Now Streaming Classic TV Shows That Will Keep You on the Edge of Your Seat

The intense series that aired on Fox starred Kiefer Sutherland as a U.S. counter-terrorist agent tasked with saving his country from foreign and domestic foes over a 24-hour period that is told in real time. The series took home 20 Emmy Awards and two Golden Globes over its eight-season run. “24” has an 8.3 rating out of 10 out of more than 167,000 IMDb users.

“Prison Break” — about a man who makes his way to prison in order to break out his unjustly condemned brother — ran for four seasons beginning in 2005 with a fifth season in 2017. Critics preferred the first two seasons to the final three based on Rotten Tomatoes ratings. The site describes the series as a “taut thriller.” The Golden Globe-nominated show earned an overall rating of 8.3 out of 10 on IMDb.

“Lost” is about the tensions that arise among survivors of a plane crash on what appears to be a deserted island. J.J. Abrams, who helped develop the Mission: Impossible franchise and was involved in the reboot of the Star Trek franchise, was one of the creators of “Lost.” The provocative series ran for six seasons on ABC and won 10 Emmy Awards and one Golden Globe. The series has an 8.3 rating out of 10 among IMDb users.

Claire Danes plays a bipolar CIA agent trying to find a balance between her private life and her high-intensity job. The eight-season series that appears on Showtime has won eight Emmy Awards and five Golden Globes. “Homeland” has an 85% approval rating from critics and audiences alike on Rotten Tomatoes. The tautly crafted series has an 8.3 rating out of 10 among IMDb users.

The series that follows numerous officers on the Los Angeles Police Department has exceptional ratings online, including a score of 8.4 out of 10 on IMDb, a rating of 90% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and 97% from viewers reviewing it on that same site. It is one of those rare series where each of its five seasons improves on the last, according to consensus on Rotten Tomatoes. The site states that it “remains gloriously gritty and observant” in its final season, thanks in part to “bravely unsettling twists.”

Part fantasy and part drama, “Carnivàle” is about a farm boy and a preacher involved in a proxy battle between heaven and hell set during the Dust Bowl in the 1930s. The two-season series that aired on HBO won five Emmy Awards and has an 8.4 rating out of 10 among users of IMDb. “Carnivàle” got less love from critics listed on Rotten Tomatoes, with a Freshness rating of 53%, though 87% of audiences were intrigued by the story about hope and despair during the Depression.

Cinemax’s “Banshee” is another gripping series that received increasingly positive reviews over its four-season run. The series tells the story of a criminal (played by Antony Starr), who pretends to be the murdered sheriff of the small town of Banshee, Pennsylvania. Critics note the show’s sometimes gratuitous violence and sex while also praising its self-aware pulpiness.

“The Americans” is a Cold War thriller with a twist — married undercover KGB agents who assimilate into American society and commit espionage while raising two children who are unaware, at first, of their real identities. The six-season series that ran on FX was created by Joe Weisberg, a former CIA officer. It won four Emmys and one Golden Globe before concluding its run in 2018. “The Americans” has a 96% Freshness rating among critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and 93% of audiences enjoyed the spyfest. The show has an 8.4 rating out of 10 among IMDb users.

“Fringe” revolves around an FBI agent who works with a once-institutionalized scientist and his son to investigate a string of bizarre crimes. The series — which holds a rating of 8.4 out of 10 on IMDb — ran for five seasons before ending. All the seasons are available to watch on Amazon Video. The series has drawn many comparisons to “The X-Files.”

“Person of Interest” follows a former CIA agent and a billionaire coding genius as they work together to prevent crimes before they take place. The highly-addictive series ran for five seasons and earned an overall rating of 8.4 out of 10 from the nearly 160,000 users rating it on IMDb. Additionally, aside from the first season, every season received positive reviews across the board from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

A strong cast led by Richard Belzer, Clark Johnson, and Yaphet Kotto powered the acclaimed seven-season series about a homicide investigation unit probing violent crimes in Baltimore. The gritty, intense series that appeared on NBC and ran until 1999 won four Emmy Awards. “Homicide: Life on the Street” has a 91% Freshness rating among Rotten Tomatoes critics, and 100% of audiences liked the series, which has an 8.5 rating out of 10 among IMDb users.

The master of suspense in motion pictures presented an anthology of stories about crime, mystery, horror, and the macabre, introduced by Alfred Hitchcock’s signature “Good evening” greeting. Hitchcock directed some of the episodes. Other notable directors included Sydney Pollack and William Friedkin, who would go on to win Best Director Oscars, an honor that eluded Hitchcock. “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” enjoys a 94% audience approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an 8.5 rating out of 10 among IMDb users.

