Stephen King hails 97% rated 'unbeatable' crime series watched for 50m hours
Topics: Netflix, Stephen King, Film and TV, Streaming
Ellie Kemp
Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: Netflix, Stephen King, Film and TV, Streaming
Stephen King praised a top-rated Netflix series which fans say has 'the best twist'.
The King of Horror often recommends his favorite TV shows across his social media channels.
From a gripping 'existential hell' series to a drama that's 'just as good' as Queen's Gambit, he's never short on suggestions.
A four-season anthology series - a similar format to hit show Mindhunt - is high-up on his list must-watches... alongside one of his own adaptations, of course.
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The show originally aired on USA, running between 2017 and 2021 before joining Netflix a few months after each season dropped.
Viewers spent some 50 million hours watching the show between January 2023 and June 2025 alone, according to FlixPatrol.
Each season of the crime-mystery drama follows its own self-contained story, though they all focus on Detective Harry Ambrose.
Played by Sleepless in Seattle's Bill Pullman, Harry investigates mysterious crimes and, more importantly, what drives ordinary people to commit extraordinary acts.
The first season follows a young mom, Cora Tannetti (Jessica Biel), who inexplicably stabs a man to death while on a beach.
She admits it, but can’t remember why she did it. Harry digs into her past, trauma and suppressed memories to find the motivation.
The second season sees Ambrose pulled back to his hometown after a boy makes a startling confession, while the final two seasons follow different crimes.
The TV series in question is called The Sinner, and Stephen King described it as 'unbeatable entertainment'.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, back in 2021, he said: "THE SINNER on Netflix and/or Apple+. MR. MERCEDES on Peacock.
"Three seasons of each show. Unbeatable entertainment."
Despite wrapping up a number of years ago now, Reddit users recently discussed the show.
Taking to the R/Netflix community, one person asked: "Which Netflix movie or show had the best twist?
"Netflix has so many movies and shows that pull off twists you don’t see coming. I’d love to hear which one surprised you the most and stuck with you."
The top answer, by far, was The Sinner. One person said: "The Sinner season one. Excellent storytelling."
A second agreed: "Yes! I liked every season but lost interest in the last one.
"It could be considered a slow burn which is usually a turn off but it didn't play out that way. Kept my attention and was worth spending the time."
Another said they thought season one was 'the only good season', but the show's Rotten Tomatoes score tells a different story.
Overall, it was rated 92 percent by critics. Its first season was awarded 91 percent while, its second season scored the highest of the lot, coming in at 97 percent.
Season three earned 92 percent and season four pulled in the lowest ratings at 88 percent.
"Smartly unpredictable and led by powerful performances from a talented cast, the darkly compelling The Sinner sinks its hooks in fast and doesn't let go," critics said of its debut season.
All four seasons of The Sinner are streaming now on Netflix.