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Spooks – I Spy Apocalypse from 2003

The show kicks off with the Spooks team confined while undergoing a drill about a potential terror incident, monitored by two government representatives. As events unfold, it becomes clear a real incident has taken place and a chemical agent deployed. The suspense builds as reports reveal a catastrophe taking place outside, and intensifies as the boss appears to be infected, and the government agents endeavor to depart, pushing the protagonist portrayed by Matthew Macfadyen to opt for either shooting them or letting them go and risking contaminating the sealed MI5 offices. This being Spooks, his decision is predictable.

Threads (1984)

Threads had minimal funding but arguably the most terrifying series I have ever watched because of the stark reality and bleak government data. Watched it about a month ago after seeing the first airing; I often attended the bar in Sheffield shown in the series which emphasised the reality and the glib matter-of-fact official information that were transmitted. Continuing to be utterly horrifying 35 years later.

The 2022 Severance episode The We We Are

The concluding episode of Severance’s debut season ranks highly as a tense chapter. I was throughout the episode quite literally on the edge of my seat, exerting with Dylan to keep his hands on the levers that allowed the Innies to remain active, while shouting to the Innies to get their truths out there. The ultimate peak – “she’s alive!” – felt like an explosion.

Industry – White Mischief (2024)

Installment five in Industry’s third series had my heart racing. I had to pause and get up and depart the area multiple times due to the immense extent of the deliberate ruin I observed. Rishi Ramdani is in deep shit in his job and domestic life – buried in financial obligations to illegal creditors because of his compulsive gambling, engaging in dangerous ventures with a gamble on the pound which could lose his company millions. So of course, he goes on a gambling spree, uses copious drugs and alcohol and alternates between success and failure, is severely assaulted. Whenever you assume things cannot decline more, it does. There is a chance for salvation by the episode’s conclusion but he misses the opening, with horrifying consequences in the season finale. Certainly required a rest afterward!

Peep Show – Holiday (2007)

Peep Show is not inherently a tense series. However, the Holiday episode features such degrees of awkwardness that it’ll have you standing up for the full show, filled with nervousness. The tension escalates when Jeremy and Mark realize needing to deceive regarding the dog they unintentionally hit and later efforts to get rid of it. You then occupy the remainder of the episode questioning whether it truly can be worse than incineration, and it can be!

The West Wing – The Two Cathedrals (2001)

Nothing I have seen has been as tense than the first time I watched the concluding episode of The West Wing’s second season. The installment begins with the consequences of the demise (in a car crash) of the president’s confidential aide and reaches a crescendo with a crisis in Haiti, and the repercussions of the secrecy of the president’s MS diagnosis, coupled with verification of his aim to pursue re-election. Excellent TV. Unsurpassed.

Bodyguard – episode one (2018)

The start of the British program Bodyguard, featuring the main character on a train accompanied by his small son, is for me one of the most intense episodes ever. He spots a Muslim woman heading to the toilet and senses something is wrong. The bomb squad is alerted, get on the train, and try to persuade the woman to remove her explosive vest. Tension escalates to a nearly intolerable level, until, finally, the vest is neutralized.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Body from 2001

Buffy enters her house to discover her mother has died due to natural factors, which is the rarest form of demise in this mystical program. The episode has no background music, a somber mood, and we view the installment through the lens of Buffy’s dismay upon uncovering her mother.

The Sopranos – Made in America (2007)

The final scene of the final episode of the program was incredibly anxious. And if you watched it when it originally aired, you – at first – weren’t sure why. Tony’s foes, genuine and fictional, had all been defeated. Surely this has the feel of the season one ending? “Think about the small elements.” Yet the atmosphere is strangely foreboding. Approaching Twin Peaks-esque horror. The clan sits in an eatery. Meadow parks. Tony sadly tells Carmela there’s trouble afoot with another member of his team collaborating with the authorities. Meadow secures a parking space. Unfamiliar individuals come into the diner. Look at Tony(?) Meadow parks. Tony puts a record on the jukebox. Meadow parks. The bell sounds, an individual enters. It isn’t Meadow, she remains parking. Tony raises his gaze. Don’t stop. It stops. My spirit fell around 20 minutes subsequently.

The Walking Dead – The Last Day on Earth (2016)

I stayed up to watch this episode at 2am. It was so intense after the establishment of antagonist Negan finding the group, savagely teasing his prey and then keeping the death a mystery (concluded with a suspenseful moment). The victim’s POV shot and the muffled sounds – argh! {We then had to wait for season seven|We then needed to await season