Igho “Tiny” Ubiribo, the social media personality who built an Instagram following of more than 185,000 by documenting his luxury lifestyle, died at age 43 following complications from a cosmetic procedure in Thailand.

A U.K. coroner confirmed to TMZ in September 2026 that Ubiribo suffered a pulmonary embolism during a genital enlargement surgery at an unidentified Thai clinic the previous March. A pulmonary embolism occurs when a blood clot becomes lodged in an artery in the lung and blocks blood flow, per the Mayo Clinic.

Keep scrolling to learn more about the late influencer and his untimely death:

Advertisement

Related: Influencer Igho ‘Tiny’ Ubiribo Dead at 43 After Penis Enlargement Surgery

Influencer Igho ‘Tiny’ Ubiribo has died. He was 43. Ubiribo, who also went by Denisi and Ego on social media, died after experiencing complications from a genital enlargement procedure in Thailand, a U.K. coroner confirmed to TMZ on Saturday, September 5. According to the medical examiner, Ubiribo suffered a pulmonary embolism during the cosmetic surgery. […]

Who Was Igho ‘Tiny’ Ubiribo?

Ubiribo was a businessman and social media personality, also known as “Denisi” and “Ego” online. He cultivated an Instagram following by chronicling his travels and upscale lifestyle alongside his wife, Danielle Simba Allen.

How Did Igho Ubiribo Die?

An inquest from the Inner West London Coroners’ Court found that Ubiribo had 40 milliliters of hyaluronic acid and lidocaine injected into his penis at the Thai clinic in March 2026 in an attempt to enlarge his appendage. After the procedure, he experienced chest pain and fainted, per the inquest, before he was rushed to a local hospital and later died.

Igho Ubiribo’s Career as a Luxury Lifestyle Influencer

Ubiribo’s online presence leaned heavily on aspirational content — travel, style and the couple’s marriage. Anniversary tributes were among the most personal glimpses he shared with his thousands of fans, with a grid built around carefully staged vacation posts.

Igho Ubiribo’s Marriage to Danielle Simba Allen

Ubiribo and Allen said “I do” in 2022 and celebrated their third wedding anniversary in 2025.

“Happy anniversary, my love. Every day with you is a gift, and every moment feels like magic,” Ubiribo wrote via Instagram in July 2025. “I thank God for you always, my heart, my home, my forever. 💖.”

Allen has not yet publicly addressed her husband’s death. Her most recent Instagram post, dated November 2025, was a carousel of photos from one of the couple’s vacations, captioned, “✨The Drafts Be Piling Up, These Deserved A Little Spotlight✨.”

Igho Ubiribo’s Emotional Tributes to His Wife

Ubiribo frequently gushed about his marriage via his social media platforms, and to mark two years of marriage in 2024 said that his heart “swells with gratitude.”

Thank You!

You have successfully subscribed.

“Today marks two years since we made a commitment to each other, and I can’t help but marvel at the beautiful tapestry of moments we’ve woven together,” he wrote at the time. “These past 730 days have been a testament to the depth of our connection, the strength of our bond, and the unwavering support we’ve provided each other. From the laughter that echoed through our shared adventures to the quiet moments of understanding during challenges, each experience has etched itself into the core of our relationship.”

He continued, “Your presence in my life is a source of endless joy and comfort. Your laughter is the soundtrack to my happiest moments, and your strength is a beacon guiding us through any storm. Together, we’ve faced the highs and lows, navigating life’s twists and turns hand in hand. Your love has been my anchor, grounding me in times of uncertainty and lifting me to new heights in moments of triumph.”

This story was compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. 

Sister Wives’ Janelle Brown is sharing another glimpse of her now-frequent date nights with her new boyfriend.

“The Sunday that started it all,” Brown, 57, wrote via Instagram on Sunday, September 6, alongside a selfie featuring her beau, Pete. “We had a free afternoon and decided to check out a local winery. We had a glass of wine, sat in the shade and listened to the music. It was such a beautiful day.”

She continued, “We decided then, that whenever we had a Sunday free, we would find a way to spend it together doing something like this.”

Brown went public with her romance with Pete last month, sharing a selfie of the pair.

“Some chapters are meant to unfold quietly before they’re shared,” she wrote via Instagram at the time. “I wasn’t looking. I certainly wasn’t expecting you. And somehow, you turned out to be exactly what I didn’t know I needed. And it has been pretty wonderful. 🩷Everyone please meet Pete.”

Days later, Brown uploaded a photo of the couple posing on a dock beside boats. In the image, the pair placed their arms around each other as they smiled.

“A beautiful evening by the water (this may be becoming a theme for us 😃),” Brown wrote via Instagram in August. “Had dinner while we watched the boats.”

Prior to her relationship with Pete, Janelle wed Kody Brown in 1993 while he was married to Meri Brown. Kody went on to marry Christine Brown in 1994 and have a spiritual ceremony with Robyn Brown in 2010. He then legally divorced Meri in 2014 to legally marry Robyn and adopt her three children.

Related: A Look Back at Sister Wives’ Janelle Brown and Ex Kody Brown’s Relationship

Sister Wives‘ Janelle Brown and Kody Brown’s plural marriage was anything but conventional ahead of their 2022 split. Janelle and Kody’s lives were intertwined well before they spiritually tied the knot in 1993. Janelle’s late mom, Sheryl Brown, and Kody’s dad, William Winn Brown, were married for years before William’s death in 2013, making the eventual […]

Christine shared in 2021 that she and Kody separated, with Janelle revealing one year later that she and the Special Forces alum had also split months prior. In 2022, Meri confirmed her own split from Kody. Robyn, for her part, is still married to Kody. Between his four partners, Kody is a father to 18 children. (Janelle and Kody’s son Garrison died at age 25 in 2024.)

Thank You!

You have successfully subscribed.

Last month, Janelle took to Instagram to reflect on her past relationship dynamic.

“Have you ever wondered about what the version of you who second-guess everything would think of you now?” Janelle wrote over an August video. “I think about her sometimes. The version of me who ran every decision past three people before she trusted it enough to move.”

“She would probably not even recognize the version of me who bought land without a plan, who changed course mid-week because it stopped feeling right, who doesn’t ask permission before making the call anymore,” Janelle continued. “I don’t think she’d think I got braver, necessarily. I think she’d just be relieved. Like she’d been waiting a long time for someone to finally believe her instead of everyone else.”

President Donald Trump has seemingly ditched his infamous hair style for a brand new look.

Trump, 80, was spotted on Friday, September 4, sporting a darker hair ‘do while landing in New Jersey to spend the weekend at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster amid the ongoing war in Iraq and upcoming midterm elections.

