The 18 best thriller series on Hulu
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Pity the TV watchers of yore, who had to wait an excruciatingly long week to find out what happened next after a thrilling episode of TV offered yet another cliffhanger. Now, even series formerly spread across 26-episode seasons can be (conceivably) binged over a long weekend, thanks to streaming services like Hulu.
The streamer offers many of the thriller show greats, from true crime-inspired miniseries to malevolent adolescents to sci-fi classics. If you're in the mood to kill an hour (or five), here are the best thriller series on Hulu, as of October 2023.
<em>24</em> (2001–2010; 2014)
All nine seasons of Fox's long-running, real-time thriller series are available on Hulu, so you can binge-watch the nine eventful days from the life of CTU agent Jack Bauer (until, unlike Jack, you're finally felled by sleep). In each nail-biting season, Jack took on a seemingly unstoppable terrorist threat against the U.S. with the help of his many uncanny resources. Along the way, a myriad of nefarious plots were revealed, allies became foes, and Jack barely had time to breathe as he pulled off one unbelievable stunt after another.
Back when the series premiered in 2001, EW's critic enthused, "The idea of combining Jack's professional and personal crises and placing them within a pressure-cooker time frame (a digital clock showing elapsed time punctuates the start and finish of each commercial break) gives the series a momentum that's both emotional and action oriented." —Gwen Inhat
EW grade: B+ (read the review)
Cast: Kiefer Sutherland, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Carlos Bernard, Dennis Haysbert, Elisha Cuthbert, James Morrison, Reiko Aylesworth
Related content: Kiefer Sutherland is happy to return as Jack in a 24 revival, but he has a bolder idea
<em>The Act</em> (2019)
This true crime miniseries tells the harrowing story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, a teenager who was duped into constant medical assistance she didn't actually need by her mother Dee Dee. Upon learning she was lied to, Gypsy and her boyfriend hatched a plan to murder her mother. The gripping eight-episode series delves into how Gypsy executed this act behind Dee Dee's back while also navigating her burgeoning sexuality and exploring the real world outside her mother's grasp. Joey King's triumphant turn as Gypsy is arguably her best performance yet, while Patricia Arquette won an Emmy for playing the manipulative Dee Dee. —Kevin Jacobsen
Cast: Patricia Arquette, Joey King, AnnaSophia Robb, Chloë Sevigny, Calum Worthy
Related content: Patricia Arquette is an obsessed mother in true-crime anthology The Act: First look
<em>The Americans</em> (2013–2018)
While the premise may sound gimmicky — married KGB spies living in America at the height of the Cold War with a next-door neighbor who happens to work for the FBI — this nuanced drama series is anything but. Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys delivered some of TV's best performances of the 2010s as Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, whose commitment to their cause was tested over six riveting seasons, especially when it came to their unsuspecting kids. While there was plenty of fun to be had between the espionage and the many, many wigs, the best part of The Americans is its slow-burn dramatic tension, rewarding patient viewers tenfold. —K.J.
Where to watch The Americans: Hulu
EW grade: B+ (read the review)
Cast: Keri Russell, Matthew Rhys, Holly Taylor, Keidrich Sellati, Noah Emmerich
Related content: Matthew Rhys revealed a drunken prank he played on The Americans writers
<em>Big Sky</em> (2020–2023)
Legendary TV creator David E. Kelley followed up his huge Big Little Lies success with this ABC drama, based on The Highway book series by C.J. Box. The Montana-based series (actually shot in New Mexico) focused on this wide-open region where people kept mysteriously disappearing as detectives Jenny Hoyt and Cassie Dewell attempted to find out why.
The show made a name for itself by offing one of its biggest name stars in the first episode, Hitchcock-style, and featured similar surprising character deaths throughout. As series writer Maria Sten told EW, "I think it's safe to assume that on Big Sky you should be concerned for everybody's safety at all times." In the third and final season, subtitled Deadly Trails, Supernatural's Jensen Ackles joined the cast as the new sheriff and Reba McEntire climbed aboard as a regular named Sunny Brick, as a certain hiking region turned treacherous. —G.I.
