Lioness quickly became many people’s favorite Taylor Sheridan show because it scratches an itch that few action thrillers do. The military operations are gripping, the spycraft is grounded, and beneath all the gunfights is a surprisingly moving story about people constantly torn between duty and family. Sheridan has built an entire television empire around morally conflicted characters, but Lioness perfectly balances blockbuster action with human drama.
That’s also why I don’t usually compare action thrillers to each other. Most of them are chasing completely different goals. Strike Back is pure adrenaline; Slow Horses is smarter than most; and Reacher embraces the fantasy of an unstoppable hero. What they all share, however, is the ability to keep you glued to the screen through exceptional action, memorable characters, and relentless tension. And with Lioness Season 3 arriving in less than a month, you want something to watch in the meantime. Here are 8 action thrillers I’d recommend to every Lioness fan.
Why You Should Trust Me: I’ve been covering movies and TV shows at MovieWeb for nearly four years, and action thrillers have consistently been one of my favorite genres to write about. Between military dramas, spy thrillers, crime series, and political conspiracies, I’ve watched more of these shows than I’d like to admit. The ones that stay with me pair adrenaline with smart writing and genuine stakes.
Honorable Mentions
Alias (2001 – 2006): Alias is one of the easiest recommendations for anyone curious about modern spy television. Jennifer Garner’s Sydney Bristow helped redefine the genre by putting a woman at the center, and the wig-and-disguise mission structure still holds up. You can see Alias’s influence in everything from The Americans to Lioness. However, I couldn’t include it here because the show’s main character arc stumbled in the later seasons.
Person of Interest (2011 – 2016): If this list were purely about writing, Person of Interest would probably rank much higher. Its blend of artificial intelligence, surveillance, and procedural crime becomes more relevant every year. I left it off because it’s more of a sci-fi crime drama than a full-fledged action thriller.
The Night Agent (2023 – Present): I’ve recommended The Night Agent more times than I can count, and Season 2 only reinforced why it’s one of Netflix’s strongest original thrillers. It just misses the cut because I think these eight other shows take bigger creative swings, whether through action choreography, character work, or sheer ambition. Still, it’s a perfect binge for the weekend.
‘Strike Back’ (2010 – 2020)
Still the Gold Standard for Military Action on Television
Watch This If: I still don’t understand why Strike Back doesn’t come up more often when people talk about great action thrillers. With eight seasons and two different lead pairings, this joint production from Cinemax and Sky never lost its appetite for practical stunts, real locations, and mission structures that feel like they’re ripped from an actual black-ops briefing. Each season drops Section 20 operatives into a different global crisis, sending them from war zones and black sites to terrorist cells and hostage rescues. Every season is perfect, and its strongest stretch is led by Sullivan Stapleton and Philip Winchester, who chase warlords and terror cells across continents.
Skip This If: The Chris Ryan-era episodes that open the series feel outdated next to the later episodes. Don’t judge the whole show based on the first handful of hours. It’s also relentlessly grim about collateral damage and torture, which tracks for the genre but isn’t ideal for a lazy Sunday binge.
‘Fauda’ (2015 – 2023)
The Most Intense Counterterrorism Series You’ll Ever Watch
Watch This If: Lior Raz created Fauda around Doron Kabilio, an Israeli undercover operative pulled back into the field again and again, and the show treats every mission with a level of tactical detail most American thrillers don’t bother with. Unlike many spy dramas that glamorize covert missions, Fauda constantly reminds you how messy and unpredictable they really are. Since the camera stays close during raids and ambushes, the action feels handheld and desperate instead of choreographed. Season 5 will finally premiere on Netflix later this year after a three-and-a-half-year wait, which gives you plenty of time to catch up on the first four seasons.
Skip This If: You’re looking for uncomplicated heroes or clean-cut good-versus-evil storytelling. Fauda dives headfirst into an incredibly sensitive real-world conflict, and the moral ambiguity is the entire point. If you want your action thrillers to be apolitical, this isn’t the show for you.
‘Banshee’ (2013 – 2016)
The Cinemax Show With the Best Fight Choreography
Watch This If: What’s an action thriller without action? Banshee follows a criminal who assumes the identity of a dead sheriff in a small Pennsylvania town. What follows are four seasons of some of the most brutal, inventive, and ridiculous fight scenes ever put on TV. At its core, it’s a pulpy crime drama, but thanks to its punches and brawls, Banshee is a spectacularly enjoyable series. Antony Starr throws himself into the role with the same magnetic intensity that would later make Homelander unforgettable. Like Lioness, Banshee also simultaneously delivers a heartfelt story about identity, guilt, and second chances.
Skip This If: You’re sensitive to graphic violence or explicit content. Banshee pushes the boundaries more than most mainstream action shows. If you prefer grounded military realism over heightened crime drama, this may be a little too pulpy for your taste.
