FromAdolescencetoBreaking Bad, some thriller TV shows are so incredible, I knew they’d be masterpieces within the first 10 minutes. The mark of a good thriller is one that grabs its audience’s attention immediately and keeps them hanging in suspense on the edge of their seat.The best thrillers on TV, fromMindhuntertoMr. Robot, did just that.
10Hannibal
In the opening scene ofHannibal, we seeFBI profiler Will Grahamrecreate a horrific murder scene where a suburban couple, Mr. and Mrs. Marlow, were brutally slaughtered. This sequence told us everything we needed to know about Will as a character, and everything we needed to know to prepare us for the deliciously dark TV masterpiece that would follow.
It showed us right off the bat thatHannibalwould be a lot gorier than the average network drama, and it would push the boundaries of what could be done on network television. But at the same time, it showed us that it wouldn’t just be a gruesome horror show; it would also be a genuinely engrossing crime procedural.
9The Americans
The Americansdeftly sets up the thrilling double life of Philip and Elizabeth Jennings in its opening scenes. Elizabeth disguises as a sex worker and seduces an FBI bureaucrat in a bar, while Philip spies on a KGB agent who defected to the U.S. After bringing the traitor home in the trunk of their car, they get their kids ready for school.
The opening sequence introduces the show’s gripping premise: two Russian spies work to destabilize America from within, all while keeping up the facade of an unassuming suburban family. Their unfailing competence stretches credulity a little bit — if the KGB had moles as convincing as the Jenningses, Russia would’ve won the Cold War — but it makes for compelling television nonetheless.
8Mindhunter
The cancelation of David Fincher’s true-crime thrillerMindhunterstill hurts to this day, because it was one of the best shows of the 21st century and it only got two measly seasons. The series examines the early days of serial killer profiling through the eyes of FBI special agent Holden Ford, who notices disturbing patterns in the behavior of murderers.
In the nail-biting opening sequence of the first episode, set in 1977, Ford manages to save a hostage taken by Cody Miller, but he fails to prevent Miller from taking his own life. Not only is this a riveting scene that could make a great little short film on its own; it also sets up the show’s exploration of the psychological toll of Ford’s grisly work.
7Twin Peaks
In the first few minutes ofTwin Peaks,the murdered body of Laura Palmerwashes up in the titular town and kicks off the central mystery of the series. The disturbing supernatural circumstances surrounding Laura’s murder would keep viewers hooked until the middle of the second season, when her killer was finally revealed.
But this opening scene didn’t just set up the main mystery of the show; it alsoestablished the series’ uniquely unsettling tone. It plays like a typical soap opera set in a small town full of colorful characters, but David Lynch injected the series with his own particular brand of weirdness. It’s a classic soap with a surprising dose of paranormal activity.
6Severance
Severancehad a wonderfully juicy premise from the offset — a dystopian metaphor for work-life balance in which a corporation splits its employees’ consciousness between their work lives and their home lives — but a premise is just the jumping-off point; the execution of that premise is the tricky part, andSeverancenailed its execution from the beginning.
The series begins with Helly coming to on the severed floor and being introduced to her new job by Mark.This scene succinctly provides all the necessary exposition without getting too dry or overloading us with information, while simultaneously setting up the show’s most important relationship. It was clear from this scene that the series was in safe hands.
5Mr. Robot
The first scene inMr. Robotimmediately told us who the character of Elliot Alderson was. He walks into a coffee shop, sits down opposite the owner, and calmly tells him that he knows he’s the host of a website full of child pornography.
The owner desperately tries to silence Elliot with money, but Elliot didn’t come in there to extort him — he’s already called the police. The way Rami Malek plays this scene introduces Elliot’s awkward demeanor, and his righteous actions perfectly encapsulate his role as a hacker vigilante.
4Adolescence
Within the first 10 minutes ofAdolescence, a swarm of police officers burst into an average suburban home and arrest a petrified 13-year-old boy on suspicion of murder. He vehemently denies that he did it and his parents can’t believe their son would even be associated with such a heinous crime, but the detectives bring him into the station.
This opening sequence is tense and exhilarating, and it leaves you with so many questions. Could Jamie really have killed his classmate? If he did, why did he do it? And what will his family do?The single-take shooting style makesAdolescencefeel hauntingly real; it instantly immerses you in this intense, terrifying scenario.
3Dark
Netflix’sDarkis one of the most confounding mystery thrillers ever put on-screen. Over the course of the series, the writers would masterfully unravel the twisted history of this small German town and the fractured relationships of their sprawling cast of characters. The first few minutes of the first episode set that up perfectly.
We see one character take their own life, we see his mother cover it up, we see a teenager return to school after a stint in a psychiatric facility, and we see a police officer assigned to investigate the disappearance of a local drug dealer. Just from these narrative setups, I was instantly hooked.
2Orphan Black
The opening scene of a TV show has to be so compelling that you want to keep watching — not just the rest of the episode, but the rest of the series, which could go on for years. Very few TV pilots have a hook as grabby and intriguing asthe first 10 minutes ofOrphan Black.
Sarah Manning witnesses the suicide of a woman who looks exactly like her and sets out to steal her identity.This ingeniously conceptualized, masterfully crafted opening scene left viewers with countless questions, set up a riveting premise for the series and an immediate conflict for Sarah, and gave the show an eerie atmosphere right out of the gate.
1Breaking Bad
Vince Gilligan made the wise choice to startBreaking Badat the most exciting point, rather than the beginning of the story. If the series had started withWalter Whitedoing his morning exercises and driving to work in his Pontiac Aztek, then it wouldn’t have grabbed anyone’s attention. Instead, the series kicks off a little later down the line.
The pilot episode begins with Walt crashing an RV full of deadly chemicals and unconscious drug dealers in the middle of the desert and preparing to face a police convoy with a loaded gun. And then, we go back to see that this guy is a high school teacher with a family. From that moment on, I was hooked.
