8 Greatest Apple TV Thriller Shows That Are 10/10, No Notes
With Apple TV, there are no wrong choices—you can only miss the genre, but not the quality of a show. Apple TV’s meticulous approach to television and massive productions is reflected in every episode of any show, so you’ll know you’re watching something intriguing, unique, and well laid out. This is not an endorsement, either, because Apple TV shows are just truly like that. Whether you want to watch something older and underrated, or you’re yearning for brand-new content, it’s all here; and if you love a good, fun-loving thriller mixing with other genres, you can stop looking for it and scrolling. Here are the greatest Apple TV thriller shows that are 10/10, no notes.
1
‘Severance’ (2022–)
Mark Scout (Adam Scott) with his face in the reintegration machine in Severance Season 2 Episode 3.Image via Apple TV
Severance is often on “best of” lists, and it’s a great feat to make a slow-burn series about corporate culture and identity a thriller people shouldn’t miss. With this premise, things could have gone either way, but the deep lore, developing characters, and grim, exciting twists are the things that make Severance so good and easy to watch. With each new episode, it becomes more exciting to see the next one, and that’s what a good thriller does for an audience—raises expectations and anticipation. Severance follows the employees of the “severed” department of Lumon Industries; being “severed” means that they have chips in their brains that divide their consciousness between work and private life, with them not remembering anything that happens at the office. This poses not just ethical questions in terms of work practice and labor rights, but also philosophical questions about identity, morals, and purpose. Adam Scott leads the show superbly, and most of the episodes were directed by Ben Stiller. Severance is a visually stunning conspiracy thriller that is so good that it’ll feel like nothing else can fill the void after you’re done watching.
2
‘Black Bird’ (2022)
The miniseries Black Bird is a quick and exhilarating watch, but you’ll love every minute of it. It’s a true-crime story created by Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, The Drop), based on the experience and memoir of Jimmy Keene, a Chicago-based criminal who gets involved in a deeper conspiracy. Taron Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser have incredible chemistry, with tension, paranoia, and fear filling out every moment during their exchanges. Hauser won several major awards for his performance as the real-life serial killer, Larry Hall, but Egerton shows off masterful leading man chops, and the show doesn’t work as well without him. Black Bird follows Jimmy Keene (Egerton), a once promising football star-turned-narcotics dealer, running a business in Chicago. He gets arrested during a massive sting, and the judge sentences him to ten years in prison, despite Keene taking a plea deal. The FBI approaches Keene, promising a total pardon in exchange for him eliciting a murder location confession out of Larry Hall (Hauser). This means Keene must be transferred to a facility for the criminally insane and get close to Hall, a volatile and psychopathic man. The tension is palpable, and we see Keene losing his sense of self gradually the more he communicates with Hall; it’s an incredible story that’s hard to imagine as a truth—but ultimately the greatest inspiration for a stunning thriller.
3
‘Slow Horses’ (2022–)
Jack Lowden standing in front of a window in Slow Horses Season 4.Image via Apple TV
Slow Horses is an espionage dark comedy that’s churned out five seasons over the course of three years, but it doesn’t feel rushed; it’s serious, meticulous, and quite somber at times, taking its time to warm up before ultimately becoming a sort of comfort watch. It was based on a series of novels and novellas by Mick Herron, who wrote over a dozen stories about the Slough House spies. Each season makes you feel more comfortable to laugh at (and with) the ensemble, allowing a playful spirit to come through even the darkest moments. Though Jack Lowden plays the protagonist, River Cartwright, a more than frequent scene-stealer is Gary Oldman as the crass and brilliant Jackson Lamb. Slow Horses refers to the name given to MI5 spy rejects who work in the agency-adjacent Slough House. It’s where agents who’ve somehow disappointed or failed their duties are transferred before being completely fired; a Cold War spy, brilliant mind, but sloppy and abrasive agent, Jackson Lamb, runs Slough House, and his “rejects” are some of the best minds that don’t function as well under the rigid rules. They’re flawed people who make mistakes but have a knack for solving conspiracies, with Lamb as their best representative. You may not get a classy spy thriller, but you’ll get a fun and exciting thriller regardless; Slow Horses is one of the greatest newer shows to become the closest to a television classic.
4
‘Bad Sisters’ (2022–)
Ursula, Eva, Becka, and Bibi singing karaoke in costumes in Bad Sisters Season 2.Image via Apple TV
Sharon Horgan is one of the funniest people on the planet, but she’s also incredibly mesmerizing and writes beautiful, touching stories that carry relatable emotional weight. Bad Sisters is the show she co-created and stars in, and while it’s more of a dark comedy than a thriller, it has all the qualities of a greatly thrilling series with its inclusion of mystery and murder. Bad Sisters has two seasons so far, and while nothing indicates that the show is finished, the existing episodes and plots make the show perfect as is; the only reason we’d be open to seeing more from the Garvey sisters is because they’re all charming and likable. Bad Sisters follows five Garvey sisters, out of which, Eva (Horgan) is the eldest. The second-born sister, Grace (Anne-Marie Duff), is married to the controlling and temperamental John Paul Williams (Claes Bang), and is gradually separated from her sisters by his actions. The sisters decide to help Grace by getting rid of John Paul, though it’s not as easy as they imagine. From brilliant and darkly comical dialogues to psychological thrills, Bad Sisters is one of the most perfect shows you’ll find on Apple TV.
