One of the best aspects of the thriller genre is the fact that there's so much room to experiment and let the story go wild as the TV shows progress. Even when these series aren't necessarily supernatural or surreal, that doesn't mean the show can't play with the audience's perception and play with time and space to make the narrative as impressive and unexpected as possible. While it can be jarring and difficult to follow when a series goes off the rails, this doesn't change how much fun it is to watch these projects unravel and come back together again.

There are plenty of great thriller TV shows that can be binged over a weekend, while others are long and complex, asking a lot of the audience. However, any work with a sense of mystery and intrigue requires the viewer's full attention, as even the most seemingly insignificant scene can carry a lot of narrative weight. As these shows progressed, their endings proved that every piece of information and throw-away moment was meaningful and paved the way for bizarre yet enticing conclusions.

10 The Wilds (2020–2022)

Season 1 Tells A Tight Story, But Season 2 Takes An Unexpected Turn

The Wilds season 1 is a great survival TV show with strong female characters. Beginning as what seems like a classic series about a mysterious plane crash and an examination of adolescent experiences in the wilderness, The Wilds goes somewhere unexpected. It soon becomes clear that the crash was planned by someone as a kind of experiment. This conspiracy slowly unwinds as the young women form friendships, turn on each other, and come to grips with the lives they left behind.

The end of The Wilds is a cliffhanger, as the show had additional seasons planned, but it is still difficult to comprehend where the past and future timelines intersect.

Though The Wilds was well received, it was canceled after season 2, as the introduction of the boys' crash took the series in a direction that strayed from the initial premise. The end of The Wilds is a cliffhanger, as the show had additional seasons planned, but it is still difficult to comprehend where the past and future timelines intersect. However, it's the characters and their layered pasts that give The Wilds a strong core as it bites off more than it can chew.

9 Dark (2017–2020)

As The Name Suggests, Dark Isn't Always Easy To Watch

Everything about Netflix's Dark is true to its name. Dark is not a series that the viewer can ively turn on and play in the background. It's a tough, well-structured, and deeply complex show that digs into the nuance and thematic importance of its narrative and characters at every turn. Touching upon the generational mistakes that are ed down through families and lifetimes, Dark brings elements of the supernatural and science fiction into the story to give its message even more intensity.

Just three seasons long, Dark made the most of its short run, taking the story to new heights with each installment and asking the audience to suspend their disbelief at the unbelievable plot twists. Even when certain questions are answered, Dark always has a few more tricks up its sleeve, which is why we keep revisiting the show. By the series finale, the scope of Dark comes to touch upon multiple timelines and realities, taking you on an adventure much bigger than the small town where the story started.

8 Lost (2004–2010)

With Sci-fi, Fantasy, & Mystery Woven Into Its DNA, Lost Will Always Be Memorable

Very few episodes of television are more iconic or controversial than the Lost series finale. After spending years with the characters, watching them struggle to escape the island and sometimes return to it, Lost challenged every conception and theory that audiences and critics had developed about the show. However, even though Lost's ending goes off the rails and packs in plenty of surprises, it's a genre-defining series that's shaped modern television.

By bucking tradition and subverting expectations, Lost stayed true to its essence as a series and created a final episode that was just as memorable as its pilot. No matter how you feel about the Lost finale, there's no denying that it made a big impact on television history. Additionally, it attempted to answer many of the questions that had been plaguing the story from the start. The supernatural elements of Lost became more prominent in the later seasons, and the finale addresses this.

7 Orphan Black (2013–2017)

There's Much More To Uncover In Orphan Black Than You Realize

Tatiana Maslany gives a career-defining performance as Sarah Manning and her many clones in Orphan Black. From the start, Orphan Black is a series that distinguishes itself from a typical thriller, drawing you in with shocking twists and layered reveals that are never quite what they seem. As Sarah dives deeper into the story's world and discovers just how much of her life has been tracked and designed in a lab, the viewer can't wait to learn more about how she'll assert her independence.

There's no question that Orphan Black is a fast-paced thriller TV show that won't bore you as each successive season only grows more interrogative. Orphan Black season 5, the final installment of the series, cements the project as one of the best pieces of speculative fiction of its time. Many aspects of the story that we believed were fact and unchangeable are upended in the spellbinding series finale, which eventually paved the way for Orphan Black: Echoes, the short-lived spinoff.

6 Mr. Robot (2015–2019)

Rami Malek Uncovers Conspiracies As Elliot In Mr. Robot

Before he won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Bohemian Rhapsody, Rami Malek led the cast of the cyberpunk thriller series Mr. Robot. His character, Elliot, is an expert hacker drawn into a dangerous world of crime and conspiracy, using his skills to bring down enormous corporations. However, Mr. Robot is as much about what's going on inside Elliot's head as it is about the larger social and cultural issues it touches upon, as Elliot isn't always a reliable narrator.

Throughout the 2010s, Mr. Robot came to be known as one of the decade's definitive projects, touching upon contemporary fears and growing reliance on technology.