Cast: Katheryn Winnick, Kylie Bunbury, Brian Geraghty, Valerie Mahaffey, Dedee Pfeiffer, Natalie Alyn Lind, Jesse James Keitel, Jade Pettyjohn, John Carroll Lynch, Ryan Phillippe
Related content: Reba McEntire says her Big Sky character is unlike anything we've seen her play before
<em>Castle Rock</em> (2018–2019)
"For [Stephen] King fans, the world of Castle Rock will be inescapably familiar," described EW's critic. "Spending time here feels, in many ways, like coming home — with all the excitement and dread such a visit entails." The two-season Hulu series wove in various elements from King's own multiverse — with Shawshank Prison at the heart of it all — into new narratives, like Castle Rock-born defense attorney Henry Deaver returning to defend a Shawshank inmate, or the disturbing backstory of Misery's Annie Wilkes. The multitude of King elements — including impressive turns by Sissy Spacek (Carrie) and Tim Robbins (The Shawshank Redemption) — makes for a series that's a sure bet for genre fans, even when they're not spotting the many Easter egg nods to the "King of Horror." —G.I.
Where to watch Castle Rock: Hulu
EW grade: A– (read the review)
Cast: André Holland, Melanie Lynskey, Bill Skarsgård, Jane Levy, Sissy Spacek, Lizzy Caplan, Paul Sparks, Barkhad Abdi, Yusra Warsama, Elsie Fisher, Matthew Alan, Tim Robbins
Related content: Castle Rock boss on that devastating Sissy Spacek showcase episode
<em>Cruel Summer</em> (2021–present)
The first season of Freeform's Cruel Summer, cleverly told over the span of three years, focused on two teens who, at first, couldn't appear to be more different: golden girl Kate Wallis and nerdy wannabe Jeanette Turner. Then, Kate disappeared, and Jeanette ascended to her place in the social strata. But did Jeanette actually have anything to do with Kate's disappearance? Therein lies the joy of watching this series, as EW's critic notes, "...creator Bert V. Royal (Easy A) presents a twisty, suspenseful thriller by using the concept to illuminate the characters — not the other way around." Cruel Summer shuffles its datelines to tantalizingly unfurl various parts of the story while luring you into its central mystery; if you can walk away without binge-watching the whole first season, you're stronger than we are. —G.I.
Where to watch Cruel Summer: Hulu
EW grade: B+ (read the review)
Cast: Olivia Holt, Chiara Aurelia, Froy Gutierrez, Harley Quinn Smith, Brooklyn Sudano, Blake Lee, Allius Barnes, Nathaniel Ashton, Michael Landes
Related content: How Cruel Summer reinvented itself after 1 season
<em>Fargo</em> (2014–present)
Inspired by the 1996 Coen brothers film of the same name, this anthology series starts in the snowy titular town in North Dakota and eventually branches out to 1950s-era Kansas City. Each season involves a long-seething family resentment, probably a crime syndicate, and an unexpected incident that quickly spirals out of control. (See: quaint married couple Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons getting in way over their heads in season 2; and Chris Rock as a crime boss trying to make an alliance with the Italian mob in season 4.) But between its separate story lines, Fargo always boasts an unfailingly impressive cast of heavy hitters, including Billy Bob Thornton, Uzo Aduba, and Ewan McGregor playing twins, to name just a few. Season 5 of the series begins Nov. 21, taking the action back to North Dakota and Minnesota, circa 2019. —G.I.
