Love Adolescence? Here’s your next crime thriller obsession – plus 4 more must-sees

Need a new binge after Adolescence? Netflix’s hit two-season thriller, Mindhunter, is the show for you. 

Set in the late 1970s, the series stars Jonathan Groff and Holt McCallany as two FBI agents and pioneers of criminal profiling techniques who delve into the psychology of murder by getting inside the minds of monstrous serial killers. 

The Netflix log line reads: “In 1977, frustrated FBI hostage negotiator Holden Ford finds an unlikely ally in veteran agent Bill Tench and begins studying a new class of murderer.”

The series was met with positive reviews and received a 96% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Meanwhile, many fans have hailed the show as Netflix’s best and one of the greatest true crime shows out there. 

The BBC’s hit anthology series, The Missing, has been hailed as a “must-see” crime thriller. 

James Nesbitt and Frances O’Connor led the cast of series one as Tony and Emily Hughes, whose five-year-old son Oliver goes missing while on a family holiday in France. Despite France’s finest detective Julien Baptiste (Tcheky Karyo) leading the manhunt, Oliver isn’t found and Tony and Emily eventually split. Eight years later, a shred of evidence gives Tony new hope and reignites the interest of Baptiste. Will they get to the bottom of what happened to Oliver? 

The series was met with BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations and earned a score of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes before returning two years later with a second series. 

Series two sees the return of Detective Baptiste and follows parents Gemma and Sam (Keeley Hawes and David Morrissey), whose daughter Alice went missing in 2003. Over a decade later, a young British woman stumbles through the streets of her German hometown and collapses.

If you’ve not seen Sally Wainwright’s Yorkshire-set masterpiece, then you’re in for a real treat. 

Sarah Lancashire stars as formidable Police Sergeant Catherine Cawood, who’s raising her young grandson Ryan following the death of her daughter Becky, who fell pregnant with Ryan after being sexually assaulted by psychopath Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton). 

In series one, the kidnapping and abduction of a local millionaire’s daughter brings Catherine face to face with her nemesis, Tommy. 

This epic drama, which ran for three seasons, is widely regarded as one of the finest TV dramas of the 21st century – and we agree!

Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan star in this gripping psychological thriller. Set in Northern Ireland, the series follows DSI Stella Gibson (Anderson) on the hunt for serial killer Paul Spector (Dornan), who is hiding in plain sight. 

The three-season show premiered in 2013 to rave reviews, with The Guardian calling the show “one of the best BBC dramas in years”.  

If Adolescence got you in the mood for more Stephen Graham dramas, then this gritty prison drama is worth a watch. Released in 2021, the three-parter centres around newly imprisoned Mark Cobden, who is consumed by a guilty conscience, and overworked prison officer Eric McNally, who is doing his best to protect the inmates.

“But when one of the most dangerous inmates identifies his weakness, Eric faces an impossible choice; between his principles and his family,” reads the synopsis.

The series was met with rave reviews and followed by a second season in 2023, which was set in a women’s prison and starred Jodie Whittaker, Tamara Lawrance, Bella Ramsey and Siobhan Finneran.

Siobhan Finneran gives a compelling performance as dedicated Detective Inspector Liz Nyles, who finds herself at the centre of a security breach within her witness protection unit when a family in her care is attacked. Professionally compromised by a secret affair with a colleague seemingly involved in the breach, Liz is determined to unveil the source of corruption within the police and will stop at nothing to save her reputation and keep her witnesses safe. 

This nail-biting thriller will have you on the edge of your seat.