01 A troubled journalist returns to her hometown to cover a string of murders and confront her own painful past.
12 Best Crime Thriller Series
By Vlad Zakh · April 3, 2026
Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul remain the standard for slow-burn character transformation, while True Detective and Mindhunter lean atmospheric and procedural, and Ozark and Fargo show the genre’s range. Sharp Objects has a troubled journalist returning home to cover murders, The Night Manager has a soldier infiltrating an arms dealer’s circle, and Money Heist has a mastermind planning a heist on Spain’s Royal Mint. Killing Eve, The Night Of and Broadchurch round out the list.
01 
02 A former soldier goes undercover to infiltrate an arms dealer's inner circle.
03 A criminal mastermind orchestrates an elaborate, meticulously planned heist on Spain's Royal Mint.
04 An intelligence operative obsessed with catching a charismatic, brilliant assassin.
05 A young man's one bad night spirals into a murder charge that consumes his entire life.
06 A child's murder tears apart a small coastal town over one devastating series.
07 An anthology crime series inspired by the Coen brothers' film, with each season its own self-contained tragedy.
08 A small-time lawyer's slow, tragic transformation into the man he becomes in Breaking Bad.
09 A chemistry teacher turns meth kingpin, in one of the most complete character arcs on television.
10 A financial planner launders cartel money while dragging his family deeper into danger.
11 FBI agents interview imprisoned serial killers to build the foundations of modern criminal profiling.
12 An anthology series whose first season, following two Louisiana detectives, redefined the genre.
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