7 Netflix Thriller Miniseries That Are 10/10 but Nobody Remembers Today

There’s only so much television one can take. Not everyone has the time to commit to season-spanning thrillers, especially ones packed with dense lore like Stranger Things or Fargo. But that doesn’t mean casual Netflix viewers have to miss out on their daily dose of adrenaline.

The streaming platform is also home to a strong lineup of thriller miniseries — tight, heart-racing plots that deliver the same intensity in a fraction of the time, many of which can be finished in a single day. Without further ado, here are the Netflix thriller miniseries that are perfect, but nobody remembers today.

‘Ripley’ (2024)

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Adapted from Patricia Highsmith‘s bestselling novels, Ripley is a sleek and stylish thriller where envy spirals into murder. Set in early 1960s New York and Italy, Tom Ripley (Andrew Scott), a struggling con artist skilled in forgery and impersonation, has difficulty finding employment. His luck changes when wealthy industrialist Herbert Greenleaf (Kenneth Lonergan) hires him to travel to the Amalfi Coast and bring his son, Dickie Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn), home.

Although the storyline is very reminiscent of its previous film counterpart, Ripley takes its time before arriving at its bloody conclusions. While the love triangle still exists, much of the series focuses on the unnerving mood, class, privilege, and superficiality rather than just the twisted romance itself. Rich people like Dickie have the luxury of escaping their responsibilities (handed to them on a silver spoon) to start “anew” in another country, while people like Ripley, who have almost nothing to rely on, are left to play babysitter for them.

‘The Beast in Me’ (2025)

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Grief does the craziest things to humans when left untamed. The Beast in Me follows the heartbroken author Aggie Wiggs (Claire Danes), who is reeling from the death of her son. Unable to write, she becomes obsessed with her mysterious neighbor, Nile Jarvis (Matthew Rhys), after learning about the disappearance of his first wife, Madison. A wealthy real estate developer by trade and now married to his second wife, Nina Jarvis (Brittany Snow), Nile is suspected of murdering Madison.

Watching Aggie try to uncover the truth is a painful experience, mainly because she is inching closer to a man who might very well murder her too. Her grief becomes a hollow void, and she fills it by latching onto something that, although risky, gives her a sense of purpose. Aggie doesn’t have a detective’s instincts, yet she confronts Nile to the point of intimidation. She shows little fear of the repercussions, which only pushes Nile to challenge her further.

‘Behind Her Eyes’ (2021)

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Workplace affairs are troublesome enough. However, things become significantly more complex when someone can literally control the reality surrounding them. Behind Her Eyes introduces single mother Louise (Simona Brown), who also works as a secretary. However, when she becomes romantically entangled with her boss, David (Tom Bateman), they begin a relationship. Little does Louise realize that David is married and that she has already met his wife, Adele (Eve Hewson), on a separate occasion.

The worst part about this is that Louise is actually friends with Adele, though that ends up being the least complicated part. In a supernatural twist, Adele can astral project, which allows her to manipulate the events around her. Astral projection also enables body swapping, meaning Adele can exchange bodies with other people. The question then becomes whether the Adele the audience sees at the beginning is really Adele at all, and if not, what her true intentions are — and whether she has more sinister plans to sabotage Louise.

‘Treason’ (2022)

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Daredevil‘s death-defying darling trades his costume for national intelligence. Treason follows MI6 officer Adam Lawrence (Charlie Cox), whose sudden promotion — after his mentor is poisoned — pulls him into a dangerous web of secrets. Caught between fending off envious colleagues and handling the pressure of being on the country’s first line of defense, Adam has big shoes to fill. When his former lover pops up out of the blue and threatens him, his loyalty is called into question.

The thing about working in national intelligence is that you are always collateral. Adam is psychologically crushed as he’s pulled in multiple directions, and the worst part is that he is constantly under surveillance. Even outside the office, there are always eyes on him. His personal life becomes a liability to his work, and any clear separation between the two disappears. The saddest part is that Adam has no one to confide in, simply because no one can be trusted — they could just as easily betray him.

‘The Innocent’ (2021)

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The Innocent begins not-so-innocently when the lead character, Mateo Vidal (Mario Casas), gets into a nightclub fight, leading to the death of a young man, Dani. Imprisoned for four years, Mateo attempts to rebuild his life from scratch following his release. This includes reconnecting with Olivia Costa (Aura Garrido), who is pregnant with his child. However, the past creeps up on him when Mateo is targeted, suggesting that it is connected to Dani’s death. Worse still, Olivia is nowhere to be seen.

Unlike a typical Harlan Coben thriller, which is better known for its plot twists, The Innocent digs deeper into the characters’ intentions and the ripple effects of their actions. Still, this does not take away from its thriller elements. Haunting Mateo is an unknown man who claims to know his darkest secrets, but whether that is true or not is another issue. With its multi-perspective storytelling, audiences are pulled into different versions of the same conflict that initially seem disjointed, only gradually piecing together which version of events is true.

‘Black Earth Rising’ (2018)

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The justice system is never equal, especially between colonizers and the colonized. Black Earth Rising follows Kate Ashby (Michaela Coel), a British legal investigator haunted by her past as a child refugee during the Rwandan genocide. Adopted by a white female prosecutor, Eve Ashby (Harriet Walter), Kate is dumbstruck to learn that Eve is prosecuting a man hailed as a hero by her people. After a shocking assassination, Kate launches her own investigation, forcing her to confront her past and connect it with her present.

Black Earth Rising dismantles the idea of clean justice by tying its story to the brutal reality of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The series questions Western intervention, portraying controversies like France’s Operation Turquoise and its alleged complicity. Kate might be the only barrister who has full authority and proper knowledge of the situation, but she is also human. As the people around Kate gaslight her about the reality of the genocide, she must constantly stand her ground, no matter how exhausting it is.

‘Midnight Mass’ (2021)

Miracles do happen, but in Midnight Mass, they’re not God’s doing. On the isolated Crockett Island, former venture capitalist Riley Flynn (Zach Gilford) returns after serving four years in prison for a drunk-driving incident. He’s not the only new arrival. A mysterious, young, and well-spoken priest comes to revive the island’s fading faith. As the townspeople begin to witness his so-called miracles, they are drawn in until they realize his “powers” are tied to something much darker: a vampire.

Apart from the sadistic vampire transformations and the heinous demon itself, Midnight Mass is also a message about the danger of blindly following faith — not necessarily the belief itself, but the people who practice it. When someone wears a robe and carries themselves with an air of confidence, it’s so easy to be transfixed by their authority. But these are also the same people who could put innocent lives in danger without their consent.