10 Best Serial Killer TV Shows Of All Time, Ranked

There is no shortage of great crime shows out there, running the gamut from series based on true crime stories to entirely fictional — if not pushing toward the fantastical — characters and universes. But series that focus on serial killers are a relatively niche corner of that genre, despite how prevalent the subgenre has always been on the big screen. Whether it's the inherently gruesome nature of serial killers, the inability to fall back on easy killer-of-the-week tropes, or the added creativity required to dig deep on the psychological aspects, it just seems to be territory that most TV shows only ever dabble in but are never entirely built around.

That said, while it's fairly rare compared to most other crime show subgenres, there are indeed a fair amount of serial killer-centric series to pick from. Enough so that you are here checking out a top 10 list in order to figure out which ones you should be watching. A few editorial notes — these are all scripted series rather than docuseries (though a few do include actors portraying real serial killers), and we stuck with shows fairly grounded in realism rather than ones that include sci-fi, magic, or paranormal elements.

• Cast: Kevin Bacon, James Purefoy, Shawn Ashmore
• Creator: Kevin Williamson
• Rating: TV-14
• Years aired: 2013-2015
• Where to watch: Netflix, Roku Channel

While most of Kevin Bacon's best onscreen performances have been on the big screen, the actor has done some noteworthy television work at various points in his long career. The best of which was on the Fox series "The Following," where Bacon played a former FBI agent called back into action to help catch a cult leader serial killer. It was created by Kevin Williamson, who definitely knows his way around snappy, crowd-pleasing horror on both television and in film — he has written several "Scream" movies, after all.

Most of the shows on this list aired on cable, which makes sense as broadcast television can only go so far with what it will portray of a serial killer and his work. But, as USA Today pointed out in its review, "The Following" was "one of the most violent, and certainly the most frightening, series ever made by a commercial broadcast network." There were obviously still limits to what could be shown, but Fox let "The Following" stretch those across three seasons of gruesome, chilling serial killer drama built around great performances by Bacon, as well as James Purefoy as the aforementioned killer.

• Cast: Daniel Brühl, Luke Evans, Dakota Fanning
• Creators: Cary Joji Fukunaga, Hossein Amini
• Rating: TV-MA
• Years aired: 2018-2020
• Where to watch: Available for purchase via Prime Video

While "The Alienist" tells entirely fictional stories and follows a largely made-up case, it does feature actor portrayals of Theodore Roosevelt (Brian Geraghty), J.P. Morgan (Michael Ironside), William Randolph Hurst (Matt Letscher), and various famed law enforcement officers and criminals from the turn of the 20th century. But the actual crimes are entirely fictional, so a period true crime series this is not.

Instead, "The Alienist" uses real people and places to help flesh out a chilling serial killer mystery that sees ritualistic murders of young sex workers in 1896 New York City. In an exclusive interview with Looper, Daniel Brühl — whose character serves the titular position, an early version of a psychiatrist — says that he did his due diligence in studying up on the period and the way criminals were treated and mental health was handled during those days.

"The Alienist" definitely nails its setting, as its Primetime Emmy win for visual effects and nominations for costumes and production design reinforce. Though initially planned as a one-off miniseries, "The Alienist" would eventually be brought back for a second season, something that caused controversy for its aforementioned award nominations and wins being within the miniseries category.

• Cast: Robson Green, Hermione Norris, Simone Lahbib
• Based on the novels by: Val McDermid
• Rating: TV-MA
• Years aired: 2002-2008
• Where to watch: Roku Channel, Hoopla

Some of the best investigators of serial killers — in television and movies, anyway — are good at their jobs because of their ability to put themselves in the same dark and twisted headspace of their suspects. One of the pioneers of that trope on the small screen was the 2002 ITV crime drama "Wire in the Blood." Dr. Tony Hill (Robson Green) had a troubled childhood that, along with extensive work with disturbed patients as a psychologist, has given him the unfortunate ability to think like the serial killers that he assists the police in catching as their go-to profiler.

Those working high up in the law enforcement agency of Bradfield — the fictional town in which "Wire in the Blood" is set — aren't convinced that Dr. Hill is effective at his job, and often feel that his methods and theories are little more than far-fetched guesswork. It takes the Detective Inspector he works closely with to defend him and his abilities, played for half the series by Hermione Norris and the other half by Simone Lahbib. If you're looking for a serial killer crime drama with that distinctive British flair, "Wire in the Blood" should be your next watch.

