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Netflix excels at creating TV shows of various genres. Thriller is one of them and the streaming service gives space to creators from multiple countries to offer their own spin of the genre. One of the most popular series is You, which has recently aired its third season and is still going strong.
The show has everything the audience could ask for it, both a captivating story and fascinating characters played by excellent actors. However, three seasons might seem a lot but it's possible to binge-watch them in a relatively short time. Luckily, there are other thriller series on Netflix that could captivate the fans of You if only they give them a chance.
Updated March 18, 2022, by Tom Bowen: Although the fourth season of You has already been confirmed, there's still no word on when exactly it will arrive. Realistically, the earliest that fans can expect to see it is October, but, if the gaps between previous seasons are anything to go by, they may have a much longer wait ahead of them. That's okay though, as there are plenty of other great thriller series on Netflix for fans of You to enjoy while they're waiting for Joe and the show's triumphant return.
10 The Fall
Gillian Anderson's post-X Files offerings have been a little hit and miss, but The Fall should land pretty cleanly for those who are fans of the thriller genre. In it, she plays a flawed yet driven detective as she tries to get inside the head of the prolific serial killer, Paul Spector. Like Joe in You, Spector is an expert at hiding in plain sight, and, to begin with, at least, he's very good at covering his tracks. His obsessive behavior is a little reminiscent of Joe's too, which should further appeal to fans of You.
Though the plot can wear a little thin at times throughout the show's three seasons, the captivating relationship between Stella and Spector never once loses its edge. Such is the strength of their cat and mouse game that any minor flaws can be overlooked with ease, though there really aren't too many of those here anyway. With 17 episodes, it's one of those shows that can be stretched out over the course of a few weeks or binged in just a couple of days. Considering its quality, the latter will probably be the more likely.
9 The Stranger
Although the end result is often pretty easy to predict, the journey that You takes viewers on to get there is usually anything but. It's this that makes the show so captivating to watch and ensures that viewers are always kept teetering on the edges of their seats. This is something that The Stranger also excels at, with twists and mysteries perfectly punctuating the mini-series' eight-episode run.
The series begins with a mysterious woman approaching the main character, Adam Price. The titular stranger proceeds to tell him that his wife has been lying to him, which prompts Adam to dig a little deeper into her activities. What he finds out is truly shocking, as too are some of the events that transpire once Adam begins to really scrutinize some of his wife's lies. It's a wild ride from start to finish, with a strong cast and solid writing throughout.
8 Mindhunter
Getting into the minds of people who are very different from the majority of the population is always interesting. Other than You with its obsessed, dangerous hero Joe portrayed by Penn Badgley, Mindhunter also gives the audience such an opportunity.
In this case, the show focuses on two FBI agents who are exploring the minds of serial killers to figure out what makes them tick. Even though the show takes place in the 1970s, not the modern days like You does, what they have in common is a heavy atmosphere that will easily draw the viewers in right from the start.
7 Black Mirror
For the people who just start watching the show, You might seem like an innocent story about a guy who falls in love with a girl. However, it soon becomes something else entirely and it can be quite disconcerting. Black Mirror is an anthology story, unlike You, but it follows a similar recipe in some episodes.
At first, everything looks alright but it eventually goes seriously wrong. For example, the third episode of the first season follows a man who suspects his wife is unfaithful to him and ends up driving her out of his life, all because of a piece of technology that allows him to access all of his memories, including the old ones. It's not the only time the series includes episodes about twisted relationships, which is basically what You focuses on.
6 Ratched
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), directed by the late Miloš Forman and starring Jack Nicholson, is one of the best-rated thrillers of all time. A strong part of its charm is thanks to its main villain, the dangerous Nurse Ratched.
In the new TV adaptation of her story by Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story, American Crime Story) Sarah Paulson shines as the titular character. She initially seems alright, a good person like Joe, but she grows darker over time. Thanks to Paulson's performance and the overall atmosphere of the show, Ratched will be intriguing for everyone who enjoys psychologically dark thrillers.
5 Behind Her Eyes
Thriller TV shows usually have one of two forms. Either they focus on action or the complex minds of its heroes and antagonists as well as their mutual relationships. Behind Her Eyes fits in the second category. This British book-inspired series tells the story of a woman who starts an affair with her boss who works as a psychiatrist. At the same time, she forms a friendship with his wife.
The mysterious atmosphere and people who are more complicated than they originally seemed to make the show a good pick for all You fans. It helps that the actors are excellent, even though they're portraying characters who aren't always sympathetic.
4 Dirty John
Love is often complicated in the world of movies and TV shows. Especially when it includes love and manipulation. Initially, it seems like Joe genuinely loves Guinevere but he soon shows his true face.
Dirty John portrays similarly difficult relationships in which one or both partners are far from innocent and good. The crime anthology series works with multiple heroes so even when the viewer doesn't like one story, they will soon get a new one they could potentially enjoy more.
3 Locked Up
Just like Dirty John and You, Locked Up also puts a lot of emphasis on manipulation in a romantic relationship. In this case, the heroine ends up in prison after her boyfriend pushes her into embezzling funds for him. In the new harsh world, she has to learn how to survive.
Prison TV shows are a popular genre, as series such as Prison Break or Orange Is the New Black proved and Locked Up has a lot to offer both to fans of complex not-quite romances as well as to those who enjoy a good crime story.
2 Safe
As You proves, TV shows' heroes can never be quite sure who to trust because even people who treat them kindly might be hiding a deep secret, as Joe does. Michael C. Hall is best known for playing Dexter who has his own huge secret. But in this show, he shines as a man who has to uncover hidden truths about other people.
At least if he wants to have any chance at finding out what happened to his missing teenage daughter. The mysterious British show is full of interesting characters and the story of the girl's disappearance is enough to keep the audience hooked.
1 Criminal: United Kingdom
As You excels in turning the audience's perception of the characters upside down, so does this anthology series. In each episode, a team of investigators is interrogating a different suspect and they're trying to find out whether the person is guilty or not.
The show manages to keep the viewers guessing right alongside the team. It helps that the suspects are often played by well-known British actors, such as David Tennant, Kit Harrington, or Hayley Atwell, who all give excellent performances. And if the British version wasn't enough, there are also the German and Spanish ones to try out.