His hair also appeared to be parted on the opposite side of his head — a rebuke of his traditional style, which typically features a golden-blonde coloring.

Hours later, Trump was photographed golfing with Fox New anchor Bret Bair and others while wearing a red “Trump was right about everything” hat, covering his darker hairdo.

Related: Jelly Roll Got in ‘More Trouble’ Than Rosie O’Donnell for Trump Jokes

Jelly Roll has no regrets about poking fun at President Donald Trump as he temporarily takes over Jimmy Kimmel’s late night show. “What a turn of events! Who would’ve guessed I’d get in more trouble with the president than Rosie O’Donnell?” Jelly Roll, 41, said on the Tuesday, August 25, episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! […]

Weeks before, Trump made headlines when Jelly Roll commented on his physical appearance while filling in for Jimmy Kimmel on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

“The president seemed to enjoy the IndyCar race, which was a real switch-up for him because normally he only likes his own race,” Jelly Roll, 41, quipped during his monologue in an August episode. “Trump also drove around the track in his motorcade doing what they call the ‘lap of honor.’ Which sounds like a loyalty program at a strip club.”

He continued, “Sadly, those are the only laps Trump’s been doing lately. According to The Washington Post, a lot of doctors are worried about the president’s weight. After his last physical, we found out Trump gained 14 pounds, which means he’s now tipping the scales of almost 240.”

Jelly Roll (real name Jason DeFord) has been public about his weight-loss journey, revealing he has shed 300 pounds in the past few years.

Advertisement

Related: Jelly Roll Addresses Political Affiliation Amid Backlash Over Trump Jokes

Jelly Roll opened up about his political views after taking heat for making jokes about President Donald Trump while guest hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live! The country music star, 41, gave an impassioned monologue to kick off his final night on the ABC talk show on Thursday, August 27, addressing speculation about his political affiliation. “It […]

“That means I’ve lost an entire Donald Trump,” he said. “And let’s be honest, based on his approval rating, it seems like most of the country wants to do the same thing. Now listen, we should take it easy y’all. We shouldn’t be making fun of the president for his weight because we know he would never do that to other people.”

Thank You!

You have successfully subscribed.

Advertisement

Several clips then began playing of Trump commenting on people’s appearances during his speeches.

“Well if that ain’t the pot calling the kettle fat. Well Mr. President, from one fat pig to another, take it from me that physical fitness is very important,” Jelly Roll said. “And trust me, you’ll be happy to see your penis again.”

He continued, “I should speak from a little bit of experience here y’all. The first time I seen mine recently, I was surprised at how cute it was. It kind of looked like a little Labubu doll.”

Taylor Swift’s “I Know It, I Knew You” track for Toy Story 5 is so much more than meets the eye — or ear, that is.

“The word daze is spelled ‘d-a-z-e’ in the lyrics, but you could also, if you wanted to think of it as days ‘d-a-y-s’ you could perceive it as that,” Swift, 36, said during an interview on iHeartCountry House Party aired on Saturday, September 5. “But, I thought of it, like, a childhood daze you look back and you see this sort of blurry, beautiful memory that’s kind of blurry at the edges and blades of the grass in summer that harkens back to childhood and playing and using your imagination.”

“I knew you / Through the daze of the blades of the grass in summer,” Swing sings on the song featured on the Toy Story 5 soundtrack, which dropped in June. “Parachutes / For the free fall of being younger / I memorized the sound of your bare footsteps.”

Swift wrote an original song for the latest installment of the beloved Pixar films, centering the track around cowgirl figurine Jessie (voiced by Joan Cusack) and her beloved first owner, Emily. (Jessie had long been abandoned when Emily grew up and subsequently left behind her unused toys.)

“There’s the added meaning of they’re toys, they can only see up to the height of blades of grass,” Swift added on IHeartCountry of her lyrical inspiration. “‘Parachutes for the free fall of being younger.’ There’s the actual parachute army toys in Toy Story, as well as symbolically, somebody who helps you grow up, helps your landings be softer.”

Swift penned the track, a return to her country music roots, after watching an early cut of the feature film.

Thank You!

You have successfully subscribed.

Advertisement

“For Jessie, I feel like the line, ‘I watched you drive around the bend for what I thought would be the last time I saw my friend,’ that hits me really hard because that movie just broke my heart,” Swift recalled during an appearance on the film’s accompanying 20/20 special in June. “So I’m really happy to, like, give her a happy moment. ”

For Swift, she felt particularly “grateful” to follow in composer Randy Newman’s footsteps. (Newman, 82, created the music for the entire Toy Story franchise. Swift is the only other musician to lend her voice to the animated franchise.)

“I felt wonderful knowing that I had Randy’s blessing to write for this film, given that I’m the first songwriter to get to partake in the Toy Story world outside of Randy,” Swift added at the time. “I was absolutely dazzled by [the movie]. It is my favorite Toy Story movie. Don’t mind me, just really liked the movie.”

Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Lanterns Episode 4.

After last week’s detour into John Stewart’s (Aaron Pierre) psyche, Lanterns returns to 2016 as Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) dons the Green Lantern uniform to confront none other than Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen). The Manhunter threat is real, and as Antaan’s (Paul Ben-Victor) forces start closing in, this episode narrows its focus on uncovering the truth behind what’s happening in Rushville. In a town full of secrets and lies, only Hal and John stand between the Nebraskan heartland and total annihilation — the question is, will they finally learn to trust one another? Episode 4 suggests that trust may be harder to come by than power rings.

‘Lanterns’ Episode 4 Returns to Hal and Sinestro

Continuing from where Episode 2 left off, “The Weenie” picks up with that momentous reunion between Hal and Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen) — if by momentous we really mean short-lived. Hal wonders how Sinestro heard about John in the first place, but the villain dodges the question entirely. “You don’t really think he’s your backup, do you, Hal?” he asks. Of course, Hal knows better and finally admits the truth that John is meant to be his replacement. Sinestro attempts to convince him to kill John, but Hal isn’t some evil psychopath. So, Sinestro instead tells Hal what he needs to know about Manhunters, but not before suggesting the Green Lantern of Earth learn to control John Stewart so as not to make the same mistake that he (Hal) did with him (Sinestro) previously.

Back in Rushville, John ducks a call from his father and goes in search of a scope. The man behind the counter resists at first due to John’s connection to Green Lantern (they can’t stand that guy), but he eventually purchases what he’s looking for and holds up in the nearby water tower, peering into the Macon ranch. Hal promptly shows up, and John informs him that Macon has a hidden building on the compound. He calls this particular structure a “weenie” in reference to an architectural term coined by Walt Disney meant to subconsciously attract the attention of Disneyland guests. Yes, this is why the episode is titled “The Weenie.” Moving on, John notes that a mysterious payload has been dropped off inside, but before they can investigate, Hal has a promise to keep.

