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The nail-biting thriller follows the hunt for a notorious serial killer in Belfast(Image: TV Grab)

If you’re planning a quiet January weekend indoors, it’s the perfect opportunity to get stuck into an exciting series. For crime drama lovers, one show has been hailed as the ‘best thriller ever’, keeping viewers on the edge of their seats from beginning to end.

Featuring Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan, The Fall tells the chilling tale of notorious serial killer Paul Spector played by Dornan who preys on young professional women in Belfast. It’s not your run-of-the-mill crime drama, as we discover straight away who’s behind the horrific murders.

However, as Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson (Anderson) spearheads her team’s efforts to crack the case, each new twist is more unnerving than the last.

At first glance, Paul appears to be your typical family man with a doting wife and children he loves. But when night falls, we see him stalking the shadowy streets of Belfast, breaking into his unsuspecting victims’ homes, or meticulously plotting his next assault.

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Jamie Dornan’s portrayal of serial killer Paul Spector is chilling(Image: BBC/The Fall S2/Helen Sloan)

Initially, he manages to elude Stella and her team’s attempts to apprehend him — or the ‘Belfast strangler’ as he becomes known. But his thirst for murder soon leads him to become increasingly reckless, and the net begins to tighten, reports the Express.

Across three gripping series, viewers are given a terrifying insight into why Paul is as twisted as he is. Stella is another deeply complex character; while she’s resolute, driven and takes no nonsense, her personal life is far from flawless.

Set against the turbulent backdrop of Belfast, where political unrest is already wreaking havoc for the PSNI, The Fall is a series that genuinely keeps you gripped throughout.

The show was crafted by Alan Cubitt, who was reading a book about the BTK (Bind, Torture, Kill) serial killer Dennis Rader while researching for another project. It started with an examination of the attack, drawing on evidence from the crime scene and the killer’s own account.

Taking inspiration, he developed a storyline where the killer’s identity is revealed right from the outset, so it’s not a traditional ‘whodunit’ like many crime dramas. Instead, the emphasis is on the killer’s motivations and what can be learned about his psychology.

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Gillian Anderson plays no-nonsense detective Stella Gibson(Image: BBC)

The Fall has garnered rave reviews from critics and viewers alike, boasting a score of 85% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Writing on IMDb, one fan commented: “This is a very strong and realistic serial killer drama… It is gut wrenching and harrowing. It is set in Belfast and shows the city and it’s people in stark grainy reality.”

Another hailed it as ‘the best psychological thriller I’ve seen in ages’, saying: “This series had me gripped from start to finish…Beautifully paced, tension abounds with spine-tingling murder scenes. The characters are very well written, and played with pitch-perfect performances from the leads, Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan.”

The Fall has all episodes available to stream free on  Netflix and BBC iPlayer.