“Full House” alum Candace Cameron Bure is one of 15 celebrities set to compete on season five of Fox’s “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test.” Ahead of the show, which premieres on September 24, the beloved actress is opening up about her experience, calling it one of the most challenging things she’s done in her life.

Candace Cameron Bure Had A Difficult Time On ‘Special Forces’ Season 5

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Bure was announced to be part of the cast of “Special Forces” in July 2026. Months later, she told Us Weekly that she wanted to quit the hit competition series because of the difficulty of the challenges.

She said, “I was ready to quit the show. Like, I was ready to quit. I was like, ‘I don’t know if I want to keep going.” The “Full House” actress explained, “It was physically the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life — and yet it was exciting, but brutal.”

Still, Bure appreciates the experience. According to her, “In retrospect — now that I’m not there in the jungle — I’m so glad I participated, said yes, and showed up. I’m really proud of myself for that. But it was really hard — physically and mentally — and you learn a whole lot about yourself, particularly your weaknesses.”

She then reflected on her journey, saying, “I don’t know if there’s any preparation. I’ll just tell you, I’m a big crybaby. Also being in perimenopause, your hormones are all over the place. I think that it truly was another reason why I wanted to do it because I was going in hoping I would inspire other women my age going through that.”

The Actress Revealed Her ‘Biggest Takeaway’ From The Show

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Bure continued her Us Weekly interview by admitting that she was a bit fearful to watch the show after experiencing the rigorous challenges, noting that she “cried way more than” she cared to own up to.

She said, “I don’t even know what we’re gonna watch back. I might be cowering and so embarrassed to see what’s gonna happen. I don’t really know.”

Bure added about the show, “But those interrogations, they were actually scary. I didn’t know the Directing Staff well, and they have such a presence, and they are really all beautiful people. But in the moment, you’re in this fight-or-flight stage, and it’s just scary. So I cried a whole lot.” 

Regarding her “biggest takeaway,” the mom of three said her abilities as a teammate aren’t where she’d like them to be, and she plans to improve in real life. She explained, “You are fighting for your life out there, and when you get put in those situations, it’s fight or flight. You either stand up to it or you want to run. That’s the emotional reaction that most people have.”

She continued, “I realize, like, I’m a flyer. Yet you have other people to care for, and that’s where I got really disappointed with myself that I let my fear get the best of me, but that also meant not just for me, but for the other people that I was with.”

Candace Cameron Bure Will Be Competing Against 14 Other Celebs On ‘Special Forces’

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As mentioned, Fox announced the cast of “Special Forces” season five in July 2026. In addition to Bure, it includes Brandi Glanville, Mauricio Umansky, Alexia Umansky, Ruby Rose, Collin Gosselin, Matt Barnes, Bre Tiesi, David Charvet, and several others.

The show features celebrities competing in military-style challenges. Unlike other reality shows in the genre, there are no votes or traditional eliminations. Instead, contestants either exit the competition on their own or are deemed medically unfit to continue. In some cases, the directing staff can remove players for other reasons.

The Actress Previously Turned Down The Show

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Following the news of her casting, Bure spoke to TV Insider in August 2026 and revealed that she’d been asked to join “Special Forces” in the past.

According to her, “I really love physical fitness, and I’m a very competitive person. I actually was offered this show a few seasons ago, and I passed, ultimately out of fear.” However, more recently, she “stepped up” her “fitness game” and then had a change of heart.

Bure explained, “So when the show offer came back around, I took a deep breath and thought to myself, ‘I think this is the opportunity and the timing that I need to say yes to.”

She Has Multiple Christmas Movies Releasing This Year

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In addition to “Special Forces,” Bure has two new movies releasing in 2026. The first, “A Second Chance Christmas,” will premiere on October 8 on Great American Pure Flix, then arrive on Great American Family and GFAM+ two days later.

After that, “A Sweet Christmas Anniversary,” the third movie in the series, will arrive on November 24 on Great American Pure Flix and then on the 27th on Great American Family and GFAM+.

Hayley Williams has broken her silence after her ex-husband, New Found Glory guitarist Chad Gilbert, died at 45.