EW grade: N/A (read the review)
Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Allison Tolman, Colin Hanks, Martin Freeman, Kirsten Dunst, Patrick Wilson, Jesse Plemons, Jean Smart, Ted Danson, Ewan McGregor, Carrie Coon, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, David Thewlis, Chris Rock, Jessie Buckley, Jason Schwartzman, Ben Whishaw
Related content: Everything we know so far about Fargo season 5
<em>Homeland</em> (2011–2020)
One of the defining TV thrillers of the 2010s, Homeland went in numerous directions over the course of its run, but Claire Danes' fully committed performance as Carrie Mathison remained its north star. The series began with the maverick CIA official suspecting a war veteran (Damian Lewis) of being turned by al-Qaeda, leading to a gripping cat-and-mouse tale — further complicated by Carrie's bipolar disorder and the effect it had on her personal and professional life. An immediate hit with critics and audiences with its first season, Homeland took home multiple Emmys, including two for Danes, one for Lewis, and Best Drama Series, and it remained one of Showtime's most popular shows through eight seasons. —K.J.
EW grade: A– (read the review)
Cast: Claire Danes, Damian Lewis, Mandy Patinkin, Morena Baccarin, David Harewood, Diego Klattenhoff, Jackson Pace, Morgan Saylor, Rupert Friend
Related content: Q&A: Claire Danes talks Homeland
<em>Lost</em> (2004–2010)
Yet another series benefiting from the binge model is the iconic Lost, which certainly took its own sweet time delving into the various fates of the Oceanic Flight 815 crash survivors left stranded on a deserted island. Remember the Dharma Initiative? The smoke monster? The various Wizard of Oz references? Yes, the series is still a bit of a stumper, but we have to admit, it's a pretty fun one that kept TV audiences riveted for years. And the chance to follow-up one puzzling episode immediately with another is also pretty addictive. When you figure it all out on a second viewing, fill us in, won't you? —G.I.
EW grade: N/A (read the review)
Cast: Naveen Andrews, Emilie de Ravin, Matthew Fox, Jorge Garcia, Maggie Grace, Josh Holloway, Malcolm David Kelley, Daniel Dae Kim, Yunjin Kim, Evangeline Lilly, Dominic Monaghan, Terry O'Quinn, Harold Perrineau, Ian Somerhalder
Related content: How Sun and Jin's relationship went from problematic to transcendent on Lost
<em>The Old Man</em> (2022–present)
Like Liam Neeson and Clint Eastwood before him, Jeff Bridges proves remarkably capable as an action star at older age. On this FX thriller series, the grizzled actor plays Dan Chase, a retired CIA operative whose life off the grid is interrupted when he kills an intruder who enters his home, leading him to go on the run as he fears the past is catching up with him. What that past entailed is gradually revealed over the course of the first season, involving an FBI official, a daughter he's trying to keep safe, and his experience as a soldier in the Soviet–Afghan War. What starts as your standard action hero on the run story settles into a compelling drama about living with past actions and how they inform the present. —K.J.
Where to watch The Old Man: Hulu
Cast: Jeff Bridges, John Lithgow, E.J. Bonilla, Bill Heck, Leem Lubany, Alia Shawkat, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Amy Brenneman
Related content: See Jeff Bridges in spy drama The Old Man, his first project since cancer diagnosis
<em>Only Murders in the Building</em> (2021–present)
Longtime collaborators Steve Martin and Martin Short team up with Selena Gomez as Charles, Oliver, and Mabel, three neighbors who produce a true crime podcast about cracking the various cases of their historic New York City apartment building, the Arconia. The suspects in Only Murders rotate as fast as any Agatha Christie mystery, while the charming banter between the three leads (as well as an inspiring collection of autumnal coats and sweaters) keeps you riveted. In season 2, Amy Schumer called Only Murders in the Building's meta podcast "cozy murder," which is really the perfect description of the series overall. Plus, the star-fueled cameos and guest spots are never less than exemplary, featuring Tina Fey, Nathan Lane, Shirley MacLaine, Jane Lynch, Sting, Paul Rudd, Meryl Streep, and more. —G.I.
