Netflix Just Added an “Absolutely Captivating” Crime Thriller & Viewers Say They’re on the ‘Edge of Seat’ In Each Episode

Netflix viewers are racing to watch a gripping crime thriller that hooks within a few minutes.

- December 1, 2025 | 5:30 PM IST

Netflix Adds A Captivating Thriller To Its Roster (Photo Credit – Netflix)

Netflix slides a new title onto its menu, and suddenly everyone is whispering about it. Absentia has landed on the platform, and viewers say they are locked in within the first few minutes. The thriller series might be a few years old, but it is moving with fresh energy and climbed straight to fifth place among UK subscribers a week back (per Flixpatrol) and pushed itself beside big new releases like The Beast In Me.

The show did not start its life on Netflix, as it first aired between 2017 and 2020 on Prime Video, then quietly slipped over to Channel 5, where all three seasons remain free to watch. Now it is finding a second wind, pulling in a new wave of binge watchers who seem more than ready for the ride.

What Is Netflix’s Absentia About?

The story follows FBI special agent Emily Byrne, played by Stana Katic, who vanishes while tracking one of Boston’s most notorious serial killers. After six years, she is declared dead in absentia, but then a cabin in the woods reveals the unthinkable. Emily gets discovered, barely alive and stripped of any memory of her missing years. She returns to a home that has moved on without her, as her husband has remarried and her son is being raised by the new wife. Then Emily’s name is suddenly tied to a string of new murders, and it all becomes a messy fight to reclaim her life and identity.

Critics & Audiences Praise The Thrills & Twists Of Absentia

Critics were lukewarm with a 47% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but viewers sit firmly at 65% and sound very sure of their feelings. One fan swears the series is worth it for Katic alone, calling her phenomenal.

“I started watching because of Stana Katic and ended up really enjoying it,” the user penned on Rotten Tomatoes. Another added, “This was one of the best shows I’ve seen in a long time. I was on the edge of my seat for every single episode.”

A third said, “Absolutely Captivating From Start to Finish Absentia is one of the most attention-grabbing shows I’ve watched in a long time. From the very first episode, it pulls you straight into the mystery and never lets go.”

Someone else wrote, “One of the best American FBI storylines in a longtime. Emily is a compelling and complicated person. The storyline keeps you guessing, unfolding at every turn.”