Creating suspense in a plot is far from easy. Most crime shows fail to understand that it is a balancing act. A mystery can have all the twists in the world, but if the audience isn’t invested in the characters or the story unfolding around them, none of it matters. If a show holds back too much, the audience gets impatient, and if it reveals too much too soon, they don’t have any reason to keep watching.
That’s why the best shows in the genre know exactly when to answer a question and when to raise a new one. That’s what keeps the story moving, where viewers end up watching episode after episode, convinced they’re about to figure everything out. These gripping crime shows have practically perfected that art and are a masterclass in suspense.
10
‘Mindhunter’ (2017–2019)
Jonathan Groff in a suit and tie walking through a prison in Mindhunter.Image via Netflix
Mindhunter is one of those crime shows that ended way too soon, and that’s saying something for a show that rarely relied on the traditional beats of the genre. The series is set in the late 1970s, in the early days of criminal profiling, and follows FBI agents Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and Bill Tench (Holt McCallany), along with psychologist Wendy Carr (Anna Torv), as they help establish the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit to understand how serial killers think. They do so by interviewing some of the most notorious murderers in prison and using that knowledge to solve ongoing cases, but of course, none of that is as straightforward as it sounds. Mindhunter is a masterclass in suspense because most of the tension in the show comes from pure conversation.
The show’s most gripping scenes involve Ford and Tench as they spend hours speaking with criminals to understand the darkest parts of the human brain. The show fictionalizes some of the most infamous real-life serial killers, including Edmund Kemper, David Berkowitz, Richard Speck, and Charles Manson, which adds even more emotional weight to the narrative. The show is obviously not primarily focused on catching a killer, but that’s exactly why it has a sense of dread that just can’t be explained or rationalized. The audience knows they’re witnessing the birth of a revolutionary investigative technique, but they’re also watching the psychological toll it takes on the people involved, and that unpredictability is the reason why it’s impossible to look away.
9
‘Broadchurch’ (2013–2017)
Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Sharon Bishop standing in a graveyard in ‘Broadchurch’Image via ITV
Broadchurch follows a small-town tragedy, but it’s much more ambitious than just that. The series follows Detective Inspector Alec Hardy (David Tennant) and Detective Sergeant Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman) as they investigate the brutal and shocking murder of eleven-year-old Danny Latimer. At first, the case appears straightforward, but as the investigation unfolds, they realize that everyone in Broadchurch is hiding something. Friends, neighbors, family members, and respected community figures all become potential suspects, and the detectives find themselves entangled in a mystery where every lew lead raises more questions.
Broadchurch stands out from other shows in the genre because of how deeply personal its mystery is. The show portrays how a crime like this affects an entire community where everyone knows each other. The audience feels as though they can never truly trust anyone since every episode reveals unexpected connections and long-buried resentments between the town’s residents. Broadchurch’s sense of suspense goes far beyond the central mystery. The investigation definitely drives the narrative forward, but the real tension comes from watching an entire town slowly turn on itself.
8
‘Scarpetta’ (2026–Present)
Nicole Kidman as Dr. Kay Scarpetta in ‘Scarpetta.’Image via Prime Video
Scarpetta, based on the bestselling novels by Patricia Cornwell, doesn’t begin with a crime scene but in the morgue. The series follows brilliant forensic pathologist Dr. Kay Scarpetta (Nicole Kidman), who returns to her role as Virginia’s chief medical examiner when a gruesome murder bears striking similarities to a case she investigated decades earlier. That’s when Scarpetta is forced to revisit a chapter of her life that she thought was long behind her.
The compelling investigation unfolds across dual timelines, and the series gradually reveals how the past and present are connected while also leading Kay to question whether the real killer was ever caught. The show’s relentless suspense comes from the fact that the viewers are actively piecing the truth together alongside Scarpetta. Every breakthrough in the narrative feels significant because it has implications for both timelines, and the audience is left wondering whether a mistake made years ago is still causing a ripple effect in the present. The forensic side of the investigation adds another layer of tension to the mystery and helps make the world of Scarpetta feel as lived-in and complex as ever.