Where to watch Only Murders in the Building: Hulu
EW grade: B (read the review)
Cast: Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, Aaron Dominguez, Amy Ryan, Cara Delevingne, Adina Verson, Michael Cyril Creighton
Related content: Paul Rudd calls working on Only Murders In the Building season 3 the 'Mount Rushmore' of comedy
<em>The Other Black Girl</em> (2023–present)
Deftly mixing corporate drama and biting satire with a thriller edge, The Other Black Girl is an incisive look at racism within the cutthroat world of publishing. Sinclair Daniel plays Nella, an editorial assistant who also happens to be the only Black woman in her office...until the arrival of Ashleigh Murray's Hazel. What starts with a sense of relief and camaraderie soon shifts when Nella starts to notice strange happenings around the office, from a threatening note to a face reflecting in her computer screen that isn't her own. Then there's Hazel, whose wishy-washy behavior and by-any-means-necessary ambitions add to Nella's uneasiness. Adapted from the best-selling novel of the same name by Zakiya Dalila Harris, The Other Black Girl finds its thrills in real fears, unraveling like a yarn as Nella discovers the disturbing truths at the heart of her workplace. —K.J.
Where to watch The Other Black Girl: Hulu
Cast: Sinclair Daniel, Ashleigh Murray, Brittany Adebumola, Hunter Parrish, Bellamy Young, Eric McCormack
Related content: The Other Black Girl author says Hulu series is 'a mishmash of genres'
<em>The Patient</em> (2022)
Following the success of The Americans, co-creators Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg developed this psychological miniseries about a therapist named Alan (Steve Carell) who is held hostage by a serial killer patient, Sam (Domhnall Gleeson). Sam is intent on curbing his killer instincts, chaining Alan to the floor of his basement and forcing him to conduct therapy sessions while detained. From there, a game of cat and mouse unfolds, with Alan trying desperately to find a way out without letting Sam on for fear of retaliation. Carell and Gleeson's delicate back-and-forths make for increasingly compelling television as each episode plays out like a chapter of a great suspense novel, giving the viewer just enough information at just the right time. —K.J.
Where to watch The Patient: Hulu
Cast: Steve Carell, Domhnall Gleeson, Linda Emond
Related content: Steve Carell is a therapist held hostage by a serial killer in The Patient trailer
<em>Revenge</em> (2011–2015)
"When everything you love has been stolen from you, sometimes all you have left is revenge," explained our protagonist in the pilot. This juicy primetime soap centered on a young woman named Emily, whose arrival at the Hamptons is motivated by a desire to get back at the people who framed her late father for a crime he didn't commit. She set her sights on Victoria, the matriarch of the influential Grayson family who led the betrayal, setting in motion a rollercoaster of events with many wild twists and turns along the way. EW's critic mused: "At its best, the show suggests a kind of Lost-ification of Bravo's Real Housewives franchise: It conjures up a world where social homicide might actually turn into actual homicide." —K.J.
EW grade: N/A (read the review)
Cast: Madeleine Stowe, Emily VanCamp, Gabriel Mann, Henry Czerny, Ashley Madekwe, Nick Wechsler, Josh Bowman, Connor Paolo, Christa B. Allen
Related content: Emily VanCamp: Revenge gave her 4 'unbelievable years'
<em>Top of the Lake</em> (2013; 2017)
While on hiatus between seasons of Mad Men, Elisabeth Moss managed to turn in a hypnotic performance as Robin Griffin, a detective in a small New Zealand lakeside village searching for a missing 12-year-old pregnant girl. While she poked and prodded the secrets of the uneasy, tight-knit small town, long-hidden incidents from her own traumatic past also came to light.