“Have not known what to say or if it’s appropriate, but I feel sure now that I want to [because] life is made of the paths we cross and the reasons we cross them are infinite,” the Paramore singer, 37, wrote via her Instagram Stories on Wednesday, September 23. “Chad is indeed a legend in the scene, and my time connected to him taught me a lot.”

Williams was married to Gilbert from 2016 to 2017 after a decade of dating. Following their divorce, Williams moved on with Taylor York, while Gilbert found love with wife Lisa Cimorelli. The guitarist died on Sunday, September 20, after a battle with brain cancer.

“He introduced me to people that continue to shape my life in beautiful ways and to music and culture that has made life a lot richer,” Williams recalled of her ex-husband in the statement. “There isn’t much that hasn’t already been said about what contributed to the musical world a lot of us grew up in.”

Related: New Found Glory Guitarist Chad Gilbert Dead at 45 After Brain Cancer

New Found Glory guitarist Chad Gilbert has died following a battle with brain cancer. He was 45. “He left this world surrounded by friends and family and took his final breaths with his wife and mother by his side, just as he wished,” Gilbert’s wife, Lisa Cimorelli, wrote in an Instagram statement shared on Sunday, […]

She continued, “His influence and attitude guided the genre forward. His passion for fostering the community was inspiring and sticks with me. I will forever be grateful that, from him, I gained a deeper understanding and a reverence for the community and the culture of hardcore.”

Williams further sent “love and [her] sympathies” to Gilbert’s family, New Found Glory bandmates and “all his friends.”

Gilbert is survived by his mother and his brother, in addition to Cimorelli, 33, and their 5-year-old daughter, Lily.

“It’s clear to me that an immeasurable amount of people saw how incredible Chad was, what an inspiration he was, and how bright his light really shined,” Cimorelli wrote via Instagram on Wednesday. “It’s been such a blessing to read all the stories and memories of how many lives he touched. I felt a little lighter today going through our old memories.”

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Related: Hayley Williams Reveals How She and Taylor Swift Became Friends 

Rick Diamond/Getty Images for CMT Taylor Swift owes her long-lasting friendship with Paramore’s Hayley Williams to one special person — mom Andrea Swift.  “[Me and Taylor] were at some Grammy party — it was actually Timbaland’s Grammy party. Huge. I was very nervous, but a woman came up to me and she said, ‘I’m Taylor […]

She added in her emotional tribute, “He loved so hard, gave so much and constantly emptied himself for me. That needed to be guarded and luckily I was the right person for the job. It was truly an honor and a privilege to be chosen by him. I told him I felt unworthy of so much love and attention early on, but he would teach me about God’s love and build me up so much in those moments. He was truly so, so, so special. So precious.”

Cimorelli further noted that “life will never be the same without” Gilbert, but she plans to follow her late spouse’s example to be “selfless, generous [and] courageous” in his honor moving forward.

“[I will] not let that legacy ever fade,” she concluded. “His love was superhuman and he was my super man. Rest in peace, baby.”

Johnny Depp is back in action in the first trailer for Day Drinker, the upcoming supernatural revenge thriller from Lionsgate.

Directed by Marc Webb, the film stars Madelyn Cline as Lorna, a bartender working aboard a private yacht who crosses paths with a mysterious passenger named Kelly, played by Depp. Their encounter quickly pulls them into a dangerous criminal underworld, where nothing appears to be quite what it seems.

The newly released trailer offers the first extended look at Depp’s mysterious character and teases a bloody story of revenge with a supernatural edge.

“You thought I was fucking done?” Depp’s character declares in the footage. “I’m done when I say I’m done.”

Penélope Cruz also stars as Cara, a powerful figure whose involvement adds another layer to the increasingly dangerous situation.

Day Drinker marks the fourth film collaboration between Depp and Cruz. The pair previously appeared together in Blow, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Murder on the Orient Express.

The film also reunites Depp with a major Hollywood studio release and puts him at the center of a decidedly darker project from Webb, whose previous directing credits include 500 Days of Summer and The Amazing Spider-Man films.

Written by Zach Dean, Day Drinker also stars Manu Ríos, Arón Piper, Juan Diego Botto and Anika Boyle.

Day Drinker arrives exclusively in theaters March 26, 2027.

Taylor Frankie Paul is stepping further away from the spotlight after announcing her exit from “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.”