7
‘Mare of Easttown’ (2021)
Julianne Nicholson sitting on a park bench with Kate Winslet’s head on her shoulder in ‘Mare of Easttown’.Image via HBO
Mare of Easttown is one of the most nuanced crime shows released in recent years. The brilliant HBO miniseries follows small-town detective Marianne “Mare” Sheehan (Kate Winslet), who is tasked with investigating the murder of a young woman while also dealing with a series of personal struggles in her own life, including the suicide of her son and a complicated custody battle over her grandson. As Mare digs deeper into the case, she uncovers a web of secrets, fractured relationships, and long-buried tensions that connect many of the town’s residents. What gives Mare of Easttown its sense of suspense, though, is how the show spends just as much time exploring the lives of the people affected by the crime as it does investigating it.
Nearly every resident of Easttown eventually finds themselves connected to the case in some way. Mare and Detective Colin Zabel (Evan Peters) work through a growing list of suspects, and the investigation continues to shift in unexpected directions. What’s truly remarkable, though, is how none of this ever overshadows the human drama, whether that’s the Mare’s own personal dilemmas or the grief experienced by the families of the victims. Mare of Easttown manages to tell a complete and satisfying story within a single season, something many crime dramas can only dream of doing.
6
‘Dept. Q’ (2025–Present)
Matthew Goode as Carl Morck looking to the side slightly perplexed in Dept Q.Image via Netflix
Dept. Q, based on the bestselling novels by Jussi Adler-Olsen, follows Detective Chief Inspector Carl Morck (Matthew Goode), a brilliant but complex investigator who is struggling to recover after a tragic shooting leaves one colleague dead and another permanently injured. When he finally returns to work, Carl is assigned to Department Q, a newly created cold-case unit that is mostly just a PR exercise. However, when he begins investigating the disappearance of prosecutor Merritt Lingard (Chloe Pirrie), he discovers that there is more to this story than anyone initially saw.
From the very first episode of the show, the audience is in on the fact that Merritt is alive and in captivity. This means that the series builds its suspense and tension around where she is, who took her, and whether Carl’s team can find her before it’s too late. Carl, Akram Salim (Alexej Manvelov), and Rose Dickson (Leah Byrne) slowly piece together years of overlooked evidence to uncover a web of secrets and grudges that go far beyond a simple missing-person case. Dept. Q benefits from its strong ensemble cast and a mystery that doesn’t have to rely on cheap twists to stay interesting until the very end.
Collider Exclusive · Action Hero Quiz
Which Action Hero Would Be
Your Perfect Partner?
Rambo · James Bond · Indiana Jones · John McClane · Ethan Hunt
Five legends. Five completely different ways of getting out alive — with style, with muscle, with charm, with luck, or with a plan so intricate it probably shouldn’t work. Ten questions will reveal which action hero was built to have your back.
🎖️Rambo
🍸James Bond
🏺Indiana Jones
🔧John McClane
🎭Ethan Hunt
FIND YOUR PARTNER →
01
You’re dropped into a dangerous situation with no warning. What do you need most from a partner?
The first few seconds tell you everything about who belongs beside you.
ASomeone who already has three contingency plans running and is calmly working through all of them.
BSomeone who reads the terrain instinctively and knows exactly how to use it against the enemy.
CSomeone who keeps their nerve and their sense of humour when everything is falling apart.
DSomeone who knows the history of wherever we are and what we’re walking into.
ESomeone with the right contact, the right cover identity, and the right exit already arranged.
NEXT QUESTION →
02
You have to get somewhere dangerous, fast. How do you travel?
How you get there is half the mission.
AOn foot through terrain no one else would attempt — I move where vehicles can’t follow.
BOn a motorcycle, a cargo plane, or anything else that gets me there before I think too hard about it.
CIn something that belongs to someone else — borrowed, stolen, or improvised under fire.
DFirst class, with a cover identity and a gadget that does something I won’t explain until it’s needed.
EBy whatever means are available — I’ve driven, flown, and once arrived by camel. The destination matters, not the method.
NEXT QUESTION →
03
You’re pinned down and outnumbered. What does your ideal partner do?
This is when you find out what someone is really made of.
ADisappears into the environment, flanks them silently, and ends it before I’ve reloaded.
BCracks a one-liner, grabs a fire extinguisher or a chair, and improvises something that somehow works.
CProduces a gadget specifically designed for this exact scenario and uses it with infuriating precision.
