If you liked Baby Reindeer, stream these dark and... trends now
The true story of a comedian whose life is plagued by a stalker, Baby Reindeer has had viewers captivated.
So what other dark, compelling shows are out there?
If you loved Baby Reindeer, you'll also be gripped by these choices - from a psychological thriller about a social media-obsessed fraudster to the tale of a writer who starts having flashbacks after a night out and realises that her drink was spiked.
Our critics have trawled through hundreds of options to bring you the most compelling - and disturbing - shows to stream right now.
ChloePsychological thriller about a social media obsessed fraudster
Year: 2022
Certificate: 15
'I like to decide how people see me,' says Becky, the protagonist of this six-part psychological thriller - a sentiment no doubt shared by many on social media.
When we first meet Becky (Erin Doherty, who first made a splash as the young Princess Anne in series 3 and 4 of The Crown), she's leading a pretty grey life, living with her sick mum and working as a temp. But Becky adds colour to her days by pretending to be other people and playing cuckoo in the nest.
Fascinated by a beautiful woman called Chloe (Poppy Gilbert), whom she follows avidly, Becky is blindsided when Chloe dies suddenly, and takes the bold and reckless step of going deeper into her make-believe world by inserting herself into Chloe's inner circle. (One series)
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Am I Being Unreasonable?BAFTA-nominated comedy about a mum with a dark secret
Year: 2022
Certificate: 15
Nic is unhappily married and her life revolves around reality TV, hiding from the cleaner and moaning about stuck-up school mums. Only her hilariously mature child, Ollie (Lenny Rush), keeps her sane, until new mum in town Jen arrives on the scene. This wickedly funny thriller is written by and stars real-life best friends Daisy May Cooper (This Country) and Selin Hizli as Nic and Jen, who laugh through life's lows - helped along by gin and Love Island jokes.
This is no traditional sitcom though - it often sweeps the rug from beneath our feet as we come to realise that Nic and Jen aren't quite the people we first thought they were. Cooper and Rush received well-deserved BAFTA nominations for their brilliant performances as mother and son. (Six episodes)
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I May Destroy YouMichaela Coel writes and stars in this extraordinary exploration of sexual consent
Year: 2020
Certificate: 18
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The multi-talented Michaela Coel (Black Earth Rising) created, wrote, produced, co-directed and starred in this stunning Bafta-nominated drama. She plays Arabella, a social media star turned writer who starts having flashbacks after a night out and realises that her drink was spiked in a bar and that she was raped. Over the course of 12 half-hour episodes, we see the impact this has on Arabella's life as she struggles to come to terms with what happened to her.
The tone switches between harrowing and hilarious as Coel explores a whole range of complex and difficult issues including sexual trauma, social media, race and shame. Look out for The Lazarus Project's Paapa Essiedu as Arabella's friend Kwame, whose heartbreaking subplot scrutinises the different forms of consent. Don't expect any neat conclusions here. (12 episodes)
Lover, Stalker, KillerOnline dating turns into deceit and murder in this documentary
Year: 2024
Certificate: 15
When newly single man Dave Kroupa decided to dip his toe into the murky waters of online dating, he thought he'd made it clear to the women he met that he wasn't looking for anything serious. But then two of the women he'd been seeing accidentally meet, and soon Kroupa is getting an increasingly scary and threatening string of text messages from one of them that accuse him of ruining her life...
The gripping tale of obsession and vengeance that follows is quite terrifying. And that's before a twist halfway through proceedings throws everything you think you know about the case upside down. (90 minutes)
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RipleyAndrew Scott stars in an eight-part take on the 1960s-set con artist story
Year: 2024
Certificate: 15
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The 1999 movie of Patricia Highsmith's novel, The Talented Mr Ripley, left you wanting more of the con artist character at its centre. Andrew Scott gives you just that in Netflix's eight-part take on the same source material, following Ripley from New York to Italy as he insinuates himself into the life of clueless American playboy Dickie Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn) and his justly suspicious fiancée, Marge (Dakota Fanning).
Set in sunny Italy but filmed in black and white, the series has much more space to give us a rounded portrait of Ripley, to the extent that you may even find yourself sympathising with him early on: he's ripped off by an Italian taxi driver and trudges around the country, unable to speak the language, desperately looking for his ticket to a better life.
