Western Europe set a new benchmark for scripted crime and thriller content production in 2024, with major global streamers’ commissions at a record 94 title orders locally, according to research from Ampere Analysis.
The region’s share of streamers’ crime and thriller commissions has seen consistent growth, climbing from 28% in 2020 to 43% in 2024—surpassing the combined totals of North America and Asia-Pacific.
In contrast, North America’s share of the streamers’ commissions in the genre has declined, dropping by half over the same period to just 19% of orders in 2024.
While the US leads crime commissioning volumes on a country basis overall, orders of first-run series (excluding renewals and movies) in the genre saw the UK match the US in title orders for the first time at 21 new series each.
Global streamers have been increasingly shifting scripted commissions abroad across all genres, with NAM volume share dropping from 55% in 2020 to 31% in 2024. Western Europe has benefited most, securing 29% of their global production orders by 2024 across all scripted genres.
The crime and thriller genre is a cornerstone of global streamers’ commissioning strategy, dominating scripted commissions, surging from 20% share of all their Scripted titles in 2020 to 32% in 2024. As streamers reappraise their content investments, they are capitalising on the genre’s broad international appeal and strong cross-household engagement
Among notable upcoming titles ordered for production in 2024 were the UK-produced Netflix/BBC Film co-commissioned movie adaptation of the hit series Peaky Blinders and Season 5 of major Apple hit series Slow Horses, as well as Season 2 of the Spanish-produced Netflix Money Heist Berlin spin-off.
Cyrine Amor, Research Manager at Ampere Analysis says: “Crime and thriller titles consistently dominate viewership charts on platforms like Netflix, with Ampere’s research showing the genre is key to subscriber growth and retention—critical as streaming markets mature. Given how well the genre travels across borders and demographics, and with rising production costs in the US, it makes sense for the streamers to shift more Originals in this genre beyond North America.
“Western Europe, with its rich tradition in Crime & Thriller storytelling, and the UK, the streamers’ key international production hub, are leading the way. But as streamers continue to expand their global footprint and seek cost-effective commissioning and production opportunities, we can expect other production regions to start playing more of a role in this genre as well.”
Pippa Considine
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