The reality star has now wiped her Instagram feed and handed her social media accounts to her assistant. The move comes days after Taylor announced that she no longer wanted to continue with the Hulu series.

Taylor Frankie Paul has been part of “SLOMW” since its first season in 2024. Her time on the series has increasingly been surrounded by cast conflict and controversy, including tensions following her reported legal issues involving ex Dakota Mortensen.

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Followers noticed the change on Wednesday, September 23, when Taylor’s Instagram feed suddenly had no posts. Her bio also revealed that someone else would temporarily be handling the account. It read, “Assistant here @madshellander running her account for a bit.”

Taylor’s assistant, Maddy, later explained the change through an Instagram Story. “Hi guys, I’m Maddy—Taylor’s assistant. I will be helping her with socials for a bit,” she wrote. She added that followers could continue sending inquiries through Taylor’s direct messages.

Maddy also defended her role after criticism over a glimpse into her workday. She explained, “I’m here to help Taylor however it may be that day.”

She added that there was “much more that goes on outside of social media” before asking people not to judge their daily activities. The social media move follows Taylor’s announcement that she was leaving the reality show. 

The 32-Year-Old’s Exit From ‘SLOMW’ Came With Fan Support

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Taylor announced her departure from “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” on September 21. She thanked the networks that supported her but said, “I don’t desire to move forward like this.” She also explained that she had previously been willing to leave so the other women could continue with less stress.

Her announcement arrived during a difficult period for the cast. Mikayla Matthews had already said she would not return if Taylor remained involved with the show. Mayci Neeley and Layla Taylor had also expressed uncertainty about returning for another season.

Fans responded to Taylor’s announcement with messages of support. One commenter wrote, “Fully support you, Taylor. I agree with everything here.” Another praised her for “finally addressing the bullying,” while others criticized how some cast members had treated her.

Taylor also accused some of her co-stars of collectively piling on after knowing what she had experienced, as per The Blast. She claimed there had been “ongoing abuse through the system the last 8 months.” She later described the situation as “bullying for months now” and said she was “relieved to be out.”

Taylor Frankie Paul’s ‘SLOMW’ Exit Not Enough To Lure Mikayla Matthews Back

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Mikayla has made it clear that Taylor’s departure has not changed her decision. She directly addressed questions about whether she might reconsider after Taylor announced her own exit. “To answer your question, no, I will not be coming back,” Mikayla wrote.

Mikayla said she was the only cast member who chose to leave for “MANY reasons.” She also said she had repeatedly taken her concerns to the “right people” and believed there were “so many things wrong with this situation.”

Her comments made clear that her decision was based on more than one issue. Mikayla also called for broader changes surrounding the situation.

“I think we can collectively agree that a lot of changes need to be made,” she said in an Instagram Story. She acknowledged that she could not predict what might happen in the future. Mikayla had previously tied her decision directly to Taylor’s return.

The Blast noted that she said she agreed to film because Taylor was not involved, but changed her mind after production allowed Taylor back. Mikayla said she told production, “Great, then I will not be participating, god bless and goodbye.”

The Reality Star Gets Pulled Into Another MomTok Clash

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Taylor’s show exit has also unfolded alongside another public disagreement involving Miranda Hope. The Blast reported that the latest exchange began after Emma Ellis posted a video featuring Chase McWhorter, Hope’s ex-husband. Taylor responded with an “I’m kind of jealous” sticker after McWhorter appeared to lean toward kissing Ellis.

Hope responded with a sticker calling Taylor a “B-tch” and accusing her of being on “some weird sh-t.” Other commenters also criticized Taylor’s response, with one calling it “Another day, another double standard from TFP.” Another person questioned whether Taylor was “on drugs again, sweetie.” The exchange drew mixed reactions from viewers. 

One commenter suggested Taylor meant she was jealous that McWhorter could kiss Ellis. Others were less sympathetic and questioned why she would comment publicly. The tension also revived questions about Taylor and Hope’s complicated history. Their friendship has previously been described as existing in a “gray area.” 

Taylor Frankie Paul’s ‘SLOMW’ Cast Tensions Run Deeper

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The latest clash is not the only disagreement Taylor has faced with members of her “SLOMW” circle. Earlier tensions with Mikayla included accusations that Taylor reminded the group she was responsible for certain opportunities.