The Lanterns meet up with Sheriff Kerry Kane (Kelly Macdonald) and give her the lowdown on the Manhunter: Antaan’s crew plans to kill the Manhunter or annihilate Rushville in the process. “What does this thing want?” Kerry asks, but, of course, they don’t really know. Although the sheriff suggests using the alien detectors to uncover the truth behind the Manhunter’s identity, that wouldn’t quite work because the Manhunter isn’t, well, alien. It’s technically a machine, albeit a sentient one, so it’s pretty difficult to tell for sure — although, as Hal reveals later in the episode, Manhunters’ hearts crystallize when removed. Not that that helps this trio all too much. Kerry wonders why she isn’t a suspect in Hal’s eyes, but the Green Lantern informs her that 1) it would have to be someone who has been here since Abin Sur crashed all those years ago and 2) her previously explained Gotham backstory checks out. The best that they can do now is hit the ranch to see who William Macon’s (Garret Dillahunt) mystery “benefactor” is — and what he’s hiding in the compound.

Back at the motel, John continues to dodge his father’s call. However, the Guardian Lianna (Laura Linney) shows up and demands to know why he hasn’t checked in. She informs John about Hal’s apparently oath-breaking visit to Sinestro (can Green Lanterns not interrogate prisoners?), noting that his actions have moved up the Guardians’ timetable for his replacement. So, now John has new orders: next time Hal gives him the ring, he should recite the oath and become the official Green Lantern for Sector 2814. John pushes back, wondering why the Guardians won’t install him themselves, but Lianna plays his emotional fiddle the same way his parents did, wondering aloud if his weakness is to be trusted. John insists that Hal doesn’t deserve the ring, that he has worked hard to earn it — all Hal is doing is keeping it warm.

‘Lanterns’ Episode 4 Puts Hal and John in the Manhunter’s Crosshairs

Image via HBO

That evening, John knocks on Hal’s motel door and suggests tunneling into Macon’s compound from underground. He even comes up with designs for the type of device he’s imagined for the job. So, when they arrive at the edge of the ranch, Hal gives John the ring and has him create the excavating machine he drew. John does just that, and though he thinks about reciting the oath then and there, he instead follows Hal’s orders. Here we get some real camaraderie between these two. John shares a bit about his backstory (and his interest in art), while Hal reveals that his mother died of cancer. The conversation drifts into the story of his father’s death and Hal’s belief that his father’s supposed “fearlessness” was all an act. Before he can elaborate, they arrive at the weenie and crawl to the structure. Inside, they discover an arsenal of high-tech alien weapons and equipment. Hal believes that Macon’s benefactor must be the Manhunter, but before John can give the ring back, Hal steps on a pressure mine, setting off an alarm which brings in a whole unit. The militia uses a weapon that creates darkness, preventing John from effectively using the ring in time.

The Lanterns are taken to Macon, who strips down in front of them as John draws him on the spot — all while making Zoe (Poorna Jagannathan) stay to watch. Hal points out that the whole thing is super weird, and, frankly, that’s an understatement. Hal breaks the awkwardness by noting that the darkness guns seem “tailor-made for disabling Green Lanterns,” which Macon doesn’t deny. In fact, he goes even further by revealing to the GL that his benefactor (who he now calls his “boss”) actually cured his cancer. “You talk about him like he’s a god,” Hal remarks, but Macon notes that everything changed when he showed up. Rushville’s crops now thrive, and the world is much better off — nobody gets sick here, hence the empty hospital that Hal clocked a few episodes ago — so long as they protect the Manhunter. Hal, however, refuses to leave. Thankfully for the alien detectives, Kerry arrives and removes them from the situation in just the nick of time. Frustrated, Kerry tells them that if Zoe hadn’t called her, they would’ve been in trouble. She tells the pair that she’s close to finding out who the benefactor is, but they need to stay in their motel and not get in the way. Kerry gives Hal back his ring and hands John a weapon, knowing that Macon will likely retaliate.

In his motel room, John laments to his mother over the phone that the Guardians aren’t going to give him the ring; they’re making him take it from Hal by force. But before long, Zoe arrives at John’s doorstep. He wonders what she’s doing there, holding her at gunpoint, but doesn’t get an answer. Instead, they sleep together again before Zoe tells him it has to be the last time. “Your choices are pretty much leave town or get killed,” she tells him. John can’t leave, though. He knows that everyone in town (Zoe included) has been lying to him, admitting that he knows because that’s exactly what he is doing. Zoe tells him that if she tells him what she knows, everything will change. It turns out that she is the one who saved Macon’s life, and now she’s trying to save John’s, too. That said, when Zoe leaves his room and drives off, she is immediately blown into oblivion by an energy weapon from space. Hal flies into the atmosphere to discover where it came from and returns promptly with a weaponized satellite.

Generating a giant green shield over the motel, Hal and John meet with a distraught Kerry, who tracks down Macon’s NDA to three possible companies. John recovers a serial number, and they discover that Atlas Inc. is the brand behind this device. Atlas is owned by a man named Hector Hammond, a name that both longtime DC Comics fans and casual viewers who watched Green Lantern back in 2011 will recognize. However, John thinks this is all too easy. He rightly wonders why they’re still alive, why Zoe was killed and not them. Killing Zoe wasn’t just a threat; it was an invitation. Hal and John drive to Hammond’s place, and Hal asks John how he’s doing in the wake of his “girlfriend’s” death. “I’m handling it,” the former Marine replies. Hal tells him that people dying is part of the job, and that avoiding real relationships is the best thing for him from here on out. “You ever talk with the other Lanterns?” John asks, but Hal notes that the rest of the Corps basically want nothing to do with him. Oh, and John tries to get Hal to give him the ring as a “decoy,” but the GL denies the request.

‘Lanterns’ Episode 4 Concludes With Another Car Crash

Image via HBO

Advertisement

Upon arriving at Atlas’ high-tech slaughterhouse, the place is like a ghost town haunted by zombie-like employees who pay them no mind. It’s an eerie scene that feels lifted from some brand of sci-fi horror movie, especially once the pair wind up in an all-white room playing soft jazz. A portal opens in front of them (not unlike the one that the Guardians used to send John to the abandoned mall in the last episode), and they watch as a cow is obliterated by lasers. “That’s why I’m vegan,” John jokes, a reminder that Lanterns seems to have finally hit its stride in the Hal/John dynamic department. Unfortunately, things get rocky again for these two almost immediately after it gets good. The two stumble upon Atlas frontman Hector Hammond, who claims to be the Manhunter and threatens to use his satellites to kill John’s parents in their home if he doesn’t cave to his demands. He then shares John’s phone conversation with his mother about Hal, which doesn’t put the trainee in a good light.