You see a lot of his struggle, in short - perhaps a little too much for some tastes. Still, it scarcely matters as Scott is, of course, brilliant in the lead. The character of Ripley is a mimic and Scott, as an actor, is fantastic at that - when he starts to copy Dickie it's genuinely unsettling and weirdly accurate, despite the fact that Scott looks nothing like Flynn. And that performance is allowed to stand largely on its own, with no fancy cuts and barely any background music. Flynn and Fanning are both excellent too, and Fanning in particular does a lot with a look. But this is Scott's show, and justly so. (Eight episodes)
The Ex-WifeThriller about a woman's search for her missing husband and child
Year: 2022
Certificate: 15
This high-concept, four-part thriller asks just how much you can trust your partner's ex, as a chilling story of disappearances and deception plays out. Tasha (Celine Buckens, so brilliant in the BBC drama Showtrial) looks like she has the perfect life with a loving, handsome husband and a beautiful child. But she also has her husband Jack's ex-wife, Jen, to contend with, a lingering presence who seems unable to let her former partner out of her life.
When Jack and their baby mysteriously vanish, though, Tasha has no choice but to turn to Jen for help. Full of twists and turns, this is a teasing, chilling tale that unsettles at every opportunity, leaving you constantly wondering who to believe and who to trust. (Four parts)
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The CatchJason Watkins plays a fisherman drowning in disasters in a psychological thriller
Year: 2023
Certificate: pg
If you enjoyed the Channel 5 drama The Holiday with Jill Halfpenny, tune into this four-part psychological mystery, which is adapted from a novel by the same writer, TM Logan. It's set on the south-west coast, where we meet a man on rocky straits, played by the rather brilliant Jason Watkins - an actor who can appear lost and defiant in a single look.
He plays fisherman Ed Collier, and the drama doesn't hang about, painting a picture of Ed as a man on the edge, under pressure from multiple fronts. Not only is his business struggling, but Ed is also haunted by the harrowing death of his son 15 years previously. His daughter, Abbie, has a new boyfriend, Ryan, and the wildly overprotective Ed is instantly suspicious of this rich and handsome stranger. It's clear that Ed is only moments away from well and truly losing the plot - but what is he hiding? And surely Ryan is too good to be true?
The cast is impressive all round, with Oscar winner Brenda Fricker as Ed's mother-in-law, and rising stars Poppy Gilbert (from the BBC drama Chloe) and Aneurin Barnard (Dunkirk and Netflix's 1899) as Ryan. (One series)
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YouCreepy serial killer thriller that became a smash hit
Year: 2018-
Certificate: 18
You is one of Netflix's biggest hits, although it actually started out on the Lifetime channel in the US before the streamer snapped it up, and transformed the serial killer thriller into a global smash. Gossip Girl's Penn Badgley sets the skin crawling as our star, New York bookstore manager Joe, who seems OK at first - if a bit sleazy and pleased with himself - but reveals a darker side when he becomes obsessed with a customer. Joe narrates the series and pulls at our sympathies as his crimes mount over the course of the show. He's smart and funny, so easy to listen to and even start to understand or possibly root for - but he is, undoubtedly, a monster.
Series two finds Joe moving to Los Angeles and finding a new obsession, while the third heads to the Californian suburbs and gives us a dark love story that's reminiscent of Dexter. The fourth goes international, taking Joe to London and (briefly) Paris. The show really does strain credulity at times, but you don't watch this for kitchen sink drama. You is a truly addictive show that veers from unbearably tense to gasp-out-loud audacious, with flashes of humour to lighten the dark mood. (Four series)
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BeefTwo people's lives are consumed by a road-rage incident
Year: 2023
Certificate: 15
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Everyone who drives can relate to a sense of irritation at other people on the road. Who are all these selfish people? Why are they making our lives difficult by driving like idiots? Have they never heard of indicating?
A road-rage incident is the trigger for Netflix's drama from studio-of-the moment A24, the company behind Everything Everywhere All At Once. The two people involved (played by The Walking Dead's Steven Yeun and the comedian Ali Wong) are both at the ends of their tether with their own