Mikayla later described that behavior as “weaponizing and manipulating your following” to maintain a “power position.” The disagreements became more serious when production on Season 5 was halted amid Taylor’s legal troubles involving ex Dakota. 

A majority of the cast reportedly refused to film with Taylor during the height of the situation, creating a major roadblock for production. Mikayla had also previously said she wanted to keep her distance from Taylor and Dakota while the legal drama was unfolding.

Taylor was expected to appear in the first half of Season 5, but some of her scenes were reportedly filmed separately from the other cast members.

She reportedly entered a rehab facility while dealing with the fallout surrounding her split, court restrictions, and television career. Taylor has since spoken about trying to move beyond the distrust and resentment surrounding her recent experiences. She said she feels “at war” and is “afraid of who I can trust.” 

What will Taylor Frankie Paul do next?

The X-Men have spent decades trying to build a future for mutants, and the team from the ’90s animated series knows better than most how hard that can be. They’ve fought Sentinels, watched their friends become enemies, and kept fighting for Xavier’s dream even when the world gave them every reason to give up on it. Marvel’s next story for this version of the team puts that dream to a test that punching a villain won’t solve.

An incursion brings two Earths together, and neither survives the collision unless someone makes an awful choice first. Marvel has already lined up five one-shots exploring the final days before Secret Wars, each with a different set of heroes caught between their own world and someone else’s. The ’90s X-Men are about to discover that the people on the other Earth believe in the same future they do.

In X-Men ’92: Incursions #1, the team inspired by X-Men: The Animated Series faces the younger mutants of X-Men: Evolution. The one-shot, written by Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost with art by Salva Espin, goes on sale January 6, 2027. Marvel announced the Incursions lineup in August, but its latest release confirms the full schedule and brings this particular matchup back into focus. The older X-Men must save their Earth knowing that victory could mean destroying a world inhabited by younger versions of themselves.

‘X-Men ’92’ Is Bringing an Old Fan Debate Into ‘Secret Wars’

It’s a matchup that invites fans to compare two animated teams, but the premise gives them a much worse question to argue about. The X-Men: Evolution characters are still young enough to believe Xavier’s dream can work, while their older counterparts know how much they’ve had to sacrifice to keep pursuing it. If the ’90s team chooses its own survival, it may wipe out the very hope it claims to protect. And if it refuses to fight, both Earths could be lost. They aren’t the only mutants facing that choice. The separate X-Men: Incursions #1 arrives November 18, pitting the mutant-dominated reality of House of M against the future of Days of Future Past. Alex Paknadel and Jim Towe’s story leaves Kate Pryde just eight hours to decide which world survives. It’s the first of the five one-shots, setting the stakes before the animated teams meet in January.

Marvel’s other collisions are just as personal. Spider-Gwen faces Mayday Parker when Earth-65 meets Earth-982 in Spider-Man: Incursions #1 on December 9. A gamma-powered Fantastic Four and cosmic-powered Bruce Banner arrive in Fantastic Four: Incursions #1 on December 23, while January 20’s Avengers: Incursions #1 sends Thanos and his Cabal against a world where the founding Avengers are still together. Those fights offer no easy way out, but the X-Men ’92 issue has an especially nasty twist: this team has to decide whether the mutants it once was deserve a future more than the mutants it has become.

The Season 4 finale of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds gave us a glimpse of the future as two versions of the USS Enterprise crossed paths on either side of a black hole. Just one year from the current timeline, the Enterprise will officially be in the hands of Captain Kirk (Paul Wesley). While some of his crew will look very familiar with the likes of Uhura (Celia Gooding), Scotty (Martin Quinn), and Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush), Kirk’s Enterprise will introduce a few more characters we haven’t seen since The Original Series.

