Breaking Bad is still pulling in the viewers – a decade after its release (Picture: Ben Leuner)
Netflix has unveiled its most-watched shows of 2023 and we’ve gone through and picked its top 7 thrillers – so you don’t have to.
The global streaming platform continues to dominate the cultural landscape, having pumped out megahits from the Squid Game reality spin-off, the David Beckham documentary and dark-comedy Beef.
But as the December nights grow darker, well, so do our TV tastes and we’re all for a rush of adrenaline after watching a thriller, if only to punctate our evenings lying comatose on the sofa.
As it reflects on the year, Netflix has produced a handy guide of its most-watched programmes from January until June this year based on hours watched.
We’ve gone through the very comprehensive lists and selected its top thrillers from that period so, if you’re at a loss what to watch this festive season and are sick of Love Actually, look no further.
The Night Agent
The Night Agent was Netflix’s biggest release of Q1 in 2023 (Picture: Netflix)
The Night Agent was not just the most-watched thriller, but the most-watched show on Netflix for the first six months of this year, notching up more than 812,000,000 hours viewed.
The synopsis reads: ‘While monitoring an emergency line, a vigilant FBI agent answers a call that plunges him into a deadly conspiracy involving a mole at the White House.’
Starring Gabriel Basso and Luciane Buchanan, the series is based on the novel of the same name by Matthew Quirk – and a second season is due in 2024.
The Glory
The Glory was Netflix’s second most-watched show for the first half of the year (Picture: Netflix)
Coming in third place on Netflix’s most hours viewed ranking, behind comedy-drama Ginny & Georgia, is South Korean web series The Glory.
The drama follows Moon Dong-eun (Song Hye-kyo), a student who has been tormented by her classmates, as she decides to finally get revenge on her bullies.
As well as being a hit with audiences, The Glory went down a storm with critics and was nominated for a Critics’ Choice Award among other accolades.
You
Penn plays serial killer and psychopath about town Joe in (Picture: Netflix)
Murdering psychopath Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) fails yet again to have a healthy perspective on women and satiate his killing desire in the fourth season of You.
This time, having wreaked havoc across the States, from New York to LA, he has based himself in London and is working as a professor before it all goes awry.
You is returning for the fifth season in 2024, however, that will be serial killer Joe’s final outing as Netflix confirmed the series was drawing to a close.
Kaleidoscope
Netflix fans were left confused by how to watch new series Kaleidoscope (Picture: Netflix)
Kaleidoscope boggled the minds of Netflix viewers when it was released as they decided which order to watch the episodes in.
Created by Matchstick Men author Eric Garcia – landed on the streaming service on January 1 and takes place over 25 years.
The series follows a group of thieves led by Leo Pap, portrayed by Breaking Bad star Giancarlo Esposito, in their attempt to pull off an elaborate heist
Bloodhounds
Bloodhounds follows a group of friends trying to take down a ruthless loan shark (Picture: Netflix)
146,700,000 hours of Bloodhounds was watched at the start of the year – an impressive feat – beating the likes of Black Mirror.
The gripping thriller follows three friends working for a benevolent moneylender, who band together to take down a ruthless loan shark who preys on the financially desperate.
A South Korean drama, Bloodhounds stars Mad Dog and Save Me actor Woo Do-hwan and Once Again’s Lee Sang-yi.
Triptych
Triptych is inspired by a real-life case involving three identical triplets (Picture: Netflix)
Mexican drama Triptych follows a forensics agent whose life becomes endangered after finding out she’s an identical triplet.
Triptych is based on a real story, and while the creators haven’t revealed exactly where they sourced their inspiration, it’s believed to be the documentary Three Identical Strangers.
In the documentary, three men who live in different parts of the US coincidentally bump into each other and are shocked to discover they are identical triplets.
Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad is one of the most influential TV shows of all time (Picture: AMC)
It may have been a decade since Breaking Bad, widely considered to be the best TV show ever made, ended but it’s still pulling in the viewers.
Season 2 specifically of the thriller, which stars Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, raked in 116,200,000 hours watched for Netflix this year.
More: Trending
For those who have been living under a rock, the drama follows a school teacher as he is diagnosed with cancer but learns that his insurance won’t cover his treatment and subsequently plunges into the wild world of crime.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
MORE : Netflix documentary causes huge spike in cosmetic surgery
MORE : Bridgerton fans livid after teaser trailer and release date revealed: ‘This is a crime’
If you want a nail-biting show, look no further.