FROM ‘THE MADNESS’ TO ‘SLOW HORSES’, FIVE THRILLERS TO WATCH WHEN YOU'VE FINISHED ‘DEPT Q’

Netflix will be well pleased with the success of Dept Q, its recent TV crime thriller series about a highly skilled but down-on-his-luck detective given a batch of seemingly unsolvable crimes. But there are plenty of reasons why it looked destined for success, its somewhat familiar premise notwithstanding (see: “a highly skilled but down-on-his-luck detective given a batch of seemingly unsolvable crimes”).

It has a crack team involved – writer-director Scott Frank was behind The Queen’s Gambit – and a high-calibre cast, including Matthew Goode and Kelly Macdonald. Plus, given that it’s based on an acclaimed book series by Danish crime writer Jussi Adler-Olsen, just the right hint of Scandi noir. It also, sadly, has only eight episodes (although there may be more), but these are the shows that you could consider putting in your viewing queue for when your Dept Q binge is done.

The Madness

Colman Domingo is a definite man of the minute – though he’s been around for years and has the acting chops to stay the course a good while longer – and this 2024 mini-series was a classic example of his range. Playing a media pundit who witnesses a murder in Upstate New York, he brings gravitas to playwright Stephen Belber’s psychological thriller. He also looks incredibly stylish in this show – a typecasting problem he’s likely happy to have.

Stream now on Netflix

Slow Horses

If it’s heavyweight actors you want, they don’t come more so than Gary Oldman, who has been steadying the ship (or rocking it, as the case may be) as the head honcho of MI5’s supposedly useless Slough House outpost since Slow Horses debuted in 2022. Soon to start its fifth series, the spy thriller, created by Will Smith and based on the books by Mick Herron, is a slow-burn masterclass.

Stream now on Apple TV+

River

Stellan Skarsgård’s eldest son Alexander might have got the Cannes cameras clicking for his kinky menswear combos (try saying that three times after a glass of aquavit), but the pater familias of the Skarsgård acting dynasty continues to make noteworthy outings of his own. This BBC series from 2015, created by Abi Morgan, about a troubled Met police detective grieving a murdered colleague, was no exception.

Stream now on ITVX

Criminal Record

Big-name actors, cold-case tropes and gloomy settings were all present and correct in this 2024 British crime thriller series created by Paul Rutman. It starred Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo as detectives of markedly different generations (and mindsets) who find themselves on either side of case of a possibly wrongful murder conviction and has been renewed for a second series.

Stream now on Apple TV+

Bodies

Something a little bit different (but not too different, fear not!) is this eight-part series from 2023, based on Si Spencer’s 2015 graphic novel and adapted for TV by Paul Tomalin. Stephen Graham was among an impressive cast who told the story of a Whitechapel murder that happens across four different time periods, creating a crime thriller with a sci-fi twist.

Stream now on Netflix

2025-06-13T13:44:56Z