I recently sat down with Paul Wesley to discuss the final episodes of Strange New Worlds Season 4, and during our discussion about the finale, I asked what the early days of Kirk’s Enterprise might look like to him. He explained that these episodes — and the ones that await in Season 5, are giving him the tools to become the Kirk we know and love. He told Collider:

“First of all, I think all of these episodes with Reger, whatever, all these things that he’s experienced are giving him the tools to understand who he wants to be as a captain. And I think for me, when I took this role, one of my goals was to create an arc and an evolution from this guy who’s not necessarily sure of himself, doesn’t really understand who he is as a captain, to eventually becoming someone who understands who he is. I think all of these things — figuring out who his father is, understanding his relationship with his son, falling in love — all of these things allow him to better understand himself for better and for worse. In some ways, he’s scarred. In some ways he’s grown. I think all of those things hopefully culminate in this final season, in the finale, in seeing this guy that is oddly familiar to us.”

As we head into the final season — which is expected to bring the prequel series full circle and drop audiences off at the beginning of The Original Series — fans can also expect to meet a few more members of Kirk’s crew before the show ends. Late last year, it was revealed that Thomas Jane and Kai Murakami had been cast in the series as Bones and Sulu​​​​​​, respectively. Speaking about what made these two actors the right people to round out Kirk’s beloved crew, Wesley said: “The only thing I can say is that I know that some of the magic of TOS, The Original Series, was the chemistry that all those characters had with one another — all those actors had with one another, I should say — and I will say that when we were shooting, I felt that. I felt this kind of like, “Oh, this is working. He feels like Bones,” and “Oh, he feels like Sulu.” It just kind of clicked. We all kind of clicked in terms of just our chemistry on screen, and so I’m very excited for people to see it because I do think it has a similar kind of magical quality to it that is not necessarily explainable.”

‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Is Abandoning Its Winning Formula for Season 5

With a shortened final season of only six episodes, Strange New Worlds is officially putting one of its best features aside to make sure it lands the ship, so to speak, for the characters. When asked if there would still be big genre swings, Wesley told Collider, “I will say it’s a little bit not as much, because this is a show that is a huge ensemble and every character has to conclude their character arc.” Akiva Goldsman, speaking to Collider in another interview, also confirmed there would essentially be “no genre hopping” in Season 5. But as Wesley explains, Goldsman and co-showrunner Henry Alonso Myers will be using these final episodes to make sure these characters get a fitting send-off​​​​​​. “Because there are only six [episodes], there’s less flexibility to have those kinds of fantastical episodes, said Wesley. “It’s going to be more just like a conclusion to these wonderful characters that we all have been thankfully blessed with, because a lot of shows end and you don’t get to conclude things.”

Within these final episodes, Wesley is particularly proud of the work he’s done with Ethan Peck to fill out the early years of Kirk and Spock’s relationship, a relationship that Wesley rightfully calls the most important in the franchise. Telling Collider what he’s most pleased with from his work on the series, Wesley said:

“It’s so hard to put that into words because there have been so many moments. But I will say, my friendship with Ethan [Peck] is very important, my friendship with Christie, and I think some of that shows onscreen. Some of the stuff that Spock and I do in the finale, frankly, the series finale, is really special because the Spock-Kirk relationship is arguably the most important relationship of the entire story, from all the Star Treks. I guess I’m a little partial to that, but I am proud of what we accomplished together on screen throughout this series.”

Wesley couldn’t end the conversation without giving Anson Mount his flowers for his work as Captain Pike. When asked about a time in these episodes where one of his castmates blew him away with their performance, Wesley was quick to praise the whole ensemble, saying, “It happens often. They’re all so talented, so it happens often. I’ve seen all of them do special things, very, very special things.” But much like Kirk himself, Wesley was particularly impressed with everything Mount brought to Star Trek’s original Captain. “I’m always amazed at Anson [Mount]’s ability to portray such a… I actually look at Anson, and I go, “Oh, wow, he’s a captain.” And I think in many ways, Kirk, as a lieutenant who’s around Pike all the time, takes a lot of Pike’s gravitas and his ability to lead and learn from that,” Wesley explained. “So, certainly me as an actor, I was able to look at Anson’s performance and go, “Oh, I want to do that. That’s how I want Kirk to be one day.”

The Season 4 finale of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is now streaming on Paramount+. Season 5 is expected to air sometime next year. Stay tuned at Collider for more.

