These are the best crime thriller shows on streaming right now
These are the best crime thriller shows on streaming right now
From international conspiracies to brutal murder cases, these shows have it all.
My wife and I have been on a crime-thriller kick lately, mostly fueled by the newest season of “Hijack.” Idris Elba is back as Sam Nelson, the professional negotiator who always seems to find himself stuck in the worst possible situations. This time, he’s trapped on a hijacked train, and there’s a huge twist at the end of the first episode that I absolutely won’t spoil. Just know that even though it echoes the setup of Season 1, this second season quickly becomes something very different… in a really good way. With Nelson fresh in my mind, I started thinking about other crime‑thriller shows worth bingeing. These are the ones that keep Tara and me on the edge of our seats.
Top 7 crime-thriller TV shows on streaming right now:
No. 7: ‘56 Days’ (2026) | Prime Video
“56 Days” adapts Catherine Ryan Howard’s novel and immediately pulls you into a mystery that plays clever games with time. The story flips between a whirlwind romance between Ciara Wyse and Oliver Kennedy and the moment detectives discover a decomposed body in Oliver’s Boston apartment 56 days later. What makes the show so gripping is how it constantly shifts your suspicions.
As investigators dig into trauma, privilege, and obsession, every character starts to look questionable. Karla Souza and Dorian Missick play the detectives with a sharp, bickering chemistry, and the alternating timelines keep the tension high as the truth slowly comes together. If you enjoy mysteries where the past keeps colliding with the present, this one is incredibly addictive.
56 Days
When an unidentified body is found in a luxury apartment linked to Oliver Kennedy and his girlfriend Ciara Wyse, Detectives Lee Reardon and Karl Connolly reconstruct the couple’s deadly romance across the past 56 days.
No. 6: ‘Steal’ (2026) | Prime Video
“Steal” looks like a classic heist thriller at first, but it quickly turns into something much twistier. Zara Dunne is a quiet employee at a pension-management firm when a gang of robbers storms the trading floor and forces her and a colleague to execute massive financial trades during the robbery.
When her co-worker freezes, Zara steps in and looks like the unexpected hero… or is she? The investigation that follows uncovers lies, deception, and a whole lot of class resentment. Meanwhile, Sophie Turner plays Zara like someone fighting desperately to stay one step ahead. Between the solid action and the subtle commentary on wealth and power, the show manages to be both thrilling and surprisingly thoughtful.
Steal
A typical day at Lochmill Capital is upended when armed thieves burst in and force Zara and her best friend Luke to execute their demands. In the aftermath, conflicted detective Rhys races against time to find out who stole £4 billion pounds of people’s pensions and why.
No. 5: ‘The Capture’ (2019) | Peacock
If surveillance technology already makes you uneasy, “The Capture” will definitely get under your skin. The series follows Detective Inspector Rachel Carey as she uncovers a conspiracy built around deepfake videos and manipulated CCTV footage. What makes the show so compelling is how it constantly shifts the ground beneath your feet.
Just when you think you understand what’s happening, another layer of misinformation or political manipulation appears. Holliday Grainger anchors the story with a great performance, and the show’s focus on synthetic media and digital surveillance makes the whole thing feel plausible, especially as AI video takes over news headlines. It’s fast, intelligent, and one of those thrillers that has you rewinding scenes looking for clues.
The Capture
When soldier Shaun Emery’s conviction for a murder in Afghanistan is overturned due to flawed video evidence, he returns to life as a free man with his young daughter. But when damning CCTV footage from a night out in London comes to light, Shaun’s life takes a shocking turn and he must soon fight for his freedom once again.
No. 4: ‘Tehran’ (2020) | Apple TV+
“Tehran” might be the most stressful show on this list. It follows Mossad hacker Tamar Rabinyan, who infiltrates Tehran under a false identity for a covert mission that goes disastrously wrong, leaving her stranded and hunted inside hostile territory. What I like about this show in particular is how it explores personal identity.
Tamar constantly struggles with her Iranian roots while trying to survive impossible missions, and the relentless pursuit from Revolutionary Guards investigator Faraz Kamali gives the story nonstop momentum. The series mixes Hebrew, Persian, and English dialogue and feels grounded thanks to its real locations and the moral ambiguity in each character. Once you start watching Tamar dodge surveillance and slip through alleyways, it’s very hard to stop.
Tehran
Tamar is a Mossad hacker-agent who infiltrates Tehran under a false identity to help destroy Iran’s nuclear reactor. But when her mission fails, Tamar must plan an operation that will place everyone dear to her in jeopardy.
No. 3: ‘Dark Winds’ (2022) | AMC+
“Dark Winds” brings Tony Hillerman’s Leaphorn & Chee novels to television with a slow-burning intensity that really sticks with you. Set in the 1970s Four Corners region, the series follows Navajo Tribal Police officers Joe Leaphorn, Jim Chee, and Bernadette Manuelito as they investigate crimes across the reservation and beyond. What I love about this one is how it weaves Navajo culture, spirituality, and community into the storytelling instead of treating them like background details.
Zahn McClarnon is fantastic as Leaphorn, balancing a quiet wisdom with determined police work, and the dusty Southwest landscapes give the whole series a haunting atmosphere. It’s thoughtful, tense, and one of the most distinctive crime dramas on TV right now. With Season 3 dropping now, it’s a great time to jump in.
Dark Winds
This psychological thriller follows two Navajo police officers, Leaphorn and Chee, in the 1970s Southwest as their search for clues in a grisly double murder case forces them to challenge their own spiritual beliefs and come to terms with the trauma of their pasts.
No. 2: ‘Hijack’ (2023) | Apple TV+
I didn’t think “Hijack” could top its first season, but Season 2 somehow manages it. The show follows corporate negotiator Sam Nelson (played by Idris Elba), who repeatedly finds himself trapped in high-stakes hostage situations where the only tool he has is persuasion (along with a smoldering intensity that neither Tara nor I can look away from).
The tension comes from watching Sam think through impossible problems in real time, often with lives hanging in the balance. Idris Elba makes the character endlessly watchable, and the show’s quick pacing means every episode ends with another brutal cliffhanger. The commuter train setting adds a grittier atmosphere for Season 2, and few thrillers understand how gripping it can be to watch someone like Elba try to talk their way out of disaster.
Hijack
Expert negotiator Sam Nelson is in for the ride of his life—and so is everyone on board with him—after a group of hijackers take control. Sam will try every move in his playbook to take them down…as the stakes grow higher by the second.
No. 1: ‘Cross’ (2024) | Prime Video
“Cross” adapts James Patterson’s Alex Cross novels, and I totally think it does them justice. Aldis Hodge plays Cross, a Washington D.C. homicide detective and forensic psychologist who channels the trauma of losing his wife into solving brutal crimes.
The show mixes classic serial-killer thrills with deeper character drama, especially through Cross’s friendship with his partner John Sampson and his complicated personal life outside the job. Hodge brings a lot of emotional weight to the role, and the series leans into the moral gray areas that make crime stories interesting. It’s fast-moving, twisty, and anchored by a lead performance that keeps everything grounded. And because they’re based on books, you know they’ve got a well-thought-out story to lean into. If you’re not watching this show, Season 2 just dropped, so now’s the time!
Cross
Alex Cross is a brilliant but flawed homicide detective and full of contradictions. A doting father and family man, Cross is single-minded to the point of obsession when he hunts killers. He is desperate for love, but his wife’s murder has left him too damaged to receive it.