Looking for a good thriller miniseries to sink your teeth into? Something you can binge in a single night or over a weekend, and a show that will end just as strongly as it started? Netflix has you covered with tons of options that range from horror to drama, emotional to intense, action-packed to cerebral.
No matter what mood you’re in, you can find something that fits. And as miniseries, all these shows are eight episodes or fewer. So, you can curl up on the couch with a beverage, popcorn, a warm blanket, and press play. You won’t regret it.
1
‘Midnight Mass’ (2021)
While it was only a single-season miniseries, Midnight Mass was so beloved that it could easily have come back for another. The gothic supernatural horror follows Riley Flynn (Zach Gilford), who returns to his small hometown after a four-year prison sentence and finds it challenging to acclimate back to life there. When he meets Father Paul Hill (Hamish Linklater), the new priest in town, it’s clear there’s something off about the man, with even the story about why he’s there as a temporary replacement being fishy. As strange things keep happening, the town is rocked by the events, and they grow both curious about and enamored with this man who has upended their lives.
Linklater is mesmerizing in the role, and the depiction of the monotony of life in a town of only a few where everyone knows your name shines through in every episode. Beyond the horror angle, Midnight Mass captivates as a deeply emotional look into grief, pain, forgiveness, and trauma. The unsettling undertones will keep you invested through the seven episodes. It’s one of the best Netflix shows released in the last decade.
2
‘Ripley’ (2024)
This neo-noir psychological thriller miniseries is based on the Patricia Highsmith crime novel The Talented Mr. Ripley, which was also the inspiration for the 1999 movie starring Matt Damon. In this interpretation, Andrew Scott stars as the titular Tom Ripley, a conman who jumps on an opportunity to impersonate someone wealthy and slide into a lavish life alongside Dickie Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn).
Filmed in black-and-white, Ripley is praised for its modern interpretation of the story with a classic throwback style, the performances, and the direction. In fact, the series earned 14 Emmy nominations and won four. It’s a fascinating story about a man intent on living not the life he has, but the one he believes he deserves.
3
‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ (2023)
The Fall of the House of Usher is such a clever way of interpreting and bringing together the many works of Edgar Allan Poe. The gothic horror drama miniseries frames a narrative around Roderick Usher (Bruce Greenwood), the CEO of a corrupt pharmaceutical company who is grieving the consecutive deaths of all his grown children. We see the dynamic among the family, along with each death, playing out as he recalls the events to the authorities. They all trace back to a mysterious woman known as Verna (Carla Gugino). As you may have noticed, Verna is an anagram of Raven, the subject of one of Poe’s most famous poems.
Each story in the Netflix miniseries is inspired by a different Poe short story or poem, brought together in a thematic way. It might seem disjointed at times, but it all comes together in the end, and might even inspire you to read his works if you haven’t already. It’s a horrifying examination of greed, corruption, and immorality, and the heavy price of success when the bill finally comes due.
4
‘Baby Reindeer’ (2024)
Baby Reindeer had us in shock when it was released. Once you press play, you’ll be unable to look away for the entire seven episodes. That’s especially true after learning that it’s based on a real story. Richard Gadd, who created the show based on his own experience, plays Donny Dunn, an aspiring comedian and bartender whose friendly banter is mistaken for flirting when the lonely Martha Scott (Jessica Gunning) comes by for a drink. From there, he can’t seem to get rid of Martha. She obsessively stalks him, messaging, calling, showing up at his house, work, even his parents’ home. Her actions become increasingly frightening as time goes on.
In a parallel storyline, Donny makes friends with TV writer Darrien O’Connor (Tom Goodman-Hill), who assures him he has a bright career ahead, but then drugs and sexually assaults him. Tackling heavy topics, Baby Reindeer sheds light on one that doesn’t get enough attention: sexual assault against men. The show is not an easy watch, but it’s an important one.
5
‘Bodyguard’ (2016)
Technically a BBC series, Netflix struck a deal to distribute Bodyguard outside of the U.K. and England, and that’s good news because it’s six episodes of intense thrills. Right from the opening scene, though quiet and slow-moving, you realize this show is building to something huge. PS David Budd (Richard Madden) is now working as personal security for the Home Secretary Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes) and managing his PTSD, the breakdown of his marriage, and his opposing views to her politics.
That sets a backdrop to the bigger story as terrorist threats loom along with political pressure that puts David at the center of a horrifying and impossible situation. He’s being pulled in every direction and eventually becomes central to the controversy. The episodes slow near the middle but build to an explosive end with a payoff that makes powering through all six installments worth every minute.
6
‘Safe’ (2018)
When widowed father Tom Delaney (Michael C. Hall) realizes his teenage daughter Jenny (Amy James-Kelly) didn’t come home after a night out, panic sets in. Safe, one of many Harlan Coben projects on Netflix, follows Tom’s frantic journey to locate his daughter. With every piece of the puzzle that is unlocked, the situation becomes more dire, and every person in Tom’s orbit is deemed a potential suspect.
The story takes strange turns through its eight episodes, but the pacing is good, and you’ll find yourself having a tough time stopping halfway through. I watched the entire series during a flight from Toronto to Berlin, fully engrossed in the story. Like Tom, I was desperate to retrace Jenny’s steps and figure out where she went and if she was okay. The show has a somewhat satisfying, if not abrupt, end, but it’s worth the investment of time, especially if you’re a Coben fan.
7
‘Bodies’ (2023)
Before he was a gutted dad in an impossible situation in Adolescence, Stephen Graham starred in Bodies, a sci-fi mystery thriller miniseries about police detectives in four different decades who are all investigating the same mysterious dead body. It’s all connected somehow, of course, but how the puzzle comes together will leave you shook.
Bodies is based on the Si Spencer graphic novel of the same name, and it’s a great choice to watch if you want something you can binge in a night or over a weekend. The gritty story explores the concept of time travel combined with a murder mystery in a way you’ve never seen.
8
‘His & Hers’ (2026)
Want a mystery thriller you can watch in one sitting that will have you on the edge of your seat right through to the very end? His & Hers fits the bill. The six-episode story follows the investigation into the murder of a woman in a small town. Detective Jack Harper (Jon Bernthal) is leading the charge, but things get murky when his estranged wife, Anna Andrews (Tessa Thompson), returns out of the blue to put her reporter hat back on and dig into the case, too.
You get a sense right from the beginning that everyone is hiding something, but what? Did one of them murder this woman? Is it someone else close to them, in law enforcement, another small-town resident, or someone from the outside? What was the motive, and why did Anna leave in the first place? It all comes together at the end of the 2026 sleeper-hit show with one of the most shocking TV show conclusions you will have seen in a while.
9
‘I Will Find You’ (2026)
Harlan Coben does it again with his latest series, another twisty crime drama that will suck you into the plot, even if it is unbelievable at times. David Burroughs (Sam Worthington) is serving time for the murder of his son Matthew (Jasper Rainn Lawrence), but there’s something strange about the case. Not only is David adamant that he didn’t do it — his sister-in-law Rachel (Britt Lower) has come upon evidence to suggest that Matthew isn’t even dead.
You’ll enjoy following the plot in I Will Find You, figuring out bits and pieces of what really happened that night along with the characters. It’s intense and ridiculous at times, but a wonderful guilty pleasure that allows you to suspend belief. It’s like a soap opera with the intensity of a thriller that will have you hooked. With just eight episodes, I Will Find You is a great weekend binge show.