• Cast: Gillian Anderson, Jamie Dornan, John Lynch
• Creator: Allan Cubitt
• Rating: TV-MA
• Years aired: 2013-2016
• Where to watch: Pluto TV, Fawesome TV

Gillian Anderson has had plenty of experience with crime drama television, though the bulk of it was of the sci-fi variety from her many years on "The X-Files." In between that show's original run and its 2016 revival, however, she took a detour into the serial killer subgenre with the underrated Ireland-set series "The Fall." In it, Anderson plays Detective Stella Gibson, who is tasked with checking up on a murder investigation that has gone unsolved for nearly a month.

The investigation of that one murder turns into the hunt for a serial killer who has been preying on attractive young women across Belfast. That killer is Paul Spector (Jamie Dornan), who is able to go undetected and move freely, his double life as a devoted husband and father ensuring that absolutely unimpeachable evidence must be gathered to bring him down.

Twisty, compelling, and even surprisingly sexy, "The Fall" goes places most other serial killer shows don't in the best possible ways. While Anderson is as good as she always is, the show was arguably more of a showcase for then-rising star Dornan, before he'd unfortunately become better known for the dreadful "Fifty Shades of Grey" film series.

• Cast: Michael C. Hall, Julie Benz, Jennifer Carpenter
• Creator: James Manos Jr. 
• Rating: TV-MA
• Years aired: 2006-2013
• Where to watch: Paramount+

If we were to only judge "Dexter" on its best seasons, it would be the best serial killer show of all time — and it wouldn't even be close. Unfortunately, the show took a huge creative nose dive in its last few seasons — up to and including a finale that was hated by fans – and that has to be considered in terms of its overall legacy. For what it's worth, all three of "Dexter's" follow-up series thus far have ranged from good to great, so at least the franchise didn't end on a sour note.

Where "Dexter" stands apart from other murderer-centric shows is that the main character is a serial killer. But Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) isn't your typical killer, as he's actually a vigilante who only hunts down murderers that he feels the legal system failed to properly punish. Oh, and he just so happens to be a forensics analyst who works for the police in investigating blood splatter in crime scenes. Of course, that simple duality grows more complex, and the lines between his two lives become more blurry as the show goes on.

Not everyone agrees that the best of "Dexter" makes up for the worst of it, but we say the show is unmissable for fans of the subgenre — even with its rough spots.

• Cast: Hugh Dancy, Mads Mikkelsen, Caroline Dhavernas
• Creator: Bryan Fuller
• Rating: TV-MA
• Years aired: 2013-2015
• Where to watch: Prime Video

There aren't too many examples of fictional serial killers crossing over between the big and small screens, but Hannibal Lecter has proven too big of a character to be confined to just movies (and novels, of course). In 2013, Bryan Fuller — who seems to split his television work fairly evenly between the sci-fi and the macabre — ushered in a new era for Dr. Lecter with his prequel series, "Hannibal." Mads Mikkelsen plays a 40-something Lecter in his early dealings with FBI investigator Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) as their respective futures become permanently intertwined.

Nearly half the respondents of a 2020 Looper poll agreed that Mikkelsen's Lecter is the creepiest TV character of all time. Once you get over the fact that he doesn't look anything like Anthony Hopkins, it's impossible deny how great Mikkelsen is in the role. It's also another example of a serial killer show on network television getting away with far more than you'd expect, with some moments going so far that they would've been shocking even on HBO or Netflix. But beyond just pushing content limits, "Hannibal" is also just an excellent serial killer drama that dominated critics' top 10 lists for each of the three years it ran.

• Cast: Diane Kruger, Demián Bichir, Ted Levine
• Creators: Meredith Stiehm, Elwood Reid
• Rating: TV-MA
• Years aired: 2013-2014
• Where to watch: Disney+, Plex

The 2011 Scandinavian series "The Bridge" is a great serial killer drama and well worth checking out, especially if you're a fan of Nordic noir. But we decided to more officially recommend its 2013 American remake, which is arguably as good as the original. More importantly, it's also a lot more accessible and much easier to recommend to a widespread audience versus the somewhat more acquired taste of Nordic noir shows for those outside of the genre's native region.