DPulls out a whip, a pistol, and an archaeological insight that somehow gets us out alive.
ENeutralises the threat with maximum efficiency and minimum words — they were already three moves ahead.
NEXT QUESTION →
04
The mission is paused. You have one evening to decompress. What does your partner suggest?
Who someone is when the pressure drops is who they actually are.
AA bar with terrible lighting, cold beer, and absolutely no questions about feelings.
BThe finest restaurant in the city, a bottle of something expensive, and a conversation that is equal parts brilliant and exhausting.
CA local dig site, a museum after hours, or a long story about why that particular artefact matters to human civilisation.
DPizza. Bad TV. Falling asleep halfway through a movie neither of you were watching anyway.
EA debrief that turns into three hours of contingency planning that somehow becomes the most fun you’ve had all week.
NEXT QUESTION →
05
How do you prefer your partner to communicate mid-mission?
Good communication is the difference between partners and a liability.
APrecise and minimal — tell me what I need to know and nothing else. Every word has a cost.
BDeadpan and dry — keeping it light keeps me sharp, even when everything is on fire.
CEnthusiastic and slightly chaotic — but always with useful information buried somewhere in the noise.
DCalm and controlled through an earpiece, with a plan that covers every variable I haven’t thought of yet.
EBarely at all — silence is a language and they speak it fluently.
NEXT QUESTION →
06
Your enemy is powerful, well-resourced, and has the upper hand. How should your partner approach them?
The approach to the enemy defines the partnership.
AInfiltrate their inner circle, learn everything, and dismantle them from inside out before they know we’re there.
BStudy the historical pattern — every villain of this type has a weakness written somewhere in the past.
CGet them talking. The more they monologue, the more time I have to figure out how to beat them.
DGo through them. Directly. With as much force as the terrain allows.
EFind the one thing they haven’t accounted for — there’s always one thing — and make sure we’re holding it.
NEXT QUESTION →
07
Things go badly wrong and you’re captured. What do you trust your partner to do?
Who someone is when you need them most is the only thing that matters.
ACome in alone, quietly, and get me out before anyone knows they were there.
BHave already been working on the extraction since the moment I disappeared — the plan is already running.
CCome in loud, come in fast, and worry about the collateral damage later — I’d do the same for them.
DUse every resource, every contact, and bend every rule until I’m out — they don’t leave people behind.
ECharm their way in somehow, bluff through the hard part, and still manage to look good doing it.
NEXT QUESTION →
08
What does your ideal partner bring to the table that you couldn’t replace?
A great partner fills the gap you didn’t know you had.
ATechnology that shouldn’t exist yet and the training to use it under any conditions.
BSurvival instinct so refined it borders on supernatural — and the scars to prove it’s been tested.
CKnowledge of history, language, and culture that makes them invaluable in places where force is useless.
DThe ability to walk into any room in the world and immediately become the most trusted person in it.
EStubbornness that refuses to accept a situation is hopeless — and the improvisational skill to back it up.
NEXT QUESTION →
09
Every partnership has a cost. Which of these can you live with?
No one comes without baggage. The question is whether you can carry it together.
AA partner who never fully switches off — always watching exits, always calculating threats, even at dinner.
BA partner who gets the job done brilliantly but has the emotional availability of a locked filing cabinet.
CA partner who makes everything ten times more complicated than it needs to be — but who always comes through.
DA partner who gets personally attached to every relic, ruin, and artefact we encounter, which slows everything down.
EA partner who was not built for this and knows it — but shows up anyway, every time, without being asked.
NEXT QUESTION →
10
It’s the final moment. Everything is on the line. What do you need from your partner right now?
The last question is the most honest one.
AOne line. Absolutely dry. Delivered like the world isn’t ending. Then we move.
BNothing said at all — just a look that means we both already know what has to happen.
CA plan I don’t fully understand that somehow accounts for everything, delivered in thirty seconds flat.
DA piece of historical context that reframes the entire situation and tells us exactly what to do next.
ESomeone who steps forward instead of back — because that’s who they’ve always been.
REVEAL MY PARTNER →
Your Partner Has Been Assigned
Your Perfect Partner Is…
Your answers have pointed to one action hero above all others. This is the person built to have your back — for better or considerably, spectacularly worse.