But Hal uses the whole situation to his advantage. Threatening Hector with the removal of his heart, he puts the Stewarts’ lives on the line (to John’s complete dismay) and forces Hector to come clean. Aaron Pierre kills it in this scene, with John fearing for his parents more than he ever has before. Fortunately, Hal gets Hector to turn off the orbital laser, and he reveals that his name isn’t “Hector Hammond” at all (a silly ruse that will, no doubt, frustrate some) but Hector Gutiérrez. He also tells the pair that Macon is the Manhunter, and always has been. Despite the news, the ride home is rockier than things have been since the “Pilot.” John tries to convince Hal that he always planned to give the ring back, and that he just wanted to show him what he was capable of. However, Hal knows that the complaints John voiced to his mother weren’t all untrue. He warns John not to trust everything the Guardians say, noting that Sinestro told him that the Manhunters are attracted to power and like to spread fear.

John feigns agreement that the Manhunter must be Macon, despite what Zoe told him earlier. Hal pulls over and tells John to call Antaan to meet them (or at least him) at the café just outside of town. However, Hal has once more outsmarted his trainee, as he has put two and two together about the Manhunter himself. Wondering how long John has known the truth about Zoe, Hal realizes he can’t fully trust the ex-Marine and jumps out of the car, letting it crash into a telephone pole with John inside. John should never have let Hal get behind that wheel…

New episodes of Lanterns air Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.

Advertisement

Release Date

August 16, 2026

Advertisement

Network

HBO

Directors

Advertisement

Alik Sakharov, James Hawes, Stephen Williams

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Pros & Cons

• We can finally see a real partnership forming between Hal and John.
• John’s struggle over deciding whether to take the ring is possibly the first time he has shown any real personal agency, which is really great to see.

• Hasn’t the show already done the “I can’t trust you” thing between Hal and John?

Advertisement

More than a dozen individuals were hospitalized following The Chainsmokers’ Friday, September 4, concert in San José, California.

“At 8:22 p.m. on Friday, September 4, the San José Fire Department responded to an outdoor concert at Discovery Meadow for reports of multiple patients requiring medical attention,” a statement shared via the police station’s official X account read. “SJFD immediately requested an Ambulance Task Force, two additional advanced life support fire units, and a Battalion Chief to manage the incident and provide additional medical resources.”

Per the SJFD, 14 ambulances responded on the scene and transported 14 unidentified patients to local area hospitals.

“SJPD assisted with traffic control,” the statement concluded. “All SJFD resources returned to service at approximately 10:34 p.m.”

Related: Chainsmokers’ Drew Taggart: I’ve ‘Struggled With Drinking’ in My Career

Drew Taggart got candid about how his alcohol addiction has affected his life over the years. The Chainsmokers performer, 33, took to social media on Wednesday, June 14, to share a video of himself playing the group’s recent single “Self Destruction Mode,” describing its meaning in the caption. “I’ve struggled with drinking throughout my career […]

Further details have not been revealed, with a local NBC affiliate reporting that the concerns included “suspected alcohol intoxication and drug-related issues.”

The Chainsmokers, featuring musicians Alex Pall and Drew Taggart, performed at Discovery Meadow in San José on Friday. They are currently on tour.

“Back2Europe,” the band snapped an airplane selfie via their Instagram Stories on Sunday, September 6, before arriving in Montenegro.

The electronic DJs initially rose to fame in 2014 with the release of single “#Selfie.”

“Part of the thing with The Chainsmokers is, we felt on some levels like we were becoming people’s dirty little secret,” Pall, 41, told Billboard in 2022 of the group’s success. “By being like, ‘We’re in on the joke, we get the joke, we love the joke,’ it disarms people and allows people to enjoy the music for what it is. Whatever people imagine from past experiences with us, I think it was really important to kind of reset the tone.”

By 2022, the duo embraced a new type of sound as they dropped more records.

“It does feel like we’re a new band starting over in a lot of ways,” Pall added at the time. “I don’t mean that in any sort of negative way. It’s the best feeling ever.”

Thank You!

You have successfully subscribed.

Advertisement

Neither Pall nor Taggert, 36, have publicly addressed the fan hospitalizations. Taggert, for his part, has previously been candid about his struggles with substance abuse. (Us reached out to the group’s rep for comment.)

“I’ve struggled with drinking throughout my career as it’s an addiction that’s woven into the environment we exist in,” he wrote via Instagram in June 2023. “This guilt of not being good enough or not being better ironically sends me into a spiral that restarts my bad habit cycle. … I know that I’m flawed. I know that I am great and so are you. Never forget it.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Editor’s note: The following contains major spoilers for The Walking Dead: Dead City Season 3, Episode 7.

In Episode 307 of The Walking Dead: Dead City, entitled “Hourglass,” things wrapped up in dangerously scary new ways as Dillard (Jimmi Simpson) was pushed beyond his breaking point. The moment that Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) killed both of his walker pets, Dillard’s heartbreak caused a fracture that couldn’t be repaired. And the more things progressed, the more Dillard wanted revenge and to hurt his friend even more deeply than he was hurting himself. It also left things in a place where it feels like there’s still room for things to spiral even further before all is said and done this season.

Collider recently got the opportunity to chat with Simpson about the events of Season 3’s penultimate episode. During the interview, he discussed Dillard’s tragic backstory and why he lived the way he did in this community, how he and Negan connected over not fitting in, cracking Dillard’s mind and breaking his heart, why he wants to kill Maggie, putting on the police uniform, how much he enjoyed working with Morgan, and why he wouldn’t have wanted to change where Dillard ends up in the finale.​​​​​

Dillard Would Have Been Happy To Live Out His Days Alongside Negan and His Walkers

“It was a mutually beneficial love affair with friends.”

Image via AMC

COLLIDER: There is a chunk of this season where Dillard and Negan are just hanging out in a bar and spending their days together. Do you think he believed that he could just go on forever that way with his pet zombies and Negan and everything would just be fine?

JIMMI SIMPSON: Oh, 1,000%. Dillard found a real peace because of his really tragic history in the human world before this particular apocalypse. Everything was difficult about how humans treated each other, to him as a police officer. And so, there is this real sense of relief for him to only be in a world where the humanoid characters’ intentions are clear, their motivations are the same, and they don’t lie. We may see a hermit and it’s like, “Oh, gosh, that must be awful.” They are actually very happy. Something has happened that has made them finally be like, “Oh, this is where I’m more comfortable.” And that’s where Dillard was.

