These are the contours of the contemporary domestic thriller, a niche that has come to dominate every form of narrative entertainment by, for, and about women. At first, its proliferation seemed to constitute a typical case of Hollywood copycatting; Big Little Lies becomes a smash, wins eight Emmys, begets flimsy imitations that lots of people watch anyway. But at this point, the trend’s persistence and the thirst with which its products are consumed suggest a more profound connection between these stories and their audience. Domestic thrillers have always existed because women’s fears of patriarchal violence and control, particularly in the supposed sanctuary of the home, spring eternal. Certainly, American life has given us many new causes, since the mid-2010s, for worry.