Silo Is Good, But These Apple TV Thrillers Are Even Better

Silo is one of Apple TV’s strongest genre shows, and I completely understand why people are obsessed.

Rebecca Ferguson gives Juliette enough grit to carry the show, while the underground world keeps serving up secrets that make you question almost everything.

There is paranoia, class tension, strange rules, buried history, and that constant feeling that somebody knows a lot more than they are saying.

But when I think about the Apple TV thrillers that have gotten me properly hooked, three shows come to mind before Silo does: Severance, Slow Horses, and Black Bird.

I know, I know, Silo has plenty going for it, but these three are a whole different ball game for me.

3. Black Bird

Black Bird is the Apple TV thriller I recommend with a warning, since it goes to some seriously grim places and never tries to soften them.

Taron Egerton plays Jimmy Keene, a man sentenced to ten years in prison who gets offered a possible way out when he is sent to a prison for the criminally insane.

His job is to befriend suspected serial killer Larry Hall, played by Paul Walter Hauser, and coax a confession out of him.

Knowing the limited series draws from actual events makes the whole thing harder to ignore.

You can watch Jimmy sit across from Hall and know the danger isn’t coming from some elaborate action sequence.

It’s sitting right there, talking to him, smiling at him, and giving him just enough information to keep the conversation going.

That is why I put Black Bird ahead of Silo.

Silo gives you a massive mystery to chase, while Black Bird traps two men in a tense mind game that leaves you wondering how long Jimmy can stay in control.

Egerton brings Jimmy’s confidence and fear together in a way that made me constantly question whether he had gone too far.

Then there is Hauser, who is downright creepy, with Larry never needing to shout or act like some cartoon villain. His mannerisms and odd way of speaking make every interaction with him feel off.

Black Bird is a tough watch, but if you want a thriller that sticks in your head long after the episode ends, I’d pick it over Silo.

2. Slow Horses 

I still find it funny that Slow Horses sounds so unappealing when you describe it out loud.

A bunch of disgraced MI5 agents end up at Slough House, stuck with dull assignments and an absolutely foul boss named Jackson Lamb.

Then Gary Oldman shows up as Lamb, and suddenly it all makes sense.

Lamb is rude, disgusting, brilliant, and somehow one of the funniest characters on television, which is a ridiculous combination when you think about it.

Oldman plays him like a guy who treats hygiene, manners, and other people’s feelings as optional, and I love it!

Compared with Silo, Slow Horses has one big advantage for me: it moves.

Even when River Cartwright makes another bad call or Lamb tears into someone who deserves it, the story keeps moving without losing the personalities that make it so damn fun.

I also love how naturally the humor fits.

The series can put its characters in danger, then have someone say something so wildly inappropriate that I end up laughing when I probably shouldn’t.

That balance is tough to pull off, with forced comedy able to kill a thriller fast, but Slow Horses usually gets it right.

1. Severance 

Severance gets my top spot, and I do not think I am changing my mind anytime soon.

The premise alone is enough to make a person uncomfortable.

Lumon employees undergo a procedure that separates their work and personal memories, leaving their innies clueless about life outside while their outies know nothing about the office.

This is where Severance beats Silo. Its central idea gets under the skin, partly because it sounds absurd yet feels disturbingly easy to understand.

What happens when a company can split your memories and leave one version of you trapped at work?

I kept thinking about it long after the episodes ended, especially when Mark and the others had to face how little control they had over their own lives.

What I love most, though, is how Severance takes its time without ever getting boring.

Give Severance a hallway, an office party, or one weird smile from a manager, and it’ll leave you already wondering what fresh hell Lumon has cooked up.

That’s the kind of thriller that gets in your head and refuses to get the hell out.

And that’s why the show has also become one of Apple TV’s biggest series.

Now I want to know where you stand, since I can already hear the Silo fans coming for me.

If you had to pick one Apple TV thriller over Silo, would you go with Lumon’s office nightmare, Slough House’s dysfunctional spies, or Jimmy Keene’s prison gamble?