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Release Date

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2022 – 2027-00-00

Network

Paramount+

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Showrunner

Henry Alonso Myers, Akiva Goldsman

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Directors

Dan Liu, Amanda Row, Maja Vrvilo, Akiva Goldsman, Dermott Downs, Eduardo Sánchez, Jeffrey W. Byrd, Jonathan Frakes, Jordan Canning, Leslie Hope, Valerie Weiss, Sydney Freeland, Christopher J. Byrne, Rachel Leiterman

Writers

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Onitra Johnson

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Thrillers tend to focus on the plot, engaging readers with clever twists, mysterious characters, and relentless pacing. However, the genre’s best novels serve up stellar prose alongside the tense storytelling; indeed, they are finely constructed on a sentence-by-sentence level.

With that in mind, this list looks at some of the best-written thriller books of the last quarter-century. Some blur the boundaries between literary fiction and genre writing, while others incorporate elements of horror or historical fiction. Despite their differences, all the titles below boast exceptional technical skill.

‘My Sister, the Serial Killer’ (2018)

Image via Doubleday

“The most loving parents and relatives commit murder with smiles on their faces.” Korede is a hardworking nurse whose younger sister Ayoola has an alarming habit of killing her boyfriends, allegedly in self-defense. Each time it happens, Korede quietly helps dispose of the evidence, convincing herself that protecting her family is the right thing to do. However, that fragile arrangement begins collapsing when Ayoola develops an interest in the man Korede secretly loves. Korede grows increasingly concerned that he will be her sister’s next victim.

It’s an intriguing premise that Nigerian author Oyinkan Braithwaite spins into a tense dark comedy rippling with psychological tension and barbed social commentary. This debut novel earned rave reviews and took home the 2019 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Best Mystery/Thriller.

‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ (2018)

Image via G.P. Putnam’s Sons

“There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot.” This one was adapted into a so-so movie starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, though the original novel is a lot stronger. The story alternates between Kya Clark’s isolated childhood in the marshes of North Carolina and the later investigation into the death of local celebrity Chase Andrews. As the timelines gradually converge, we come to understand the protagonist’s years of loneliness and quiet observation.

Along the way, Where the Crawdads Sing melds several styles and subgenres, including drama and coming-of-age, all of them united by the expertly sustained murder mystery. It’s a tricky balancing act that author Delia Owens pulls off with aplomb. She also excels at her descriptions of nature, practically turning the marsh into a character in its own right. Not for nothing, the book was a runaway success, selling well over 18 million copies.

‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ (2005)

Image via Norstedts Förlag

“People always have secrets. It’s just a matter of finding out what they are.” Published only after author Stieg Larsson‘s death, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was an immediate global sensation, hugely reshaping thriller writing in the late 2000s. The plot pairs journalist Mikael Blomkvist with the brilliant hacker Lisbeth Salander as they reopen the decades-old disappearance of Harriet Vanger, a mystery that has haunted one of Sweden’s wealthiest families for generations.

Harking back to the great mystery tradition, the plotting here is masterful, loaded with misdirection and subtle clues that first appear insignificant but later turn out to be crucial. Complementing this, the prose style is economical and punchy, written in plain language and deploying a dry but effective procedural tone. It’s brisk and clear and keeps the pages turning the whole way through.

‘Gone Girl’ (2012)

Image via Phoenix

“Like a child, I picture opening her skull, unspooling her brain and sifting through it…” Gone Girl has already cemented its reputation as one of the most impactful thrillers of the century so far. It begins with the disappearance of Amy Dunne on her fifth wedding anniversary, leaving her husband Nick under immediate suspicion. Competing narratives emerge, and hidden motivations come to light, forcing readers to reconsider everything they believed they understood about both characters.

The book plays the audience like a fiddle, hitting us with red herrings and shocking narrative switcheroos, and keeping the psychological tension at a fever pitch. The writing style is sharp and cynical, almost cold to the touch, filled with dark humor and sharp cultural critique. The best example is the iconic “Cool Girl” monologue, which is masterful even without Rosamund Pike‘s brilliant delivery.

‘A Brief History of Seven Killings’ (2014)

Image via Riverhead Books

“Reason is for rich people. We have madness.” Although it extends far beyond conventional thriller boundaries, A Brief History of Seven Killings contains enough political intrigue, assassination plots, criminal conspiracies, and white-knuckle action to please the genre’s fans. Inspired by the attempted assassination of iconic singer Bob Marley in 1976, the novel follows an enormous cast of politicians, gang leaders, journalists, intelligence operatives, and ordinary citizens as decades of violence reshape both Jamaica and the wider world.