This two-season take on Marvel’s Punisher — a Marine veteran turned vigilante in the wake of his family’s murder — has a rating of 8.5 out of 10 on IMDb thanks to the votes of more than 170,000 users. The boundary-pushing thriller exists on the edge of the superhero genre, and may appeal to action fans who are not usually drawn to comic-based shows or movies.

Hannibal follows an FBI consultant who must work with a young, talented psychiatrist named Dr. Hannibal Lecter to solve a series of murders. Featuring acting talent including Mads Mikkelsen, Caroline Dhavernas, and Laurence Fishburne, the show is described in Rotten Tomatoes’ Critics Consensus as catering “to an intellectual audience that prefers plenty of gore in its psychological thrillers” — perhaps in the way the titular doctor might.

“Mr. Robot” is about a brilliant but troubled cyber-security engineer recruited by a shadowy group to hack into the computer system of the corporation he works for. Rami Malek, who would later win a Best Actor Oscar in 2019, took home an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2016. The four-season series that originally ran on USA Network, won two Emmys and two Golden Globes. “Mr. Robot” has a 94% approval rating from critics and audiences alike on Rotten Tomatoes and the series holds an 8.5 rating out of 10 among more than 314,000 IMDb users.

With a cast lead by Timothy Olyphant, Nick Searcy, and Joelle Carter, FX Network’s “Justified” won two Primetime Emmy awards and was a critical hit throughout its six seasons. The show, about U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) who is relocated to his rural Kentucky hometown, is violent, slick, and highly binge-worthy.

The series that coined the phrase “The truth is out there” starred David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as FBI agents investigating unexplained phenomena. The series built a strong fan following and ran for 11 seasons on Fox and over that time hauled in 15 Emmy Awards and five Golden Globes. “The X-Files” has an 8.6 rating out of 10 among nearly 192,000 IMDb users.

“Dexter,” which ran for eight seasons on Showtime before concluding in 2013, is about a forensics expert in Miami who moonlights as a vigilante and kills those who have evaded justice. The series won four Emmys and two Golden Globes. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave “Dexter” a Freshness rating of 72%, and 80% of audiences like the show, which holds an 8.6 rating out of 10 from among more than 623,000 IMDb users.

The FX series about members of an outlaw motorcycle club was hugely popular during its seven-season run, earning an IMDb rating of 8.6 out of 10 with nearly 245,000 users giving their opinion. The show also received a Golden Globe in 2011. In a review of the show’s second season, Entertainment Weekly’s Ken Tucker described it as “a fast-paced, well-acted, profanely funny fantasy.”

“Oz” was hailed by critics for its envelope-pushing depiction about the grim life in an experimental correctional facility. Buoyed by an acclaimed cast that included Ernie Hudson, J.K. Simmons, and Rita Moreno, “Oz” holds a Freshness rating among Rotten Tomatoes critics of 89%, and 91% of audiences liked the gritty drama. The six-season drama that appeared on HBO has an 8.5 rating out of 10 among IMDb users.

This gritty cop drama about a corrupt L.A. detective running his squad outside the rules of the law is “seldom less than riveting,” according to Rotten Tomatoes. During its seven-season run, the show took home two Golden Globes — one for Best Television Series – Drama and one for actor Michael Chiklis — and an Emmy award, also for Chiklis.

The riveting three-season series is about cocaine kingpins, including Pablo Escobar, whose corrupting influence permeated all levels of Colombian society in the 1980s. The series is unsparing in the culpability of the United States regarding the ineffectual attempts to defeat the drug lords. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave the series a Freshness rating of 89%, and 94% of audiences like the gripping and often violent account of the drug saga. “Narcos” holds a rating of 8.8 out of 10 among nearly 333,000 IMDb users.

The five-season series of tales of the macabre and the unexplained remains the gold standard for thought-provoking and innovative television. The Golden Globe and Emmy-Award winning series, “an excursion into the odd” as intoned by host and master storyteller Rod Serling, has a Freshness rating among Rotten Tomatoes critics of 82%, and 96% of audiences enjoyed the series. IMDb users gave “the Zone” 9.0 out of 10.

“The Wire,” which ran for five seasons, is a highly praised series about the impact of drugs on Baltimore, as experienced through various segments of the city’s society — law enforcement, the media, and narcotics dealers. The 60-episode series has a score of 9.3 out of 10 among more than 268,000 IMDb users, making it the sixth top rated show on the site.

“Breaking Bad” is about a high school chemistry teacher who produces and sells methamphetamine to help his family financially after learning he has cancer, while keeping his side job secret from his family, and evading law enforcement and drug gangs. The series is one of the most critically acclaimed television series of all time. It won 16 Emmys over its five seasons, which culminated in its finale, which was the most-watched original broadcast in television history at the time. “Breaking Bad” currently has a rating of 9.5 out of 10 on IMDb with more than 1.3 million ratings, and a Freshness rating of 96% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and 98% from users on the site.