International Emmys 2025: Best Crime & Thriller Shows You Need to Watch

Published 11/20/2025, 10:05 PM EST

Crime, conspiracies, and chaos never sleep, and neither do streaming platforms. From South Africa’s dark alleys to Germany’s unstable boardrooms, each show transforms ordinary life into a spectacle of tension and ambition. Emmy ballots brim with daring acts and uneasy glances, forcing viewers to juggle popcorn with existential dread. Between bingeing and overthinking, these nominees blur observation and immersion, making it impossible to separate the stories from the reality they mirror.

While viewers brace for crime, conspiracies, and moral chaos, the Emmy-nominated shows lure them deeper, where South Africa’s dark alleys and intense profiling turn curiosity into obsession.

Catch Me a Killer

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South Africa’s Catch Me a Killer follows Micki Pistorius, the first female serial-killer profiler, navigating grim 1990s crime while a male-dominated police force fumbles around her brilliance. Charlotte Hope embodies focus, intellect, and grit, making murder and psychology fascinating. Emmy voters nodded her for Best Performance by an Actress, and viewers can stream her suspenseful hunt on Showmax (South Africa), BritBox (US/Canada), Alibi (UK), or SBS on Demand (Australia). The true-crime drama blends tension, history, and personality in one thrilling package.

While Micki deciphers killers in shadowed streets, the precision of historical power games calls attention, where Germany’s boardrooms and espionage-filled corridors test human ambition and cunning.

Herrhausen - The Banker and the Bomb

Germany’s Herrhausen: The Banker and the Bomb chronicles Alfred Herrhausen’s final days amid the fall of the Berlin Wall, balancing revolutionary finance, global power, and a deadly spy game. This taut political thriller earned a TV Movie/Mini-Series Emmy nod, blending historical authenticity and conspiracy thriller. Stream it on Apple TV+ or GAIN to witness high-stakes tension, historical intrigue, and bureaucratic suspense collide in a way that makes boardrooms feel lethal and wall-crossings cinematic.

As global conspiracies collide and Herrhausen’s life teeters on the edge, women shattering societal rules enter the frame, proving that crime, motive, and morality are never one-dimensional.

Mujeres Asesinas

Mexico’s Mujeres Asesinas (season 2) unravels chilling tales of women pushed to extremes, exploring psychology, society, and emotion through murder. Carolina Miranda’s performance earned a Best Performance by an Actress Emmy nod as each episode combines anthology freshness with intense character study. Stream it on ViX to experience provocative crime, nuanced female perspectives, and suspenseful storytelling that makes each murder feel as intimate as a diary entry turned deadly.

While murder exposes society’s hidden fractures, survival through humor illuminates resilience, guiding viewers into the gritty, laugh-through-pain world of Israeli juvenile life.

Bad Boy

Israel’s Bad Boy tells Daniel Chen’s real-life journey through juvenile prison, where humor becomes armor against trauma, later blossoming into a stand-up career. Its raw authenticity and emotional depth earned a Best Drama Series Emmy nod, proving comedy and survival can coexist. Available on HOT (Israel) and Netflix (International), the series turns juvenile hardship into cinematic triumph, blending grit, laughs, and clever social commentary in a way that makes the underworld surprisingly magnetic.

While Daniel Chen transforms trauma into comedy, Delia Balmer’s harrowing fight reveals that surviving violence demands courage that transcends wit and confronts systemic failure.

Until I Kill You

The United Kingdom’s Until I Kill You dramatizes Delia Balmer’s harrowing three-year relationship with serial killer John Sweeney, exposing abuse and systemic failures. Anna Maxwell Martin earned a Best Performance by an Actress Emmy nod for portraying courage and survival. Stream it on ITVX (UK), TVNZ+ (New Zealand), or Hollywood Suite (Canada) to witness suspense, injustice, and trauma unfold with intensity, blending gripping narrative, social critique, and personal triumph in a miniseries that feels both horrifying and human.

As Delia navigates abuse and institutional collapse, suburban normalcy in Cape Town cracks under deception, mixing domestic bliss with criminal chaos and unexpected dark comedy.

Koek

South Africa’s Koek follows Christelle Smit, a suburban housewife whose world shatters after discovering her husband’s affair with stripper Candi Floss, plunging her into Cape Town’s criminal underworld. Emmy-nominated for Best Drama Series, it blends dark comedy with a clever crime plot. Stream it on Showmax, or binge other chaotic crime tales on Netflix, to watch suburban perfection collide with danger, humor, and tension, proving that ordinary domestic life can be as dangerously entertaining as any thriller.

While suburban façades crumble into crime and chaos, British high society showcases ambition, glamor, and betrayal, making polite manners feel like fragile camouflage over ruthless rivalry.

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Rivals

Set in 1986, the United Kingdom’s Rivals follows Rupert Campbell-Black and Tony, Lord Baddingham, waging social, political, and media wars in Rutshire. Emmy-nominated for Best Drama Series, it delivers star-studded satire, power plays, and media mania. Stream on Disney+ to witness glamor, corruption, and rivalry collide in a narrative that mixes 1980s societal obsession with thrilling storytelling, turning tea parties and boardroom deals into suspenseful drama worthy of global acclaim.

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What are your thoughts on these 2025 International Emmy nominees for crime and thriller shows? Let us know in the comments below.

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Shraddha Priyadarshi

1209 articles

Shraddha is a content chameleon with 3 years of experience, expertly juggling entertainment and non-entertainment writing, from scriptwriting to reporting. Having a portfolio of over 2,000 articles, she has covered everything from Hollywood’s glitzy drama to the latest pop culture trends. With a knack for telling stories that keep readers hooked, Shraddha thrives on dissecting celebrity scandals and cultural moments.

Edited By: Aliza Siddiqui

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