Our list the best Netflix shows keeps growing, because Netflix keeps investing in original programming (and producing excellence, on occasion). Sure, The Office opened shop Peacock and The West Wing is at HBO Max, but Netflix’s never-ending stream of new shows is strong enough to keep most of us subscribed. Recently, new seasons of Master of None and Love, Death & Robots have been announced, and we’re wondering how long we have to wait for Stranger Things’ next season.
If you’re looking to watch the best Netflix shows before they leave, we’d recommend you go to Avatar: The Last Airbender and then Legend of Korra. Paramount Plus is likely going to gobble up these shows in the near future — and it’s going to have a new spin-off show from the same universe as those series (two of the best Netflix TV series you can see.
Admittedly, Netflix is now our second-ranked entry in our best streaming service list because HBO Max has basically clawed its way to the top with great movies. Netflix is still worthy, though, with its surplus of shows, and range and variety thereof. The recent hits on this list of the best shows on Netflix include a true rarity, as The Queen’s Gambit earned a 100% perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes (but it dropped to 97% over time).
They’ve also added new series from one of the minds behind Sex and the City, as well as Cobra Kai. Plus, the variety continues with Moesha and Hannibal, as Netflix gives new life to one of UPN’s biggest hits and one of NBC’s best kept secrets.
As for what comes next, we’ve got our ears to the ground for Ginny and Georgia season 2 rumors. Hopefully they can squash the beef with Taylor Swift for a cameo appearance?
In terms of what’s next, check out our new on Netflix guide to see the service’s offerings for the next month. Plus our Netflix hidden gems list is a great place to find shows and movies you may have missed.
The 65 best Netflix shows and TV series right now:
Formula 1: Drive to Survive
The wild world of Formula 1 racing may often take place at hours that makes it inaccessible to those in America, and that’s where the Drive to Survive show comes in. One of the best Netflix shows out there, this gripping documentary series brings you up close and personal with the best drivers in the world, including its biggest star, Lewis Hamilton. The third, and most recent, series showed how Covid-19 flipped F1 racing on its head, as Hamilton ascended to the top of the board.
Cast: Fernando Alonso, Valtteri Bottas, Marcus Ericsson, Lewis Hamilton
Seasons: 3
Year: 2019 – 2021
Genre: Sports documentary
Rotten Tomatoes score: N/A
Ginny and Georgia
Young parents often lead to dramatic lives, and such is the case with Georgia Miller, who’s ended her years of a nomadic lifestyle only to find more chaos. Her daughter, 15-year-old Ginny, can’t escape her mother’s past either. A second season of this popular series — often ranked in the top shows on Netflix — is inevitable, as it ended on a cliffhanger built for more stories.
Cast: Brianne Howey, Antonia Gentry, Diesel La Torraca, Scott Porter, Sara Waisglass
Seasons: 1 (10 episodes)
Year: 2021 – Present
Genre: Drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 68%
Lupin
Need a getaway and a thrill? Then it’s time to tag along with Assane Diop, a thief inspired by the fictional ‘gentleman thief’ Arsène Lupin. Diop’s whole life has been a series of moments where he saw his family being poorly treated by the rich. So he does what all daring menaces to high society do: set out for revenge. His target? The art and jewels owned by the wealthy.
Cast: Omar Sy, Ludivine Sagnier, Clotilde Hesme
Seasons: 1 (8 episodes)
Year: 2021
Genre: Crime drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%
Bridgerton
Even a casual soapy drama can be decadent if prepared properly. As is the case with Bridgerton, the first fruit of the deal that Netflix signed with show-runner Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s Anatomy). The cleverly-written and beautifully-produced series tracks Daphne, a young socialite debuting in the London scene. Each episode has an ending that will leave you clicking “Play” again, so beware it’s not the longest season.
Cast: Phoebe Dynevor, Regé-Jean Page, Jonathan Bailey
Seasons: 1 (8 episodes)
Year: 2020
Genre: Period drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 89%
The Queen’s Gambit
Believe it or not, chess is en vogue once more. In The Queen’s Gambit, Anya Taylor-Joy (Emma) stars as Beth Harmon, a prodigious master of the chessboard who wants to be the very best in the world. Not only does Taylor-Joy captivate on-screen, but this is a beautifully shot show that’s already earned think-pieces about its gorgeously designed spaces.
Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Bill Camp, Marielle Heller
Seasons: 1 (7 episodes)
Year: 2020
Genre: Drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%
Emily in Paris
If the eponymous heroine of Emily in Paris seems to talk, act and dress like a millennial Carrie Bradshaw, there’s a reason for that — series creator Darren Star also masterminded Sex and the City. Emily is a Chicago marketing manager who scores a sweet gig in her dream city. Unfortunately, her new boss, Sylvie, and co-workers are a nightmare. While Paris fashionistas are sneering at the rom-com’s take on Paris and fashion, both Emily and the show are irresistibly charming and fun. And we say “oui, oui” to the handsome eye candy who prove Paris really is the city of lust, er, love.
