Entertainment

The Best Suspense TV Shows  

Reference
4.5k votes 831 voters 51.1k views 65 items

List Rules Shows near the top must be only the best Suspense TV series.

The very best suspense shows on television, ranked from best to worst. This list of the greatest suspense shows also includes pictures from the shows when available. Popular suspense TV shows have been a staple of television for years, so there's often debate about what the most entertaining suspense show of all time is. Don't let your favorite suspense television programs in history get to the bottom of the list- be sure to vote them up so they have the chance to reach the top spot. The list of suspense television shows below includes information like the program's cast, creator and premiere date when available.

List features shows like Wild Romance and Twin Peaks.

This list answers the questions, "What is the best suspense show of all time?" and "What are the greatest suspense shows?"
list ordered by
1
Breaking Bad is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list The Best Suspense TV Shows
Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn
Breaking Bad is an American drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. The show originally aired on the AMC network for five seasons, from January 20, 2008, to September 29, ...more
2
Game of Thrones is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list The Best Suspense TV Shows
Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke
Game of Thrones (HBO, 2011) is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, based on the series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin. Nine noble ...more
3
Sherlock is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list The Best Suspense TV Shows
Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Una Stubbs
Sherlock is a British television crime drama that presents a contemporary adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes detective stories. Created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, it ...more
4
Prison Break is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list The Best Suspense TV Shows
Dominic Purcell, Wentworth Miller, Amaury Nolasco
Prison Break is an American television serial drama created by Paul Scheuring, that was broadcast on Fox for four seasons, from 2005 until 2009. The series revolves around two brothers; one has ...more
5
The Haunting is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list The Best Suspense TV Shows
Michiel Huisman, Carla Gugino, Henry Thomas
The Haunting (Netflix, 2018) is an American supernatural horror television series created by Mike Flanagan, based on the novel by Shirley Jackson. The first season, The Haunting of Hill House, ...more
6
Death Note is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list The Best Suspense TV Shows
Mamoru Miyano, Brad Swaile, Vincent Tong
Death Note is a Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. The story follows Light Yagami, a high school student who stumbles across a mysterious ...more
7
Dexter is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list The Best Suspense TV Shows
Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, David Zayas
Dexter is an American television drama series. Set in Miami, the series centers on Dexter Morgan, a blood spatter pattern analyst for Miami Metro Police Department who also leads a secret life ...more
8
Ozark is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list The Best Suspense TV Shows
Luke Albright added Jason Bateman, Laura Linney, Sofia Hublitz
Ozark (Netflix, 2017) is an American crime drama series created by Bill Dubuque. Financial planner Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman) must suddenly relocate his family (Laura Linney) from Chicago to a ...more
9
Warrior is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list The Best Suspense TV Shows
Imani Henry added Andrew Koji, Olivia Cheng, Jason Tobin
Warrior (Cinemax, 2019) is an American action television series created by Jonathan Tropper and Justin Lin. In late 1800s San Francisco during the Tong Wars, a martial arts prodigy from China ...more
10
True Detective is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list The Best Suspense TV Shows
MarySSpiegel added Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Michelle Monaghan
True Detective (HBO, 2014) is an American anthology drama television series created by Nic Pizzolatto. Each season focuses on detectives investigating violent offences.
11
Stranger Things is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list The Best Suspense TV Shows
Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard
Stranger Things (Netflix, 2016) is an American science fiction-horror web television series created by The Duffer Brothers. When a young boy (Noah Schnapp) disappears, his mother (Winona Ryder), ...more
12
The Handmaid's Tale is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list The Best Suspense TV Shows
Elisabeth Moss, Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski
The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu, 2017) is an American web television series created by Bruce Miller, based on the 1985 novel by Margaret Atwood. In a dystopian future where women are brutally ...more
13
The Unit is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list The Best Suspense TV Shows
Imani Henry added Dennis Haysbert, Regina Taylor, Audrey Marie Anderson
The Unit is an American action-drama television series that focused on a top-secret military unit modeled after the real-life U.S. Army special operations unit commonly known as Delta Force. The ...more
14
Outcast is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list The Best Suspense TV Shows
Imani Henry added Patrick Fugit, Philip Glenister, Wrenn Schmidt
Outcast (Cinemax, 2016) is an American horror drama television series created by Robert Kirkman, based on his comic books. A young man (Patrick Fugit) searches for answers as to why he's been ...more
15
The Killing is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list The Best Suspense TV Shows
Mireille Enos, Joel Kinnaman, Billy Campbell
This show is an American drama television series that premiered on April 3, 2011, on AMC, based on the Danish television series Forbrydelsen. The American version was developed by Veena Sud and ...more
16
The Mentalist is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list The Best Suspense TV Shows
konstantinos20142 added Simon Baker, Robin Tunney, Tim Kang
The Mentalist is an American police procedural television series that ran from September 23, 2008 until February 18, 2015, broadcasting 151 episodes over seven seasons, on CBS. The show was ...more
17
Criminal Minds is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list The Best Suspense TV Shows
Shemar Moore, Matthew Gray Gubler, Thomas Gibson
Criminal Minds is an American police-procedural television program that premiered September 22, 2005, on CBS. The series follows a team of profilers from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit based ...more
18
Good Behavior is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list The Best Suspense TV Shows
Imani Henry added Michelle Dockery, Juan Diego Botto, Terry Kinney
Good Behavior (TNT, 2016) is an American drama television series based on the novella series by Blake Crouch. Released from prison on good behavior, con artist Letty Raines (Michelle Dockery) ...more
19
Taboo is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list The Best Suspense TV Shows
Imani Henry added Tom Hardy, Leo Bill, Jessie Buckley
Taboo (FX, 2017) is a British television drama series created by Tom Hardy, Edward "Chips" Hardy, and Steven Knight. James Delaney (Tom Hardy) returns to England after twelve years in ...more
20
Queen of the South is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list The Best Suspense TV Shows
Imani Henry added Alice Braga, Justina Machado, Hemky Madera
Queen of the South (USA, 2016) is an American television drama series adapted from the successful telenovela La Reina del Sur on sister network Telemundo and the book of the same name by Spanish ...more
21
3% is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list The Best Suspense TV Shows
Imani Henry added Bianca Comparato, João Miguel, Michel Gomes
3% (Netflix, 2016) is a Brazilian dystopian thriller series created by Pedro Aguilera. The show is set in a future wherein people are given a chance to go to the "better side" of a ...more
22
Bloodline is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list The Best Suspense TV Shows
Kyle Chandler, Ben Mendelsohn, Linda Cardellini
Bloodline (Netflix, 2015) is an American thriller–drama web television series created by Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler, and Daniel Zelman. A family of adult siblings find that their past ...more
23
Bates Motel is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list The Best Suspense TV Shows
JVall14 added Vera Farmiga, Freddie Highmore, Max Thieriot
Bates Motel is an American drama thriller television series developed for television by Carlton Cuse, Kerry Ehrin and Anthony Cipriano, and produced by Universal Television for the cable network ...more
24
Big Little Lies is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list The Best Suspense TV Shows
Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley
Big Little Lies (HBO, 2017) is an American dramatic miniseries created by David E. Kelley, based on the novel by Liane Moriarty. While Madeline (Reese Witherspoon) and Celeste (Nicole Kidman) ...more
25
Millennium is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list The Best Suspense TV Shows
yumpox added Lance Henriksen, Megan Gallagher, Terry O'Quinn
Millennium is an American television series created by Chris Carter, creator of The X-Files, that aired on the Fox Network between 1996 and 1999. The series follows the investigations of ex-FBI ...more