This Jane Campion creation was slow-moving but still fraught with tension, especially when Robin crossed paths with enigmatic guru GJ (Campion's Oscar-winning The Piano star Holly Hunter). As you admire the idyllic landscape and Moss' strong performance, Top of the Lake will almost lull you into peaceful complacency...before jolting you right out of it. The acclaimed first season was followed by another that moved the action to Australia, Top of the Lake: China Girl, featuring Nicole Kidman. —G.I.
Where to watch Top of the Lake: Hulu
EW grade: A– (read the review)
Cast: Elisabeth Moss, David Wenham, Peter Mullan, Thomas M. Wright, Holly Hunter, Gwendoline Christie, David Dencik, Ewen Leslie, Alice Englert, Nicole Kidman
Related content: Jane Campion wins Best Director and marks historic Oscar triumph for women
<em>True Blood</em> (2008–2014)
A lot has been said about True Blood over the years, from the appeal of its Southern gothic setting to its propensity for gore to its inconsistent writing. Either way, the HBO drama had us hooked from the start, between Sookie (Anna Paquin) and vampire Bill's (Stephen Moyer) tumultuous love story and the various murders, kidnappings, and mayhem soon to come. While few would argue that the fantasy horror series lost its way in later seasons, the first five are a nonstop thrill ride full of dirty sexy fun. Let's also not forget that it made a star out of Alexander Skarsgård, who quickly became a fan favorite for his performance as the charismatic vampire Eric Northman. —K.J.
Where to watch True Blood: Hulu
Cast: Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Sam Trammell, Ryan Kwanten, Rutina Wesley, Nelsan Ellis, Carrie Preston, Alexander Skarsgård, Deborah Ann Woll, Kristin Bauer van Straten, Joe Manganiello
Related content: Anna Paquin responds to True Blood reboot news: 'This is the first I'm hearing about this'
<em>Under the Banner of Heaven</em> (2022)
Andrew Garfield starred in this acclaimed miniseries as (fictional) Det. Jeb Pyre, whose devout Mormon faith was shaken to the core as he investigated the (real-life) murders of Brenda Lafferty and her 15-month-old daughter, related to a dangerously radical religious sect. Based on Jon Krakauer's 2003 nonfiction bestseller, the chilling series even provides depictions of Joseph Smith's founding of Mormonism.
The story hit close to home for showrunner Dustin Lance Black, who grew up in the church, telling EW, "How did the past plant the seeds of a crime that would take place in the '80s? The founders of this faith in the 19th century decided on the laws and the rules, and how did that turn to bloodshed later?… I had to present not just the Lafferty story, but also the history of the Mormon church and how that's pertinent in terms of solving the case in 1984." —G.I.
Where to watch Under the Banner of Heaven: Hulu
Cast: Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Denise Gough, Wyatt Russell
Related content: Under the Banner of Heaven's Andrew Garfield on what sets his character apart from other true-crime detectives
<em>The X-Files</em> (1993–2002; 2016–2018)
This supernatural cult favorite series offered unparalleled thrills and chills with each episode, as government agents — cynical Scully (Gillian Anderson) and truth-seeker Mulder (David Duchovny) — probed the existence of aliens and other otherworldly creatures. Back in 1993, EW's critic was an early fan, writing, "The X-Files is the most paranoid, subversive show on TV right now… There's marvelous tension between Anderson — who is dubious about these events — and Duchovny, who has the haunted, imploring look of a true believer."
The series stoked its conspiracies over several seasons, powered by Mulder's search for his sister and elusive characters like the Cigarette Smoking Man. But we still have trouble scrubbing memorable "monsters of the week" like Flukeman, the Darkness Mites, and that "Home" family from our brains. The Friday night Fox series provided loads of nightmare fuel for grade-schoolers, and now it's ready to spook a whole new generation with ideal sleepover binge viewing. —G.I.
Where to watch The X-Files: Hulu
EW grade: B+ (read the review)
Cast: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Robert Patrick, Annabeth Gish, Mitch Pileggi
Related content: The 25 best episodes of The X-Files