Cast: Lily Collins, Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, Ashley Park, Lucas Bravo
Seasons: 1 (10 episodes)
Year: 2020
Genre: Romantic comedy
Rotten Tomatoes score: 73%
Cobra Kai
Yes, almost unbelievably, Cobra Kai — the Karate Kid spin-off show that debuted on YouTube Premium and is now on Netflix — is great. The series stays rooted to the original concept and characters, beginning with Johnny Lawrence re-opening the Cobra Kai dojo as a way to try and right his erring ways. Meanwhile, Daniel LaRusso may be thriving professionally, but he’s still dealing with the absence of Mr. Miyagi. Season 3 is so good that we’re already looking forward to Cobra Kai season 4.
Cast: Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Courtney Henggeler, Xolo Maridueña
Seasons: 3
Year: 2018 – 2021
Genre: Comedy/drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%
The Legend of Korra
Yes, now that you’ve finished Avatar: The Last Airbender, you can finally catch its follow-up series, The Legend of Korra on Netflix. Ambitious, and at times divisive, Korra deals with complex themes of identity and politics that you might not expect from an animated series.
Cast: Janet Varney, David Faustino, P.J. Bryne
Seasons: 4
Year: 2012–2014
Genre: Animated action adventure
Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%
The Last Dance
ESPN’s Michael Jordan docuseries The Last Dance appeals to fans and non-fans alike thanks to personalities that jumped off the screen. The focus may primarily be on the battle of Jordan and Phil Jackson against the front office, but Dennis Rodman’s shocking personality (for that era) and disinterest in practice, and Scottie Pippen’s work in MJ’s shadow are both entertaining aspects of the series.
Cast: Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman
Seasons: 1 (10 episodes)
Year: 2020
Genre: Sports docuseries
Rotten Tomatoes score: 96%
Lucifer
Sometimes the devil becomes his own advocate. Or at least he just needs a break from hell, as is the case here where Tom Ellis’ smoldering on-screen presence as Lucifer Morningstar, the literal devil, who is taking time off in Los Angeles. Not only does he open a nightclub in the city, but he also starts doing consultant work for the LAPD, where he hits it off with detective Chloe Decker (Lauren German).
Cast: Tom Ellis, Lauren German, Kevin Alejandro, D. B. Woodside
Seasons: 5
Year: 2016 – 2020 (ongoing)
Genre: Police drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 85%
Hannibal
Detective Will Graham becomes obsessed with Dr. Hannibal Lecter, but is somehow unaware of the monstrosities that the good doctor is cooking up when he’s not around. Yes, somehow, this beautifully shot — and quite gory — drama was on NBC, where it had a small but dedicated audience. Now that it’s on Netflix, it’s getting a second life with first-time watchers.
Cast: Hugh Dancy, Mads Mikkelsen, Gillian Anderson, Laurence Fishburne
Seasons: 3
Year: 2013–2015
Genre: Thriller / Crime drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%
Unsolved Mysteries
Netflix’s reboot of the classic true crime docuseries puts a slick spin on the original. The narration may be gone, but the new episodes still tell fascinating, spine-tingling tales of missing persons, murder and even UFO sightings. In the new Unsolved Mysteries, each episode focuses on one case, which makes the narrative more compelling and the characters more fleshed-out. But warning: You may have trouble sleeping — either because you’re so creeped out or you fall down a Reddit theory hole.
Cast: N/A
Seasons: 2
Year: 2020-present
Genre: True crime documentary
Rotten Tomatoes score: 74%
Moesha
You don’t have to go to Portlandia to feel the spirit of the 1990’s on Netflix. R&B superstar Brandy Norwood starred in Moesha, a UPN series that was brought in mid-season and became one of the network’s biggest hits, and Netflix is finally giving it a streaming home for all to relive its great run. The series dealt with what seemed like the social issues of the day, including drug use, teen pregnancy and race relations, all of which are still relevant today.
Cast: Brandy Norwood, Sheryl Lee Ralph, William Allen Young
Seasons: 6
Year: 1996–2001
Genre: Comedy
Rotten Tomatoes score: not available
Dark
At its end, Netflix’s Dark — a puzzling drama that rewards close watching — is now complete and a highly recommendable series to watch. It focuses on a story of two children that go missing in a small German town known as Winden. Dark is commended for how it built up momentum — instead of watching it dissolve like some show that started off hot and ended poorly (Hi, LOST).