And so, when Negan enters his bar, he’s like, “Who are you?” We’ve both been doubted by a lot of people, so we have that in common. That sparked an immediate friendship and an ability to see each other the way others don’t see us. I bring in a little bit of weird. You see Negan with those glasses, and he can just be his straight-up weird self. And he brought Dillard this understanding of, “Humans are actually pretty cool. You don’t need to save so much space for walkers in your life. You can let humans in too.” It was a mutually beneficial love affair with friends. It only would have kept on going. They would have done everything together. Everything would have made sense. In my mind, the way I saw Dillard’s experience, they were set up for a real sweet life.

That first scene in Episode 7, when Dillard walks back into the bar to talk to Negan and Fabian’s bloody body is on the floor is pretty intense. He realizes Negan shot one of his walkers just before he shoots the other one. What was it like to share all of that with Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and to have the relationship that you built up over the other episodes really take a turn in that way?

SIMPSON: It was such a pleasure. All the beats were so emotionally grounded. Neither Negan nor Dillard strayed from who they are. Negan believes very strongly and has seen way more shit in the Walker world than Dillard has. Dillard’s contrast was that humans are tough, these guys are easy. Negan had to fight tooth and nail to stay alive, for years and years and years. So, he was just following his own impulse. It just happens that it clashed so deeply with Dillard’s emotional truth of how everybody else sees a Walker and thinks, “How do I get away from that?” And Dillard thinks, “Well, maybe we’re not giving these guys a fair shake.” Like any kind of creature with claws and nails that might be designed to kill, they still are true.

I thought the writers just set it up beautifully and the friendship was so tangible. Luckily, Jeffrey and I just fell in love with each other as bros, so that’s infused. All of that relationship was very authentic to me. And then, the clashing of belief systems, when he takes my family from me, it was deeply emotionally connected in a couple of ways. Not only were the walkers his family, and the ones that have never lied to him, tricked him, or done anything like that, but by taking them away, Negan took away our friendship, and that was the undiscovered country for Dillard of love. That was like, “Oh, this can be an addition to your life.” It’s why Dillard allowed himself to have a little crush and let go and really be at peace with humans.

So, to break all those things at once was the perfect way to crack a human being’s mind and to break their heart. And then, in the next scene, cutting your face and blaming someone else is generally not a sign that things are going great. That was just a perfect articulation of his emotional interior. That was such a joy to be able to have that little catalyst of, first, my family is taken away, my new friend is taken away, and then I start destroying myself because I’m so broken-hearted. Like any heartbroken person, you want the other person to feel the pain too. And so, that’s where that mission came from.

Dillard Is Out for Revenge Against Negan With the Events of Episode 7 in ‘The Walking Dead: Dead City’ Season 3

“He wants to take Maggie away from Negan.”

Image via AMC

The moment he decides he’s in charge and he kills Renata definitely crosses a line he can’t come back from. And then, he declares they’re also going to kill Maggie and not just Negan. Is he just completely out of his mind by that point? Does he have any rational thought left?

SIMPSON: No more out of his mind than someone who’s had their heart broken and then screams or has an interaction with that former lover and tells them off. It’s coming from a place that they believe is true, but as an outsider, you’re like, “Wow, you’re really overreacting.” When your friend has a broken heart, they don’t go and start murdering people, but they behave in ways that are just like, “Wow, that’s not serving you.” But you need to let them have that. So, Dillard’s experience just deeply turned up. Renata and Maggie are all deeply attached to Dillard’s love of Negan, and then broken heart because of Negan.

Saying “because” is just Dillard’s perception. Negan didn’t try to break his heart. He just happened to follow his own path, and that resulted in loss for Dillard. The goal is to make Negan feel pain. Once Negan broke his heart, Renata doesn’t matter. That’s just one more element that Dillard can be like, “I’ll take that.” I think Dillard had this deep perception on the quality of Maggie and Negan’s actual friendship, even though they’re always like, “Do I trust you?” He saw that there’s this storied connection that will probably inevitably last forever. And so, it wasn’t anything Maggie did that made Dillard want to kill Maggie. It’s Negan, and he wants to take Maggie away from Negan.

By the time that he puts the police uniform on, is he just a full-on villain by that point? Did you see that as his super villain costume?

SIMPSON: I saw that as a way for a person going through a thing to try to back up his broken, emotional inside. It’s also an abandonment of the peace he’d felt in the past two eras – the friendship with humans and his peace with the walker world. He’s like, “You’ve taken me back three eras to when I was a cop and I truly believed humans were disgusting, and when I thought that humans are damaging and a problem for the world. You forced me to go back there.” It wasn’t for effect. It was like, “I have nothing left besides this old me that I’ve really tried to let go, and I thought you had helped me, Negan, truly let it go. But you showed me that nothing changes, so I’ve got to go back to square one, where that was.” It all makes sense. I really love playing people that have insane situations and then react in a way that makes total sense to them, even though it might be outrageous to those watching. It’s all connected emotionally, very clearly, to me.

Jimmi Simpson Wouldn’t Want Dillard To End Up Any Other Way in ‘The Walking Dead: Dead City’

“It’s part of the reason I signed on to do this.”

When I spoke to Jeffrey Dean Morgan about the season, he thought that where Dillard ends up at the end of the season was the perfect ending for the character. Without spoilers about Dillard’s exact fate in the finale, how do you feel about where he was left? Would you have wanted something different for him? Do you also feel like it was the perfect ending for your character?

SIMPSON: It’s part of the reason I signed on to do this. I thought it was such a clear articulation of struggle and then homecoming. He would have lived happily ever after in his bar with his walkers. Maybe he would have to change them out as body parts fell. He only has so much tape and glue. It’s this community that accepted him and he finally became part of it. As I spoke to the showrunner about maybe doing the show, it was a pleasure to learn [that his ending] came with a sigh of relief. Truly, the ending is just irreplaceable. It all made sense to me. I was really grateful for that arc to be so thoughtful and complete from the team at Dead City.

The Walking Dead: Dead City airs on AMC.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Release Date

June 15, 2023

Network

Advertisement

AMC

Showrunner

Eli Jorne, Seth Hoffman

Advertisement

Directors

Kevin Dowling, Loren Yaconelli

Advertisement

Writers

Brenna Kouf

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Actor Brad Pitt is best known for Hollywood hits like “Fight Club” and “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” but his lucrative film roles played only a small part in his overall fortune. From his multi-million-dollar real estate portfolio to his powerful production company, Plan B Entertainment, here’s how the actor built his Hollywood empire.

