Television series
Paranoid
A GP is murdered in a crowded playground in this ITV thriller that should be straightforward but spirals into paranoia and conspiracy. Fast-paced and cleverly plotted, it's designed to keep you guessing through twists that genuinely land. For anyone who binged a good crime drama and immediately needed another.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you like conspiracy thrillers that build slowly from a plain case into something far larger, with a cast that carries the doubt, and you don't mind the plot stretching well beyond home.
Skip it if you want tight, self-contained procedural answers, since this series keeps widening its scope and asks you to trust that the tangle will hold together.
What it asks of you: Eight one-hour episodes, so it's a committed binge rather than a casual night; the pace is steady and unhurried, and the darkness creeps in gradually.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
The Fall2013
Stella Gibson chasing a serial killer across Belfast with meticulous intelligence and style. Tense, smart, and Gillian Anderson is magnetic—it's the template for prestige crime drama done right.
But Darker and slower than Paranoid; the investigation is methodical rather than breathless, and it demands patience.
Happy Valley2014
Sarah Lancashire as a Yorkshire police sergeant hunting her daughter's killer. Raw emotion and violence alongside brilliant detective work, with plot turns that sting because you've come to care about everyone.
But Brutally grim. This isn't about puzzle-solving—it's about trauma and damage, which some viewers find exhausting.
Marcella2016
A detective with gaps in her memory investigates cold cases while her own sanity fractures. Same conspiracy-thriller energy as Paranoid, with Anna Friel doing career-best work under genuine pressure.
But Relies heavily on the twist of her unreliable mind, which means rewatching reveals it's slightly too clever for its own good.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Paranoid
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
The Secret of Kells2009
Both build dread through a small-town or isolated setting where outsiders arrive bringing danger; both suggest that something ancient and unseen is moving beneath the everyday.
Irish animation about a boy protecting an ancient manuscript in a world of crystalline beauty and lurking darkness. Visually it's unlike anything else—hand-drawn, art-deco-influenced, hypnotic. A folk tale that moves like suspense.
But It's not a thriller; it's a meditation on myth and belief. If you want car chases and reveals, you'll feel misled.
More like this (7)
Bodyguard2018
A soldier assigned to protect a politician uncovers a conspiracy that reaches into government itself. Six episodes of pure momentum—it's why people binged it in one night and then argued about it online.
But The final twist divides people. Some find it a clever subversion; others feel betrayed by where it lands.
The Killing2011
Danish police procedural where a single murder investigation deepens into institutional corruption. Slow-burn brilliance with characters you believe in, plus it influenced every crime drama made after 2009.
But The pacing is deliberate and Nordic; if you want explosion-beat-explosion momentum, this will feel glacial.
Unforgotten2015
A skeleton surfaces, and the investigation branches backward through the lives of four suspects. Each episode peels back layers of ordinary lives hiding extraordinary secrets, with Nicola Walker at the centre.
But It's a puzzle where the pieces don't fit together until the final episode. Some find that satisfying; others find it frustrating.
MINDHUNTER2017
FBI profilers in the 1970s interview serial killers to understand criminal psychology. Methodical, intelligent, beautifully shot—it understands that the real thriller is inside the conversation.
But Two seasons in and it ends on a cliffhanger that was never resolved. Netflix cancelled it, which stings.
Broadchurch2013
A child is murdered in a picturesque coastal village, and the investigation tears the community apart. David Tennant's haunted detective is career-defining; the plotting is genuinely stunning.
But The third season exists and undermines what made the first two work. Stick to season one; pretend the rest didn't happen.
Deep State2018
A retired MI6 officer uncovers a shadowy intelligence conspiracy. More overtly paranoid than most—it's what happens when the detective thriller meets spy fiction, with genuine stakes and no safety net.
But It never quite found its audience, and the plotting occasionally collapses under its own ambition. Also cancelled after two seasons.
Lone Star1996
Both use a murder investigation as the spine for exploring how secrets nest inside communities and families; both trust the viewer to track multiple timelines and not spell things out.
John Sayles' masterpiece: a Texas sheriff finds a skeleton and investigates a fifty-year-old murder that connects to his own father's secrets. A procedural where the real mystery is identity and history, not whodunit. Breathtaking.
But It's a three-hour character study disguised as a mystery. The plot unfolds in conversation and flashback, not action. Also nearly impossible to find.
People
Cast
Writing
- Bill GallagherCreator
Production
- Tom SherryProducer