Cast: Louis Hofmann, Maja Schöne, Oliver Masucci
Seasons: 3
Year: 2017–2020
Genre: Crime/Drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%
The Umbrella Academy
At the end of The Umbrella Academy season 2’s first weekend on Netflix, I saw the same request up and down my timeline: “ok, where is season 3?” And it’s not hard to see why. A massive success for Netflix, The Umbrella Academy found riveting TV by adapting the comic books of the same name, where the seven adopted Hargreeves siblings are trying to survive their own catastrophic powers. Season 2 send the kids back to the 1960’s to prevent further calamity.
Cast: Aidan Gallagher, Ellen Page, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Justin H. Min
Seasons: 2
Year: 2019-present
Genre: Science fiction/drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 83%
The Baby-Sitters Club
This long-awaited series adaptation of the much loved YA book series is sweet, positive, heartwarming — without being cloying or mushy. It takes the familiar story of a group of young teens who start a babysitting service and adds modern elements like social media and smartphones. But the essential themes remain the same: friendship, compassion, loyalty, forgiveness and understanding.
Cast: Sophie Grace, Malia Baker, Momona Tamada, Shay Rudolph
Seasons: 1 (10 episodes)
Year: 2020 (ongoing)
Genre: Comedy
Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%
Dating Around
The dating show genre has gotten kind of stale and predictable. Dating Around puts a refreshing twist on the formula: each episode centers on one singleton who goes on five blind dates, edited to look as if they’re happening concurrently, so you watch all of them go through the various stages
Cast: Justin Bigting, Ben Samuel, Deva Mahal
Seasons: 2
Year: 2019–2020 (ongoing)
Genre: Reality TV
Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%
Avatar the Last Airbender
Avatar the Last Airbender arrived on Netflix with a ton of hype, instantly cementing itself as one of the best Netflix series. It follows the adventures of Aang, a tween destined to become the “Avatar” — a magical martial artist who can manipulate all four classical elements.
Cast: Zach Tyler, Mae Whitman, Jack De Sena
Seasons: 3
Year: 2005–2008
Genre: Animated action/adventure
Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%
Never Have I Ever
This funny, sharp, heartwarming coming-of-age dramedy is what we need right now. Co-created by Mindy Kaling and inspired by her own upbringing, Never Have I Ever focuses on the very charming Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), an Indian-American high school sophomore who’s trying to have a normal American teen experience.
Cast: Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Poorna Jagannathan, Ramona Young
Seasons: 1 (10 episodes)
Year: 2020 (ongoing)
Genre: Comedy
Rotten Tomatoes score: 87%
Community is the product of Dan Harmon (Rick & Morty), and focuses on a study group at Greendale Community College that’s founded by the slacker lawyer Jeff Winger (Joel McHale), who is disbarred from practicing law and trying to get laid. Allison Brie and Donald Glover thrive as Annie and Troy. Community is not just one of the best shows on Netflix right now, it’s one of the best sitcoms of its generation.
Cast: Joel McHale, Alison Brie, Gillian Jacobs, Donald Glover
Seasons: 6
Year: 2009–2015
Genre: Comedy
Rotten Tomatoes score: 88%
Dear White People
If you’ve wondered where the hilarious satire has gone, you may have let Dear White People fly under your radar. The series focuses on race relations in America, providing view points from a college campus that has a terrible history and is still not where it should be yet — much like this country itself.
Cast: Tyler James Williams, Tessa Thompson, Dennis Haysbert
Seasons: 3
Year: 2017–2020 (ongoing)
Genre: Comedy
Rotten Tomatoes score: 91%
Ozark
For us, at first, Ozark suffered from what I like to call “Didn’t we just watch this?” Syndrome. Jason Bateman and Laura Linney star as “Marty” and Wendy Byrde, who get into the dark, seedy underworld to make ends meet. While early reviews were mixed, season 3 gives a giant stage for Laura Linney to thrive on screen.
Cast: Jason Bateman, Laura Linney, Julia Garner
Seasons: 3
Year: 2017–2020 (ongoing)
Genre: Crime drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 81%
Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness
Tiger King centers on a wildcat collector known as Joe Exotic, an extremely outlandish character who runs a private zoo filled with tigers, who loathes his nemesis, Carole Baskin, an animal rights activist he allegedly put a hit out on. Too addictive to put down, Tiger King is one of the best shows to watch on Netflix if you don’t know the phrase “guilty pleasure.”
Cast: Joe Exotic, Carole Baskin
Seasons: 1 (8 episodes, including a reunion/aftershow)
Year: 2020
Genre: Documentary
Rotten Tomatoes score: 86%
Love Is Blind
Not all of the best Netflix series are high-brow, award-winning fare. This buzzy dating reality show is the love child of The Bachelor and Married at First Sight. Fifteen men and 15 women go on dates with each other to find their match — sight unseen. You’ll find yourself addicted to following the engaged couples up to their tense weddings.
