It’s not uncommon to see a series with a plot where the psychological takes center stage, as it’s usually very common for directors to make their plots come true. Some are more palpable to the viewer, but others hide subtle nuances that nod to psychology.
Discover the best psychologist series of all time, critically acclaimed, shown on TV, or available on streaming platforms and services. These series on psychology often deal with the following themes: pioneering psychoanalysts such as Sigmund Freud or Carl Jung, psychiatrists or psychologists themselves going through personal problems such as the death of one of their children or falling in love with one of the people who consults them and is helped by them to solve their psychological problems, the unlikely cases such as those where criminals, mafia or people with visions or a gift of clairvoyance start to consult a psychologist to enter into an analysis on themselves, or psychologists using their work to learn more about the lives of their patients.
1. Dexter
You probably know her because of the big media impact she has had. This successful American series features the Miami Forensic Police. The funny thing comes when he starts killing criminals as a simple hobby. The bloodthirsty murders performed by the character make you wonder what kind of maniac is in front of the screen. If you want to watch a psychopath in action and his reactions, don’t hesitate to check out this award-winning series.
2. Lie to me
The production which has as protagonist Cal Lightman, a former policeman who works as a doctor. This expert on deception is considered by Time magazine as one of the hundred most influential people in the world. For this reason, he works with the police to resolve the various cases that arise. Likewise, Cal needs external psychological help. Gillian Foster will be your arm on which you can lean to live normally. The series is based on the studies of Paul Ekman, one of the scholars who has studied the most on non-verbal language in the world.
3. Mr. Robot
The protagonist is a computer scientist who has trouble understanding the rest of his entourage. With an intellect superior to that of ordinary people, he is able to solve the most improbable problems. It is very curious to see the reactions of the computer scientist in the different situations that arise, especially if one considers that he is a drug addict.
4. Hannibal
Like Dexter, Hannibal speaks of a full-fledged psychopath. The protagonist, a cannibal, is analyzed by Will Graham, a specialist in criminal profiles. The narration and reactions of Hannibal They deserve to be studied. Without a doubt, a must in what refers to the best psychological series.
5. American Horror Story: Asylum
You might hear the American Horror Story series. Famous for its incredible plots, this season is set in a mental asylum. From a terror perspective, you can learn about the lives of sick residents. Everything has to be said, and it is that, to give more spectacular results, the different behaviors of the characters are taken to the extreme in most cases.
6. The blacklist
A former criminal decides to change sides. He will have to deal with the problems and doubts that crop up in his head with a lot of problems. The psychological issues he suffers from will be latent in every episode of The Black List.
7. Criminal minds
One of the most famous series on the entire list. More precisely, in Spain they had been broadcasting it for many years in different open channels. His plot, typical of the police, concerns the capture of murderers, in addition to the resolution of the cases that leave behind them. Its particularity is the way in which the police solve these problems: through psychology.
8. Web therapy
One of the most curious cases of psychological series. Something that started out as a low-cost web series starring Lisa Kudrow ended up being a TV hit with Showtime. The style of the episodes is generally full of humorous touches. The characters communicate with their psychologist by videoconference to help them get out of their multiple problems.
9. Bates Motel
The Bates Motel are about a set of weird characters, led by Norman Bates, who use their manipulation to use them at the mercy of the people around them. As you walk through the story, you can see how Norman is a potential psychopath.
10. Black Mirror
One of the most interesting things about studying psychology is trying to understand not only how people behave, but also how they will behave in the future. How they will react to the changes in society and the questions that the world will pose to us in the future.
On the other hand, this is also the prerequisite for many science fiction plots. But also of a very particular series like Black Mirror, produced in Great Britain since 2011, first on Channel 4 and then on Netflix. At the center of the stories there is in fact the relationship of men with technology.
11. Sherlock
Produced by the BBC, Sherlock is not just yet another adaptation of the works of Arthur Conan Doyle and his must read book of all time. It is something more. For the care of the scripts and the skill of the interpreters – Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, in particular – it is perhaps the most successful and fascinating reconstruction of the adventures of the famous detective.
Furthermore, it must be considered that each episode is practically like a film in its own right, lasting 90 minutes. Divided into seasons of 3 episodes each, the series has been running slowly for nearly ten years now, but it is absolutely worth the wait.
12. True Detective
True Detective is an extraordinary show that follows with realism and disquiet the investigations of detectives dealing with particularly heinous crimes. It is an anthological series, in the sense that each season features completely different characters, but what unites the various vintages is the extreme care in the realization.
13. The Fall
The Fall, a series made between Great Britain and Ireland, is also about serial killers. And if the fact that the production comes from Ireland scares you, rest assured: the stars involved are all top notch. Suffice it to say that the protagonists are Gillian Anderson from The X-Files and Jamie Dornan from Fifty Shades of Gray.
Set right in Northern Ireland, the show shows us the hunt for Paul Spector, a killer who lashes out at young single women living in Belfast. The series consists of three seasons, for a total of just 17 episodes.
14. Fargo
If you’ve seen Fargo, the Coen brothers’ film, you know what the atmosphere of the homonymous TV series must be. A detective with a black and irreverent humor, the serial has accepted one of the most prohibitive challenges for those who make television fiction: to bring the magic of a setting created for cinema to the small screen.
The series is structured in seasons, each dedicated to a different story. From year to year, therefore, the cast also changes completely, so much so that they are actually miniseries set in different eras. Among the actors seen so far, there are Billy Bob Thornton, Martin Freeman, Kirsten Dunst and Ted Danson.
15. Homeland
Homeland is the typical spy story. Inside there are deceptions, double crosses, ambushes, generalized ambiguities, but with a strong connection with current events and with the risk of terrorism. In fact, at the center of the scene are CIA agents who must prevent attacks and threats to America, wherever they come from.
