13963
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29790
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20963
 8.7
 438K
Dark (2017)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 1455 min.
TV show
Story: A missing child causes four families to help each other for answers. What they could not imagine is that this mystery would be connected to innumerable other secrets of the small town.
Style: mind bending, atmospheric, suspense, mysterious, suspenseful ...
Audience: teens
Plot: time travel, investigation, time loop, time machine, mysterious past, cave, time portal, missing child, repeated event, changing the future, deja vu, small town ...
Time: year 1986, year 2019, year 1953, 50s, 80s ...
Place: germany, chernobyl
Is relevant ?
 8.2
 162K
Sense8 (2015)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story: One gunshot, one death, one moment out of time that irrevocably links eight minds in disparate parts of the world, putting them in each other's lives, each other's secrets, and in terrible danger. Ordinary people suddenly reborn as ...
Style: exciting, suspenseful, stylized, serious, erotic ...
Audience: chick flick, family friendly, boys' night, girls' night
Plot: lgbt, supernatural, supernatural ability, gay, telepathy, danger, lesbian, love affair, secret organization, conspiracy, sex scene, transsexual ...
Time: future, 20th century, 2010s, 21st century
Place: london, chicago, indiana, idaho, mumbai india ...
Is relevant ?
 7.9
 44K
9-1-1 (2018)
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min.
TV show
Story: 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 ...
Style: suspenseful, captivating, tense, realistic, thought provoking ...
Plot: medicine, firefighter, emergency, 911, misadventure, saving a life, medical, life risking, daring rescue, search and rescue, fire brigade, ambulance ...
Time: 2010s, 2020s, 21st century
Place: usa, chicago, california, los angeles
Is relevant ?
 7.6
 31K
Cold Case (2003)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 44 min.
TV show
Story: The Philadelphia homicide squad's lone female detective finds her calling when she is assigned cases that have never been solved. Detective Lilly Rush combines her natural instincts with the updated technology available today to bring about ...
Style: detective, atmospheric, serious, contemplative, realistic ...
Plot: female detective, police detective, murder investigation, policewoman, mentor, who done it, police, homicide detective, investigation, unsolved crime, police procedural, uncover truth ...
Time: 90s, 70s, 60s, 80s, 1930s ...
Place: philadelphia, usa
Is relevant ?
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min.
TV show
Story: In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are ...
Style: detective, tense, captivating, clever, grindhouse ...
Audience: kids, adult
Plot: law and order, sexual abuse, police, sex crime, law enforcement, criminal, police detective, female detective, partners against crime, lawyer, danger, fighting crime ...
Time: 90s, 2000s, 20th century, 2010s, 2020s ...
Place: new york, usa, las vegas, new york state
Is relevant ?
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1995
teens movies
9529
 8.7
 87K
The Shield (2002)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 47 min.
TV show
Story: The story of an inner-city Los Angeles police precinct where some of the cops aren't above breaking the rules or working against their associates to both keep the streets safe and their self-interests intact.
Style: tense, rough, exciting, suspenseful, realistic ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: police corruption, police detective, law enforcement, corrupt cop, dirty cop, cop, police brutality, dishonesty, cruelty, murder, tough law enforcer, peril ...
Time: 2000s, 21st century
Place: los angeles, california, usa
Is relevant ?
 6.5
 61K
CSI: Miami (2002)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min.
TV show
Story: CSI: Miami follows Crime Scene Investigators working for the Miami-Dade Police Department as they use physical evidence, similar to their Las Vegas counterparts, to solve grisly murders. The series mixes deduction, gritty subject matter, and ...
Style: serious, suspenseful, detective, realistic, rough ...
Audience: teens, boys' night
Plot: investigation, forensics, murder, police detective, danger, policewoman, law enforcement, workplace situations, medical examiner, workplace, police, crime scene ...
Time: future, 2000s, 2010s, 21st century
Place: miami, usa, florida
Is relevant ?
 8.3
 591K
Lost (2004)
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 5445 min.
TV show
Story: Stripped of everything, the survivors of a horrific plane crash must work together to stay alive. But the island holds many secrets.
Style: exciting, atmospheric, psychological, enigmatic, mind bending ...
Audience: teens
Plot: survival, island, stranded, desert island, stranded on an island, human nature, lost, mysterious place, death, air disaster, destiny, plane crash ...
Time: y2k, 70s, 2000s, 21st century
Place: fictional island, hawaii, pacific ocean
Is relevant ?
 8.4
 479K
Supernatural (2005)
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 44 min.
TV show
Story: When they were boys, Sam and Dean Winchester lost their mother to a mysterious and demonic supernatural force. Subsequently, their father raised them to be soldiers. He taught them about the paranormal evil that lives in the dark corners and on the ...
Style: suspenseful, scary, serious, rough, dark fantasy ...
Audience: teens, adult
Plot: supernatural, monster, vampire, ghost, paranormal, demon, creature, supernatural ability, angel, supernatural power, mission, paranormal phenomena ...
Time: 20th century, 2000s, year 1973, 2010s, year 1997 ...
Place: usa, arizona
Is relevant ?
Person of Interest (2011)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min.
TV show
Story: Person of Interest follows former CIA paramilitary operative, John Reese, who is presumed dead and teams up with reclusive billionaire Finch to prevent violent crimes in New York City by initiating their own type of justice. With the special ...
Style: exciting, captivating, serious, clever, detective ...
Audience: teens, boys' night
Plot: artificial intelligence, surveillance, computer system, hi-tech, partners against crime, privacy invasion, hacker, computer genius, characters in danger, fighting crime, computer, secret ...
Time: 2000s, 2010s, 21st century
Place: new york, usa
Is relevant ?
Marvel's Jessica Jones (2015)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 56 min.
TV show
Story: After a tragic ending to her short-lived super hero stint, Jessica Jones is rebuilding her personal life and career as a detective who gets pulled into cases involving people with extraordinary abilities in New York City.
Style: exciting, serious, neo noir, realistic, semi serious ...
Audience: kids, teens
Plot: female protagonist, superhero, investigation, private detective, strong female character, imaginary, lawyer, strong female lead, super powers, violence, good versus evil, supernatural power ...
Time: 21st century
Place: new york, usa
Is relevant ?
 7.3
 26K
Chucky (2021)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 42 min.
TV show
Story: After a vintage Chucky doll turns up at a suburban yard sale, an idyllic American town is thrown into chaos as a series of horrifying murders begin to expose the town’s hypocrisies and secrets. Meanwhile, the arrival of enemies — and allies — ...
Style: slasher, slasher horror, dark comedy, bleak, disturbing ...
Plot: killer doll, doll, evil doll, murder, serial killer, gay, violence, death, chase, youth, supernatural, danger ...
Time: 2020s
Place: usa, new jersey
Is relevant ?
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