Netflix’s Hit 6-Part Psychological Thriller Gets Better With Each Episode

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Netflix had a big success with a psychological thriller earlier this year, and a new adaptation by Alice Feeney seems to be following suit, gaining momentum with each episode. Streaming services are seeing a lot of interest in this type of show, especially those based on popular books.

Even though a fourth season of Hannibal never materialized, the show, created by Bryan Fuller, still has a noticeable impact on television. Peacock’s most popular show to date, All Her Fault, which premiered in 2025, is a suspenseful psychological thriller based on the novel of the same name by Andrea Mara.

In early 2026, Prime Video’s series based on Catherine Ryan Howard’s popular thriller, 56 Days, briefly surpassed Fallout as the most-watched show on the platform. Shortly before that, in January 2026, Netflix released His & Hers, a psychological thriller that quickly gained both critical acclaim and high viewership.

His & Hers Proved Netflix Can Still Create Great Psychological Thrillers

I just finished watching His & Hers, and it’s a really gripping story! It’s set in a small town just outside Atlanta, and follows Alice, played by Tessa Thompson. She’s a reporter who’s clearly got some demons, and she comes back home to figure out who killed her childhood friends. Things get complicated because the local detective, Jack Harper – Jon Bernthal – starts to suspect her, but they have a history, which makes everything even more messy and you start to wonder if he’s seeing things clearly. It’s a great setup!

Before its surprising ending, His & Hers feels similar to popular HBO thrillers like Sharp Objects and True Detective. It follows two unlikely partners investigating disturbing murders in a small town, which appear to be connected to a hidden, decades-old trauma. The show’s complex mystery earned a solid 70% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

But the biggest success of the series was actually His & Hers. It quickly became popular with viewers, even surpassing Stranger Things season 5 as the most-watched show on Netflix when it premiered in January. Considering Stranger Things‘ finale was Netflix’s most popular release ever, that’s a remarkable accomplishment.

As a fan of psychological thrillers, I have to say His & Hers was a welcome addition to the streaming landscape. It’s reassuring to see the platform still delivering strong content in the genre, especially after we said goodbye to shows like You, Ripley, Killing Eve, and the unfortunately cancelled Mindhunter in recent years. It proves they’re still a major player when it comes to these kinds of stories.

His & Hers Is A Huge Hit With Viewers and Critics

After a period where it seemed Netflix was moving away from psychological thrillers, the show His & Hers proved that wasn’t the case. Not only did it become their biggest hit, surpassing Stranger Things, but it also received strong positive reviews, making its success even more remarkable.

Many psychological thrillers begin with a lot of promise, but often disappoint with twists that don’t feel earned. Prime Video’s Scarpetta season one, despite having a more impressive cast than His & Hers, suffered the same fate, ending on a lackluster note.

Unlike some shows, His & Hers actually improved as it went on, and its surprising finale was one of the most satisfying conclusions in the mystery genre since Sharp Objects ended in 2018. Because the series told a complete, standalone story, it’s easy to assume His & Hers won’t get another season, but that isn’t guaranteed.

His & Hers’ Success Spawned Another Alice Feeney Adaptation

Image courtesy of Everett Collection

Many viewers were disappointed when Netflix canceled Mindhunter because the show felt like it had so much more story to tell, especially compared to other thrillers. Because it was based on the real beginnings of the FBI’s profiling unit, there was a limitless supply of cases and criminals the characters could explore.

Many excellent psychological thrillers, like His & Hers and Sharp Objects, feature complete stories within a single season, meaning they don’t need to be continued. This presents a challenge for Netflix when trying to build on a show’s popularity, but thankfully, they’ve managed to overcome it.

With the release of His & Hers, there’s plenty more content to come from author Alice Feeney. The streaming service has a wealth of her previous books to adapt, and they’ve already announced a new psychological thriller series called Rock, Paper, Scissors, based on her 2021 novel of the same name.

As a big fan of thrillers, I was really excited about the Ripley series on Netflix. But one thing I wondered was if they’d continue with the same lead character for future adaptations of Patricia Highsmith’s books. Thankfully, it seems like the showrunner, Feeney, is planning a different approach! Each adaptation – whether it’s Sometimes I Lie, I Know Who You Are, Daisy Darker, Good Bad Girl, Beautiful Ugly, or My Husband’s Wife – can be its own standalone story. That’s fantastic news for us viewers, because it opens the door to so many more gripping tales!

Every book by bestselling author Feeney has been a hit, and she continues to write quickly. Readers who enjoyed her novel His & Hers and other psychological thrillers will be happy to hear that more of her twisty stories are coming to Netflix soon.

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2026-03-24 00:49