Taking place on the part of the border between the U.S. and Mexico that straddles El Paso and Juárez, "The Bridge" kicks off with the investigation of a murdered corpse that requires cooperation between the police forces of those respective countries. El Paso detective Sonya Cross (Diane Kruger) and Chihuahuan detective Marco Ruiz (Demián Bichir) come to discover that there is a serial killer working in the area who has been murdering people on both sides of the border, and chasing him down is complicated by immigration politics and the vastly different approaches each nation has when dealing with crime.

In addition to critical acclaim, "The Bridge" also earned a Peabody Award for what Deadline describes as a show whose "rare, non-stereotypical depiction of two cultures rubbing against and informing each other is as fascinating as the mystery."

• Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Michelle Monaghan
• Creator: Nic Pizzolatto
• Rating: TV-MA
• Year aired: 2014
• Where to watch: HBO Max

"True Detective" is another show that has some great seasons and some awful seasons; however, given its anthology format, we didn't hold the lesser seasons of the show against its great ones. You don't need to watch the bad seasons at all, as there is only the thinnest of connective threads running from one season to another.

Most importantly, only the first season of "True Detective" is about a serial killer anyway, so that's the only one we're focusing on and recommending here. In Season 1, Louisiana homicide detectives Rust Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) and Marty Hart (Woody Harrelson) are investigating the murder of a woman whose body had been staged as if part of a cult ritual. As they dig into that murder, they are led to a number of missing children cases that all seem to point to a single perpetrator.

We stated in the beginning that these shows would all be grounded in reality. Depending on how you interpret the ending of "True Detective's" first season, we may have lied about that — or maybe we didn't. How magical or not the truth behind the murders are has been left open to interpretation, which is part of the genius of one of the best seasons of crime television of all time, serial killer-based or otherwise.

• Cast: Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany, Anna Torv
• Creator: Joe Penhall
• Rating: TV-MA
• Years aired: 2017-2019
• Where to watch: Netflix

Though it's based on the non-fiction book "Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit," Netflix's "Mindhunter" is an entirely fictional story that only loosely draws from the source material (though real serial killers are portrayed). Jonathan Groff plays Holden Ford, who is part of the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit that interviews apprehended serial killers in hopes of better understanding their psychology. The show takes place in the late '70s and early '80s, when the fields of criminal psychology and profiling were in their infancy.

Though the connective plotlines of "Mindhunter" are made-up, the show does feature a veritable who's who of serial killers from in and around the era in which it is set. Charles Manson (Damon Herriman), Richard Speck (Jack Erdie), David Berkowitz (Oliver Cooper), and Edmund Kemper (Cameron Britton) are just a few of the infamous criminals that are interviewed as part of the program that Ford and his colleagues are spearheading.

Where "Mindhunter" carves out its own niche in this subgenre is that so much of it plays out merely in conversations. It's not particularly action-packed, which won't endear it to everyone, but those who click with what "Mindhunter" is trying to do will absolutely fall in love with it and join the very vocal ranks of those who still hold out hope for Netflix bringing it back someday.

• Cast: Idris Elba, Ruth Wilson, Steven Mackintosh
• Creator: Neil Cross
• Rating: TV-MA
• Years aired: 2010-2019
• Where to watch: Disney+, BritBox

The legal system is a complicated beast, and following it to the letter sometimes results in the "bad guys" either not being punished enough or getting away with their crimes entirely. If that sort of thing frustrates you, and you delight in fiction where a law enforcement officer is willing to bend the rules as needed in order to take down people who are objectively dangerous — especially when those people are either already serial killers or have the potential to become such — then "Luther" is just the show for you.

In his second role in a critically acclaimed crime show after "The Wire," Idris Elba plays Detective Chief Inspector John Luther. How "good" Luther is at his job is debatable given the aforementioned rule-breaking, his inability to keep his personal and professional lives separate, and most damningly, his complicated relationship with serial killer Alice Morgan (Ruth Wilson). But he does get the right results a lot of the time, even if he takes a lot of wrong turns to do so.

Of all the shows on this list to go more than a season or two, "Luther" did the best job of maintaining its quality with five excellent seasons. The 2023 Netflix film "Luther: The Fallen Sun" is good but definitely not great, and we're just hoping that the next flick in the series is a bit better.