5

Brad Pitt has a net worth of $400 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. This contrasts sharply with his ex-wife, Angelina Jolie, whose net worth is estimated at around $120 million.

The actor earned an upfront salary of $30 million for the 2025 Apple TV movie “F1,” which was a major payday for the actor. However, he also made $35 million to co-star with George Clooney in the 2024 movie “Wolfs.” If that wasn’t enough, he also made $40 million for the “Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood” sequel.

Inside His Plan B Production Company

5

Brad Pitt co-founded Plan B Entertainment in November 2001 with his then-wife Jennifer Aniston, super-producer Brad Grey, and several other executives. Following his divorce from the “Friends” star, he bought out her stake in the company for an undisclosed sum. Grey later left to run Paramount Pictures, leaving Pitt as the company’s sole owner.

It quickly became one of Hollywood’s most respected independent film production companies. In October 2022, it was revealed that Pitt sold a 60% stake in Plan B to French media conglomerate Mediawan, which reportedly valued the company at $300 million. The deal was structured as a 50/50 cash-and-stock deal, meaning Mediawan paid $90 million in cash and $90 million in equity to acquire a controlling interest.

Plan B’s films have generated over $3 billion at the worldwide box office. The company’s top-grossing title is “World War Z,” which brought in $530 million at the global box office, followed by “Troy,” which earned $483 million. Other notable titles include “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Ad Astra,” and “12 Years a Slave.”

Inside His Relationship With Angelina Jolie and Subsequent Divorce

5

Brad Pitt was married to Jennifer Aniston from 2000 to 2005. He then dated Angelina Jolie for nearly a decade before they married in 2014. They officially separated in 2016 and finalized their divorce in 2019, although legal battles over their financial affairs have continued for years following their split.

In January 2025, the couple finally reached a divorce settlement. Celebrity Net Worth noted that the couple had signed a prenuptial agreement before they wed in 2014, which would allow each of them to keep the assets that they brought into the marriage. They would divide any jointly accumulated capital when the marriage ended.

One of the most contentious parts of their divorce was Jolie’s sale of her stake in Château Miraval. They bought the French estate and vineyard while they were together and grew it into a thriving business known for its rosé. Pitt argued that he invested significant time and energy to turn the vineyard into a reputable brand.

The Château Miraval Debate Continues To This Day

5

In 2021, Jolie sold her 50% stake in Miraval to Tenute del Mondo, the wine division of the Stoli Group, for a reported $64 million. Pitt sued over the sale, arguing that she violated an agreement requiring his permission to sell her stake in the company. Jolie, however, argued that such an agreement never existed, and that she was free to sell at her discretion.

As of July 2026, Jolie asked a judge not to require her to turn over financial records dating back to 2017 in her ongoing legal battle over the vineyard. Jolie’s attorneys argued that Pitt had mischaracterized her previous claims by suggesting she alleged financial distress, as per PEOPLE magazine.

“The issue is not whether Jolie needed the money — the issue is that she was trying to untangle her life and her finances from her controlling and abusive ex-husband,” the court filing stated. “That distinction makes all the difference.”

Brad Pitt’s Relationship With His Children Remains Strained

5

According to PEOPLE, the actor remains hopeful he can mend his relationship with his children. Maddox, Zahara, Shiloh and, most recently, Vivienne have all sought to remove “Pitt” from their surnames.

Shiloh’s request was granted in 2024, while Vivienne’s petition has been scheduled for November 2, according to court documents. Zahara’s hearing is scheduled for September 28, and Maddox’s hearing is set for September 14.

The news comes amid a heartfelt confession from the actor, in which he revealed that he was no longer sober. “I was sober for seven years. And then I got back off the wagon. Yep, nope, not good for me.’ Not in big quantities,” he told Esquire.

He previously told PEOPLE magazine that he had begun his sobriety in 2016 and started attending AA meetings along with a 12-step program. “You had all these men sitting around being open and honest in a way I have never heard,” he said at the time. “It was this safe space where there was little judgment, and therefore little judgment of yourself.”

The Real Housewives of New York City’s Erin Lichy is hellbent on not being the only Housewife in the season 16 reunion hot seat.

“Yeah, I won’t be the only one,” Erin, 39, exclusively teased to Us on Tuesday, September 1, ahead of the hit Bravo show’s highly-anticipated Tuesday, September 8, season 16 premiere.

“I can tell you that — and actually, there are people that I will be putting in the hot seat as well,” she added. “Big time.”

Bravo fans met Erin in 2023 after she joined the rebooted season 14 RHONY cast. She’ll return for season 16 alongside costars Sai de Silva, Jessel Taank and Carole Radziwill, who previously appeared on seasons 5 through 10. New Housewives Hailey Glasman, Daisy Toye and Erika Hammond will also be joining the fold.

Related: RHONY’s Erin Lichy Teases ‘Really Intense’ Season 16: ‘A Lot of Passion’

The Real Housewives of New York City season 16 is sure to be one to remember, according to Erin Lichy. “We’re not ready. We aren’t, especially not me,” Erin, 39, exclusively told Us at the Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip 20th Anniversary event on Tuesday, August 4. “I’m nervous for it all, like, it was […]

While Erin declined to dish on what is sure to be a drama-filled reunion, Us also spoke exclusively to Jessel, 46, who was also quick to tease a very full reunion hot seat.

“I think it’s going to be a mixture between Erin and Daisy, 50/50 equal,” Jessel exclusively told Us on Tuesday. “Actually, no, I take that back — 70/30. Seventy Erin, 30 Daisy.”

As the Housewives prepare for the season 16 premiere and the upcoming reunion, Jessel shared her advice for the women who are new to filming a hit reality TV series.

“I feel like my biggest piece of advice is just be authentic, because the audience can see right through you,” she told Us. “You guys are way smarter than you know we could consider or believe. So I think it’s like they can smell through the bulls***, and I think the minute you try to be something you’re not, it really shows.”

As for her well-known and admitted pot-stirring costar Erin, the real estate agent and entrepreneur is continuing to ignore the comments section and the lingering misconceptions fans have about her character.

Thank You!

You have successfully subscribed.

Advertisement

Related: New ‘RHONY’ Cast Says They’re Already Like Sisters: ‘A Lot of Yelling’

The Real Housewives of New York City is about to return with a whole new cast — and the show’s stars are ready to bring new life to the long-running franchise. “Everyone has an opinion about everything,” Jessel Taank exclusively said of her costars in the new issue of Us Weekly. “‘What? You like watermelon […]

Advertisement

“I don’t really give a s*** what people think about me,” she teased on Tuesday, before admitting, “No, I’m kidding. Sometimes I do.”