Along the way, the writing style effortlessly shifts between several distinct narrative voices, each possessing a singular rhythm and vocabulary. It’s symphonic and energetic, full of stream-of-consciousness and unfiltered, racing thoughts. The imagery is larger than life, too, making the characters and settings (and the unflinching violence) practically leap off the page. It’s all quite musical, influenced by reggae and hip-hop.

’11/22/63′ (2011)

Image via Scribner

“We never know which lives we influence, or when, or why.” 11/22/63 ranks among the very best of Stephen King‘s 2010s output, confidently blending thriller mechanics with time travel, historical fiction, and romance. In it, English teacher Jake Epping discovers a portal leading to 1958. Presented with the opportunity to prevent JFK‘s assassination, he embarks upon a mission that becomes far more complicated than he ever imagined. Every attempt to alter history creates unforeseen consequences, and the past itself appears determined to resist being changed.

This premise could easily have crashed and burned into a pulpy mess, yet King pulls it off gracefully, resulting in one of his most enjoyable and well-rounded stories from that period. The main characters are compelling and likable, the plot is always engaging, and, despite the immense narrative ambition, the emotional weight never falters, even across 800-plus pages.

‘The God of the Woods’ (2024)

Image via Riverhead Books

“He liked to trick people, to confuse and disorient them until they lost their bearings, and their minds.” The God of the Woods is the most recent novel by Liz Moore, who also wrote Long Bright River. Set around an Adirondack summer camp in the 1970s, the story begins with the disappearance of thirteen-year-old Barbara Van Laar, whose older brother vanished under similarly mysterious circumstances years earlier. Investigators, family members, camp staff, and locals become entangled in the search, dredging up secrets and traumas that have shaped the community for decades.

What we have here is an unusually intelligent crime novel, one that combines expert pacing with genuine psychological depth. Rather than relying on constant twists, the novel patiently builds suspense through layered perspectives, carefully revealed history, and richly developed relationships. Moore’s handling of multiple timelines is particularly impressive as well.

‘In the Woods’ (2007)

Image via Penguin Books

“I had learned early to assume something dark and lethal hidden at the heart of anything I loved.” This psychological mystery (Tana French‘s first book) swept the thriller awards circuit in 2008, including winning an Edgar Award. It follows Dublin detectives Rob Ryan and Cassie Maddox as they look into the murder of a twelve-year-old girl in the same woods where, twenty years earlier, two of Rob’s s childhood friends disappeared without explanation. Rob himself was found traumatized and unable to remember what happened.

French builds this setup into a truly haunting thriller, nimbly fusing police procedural and character study. Perhaps most of all, In the Woods stands out from most crime novels thanks to its three-dimensional characters, who react to their circumstances in believable ways. It also paints a vivid, immersive portrait of contemporary Ireland, another element that gives the book a lot of personality.

‘Mystic River’ (2001)

Image via William Morrow

“The person you love is rarely worthy of how big your love is.” Many readers will know this one from the phenomenal film adaptation directed by Clint Eastwood. Mystic River is the magnum opus of author and screenwriter Dennis Lehane, who also penned Shutter Island and Small Mercies. The novel revolves around childhood friends Jimmy Marcus, Sean Devine, and Dave Boyle, whose lives were permanently altered after a traumatic event in their youth.

When Jimmy’s teenage daughter is murdered decades later, the investigation forces all three men to confront painful memories they have spent years trying to bury. This sets the stage for a heartbreaking mystery/drama hybrid, one that at times feels like a Greek tragedy set in a suburban setting that’s both simultaneously familiar and alien. It’s melancholy and thematically dense, with so much to say about stolen innocence, tribal loyalties, and the way violence propagates across generations.

‘London Falling’ (2026)

Image via Doubleday

“If you misstepped on a slick cobble after a night out drinking, the black water could suck you under in an instant.” Although it’s a work of nonfiction, London Falling reads like the tensest thriller. Written by Say Nothing‘s Patrick Radden Keefe, it’s an investigation into the death of the ordinary English teenager Zac Brettler, who leaped into the River Thames in 2019. However, as the author digs deeper, he finds out that Zac had been hanging out with several potentially unsavory businessmen… and telling them that he was the son of a Russian oligarch.