Rambo
Your partner doesn’t talk much, doesn’t need to, and will have assessed every threat in your immediate environment before you’ve finished your first sentence. John Rambo is not a man of plans or politics — he is a force of nature shaped by survival, loyalty, and a capacity for endurance that goes beyond anything training can produce. He will not leave you behind. He has never left anyone behind who deserved to come home. What you get with Rambo is the most capable, most quietly ferocious partner imaginable — one who has been through things that would have broken anyone else, and who chose to keep going anyway. You’ll never need to ask if he has your back. You’ll just know.
James Bond
Your partner will arrive perfectly dressed, perfectly briefed, and with a cover story so convincing it’ll take you a moment to remember what’s actually true. James Bond is the most professionally dangerous person in any room he enters — and the most disarmingly charming, which is the point. He operates in a world of layers, where nothing is what it appears and every advantage is used without apology. You’ll never be bored. You’ll occasionally be furious. But when it matters — when the mission is genuinely on the line and the margin for error has collapsed to nothing — Bond is exactly the partner you want. He has survived things that have no business being survivable. He does it with style. That is not nothing.
Indiana Jones
Your partner will know the history, the language, the cultural context, and exactly why the thing everyone else is ignoring is actually the most important thing in the room. Indiana Jones is brilliant, reckless, and occasionally impossible — but he is also one of the most resourceful, most genuinely knowledgeable partners you could find yourself beside. He approaches every situation with a scholar’s eye and a brawler’s instinct, which is an unusual combination and a remarkably effective one. He hates snakes and gets personally attached to objects of historical significance, both of which will slow you down at least once. It doesn’t matter. What Indy brings is irreplaceable — and the adventures you’ll have together will be the kind people write books about. Assuming you survive them.
John McClane
Your partner was not supposed to be here. He does not have the right equipment, the right information, or anything approaching the right odds. He has a sarcastic remark and an absolute refusal to accept that the situation is as bad as it looks. John McClane is the greatest accidental hero in the history of action cinema — a man whose superpower is stubbornness, whose contingency plan is improvisation, and whose capacity to absorb punishment and keep moving would be alarming if it weren’t so useful. He will complain the entire time. He will make it significantly more chaotic than it needed to be. And he will absolutely, unconditionally, without question come through when it counts. Yippee-ki-yay.
Ethan Hunt
Your partner has already run seventeen scenarios by the time you’ve finished reading the briefing, and the plan he’s settled on involves at least two things that should be physically impossible. Ethan Hunt operates at the absolute edge of human capability — technically, physically, and intellectually — and he brings the same relentless precision to protecting his partners that he brings to dismantling organisations that shouldn’t exist. He is not easy to know and he will never fully tell you everything. But he will carry the weight of the mission so completely, so absolutely, that your job is simply to trust him — and the remarkable thing is that trusting him always turns out to be the right call. The mission will be impossible. He will complete it anyway.
↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ
5
‘Presumed Innocent’ (2024–Present)
Jake Gyllenhaal in Presumed InnocentImage via Apple TV
Presumed Innocent takes a familiar crime-thriller premise but puts a genuinely compelling spin on it. The series is based on Scott Turow’s bestselling novel and follows esteemed prosecutor Rusty Sabich (Jake Gyllenhaal), whose life comes crashing down when his colleague and former lover Carolyn Polhemus (Renate Reinsve) is found murdered. Rusty is ready to do anything to help solve the case, but things take a turn when he ends up becoming the prime suspect. Suddenly, he finds himself fighting to protect not only his freedom but also his reputation, career, and family.
Presumed Innocent is one of the most suspenseful shows of the last few years because the audience is never quite sure how much of the truth Rusty is hiding. Every episode reveals new details about his relationship with Carolyn, which complicates the case further. The series thrives on this ambiguity, and much of that credit goes to Gyllenhaal’s brilliant performance that keeps one guessing whether Rusty is a victim of circumstance or a man hiding something far darker.
4
‘Giri/Haji’ (2019)
Yōsuke Kubozuka and Masahiro Motoki in ‘Giri/Haji’Image via BBC
Giri/Haji is unlike any other show in the crime genre. The series follows Tokyo detective Kenzo Mori (Takehiro Hira), who is sent to London after his younger brother Yuto (Yōsuke Kubozuka) is believed to have murdered a member of a powerful yakuza family. The accusation comes as a shock because Yuto actually disappeared years earlier and was believed to be dead. This leads Kenzo on a search for his brother in a foreign land, as he finds himself caught between rival criminal organizations, police investigations, and family obligations that become increasingly difficult to reconcile.