She added, “I feel like people think that I’m so pampered, and I have worked so hard. I was not given anything. I mean, I definitely grew up in a comfortable way, and I grew up in New York City with a lot of opportunity but I have worked my ass off. And sometimes I feel like people don’t really realize that — a lot of people do, but a lot of people don’t. That kind of bugs me a little, but I’ll show them all.”

Season 16 of The Real Housewives of New York City premieres on Tuesday, September 8 at 8/7c on Bravo and streams the next day on Peacock.

A thriller can have the best premise in the world, but all of that comes crashing down if it peaks too soon. Everyone knows that the genre is nothing without escalation. That means every chapter has to make the situation worse or reveal something that completely changes what the audience thought they knew. If the tension just resets after every episode, that sense of danger completely disappears.

A good thriller knows exactly how to create a spiral where stopping feels impossible because every situation leaves something unresolved, just enough to make the audience want more. That is exactly when the genre is at its most addictive. These thriller shows understand that better than most and become more intense with every single episode.

10

‘Hijack’ (2023–Present)

Image via Apple TV

Hijack gets more stressful with every little development, and that’s the fun of the show. Hijack Season 1 unfolds in real time across a seven-hour flight to London that is taken over by armed hijackers, with business negotiator Sam Nelson (Idris Elba) trapped on board. Sam’s entire skill set is reading people and talking his way through impossible situations, but the show makes it very clear that he is not a perfect hero who can magically save the day. Sam operates by trying to understand what the hijackers want while authorities on the ground slowly piece together what is happening, while the plane continues getting closer to London. The pace of the show makes every little moment count. There is always a clock running in the background, and every episode removes another possible way out.

The show barely gives the audience enough time to feel comfortable before introducing another complication. This constant escalation never feels random because almost every problem grows naturally out of something that happened earlier. Season 2 finds a completely different way to create the same kind of pressure when Sam finds himself at the center of a hostage crisis aboard Berlin’s underground system, while authorities above ground scramble to protect hundreds of passengers. Changing the setting keeps Hijack from simply repeating its first trick, but the appeal of the series remains the same. The thriller show has mastered the art of tightening the noose, which is the very key to success in the genre.

9

‘Dept. Q’ (2025–Present)

Image via Netflix

Dept. Q starts like a fairly traditional cold-case drama but slowly transforms into something much more complex. The brilliant Netflix Original series follows detective Carl Morck (Matthew Goode), who returns to work after a shooting leaves one officer dead and his partner Hardy (Jamie Sives) paralyzed. Now, Carl is obviously carrying a lot of guilt about the whole situation, and his bosses have no idea what to do with him. They resort to making him the head of a newly created department for unsolved cases in the hopes that he will stay busy without ever really being involved in anything high-stakes. Carl initially treats the assignment like an insult until his new assistant Akram (Alexej Manvelov) pushes him toward the four-year-old disappearance of prosecutor Merritt Lingard (Chloe Pirrie).

As the story progresses, the audience learns that Merritt did not simply fall from a ferry as everyone believes. In fact, she is alive and being held captive somewhere, which completely changes the way the investigation plays out. Carl and Akram are slowly digging through old witnesses, forgotten evidence, and Merritt’s complicated past while the viewers know there is an actual person waiting for them to connect the dots. That structure is exactly why Dept. Q gets more intense with every episode. The first few chapters have enough room for the audience to know Carl as a person before the case completely takes over the picture. Dept. Q balances its character drama with a genuinely compelling mystery. The show doesn’t keep throwing twists at the audience, because it understands how to make the stakes feel urgent simply through great storytelling.

8

‘Giri/Haji’ (2019)

Image via BBC

Giri/Haji is a must-watch for every thriller enthusiast. The BBC and Netflix series follows Tokyo detective Kenzo Mori (Takehiro Hira), who is sent to London after evidence suggests that his supposedly dead brother Yuto (Yosuke Kubozuka) may actually be alive and connected to a murder that threatens to ignite a gang war back home. Kenzo’s mission is to find Yuto before the violence escalates and quietly bring him back to Japan. Of course, that’s easier said than done because once in London, he crosses paths with detective Sarah Weitzmann (Kelly Macdonald) and troubled sex worker Rodney Yamaguchi (Will Sharpe), while his teenage daughter Taki (Aoi Okuyama) eventually becomes caught up in the chaos as well.

The first few episodes take their time establishing all of these relationships, but once Kenzo gets closer to Yuto, everything starts coming together in unexpected ways. Every character brings another complication, and by the second half, Kenzo is no longer trying to solve one problem so much as prevent several lives from collapsing at once. The show keeps shifting its tone between action, dark comedy, and intimate family drama, but the change never feels abrupt. In fact, that unpredictability is exactly why the story keeps getting more intense with every conversation. The show’s escalation comes from its messy relationships and complex power dynamics, and that is far more interesting to watch than traditional action.

7

‘Mr. Robot’ (2015–2019)

Image via USA Network

Mr. Robot makes the audience question everything, all the time. The masterful thriller TV series follows the brilliant but extremely isolated programmer Elliot Alderson (Rami Malek), who works for cybersecurity firm Allsafe while secretly hacking people in his personal life. Things change when he is recruited by the mysterious Mr. Robot (Christian Slater) into fsociety, a hacktivist group planning to wipe out consumer debt by attacking the massive corporation E Corp. Elliot already hates everything the company represents, so joining the plan should be an easy decision. However, nothing in Mr. Robot is ever that simple. The deeper Elliot gets into fsociety, the more unstable his understanding of the people around him becomes. His relationships with Darlene (Carly Chaikin), Angela (Portia Doubleday), and increasingly dangerous figures like Tyrell Wellick (Martin Wallström) keep pulling him further into a conspiracy that becomes much bigger than one hack.

The series constantly shifts the ground beneath the audience, but that’s what makes the show so fun. The show gradually expands its stakes from personal paranoia to political manipulation and consequences that are far beyond Elliot’s control. Even then, the show feels increasingly claustrophobic as its scale expands. Malek delivers one of the best performances of his career. The series essentially traps the viewers inside Elliot’s perspective, which means that when he starts losing his grip on reality, the audience can’t tell the difference between what is real and what isn’t. That makes every little thing in the show feel dangerous, since the viewers are forced to question every motive and every missing piece of information.