16. In therapy
Tell a screenwriter he has to write twenty-minute chapters with two characters chatting face to face, without the viewer losing interest, and you’ll see a screenwriter sweat. But if you also tell him that those talks will be psychological therapy sessions, you will see him sweating and clinging to the chair on the verge of collapse. In therapy, it’s not just a dialogue master class. It is a master class in psychology. A series able to deepen the psychology of the characters with the word as the only resource.
17. Westworld
One of the most recent psychological series made for HBO’s Westworld, based on the film of the same name held in 1973. It takes place in a theme park that recreates life in the American Old West, populated by completely human-looking androids not knowing they are and interact with the human visitors who play a certain role. However, some of them begin to discover signs that they live in a lie that is reproduced again and again, after subsequent erased from memory.
18. Masters of Sex
Audiovisual fiction based on a book by Thomas Maier entitled Masters of Sex: The Life and Work of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, the couple who taught America how to love. It focuses on the lives and careers of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, two human sexuality researchers who during the 1950s and 1960s changed the way the West understood sex and relationships.
19. Real Humans
In the Sweden of the future depicted in this series, human-looking robots (hubots) have become almost as common a consumer good as refrigerators and washing machines. They can be designed and programmed to fulfill different functions: from domestic workers or drivers to friends or even lovers.
Given the popularity of the hubots, a political movement called Real Humans claims the need to eliminate the use of robots, which puts jobs at risk and threatens to destroy the social fabric of the country, disuniting families and making humans more isolated. On the other hand, a group of robots that have been reprogrammed to be free fight for the liberation of their own from what they consider to be slavery.
20. Perception
In this television series, the federal government turns to famed neuroscientist Daniel Pierce to help solve cases where a crime has been committed. The protagonist understands human behavior as a direct product of the biochemical relationships between neurons and hormones.
21. Mindhunter
The name itself says, Mindhunter is a series about “mind hunters”. The story is taken from the novel of the same name by Mark Olshaker and John E. Douglas and is nothing more than a twisted psychological game that prompts viewers to understand what leads a serial killer to kill without conscience. The narrative goes deep into the primal instincts of a psychologically deviated person and tries to analyze every little detail hidden behind such a terrible gesture as a murder. Very interesting and highly recommended to all lovers of piscology.
22. The Haunting of Hill House
The Haunting of Hill House is an anthology series by Mike Flanagan, which takes its cue from several horror TV shows or novels, one per season. Between the paranormal, the horror and the psychological thriller, this series is able to glue the viewers to the screen by telling the story of the members of a separated family who deal with the tormented memories of the past and learn of new and mysterious secrets.
23. Dark
Dark is one of the top titles of the last period of Netflix. This German original series, from the same creators of the more recent Tribes of Europe, tells a story of secrets and mysteries that begin to emerge in the lives of four families after the disappearance of a child.
24. Behind his eyes
Behind his eyes is the revelation series of this 2021 that has been able to conquer the public with its twists and its captivating plot that revolves around a married couple in crisis and the threat of betrayal. It is not, however, a mere love triangle because this series, based on the novel of the same name by Sarah Pinborough, has much more to say and is able to touch the deepest chords of human psychology. To always be on the spot and enjoy an intriguing story with a shocking ending, you can’t help but choose Behind his eyes. In addition, the series lasts only 6 episodes and the cast is the daughter of an international star.
25. How to get away with murder
Behind this series is the skilful hand of Shonda Rhimes who, as usual, does not miss a beat and, in front of it is the face of the extraordinary Oscar winner Viola David. But what more do you want from the street? How to get away with murder (in Italian, The rules of the perfect crime) is a crime drama in the tones of the thriller with an engaging plot that with a game of flashback and flashforeward is able to capture even the most skeptical. Among the most popular series of recent years, HTGAWM is a real gem that, in addition to showing how to “get rid” of a murder, reveals every little detail of the human soul from fragility to strength and Viola Davis’ interpretation is worth it all watching the series. Not to be missed (especially if you don’t know it).
26. The Mentalist
Patrick Jane is much more than a psychologist; he is a “mentalist”. A man capable of understanding the most hidden and unspeakable thoughts of those around him, simply by observing a person’s attitudes, habits and way of speaking. A unique and precious talent, which allows him to manipulate others and always get what he wants and to collaborate with the police. Yet it was precisely his gift that made him lose everything that was important to him, at the hands of a killer called Red John. The Mentalist is one of the best TV series on psychology.
27. 13 Reasons Why
The world of adolescents is often a mystery to adults, unable to put themselves in their children’s shoes and identify with their problems. In this series we relive the last days of Hannah Baker ‘s life, a girl who is the victim of bullying and misunderstandings. Through a series of recorded tapes we are able to look at events through his eyes and discover how badness, indifference and selfishness can negatively affect the lives of others, up to the extreme consequences.
28. Mental
Produced by FOX, the series tells the story of Dr. Jack Gallagher, a brilliant young psychiatrist who has just taken over as director of mental health at a hospital and who has unorthodox methods of treating his patients, as well as little respect for established rules.
29. Tell me you love me
The episodes portray the relationships and lives of three couples who are going through complications. Each couple lives in a different phase of their romantic relationship and they all have something in common: they will talk about their problems with psychologist May Foster, who also faces her own issues in her 43 years of marriage.
30. Marcella
Marcella Backland is a retired detective who is called back to the front lines when the peculiar characteristics of a series of murders make it appear that a murderer who escaped being caught 11 years earlier is back on duty. The trail of online dating sites, prostitution and shady deals she encounters appears to be the responsibility of the Gibson family, the real estate magnates who employ Marcella’s estranged husband, making it difficult for the couple to reconcile. Along with this, a confused psychological problem goes hand in hand with the events.