Mr. Robot sees Elliot struggle with his perception of the world and his inability to connect with reality. Due to this, he disappears into the virtual universe, finding solace in his hacking. Throughout the 2010s, Mr. Robot came to be known as one of the decade's definitive projects, touching upon contemporary fears and growing reliance on technology. The ending of Mr. Robot calls much of the story into question, pushing Elliot and the viewer to expand their understanding of the line between reality and fantasy.

5 Legion (2017–2019)

Both Visually And Narratively, Legion Isn't Afraid To Experiment

Legion is unlike any other Marvel TV show or project within the X-Men canon, as the truly surreal series doesn't hold back from confusing its audience at every turn. Dan Stevens, well-known for his role in Downton Abbey, stars as David, a man who isn't aware of his identity as a mutant. Lots of the action in Legion takes place inside David's mind. Throughout the show, he struggles for control of his abilities and knowledge against both himself and hidden invaders who attempt to use him.

Though it only ran for three seasons, Legion chronicled many intense developments and pushed not only David but all the characters featured in the series. Even though David eventually finds out more about himself and his past, as the series progresses, Legion gets even more strange and offbeat in both story and visual style. Legion is unlike any other superhero show airing today and doesn't lose sight of its themes and message, even as David travels to worlds we could never dream of.

4 12 Monkeys (2015–2018)

As 12 Monkeys Progressed, The Series Proved Its Longevity

After the success of the 1995 sci-fi thriller movie 12 Monkeys, the story was translated to the small screen in 2015. Starring Aaron Stanford and Amanda Schull, 12 Monkeys progressed past the original premise and grew into an even more complex web of characters and storylines. Within the niche of science fiction thrillers, 12 Monkeys stands out, as it balances the inherent intensity of its premise with the almost limitless possibilities of time travel.

12 Monkeys delivered an ending to the series that was both emotionally impactful and thrilling.

The final season of the series received strong acclaim, proving that the concept of 12 Monkeys was sustainable beyond the confines of a feature-length script. 12 Monkeys delivered an ending to the series that was both emotionally impactful and thrilling. Of course, since the story relies on the tangled web of time travel, the finale explores some confusing and intricate storytelling. However, it's fun to dive into the show and uncover the truth at the heart of 12 Monkeys.

3 Behind Her Eyes (2021)

A Thrilling Love-Triangle Is Taken To Supernatural Heights

Blending aspects of the noir and supernatural genres, Behind Her Eyes takes many unexpected but fresh turns as the show progresses. Simona Brown, Eve Hewson, and Tom Bateman lead the cast as Louise, Adele, and David, three people who get caught in a dangerous love triangle with stakes much higher than they initially know. Released on Netflix in 2021, Behind Her Eyes draws its story from the novel by Sarah Pinborough, crafting a tense series that grows more unbelievable with every moment.

In just six tightly packed episodes, Behind Her Eyes manages to take you on an odyssey that could never be predicted, and the way the series ends involves a twist that must be seen to be believed. With body-swapping, murder, and violent expressions of love, Behind Her Eyes touches upon the intricacies of the characters' relationships through the lens of the experimental premise. While sometimes the wild leaps in plot and character development can be jarring, this is part of the nature of a series like Behind Her Eyes.

2 Twin Peaks (1990–1991)

Before The Return, Twin Peaks

At this point, calling Twin Peaks a cult TV show would be a misnomer, as the beloved surreal mystery series is considered some of David Lynch's best work. With time, Twin Peaks has only become more acclaimed and reached a wide array of audiences, whether they first watched Twin Peaks when it was airing or discovered it decades later. Regardless, it's impossible to forget the terrifying and astoundingly original season 2 finale, which was the show's last episode for over twenty years.

Elements of the supernatural had been woven into the fabric of Twin Peaks from the start, but things got even wilder in the season 2 finale. Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) enters the Black Lodge and finds out exactly what happened to Laura Palmer, changing the series forever. While Twin Peaks ran into creative speed bumps throughout season 2, as Lynch wasn't able to exercise his complete vision, this doesn't make it any less shocking to watch the original ending of the show.

1 Maniac (2018)

This Miniseries Is Too Often Overlooked Today

Emma Stone and Jonah Hill anchor the cast of Maniac, an overlooked miniseries that never got the love it deserved. Released on Netflix in 2018, Maniac sparked conversation when it was first released, but it isn't talked about as much today. This is a shame, as Maniac takes the viewer on a mind-bending journey that ends with a bang in its tenth and final episode. Following a mysterious pharmaceutical trial, Maniac pushes the characters to their mental limits.

Like most thriller TV shows, Maniac isn't afraid to leave the audience with questions at the end of every episode, slowly revealing the answers and connecting the web of plot twists and mysteries. The visual style of Maniac helps elevate the complex world, keeping us invested in the story even as it grows stranger and less accessible. Even when the characters eventually escape the world of the trial, they can't leave behind how their minds have been altered.