‘Warrior Nun’ (2020 – 2022)
The Female-Led Action Show Netflix Canceled Too Soon
Watch This If: I’ll admit, I completely misjudged Warrior Nun before watching it. Between the title and the marketing, I expected another forgettable YA fantasy. Instead, I stumbled upon one of Netflix’s most entertaining action series. Based on Ben Dunn’s comic books, it follows Ava Silva (Alba Baptista), who wakes up in a morgue with a mysterious artifact embedded in her back and suddenly finds herself at the center of an ancient war between Heaven and Hell. The mythology is surprisingly thoughtful, but it’s the action that kept me hooked. The sword fights, rooftop chases, and hand-to-hand combat have an awesome fluidity. More importantly, Ava grows into a compelling lead. Netflix canceled it after Season 2, and a planned movie trilogy has stalled with no concrete updates recently.
Skip This If: Since there are two seasons, the story moves fast, and some viewers want a slower burn to sit with these characters. If you can’t handle the fact that there won’t be a season three to wrap every thread, wait for the movies to materialize before diving in.
‘Killing Eve’ (2018 – 2022)
The Cat-and-Mouse Thriller That Turned Assassination Into Seduction
Watch This If: Cat-and-mouse thrillers usually build suspense around stopping a terrorist attack or uncovering a conspiracy. Killing Eve flips the script by making its greatest weapon the relationship between two women who can’t stop obsessing over each other. Sandra Oh’s Eve Polastri and Jodie Comer’s Villanelle are endlessly fascinating on their own, but together they’re electric. Every encounter and every assassination doubles as a character statement. Even when the later seasons became more divisive, I never stopped watching because of Oh and Comer. Compared to Lioness, Killing Eve is smarter, funnier, and stranger. It’s also much better than a typical espionage thriller.
Skip This If: The series changed writers every season, and if you need one consistent voice guiding the tone and pacing, you’ll notice the shift. Also, you may find that the will-they-won’t-they dynamic between Eve and Villanelle drags out longer than it needs to.
‘Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan’ (2018 – 2023)
Tom Clancy’s Hero At His Most Human Yet
Watch This If: There have been plenty of Jack Ryan adaptations over the years, but John Krasinski’s version is easily my favorite because it never tries to turn Ryan into an invincible action hero. He’s an analyst first and someone who would rather solve a problem with intelligence than a rifle. Because of that, the moments when he’s forced into danger feel more believable. It’s also one of the few modern action thrillers that make the investigative side just as engaging as the action itself. Like Lioness, Jack Ryan offers plenty of planning, surveillance, and intelligence-gathering scenes.
Skip This If: Looking for wall-to-wall action with no patience for briefing-room scenes and geopolitical setup? Some episodes will test you. Jack Ryan takes its time building each conspiracy before the action ramps up, and it’s also much cleaner and more conventional than the world Lioness thrives in.
‘Slow Horses’ (2022 – Present)
MI5’s Biggest Screwups Somehow Deliver the Genre’s Sharpest Action
Watch This If: If you’d asked me a few years ago whether a show about MI5’s worst agents could become one of television’s greatest action thrillers, I would have laughed. Based on Mick Herron’s novels, Slow Horses follows disgraced intelligence officers banished to Slough House, where their careers are supposed to quietly die. Of course, they keep stumbling into conspiracies that even the “real” spies can’t handle. Slow Horses is better than Lioness because it effortlessly balances razor-sharp writing, dry British humor, and nail-biting espionage. Gary Oldman’s Jackson Lamb is worth the price of admission alone, thanks to his funny and unexpectedly layered performance.
Skip This If: The dark comedy running through every mission means this isn’t pure adrenaline the way some other shows on this list are. If you want your spies humorless and your action unbroken by jokes, this tonal mix might throw you off.
‘Reacher’ (2022 – Present)
The Biggest Action Thriller on Streaming
Watch This If: I don’t think any modern action thriller understands its audience better than Reacher. The Prime Video series knows why people show up every season: to watch a six-foot-five ex-military investigator walk into a town, uncover a conspiracy, and dismantle it one bad guy at a time. Obviously, the trope shouldn’t work as consistently as it does. However, the Jack Reacher books nailed it, and the TV adaptation has no reason not to. Reacher Season 4 arrives in August and will adapt Lee Child’s Gone Tomorrow novel. Alan Ritchson has already called it the show’s best outing yet. With a season 5 renewal and the Maria Sten-led spin-off Neagley already locked in, the Reacher universe will stick around.
Skip This If: Reacher’s internal monologue and hyper-competence can read as too much if you want your action heroes to be fallible. Call it Dad TV or comfort-food action, but Reacher is confident in what it does, so manage your expectations accordingly.
Which action thriller would you put up against Lioness? Let me know in the comments.
