If ‘The Last Frontier’ left you wired, these thrillers will keep it going
If ‘The Last Frontier’ left you wired, these thrillers will keep it going
These picks bring the same tension, isolation, and danger you just got hooked on.
If you just wrapped “The Last Frontier” you’re probably still coming down from that finale. This show goes hard right from the jump. You get that massive plane crash, the fugitives scattering into the Alaskan wilderness, and Frank Remnick trying to hold everything together while the whole town edges toward panic. And those action sequences… some of them feel like they could belong in a theater. Cudos to all the directors on the season. So yeah, finishing it leaves a big hole. Luckily, there are a few shows that hit similar nerves, whether that’s the isolated setting, the cat and mouse tension, or the feeling that danger is closing in from every direction. Here’s what to watch next if you loved “The Last Frontier.”
The Last Frontier
When a prison transport plane crashes in the remote Alaskan wilderness—freeing dozens of violent inmates—the region’s lone marshal must protect the town he’s vowed to keep safe.
Loved ‘The Last Frontier’? Watch: ‘Justified’
“Justified” scratches a very specific itch. If Frank Remnick pulled you in with his calm, no-nonsense approach to chaos, Raylan Givens is the next lawman you want in your queue. He’s a U.S. Marshal too, but instead of snow and forests, he’s cleaning up trouble in eastern Kentucky. The vibe is basically a modern Western crime story mixed with sharp, funny dialogue. You get criminals who think they’re smarter than they are, standoffs that feel like they could explode at any second, and a lead character who handles all of it with a mix of swagger and annoyance that’s honestly pretty charming.
What pulls the two shows together is the way both lawmen get swallowed up by the problems in their own backyard. Raylan deals with old grudges, messy family ties, and long-running feuds that hit close to home, just like Frank is forced to protect a community he cares about while the odds keep getting worse. But where “The Last Frontier” leans heavily on conspiracies and adrenaline, “Justified” has more attitude and character clashes. It’s still tense and totally addictive, just with a little more smirk to it.
Justified
A character drama based on the 2001 Elmore Leonard short story “Fire in the Hole.” Leonard’s tale centers around U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens of Kentucky, a quiet but strong-willed official of the law. The tale covers his high-stakes job, as well as his strained relationships with his ex-wife and father.
Try out: ‘Fargo’
“Fargo” is one of those shows that just nails a mood. It’s dark, funny, violent, polite, absurd, and somehow all of that works together without feeling messy. Every season is its own crime story, usually set in some snowy corner of the Midwest where normal folks suddenly find themselves neck deep in trouble. And it’s not the goofy kind of trouble. It’s the kind where a tiny bad decision spirals into something brutal.
If what you loved in “The Last Frontier” was watching a peaceful place get completely thrown off balance, “Fargo” gives you that exact feeling, but with a Coen Brothers tilt. There’s always some dangerous outsider rolling into town, always some regular person trying to hold it together, and always a bit of quiet dread under the surface. And personally, I really love the tone of this show. It’s dark and bloody but also really funny in that uncomfortable way that sneaks up on you. The most recent season with Jon Hamm and Juno Temple is a great example, and it’s one of my favorites in the series. If you’re into wild tension mixed with Midwestern weirdness, this is the one.
Fargo
A close-knit anthology series dealing with stories involving malice, violence and murder based in and around Minnesota.
Watch next: ‘True Detective’ Season 4: Night Country
“True Detective” has been up and down over the years, but “Night Country” brought it right back into its groove. That first McConaughey and Harrelson season is still iconic, but this latest chapter proved the anthology still has plenty to say. Set during the long stretch of winter darkness in Alaska, Season 4 follows detectives Liz Danvers and Evangeline Navarro as they try to figure out what happened to a group of scientists who vanished from a remote research station. And yeah, it gets creepy fast.
This one hits closer to “The Last Frontier” than you might expect. You’ve got isolation, you’ve got people in over their heads, and you’ve got law enforcement trying to stay grounded while the world around them gets stranger and stranger. The difference is that “Night Country” leans all the way into the eerie side of the north. The soundtrack, the cold, the shadows, the silence… it all builds this icy feeling of dread that sticks with you. It’s haunting, emotional, and honestly beautiful to look at. And I kind of dug the horror edge this season brought in. It was weird and bold in a way that made the mystery feel bigger. With Issa López steering the ship again for Season 5, I hope she keeps pushing in that direction.
True Detective
An American anthology police detective series utilizing multiple timelines in which investigations seem to unearth personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within or outside the law.
Wild card pick: ‘The Outsider’
If the fugitive-hunt energy in “The Last Frontier” is why you loved the show, “The Outsider” is the perfect curveball. It opens like a straight crime drama in a small town. A horrific murder, a solid suspect, and clear evidence. Easy case, right? Not even close. Pretty quickly, the investigation takes a hard left turn when impossible details start popping up, and the detectives are forced to consider that something else might be at play here. Something they can’t explain with common sense.
This show starts with the same grounded urgency that drives “The Last Frontier,” but then slowly transforms into something much darker and stranger. It’s unsettling in a slow-burn way, and by the time the supernatural elements peek through, you’re already hooked and wondering how deep the rabbit hole goes. It’s not flashy or loud. It’s more like a nightmare that builds little by little until you realize how tense you’ve become. If you’re open to a thriller that crosses into the uncanny, this one is worth every minute.
The Outsider
When an insidious supernatural force edges its way into a seemingly straightforward investigation into the gruesome murder of a young boy, it leads a seasoned cop and an unorthodox investigator to question everything they believe in.
More to watch after finishing ‘The Last Frontier’:
‘Banshee’ | HBO Max
Banshee
Banshee is an American drama television series set in a small town in Pennsylvania Amish country and features an enigmatic ex-con posing as a murdered sheriff who imposes his own brand of justice while also cooking up plans that serve his own interests.
‘Yellowstone’ | Peacock
Yellowstone
Follow the violent world of the Dutton family, who controls the largest contiguous ranch in the United States. Led by their patriarch John Dutton, the family defends their property against constant attack by land developers, an Indian reservation, and America’s first National Park.
‘Sherlock’ | Hulu
Sherlock
A modern update finds the famous sleuth and his doctor partner solving crime in 21st century London.
‘Mindhunter’ | Netflix
MINDHUNTER
An agent in the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit develops profiling techniques as he pursues notorious serial killers and rapists.