6

‘Bodyguard’ (2018)

Image via BBC

Bodyguard wastes no time pretending like its protagonist has anything under control. The series follows former soldier David Budd (Richard Madden), who is now working as a protection officer for the Metropolitan Police, but still carrying severe trauma from his time in Afghanistan and barely holding his family together. Things get considerably worse when he is assigned to protect Home Secretary Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes), a powerful politician whose views on national security clash with almost everything David believes in. That tension becomes the engine of the series, because David is expected to keep Julia alive while increasingly questioning the policies she represents and the people surrounding her.

The first episode already sets the bar ridiculously high with the show’s iconic train sequence. From there, the stakes keep on rising as political threats get more serious, David’s personal life starts affecting his work, and it becomes impossible to tell whether the biggest danger is coming from terrorists or people inside the government. Bodyguard works by narrowing down David’s options until every decision he makes feels impossible. The series keeps taking away his ability to trust people, and this increasing sense of paranoia is what makes the show impossible to stop watching until the very end.

5

‘Fargo’ (2014–2024)

Image via FX

Fargo is inspired by the Coen brothers‘ film of the same name, which means that the show had big shoes to fill, and boy, did it do exactly that. The anthology series resets itself with each season of Fargo and features a new collection of interesting characters whose lives slowly collide. Season 1 begins with mild-mannered insurance salesman Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman) crossing paths with the terrifyingly unpredictable Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton), while later seasons jump across different decades and conflicts without losing that same basic formula where somebody does something stupid, someone else makes it worse, and soon enough, an entire town starts drowning in the consequences.

Fargo takes its time introducing its central characters and establishing their conflict. What’s interesting is how manageable these problems really are before they grow into chaos. The show is almost comedic in how viewers can often see disaster approaching long before the characters do, and every season finds a way to make that downward spiral feel differently entertaining. Fargo is best described as violent and absurd, which makes it a great fit for this list.

4

‘Mare of Easttown’ (2021)

Image via HBO

For a miniseries, Mare of Easttown is surprisingly expansive without overdoing it. The HBO show follows detective Mare Sheehan (Kate Winslet), who is investigating the murder of a teenage girl in a small Pennsylvania town where everyone seems to know everyone else’s business. The problem is that Mare is already carrying more than enough baggage before the case begins. Her son died by suicide, and she is in a custody battle for her grandson while dealing with the aftermath of her messy divorce. The stakes get even messier when the disappearance of yet another girl leaves the town questioning whether Mare is actually capable of protecting anyone.

The show’s small-town setting is what makes this premise feel all the more suffocating. Every new suspect is connected to someone Mare knows personally, and every clue threatens to blow up another relationship. The series keeps widening the case without losing focus, while also weaving in family secrets and years-old grudges into the narrative. Winslet is truly the star of the show and portrays Mare’s exhaustion, stubbornness, and anger with perfect conviction. The protagonist is rough around the edges, which grounds the show’s otherwise sprawling mystery in something painfully human, and that is what makes Mare of Easttown such a hard-hitting thriller.

3

‘Mindhunter’ (2017–2019)

Image via Netflix

Mindhunter is one of the greatest thrillers of all time, which is what makes its untimely cancelation all the more frustrating. The Netflix series follows FBI agents Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) alongside psychologist Wendy Carr (Anna Torv) as they begin interviewing imprisoned killers in the late 1970s to understand what drives people to commit this kind of violence. The series covers the very early days of criminal profiling and fictionalizes real-life killers, including Edmund Kemper (Cameron Britton), Richard Speck (Jack Erdie), and Charles Manson (Damon Herriman).

The unsettling part is that most of the show unfolds through conversations, since the team isn’t actively hunting killers. The tension comes from watching Holden and Bill sit across from people who describe horrific crimes with an almost disturbing calmness. Every interview gives the team more insight into how these killers think, but it also pushes them further into material that starts affecting their judgment and sense of normalcy. Mindhunter builds this psychological pressure by showing how the project starts bleeding into Holden and Bill’s personal lives. By the time an episode ends, the most chilling thing is not usually what happened in the past, but how normal these conversations start to sound.

2

‘Dark’ (2017–2020)

Image via Netflix

Dark is the kind of thriller where the audience never knows what might happen next. Netflix’s first-ever German-language series begins in the small town of Winden, where teenager Jonas Kahnwald (Louis Hofmann) returns home after spending time in psychiatric treatment following his father’s suicide. Around the same time, a local boy disappears near a cave system outside town. However, this isn’t a typical missing-person case because the caves contain a wormhole that connects different periods in Winden’s history. Soon enough, the audience realizes that the town is hiding something dark, with four families at the center of it all, linked across generations in ways none of them fully understand.

Every episode in Dark reveals another connection between the past, present, and future, but each answer usually creates an even more complicated question. Characters who initially seem unrelated suddenly turn out to be essential to someone else’s story, family trees become almost impossible to make sense of, and tiny details from earlier episodes can completely change meaning once the timeline expands. The show demands attention, but it rewards it better than almost any sci-fi thriller. Nothing in Dark is ever random, and this kind of intentional storytelling is its greatest strength. It also gives the series ridiculous rewatch value, which is very rare with thrillers.

1

‘Twin Peaks’ (1990–1991)

Image via ABC

Twin Peaks is the blueprint for the modern mystery thriller. Long before slow-burn investigations were a thing, David Lynch and Mark Frost were already doing all of it in 1990. The series begins with the murder of high school student Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), whose body is discovered wrapped in plastic near the town of Twin Peaks. FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) arrives to investigate the case, but it quickly becomes obvious that solving Laura’s murder is only the beginning. Almost everyone in town is hiding something, and the deeper Cooper looks, the stranger the town starts to feel. Twin Peaks was revolutionary in how confidently it moved between genres.

The same episode would go from murder mystery to soap opera, surreal horror, and even comedy without ever losing the sense of the central narrative. The primary tension in the show comes from the fact that neither the characters nor the audience fully understand the forces at play in Twin Peaks. That uncertainty gives the show a strange rhythm that thrillers are now known for. Twin Peaks never explains itself and trusts the audience to sit with ambiguity. Twin Peaks popularized eerie small-town secrets, the fractured timelines, the dream logic, and the genre’s obsession with hidden identities. The show eventually returned decades later with a reboot, Twin Peaks: The Return, and while the revival was excellent in its own right, the original run still has a magic that is almost impossible to replicate.

Advertisement

Twin Peaks

Advertisement

Release Date

1990 – 1991-00-00

Directors

Advertisement

Lesli Linka Glatter, Caleb Deschanel, Duwayne Dunham, Tim Hunter, Todd Holland, Tina Rathborne, Diane Keaton, Graeme Clifford, James Foley, Jonathan Sanger, Mark Frost, Stephen Gyllenhaal

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement