The 5 Best Psychological Thrillers To Watch After ‘Severance’

There’s nothing more bittersweet than reaching a much anticipated season finale, and no show in recent memory has done a better job at building suspense across such a wide audience as Severance.

But before you fall into the depths of despair, convincing yourself there’s nothing worth watching in Severance‘s wake, give these puzzle-box, sci-fi, dystopian time travel series a try.

FROM

If you enjoyed Severance‘s subdued social commentary on modern capitalism, you’ll love the way MGM+’s FROM tackles themes of immigration, community building, and America’s problematic history with race. Centering around a mysterious unnamed town where people inexplicably arrive and cannot leave, the eclectic band of inhabitants must work together to survive attacks from the bloodthirsty monsters who come out at night.

The OA

If your favorite part of Severance was second-guessing each character’s true intentions and trust-worthiness, or the intricate fan-theories and reddit threads, then find yourself right at home with The OA, the story of Prairie Johnson, a young woman who returns home after a seven year disappearance, having regained her eyesight. Be warned that Netflix cancelled what was planned as five-season arc after just two seasons, but that hasn’t stopped new fans from flocking to the series or raising money for billboards lobbying for its continuation.

DARK

If your favorite part of Severance was its complex but highly organized plot and rich character development, then DARK absolutely needs to be on your watch list. This German sci-fi series gives audiences the television equivalent of an M. C. Escher painting, following the journey of a teenaged boy, Jonas, to unravel the connection between his father’s suicide, the disappearance of neighbor Mikkel Nielsen, and unsolved murders from the town’s dark past.

1899

If you enjoyed the way Severance blurred stylistic and chronological timelines, 1899 will scratch that same itch. From the creators of DARK, 1899 follows a group of European immigrants traveling to America, who locate a ship that was reported missing months prior. Following the encounter, a series of mysterious events bring their entire reality and own identities into question.

Osmosis

If you loved the way Severance imagined a world completely transformed by technology in a believable way, Osmosis will give you a different spin on the potential future of brain implants. Siblings Paul and Esther develop a way to find a person’s soulmate with 100% accuracy, but have to deal with the ethical and sociological impact of engineering something as complex as love.