5
‘Servant’ (2019–2023)
M. Night Shyamalan’s TV series Servant is one of the most unpredictable and eerie shows on Apple TV. It has Shyamalan-like mysteries and spookiness, but writer Tony Basgallop infused the mysticism with some realism and family drama. Servant is consistently great, despite being confusing at times; it has a deep lore and interesting symbolism, and though it’s sometimes in its own way, Servant blends thrills, mystery, horror, and drama brilliantly. Toby Kebbell, Lauren Ambrose, Rupert Grint, and Nell Tiger Free are the main cast throughout all four seasons of the show. Sadly, as it goes with horror, none of the four were recognized for their work in Servant, but Ambrose is especially dedicated and masterful in it. Servant follows a successful Philadelphia couple, news anchor Dorothy (Ambrose) and celebrity chef Sean Turner (Kebbell), who hire a very young nanny, Leanne (Free) to take care of their newborn son, Jericho. However, Jericho died at thirteen weeks, and for Dorothy to cope with the loss, Sean explains to Leanne that Jericho is a lifelike doll. Leanne’s presence makes things interesting around the house, especially when the doll suddenly becomes a real, living baby. This description isn’t a spoiler—it barely scratches the surface of the premise, because while Leanne is a hypnotizing presence in the Turners’ lives, she suffered trauma, too. Servant is interesting and exciting, and truly one of the best shows on Apple TV.
6
‘Calls’ (2021)
Words on a screen that read “He doesn’t look like human” in Calls.Image via Apple TV
Calls is a lesser known or not-remembered-enough series that feels like a radio drama broadcast on TV. Technology and arts have significantly progressed since Orson Welles terrified people into believing the aliens were really invading after he did the War of the Worlds radio drama, but sometimes this formula is the solution. Voice acting could be more difficult than physically emoting what you can’t or won’t say, which is why Calls is such an exceptional and exciting thriller. Widespread acclaim, brilliant cast, and interesting script are all the reasons Calls is one of Apple TV’s most thrilling originals. Calls was based on the French series of the same name, developed by Timothée Hochet, who also created the English-speaking version together with Fede Álvarez (Alien: Romulus). Each episode is a short radio drama depicting phone calls between differently connected people, with each carrying a mystery or a secret. The show blends sci-fi, thriller, mystery, and drama, and is a fun Apple TV original that you’ll binge-watch very quickly. Some of the guest actors include Aubrey Plaza, Pedro Pascal, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Riley Keough.
7
‘Shining Girls’ (2022)
Elisabeth Moss and Wagner Moura look at photos spread before them on a table in Shining Girls.Image via Apple TV
The Elisabeth Moss-led mystery series, Shining Girls, is another underappreciated, but truly awesome thriller you should be watching. The sci-fi premise blends beautifully with the thrilling and intense plot, with Moss in particular being a strong presence in the show. The show has only eight episodes, but each is exciting enough to feel like you’re watching The Twilight Zone all over again. Moss is joined by Wagner Moura and Jamie Bell in brilliantly delivered roles.
Shining Girls was based on the book of the same name by Lauren Beukes, and follows Kirby Mazrachi (Moss), a newspaper archivist with a deep-seated trauma. She was attacked by an unknown assailant years ago, and still has flashes of the attack; the impact of her trauma and grief changes her perspective of reality, often seeing changes in her daily life that don’t feel natural. When Kirby hears about another murder, similar to her attack, she asks journalist Dan Velazquez (Moura) to help her find the attacker. With deeper meaning and heavy underlying emotions, Shining Girls tests the constraints of time and space, questioning whether they can be affected by someone’s trauma.
8
‘Down Cemetery Road’ (2025–)
Ruth Wilson as Sarah and Emma Thompson as Zoe standing in front of the ocean in Down Cemetery Road.Image via Apple TV
With Mick Herron’s Slough House novel series, Apple TV has enough material to make shows for the next decade. Yet, they decided it was time for another one of Herron’s novels to gain roots at Apple, and it’s Down Cemetery Road. Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson shine brightly as a dynamic duo in this conspiracy thriller, and despite it being a brand-new show, it’s one of the best on the streaming service at the moment. It also seems like it went under the radar, and more people should hear about it. Down Cemetery Road follows Sarah (Wilson), whose dinner with friends is interrupted by an explosion on the street. The blast takes one life and causes many injuries, but Sarah notices that things aren’t what they seem after press coverage of the incident comes out. She visits private detective Zoe Boehm (Thompson) to help her uncover the truth, getting the two in trouble. Thompson’s Zoe Boehm is kind of a female equivalent to Jackson Lamb from Slow Horses, a moody, irritable person who does their job exceptionally well; with the show getting a second season soon after Season 1 ended, Down Cemetery Road could be another staple of Apple TV’s wide library.
Down Cemetery Road
Release Date
October 29, 2025
Network
Apple TV+
Showrunner
Morwenna Banks
Directors
Samuel Donovan, Börkur Sigþórsson, Natalie Bailey
已发布: 2025-12-25 01:30:00
来源: collider.com