The show constantly shifts between crime thriller, family drama, and character study without ever losing momentum, and this unpredictability practically forces the audience to keep wanting more. Every discovery about Yuto raises the stakes in a way that the audience and even Kenzo are never entirely sure of where his loyalties lie. The London setting gives Giri/Haji a distinct, gritty identity, but what ultimately makes the series so compelling is the emotional conflict at its center. This balance of tension and character development makes Giri/Haji one of the most overlooked crime shows of the last decade.
3
‘Legends’ (2026–Present)
Tom Burke and Gerald Kyd in LegendsImage via Netflix
Legends is based on the remarkable true story of British customs employees who were recruited for a secret operation to infiltrate some of the country’s most dangerous drug gangs. The series follows customs officer Guy (Tom Burke), whose life changes overnight when he is selected for the mission by veteran operative Don (Steve Coogan). With nothing but a new identity and little formal undercover experience, Guy is forced to enter a criminal world where one mistake could expose the entire operation. As he and the rest of the team work their way deeper into major heroin-smuggling networks, the line between their real identities and undercover personas becomes increasingly blurred. The suspense in Legends comes from the fact that its protagonists aren’t exactly action heroes.
These people are always one mistake away from blowing their covers, and that makes every interaction feel risky. There’s also a level of psychological tension in the narrative because of how Guy gradually begins to lose his sense of self. At the same time, the investigation keeps expanding as the team moves further up the criminal hierarchy. Legends never treat undercover work as glamorous. Instead, it focuses on the personal cost of living a lie for months on end and the pressure that comes with constantly looking over your shoulder. The show is a true character-driven crime drama that only gets better with each episode.
2
‘High Potential’ (2024–Present)
Kaitlin Olson in High Potential Season 2 Episode 1Image via ABC
High Potential begins as a familiar crime-procedural formula that follows single mother Morgan Gillory (Kaitlin Olson), who works as a cleaner for the Los Angeles Police Department. However, the twist is that Morgan possesses an extraordinary intellect and an almost uncanny ability to spot details that everyone else misses. After she accidentally helps solve an important case, she is recruited to work alongside the LAPD’s Major Crimes division, where her unconventional methods quickly prove invaluable. However, as Morgan helps detectives tackle a variety of complex cases, she is also quietly pursuing answers about the mysterious disappearance of her former partner years earlier.
High Potential is a highly entertaining watch because of how interactive every investigation feels. Morgan often notices inconsistencies that others overlook, which means the audience is constantly forced to reexamine the evidence alongside her. The cases are never straightforward, and many of the show’s most satisfying moments come when seemingly insignificant details suddenly become the key to the entire mystery. At the same time, the ongoing storyline involving her missing partner adds another layer of intrigue that carries across the narrative. High Potential proves that a crime show doesn’t really need to be dark or grim to create suspense. Sometimes, all it takes is a solid, fascinating lead character.
1
‘Nine Puzzles’ (2025)
Kim Da-mi as Yoon E-na wearing glasses and a blazer in Nine Puzzles.Image via Hulu
Nine Puzzles is a Korean crime thriller that follows criminal profiler Yoon Ena (Kim Da-mi), who, as a teenager, was the sole witness to her uncle’s murder. The case was never solved, and Ena herself was once considered a potential suspect. A decade later, she is working alongside the police when a new series of murders begins to emerge. Each crime is connected by a mysterious puzzle piece, and the clues appear to be linked to the cold case that changed her life. Ena becomes increasingly involved in the investigation, and in doing so, she is forced to revisit memories she has spent years trying to suppress.
This constant uncertainty surrounding Ena’s life contributes to much of the show’s suspense. The audience is never entirely sure how much she remembers, whether she is overlooking something important, or whether she is somehow more connected to the murders than she realizes. The show does an excellent job of withholding information without feeling manipulative, which means that even the smallest of reveals completely changes the audience’s understanding of the mystery. Nine Puzzles is addictive thanks to its fractured narrative and carefully placed cues that keep the audience second-guessing everything.