In piecing together the chain of events that led up to Zac’s death, Keefe constructs a grim but compelling portrait of an entire city, one where crime and corruption roil beneath the surface, and the authorities frequently turn a blind eye to wrongdoing by those with money and power. It’s a remarkable, compulsively readable book but also a rather sobering and somber experience.

Apple TV has thoroughly earned its illustrious reputation as the home for sci-fi series that, in terms of quantity and consistent quality, one can’t find on other streamers. By and large, the platform’s flagship shows (Pluribus, Severance, Silo) and their hidden gems (Constellation) are unconventional, cerebral, daringly complex, and meticulously constructed. Although creative partners Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar have worked with Netflix thus far in their joint career, the pair’s television projects deserve to be in the same conversation as their Apple TV counterparts — as visionary masterpieces simultaneously perfecting and reinventing the genre’s fundamentals.

In 2022, the unpredictably ingenious pair followed up Dark, their existential time travel thriller, with the formidable 1899. Equal parts period piece, sci-fi horror, and murder mystery, 1899 concerns itself with the convergence of hundreds of 20th-century strangers aboard a state-of-the-art steamship bound for New York. Friese and bo Odar’s second series is perhaps the first legitimate successor to Lost: a one-season wonder, it’s enthralling, sinister, marvelously perplexing, intricate enough to warrant viewers’ rapt attention, and — despite those superlative descriptions — halfway to indescribable.

What Is ‘1899’ About?

Each passenger on the Kerberos is trying to escape the secrets, scandals, and traumas associated with their respective pasts. Their journey toward freedom barely begins before the Kerberos unexpectedly discovers its sister vessel, the Prometheus, which vanished during its Atlantic-crossing voyage. As soon as the ocean liners make contact, life aboard the Kerberos descends into a living nightmare. Inexplicable deaths, unfathomable triangle symbols, and unreliable narrators plague the trapped passengers at every turn, all while a looming observer orchestrates the horrors for reasons unknown.

1899 truly is a case where the less you know, the better your viewing experience will be. Indeed, Friese and bo Odar’s sophomore enterprise is an experience of the highest order, and a tremendous endeavor across every department. 1899 drips with striking efficiency and confidence, from the series’ exquisite visual identity (opulent sets, distinct costumes, one of the most cinematic and organic uses of the Volume to date) to the partners’ command over atmosphere. Claustrophobia and paranoia increase by strategically agonizing degrees until the dread feels unshakable, especially once 1899 evolves from its opening premise into something else entirely — many things, technically, given the genre-blending between historical fiction, supernatural mystery, hard sci-fi, and existential drama.

‘1899’s Uniqueness Succeeds on Virtually Every Level

1899 isn’t a case of showrunners whose metaphorical eyes are bigger than their stomachs, however. The “aha!” payoff moments for this series’ calculatedly interdependent structure are worth every penny. Friese and bo Odar make each second of their eight episodes count, dispensing enough clues to stoke tension but never spinning their narrative wheels until they turn circuitous. Nor do they rush breakneck toward the jaw-dropping reveals at the expense of either their philosophical concerns or the ensemble’s character depth. On both fronts, the turn-of-the-century setting and multicultural cast encourage a worthwhile exploration into the manifold ways geopolitics, forced social propriety, class stratification, religion, race, gender, and sexuality intersect.

Like too many ambitious modern epics, 1899 was cancelled before its time. Friese and bo Odar had mapped out two more seasons before Netflix swung the show’s death blow, which makes this loss heavier; going off Dark‘s three-season structure, we can assume that the duo’s uncontained uniqueness was properly calibrated to the story’s precise needs. Too many questions are left unanswered, but 1899 is immensely rewarding because its brain-melting experimentation challenges traditional TV structures — while remaining more addictively accessible than one might think. These tumultuous waters are worth traversing again and again.

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1899

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Release Date

2022 – 2022-00-00

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Network

Netflix

Directors

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Baran bo Odar

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  Andreas Pietschmann

  Eyk Larsen

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  Emily Beecham

  Maura Franklin

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