Cast: Nick Lachey and Vanessa Lachey (hosts)
Seasons: 1 (10 episodes)
Year: 2020
Genre: Reality TV
Rotten Tomatoes score: 86%
Schitt’s Creek
Take Arrested Development, subtract the nihilism, and add characters who are actually endearing, and you get Schitt’s Creek. It took a similar premise — rich family loses their fortune — but actually managed to create characters you’ll root for, including two played by its father and son team of Eugene and Dan Levy. The sixth and final season of Schitt’s Creek just landed on Netflix.
Cast: Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Dan Levy
Seasons: 6
Year: 2015–2020
Genre: Comedy
Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%
The Witcher
Henry Cavill stars as Geralt of Rivia: a roving monster hunter in a dark fantasy world. While Geralt wants nothing more than to ply his trade, he runs afoul of prejudiced townsfolk, ambitious wizards and even foreign royalty. We’re already tracking The Witcher season 2 news to see what’s next for one of the best Netflix series.
Cast: Henry Cavill, Joey Batey, Eamon Farren, Anya Chalotra
Seasons: 1 (8 episodes)
Year: 2019 (ongoing)
Genre: Action, drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 66%
You
It’s time to meet You, your next guilty pleasure binge watch. A thrilling drama, You is the talk of social media these days thanks to how much the show plays with our own addictions to Instagram and other apps. It focuses on a bookstore manager named Joe, who falls in love with/stalks the heck out of Beck (Elizabeth Lail), a grad student.
Cast: Victoria Pedretti, Penn Badgley, Elizabeth Lail
Seasons: 2
Year: 2018–2020 (ongoing)
Genre: Drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%
Riverdale
Somehow, Riverdale defied expectations of audiences with reboot fatigue, and became a cult sensation during its first season. That section of episodes mixed high school drama with a noiry murder mystery (think Veronica Mars with a campy vibe), and then the second season added a cult, the Gargoyle King.
Cast: KJ Apa, Camila Mendes, Lili Reinhart
Seasons: 4
Year: 2017–2020 (ongoing)
Genre: Drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 86%
Sex Education
Yes, somehow we’re still getting great shows about pubescent life. Gillian Anderson and a cast of excellent young actors shake up the format, with the former Scully co-starring as the Dr. Jean F. Milburn, a sex therapist and mother of Otis, who’s only surviving a sexually-charged high school with the help of his friends. We should be getting Sex Education season 3 later this year, according to the Netflix earnings announcement.
Cast: Asa Butterfield, Gillian Anderson, Ncuti Gatwa
Seasons: 2
Year: 2019–2020 (ongoing)
Genre: Comedy
Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%
American Horror Story
Black Mirror isn’t the only anthology series out here that’s gonna scare the heck out of you. American Horror Story, the product of show-runners Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk (Glee, Nip/Tuck), spends each season terrorizing audiences with the terrible things that men and women can do to each other, over American history.
Cast: Connie Britton, Dylan McDermott, Kathy Bates
Seasons: 8
Year: 2011–2020 (ongoing)
Genre: Horror drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 76%
Big Mouth
Don’t sleep on Big Mouth. Born from the mind of comedian Nick Kroll (The League) and his cohorts, this raunchy animated series stands out by actually creating fuller, more fleshed-out characters than South Park ever did. Oh, and it even takes time to educate audiences on depression and other major issues.
Cast: Nick Kroll, John Mulaney, Gina Rodriguez
Seasons: 4
Year: 2017–2020 (ongoing)
Genre: Raunchy comedy
Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%
Queer Eye
It’s practically too perfect that a makeover show got a makeover, and became one of the best reality programs on TV, but that’s where we stand with Queer Eye. And while Bobby, Jonathan and Tan all get a lot of credit, there’s entertaining moments from Antoni and Karamo, whose contributions are often debatable.
Cast: Antoni Porowski, Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Jonathan Van Ness and Tan France
Seasons: 5
Year: 2018–2020 (ongoing)
Genre: Reality TV
Rotten Tomatoes score: 91%
Russian Doll
The first thing you should know is that Russian Doll is the funny and emotional the series that Natasha Lyonne (its star, co-creator, writer, and director) has long since deserved, as she’s spent most of her career as a co-star and not a lead. Its twisting, tricky premise is so good that we won’t say anything else. Russian Doll’s originality makes it one of the best shows to watch on Netflix. Plus, we’re actually getting a Russian Doll season 2!
Cast: Natasha Lyonne, Greta Lee, Yul Vázquez
Seasons: 1 (8 episodes)
Year: 2019 – Present
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%
Love, Death & Robots
What if you took the dystopic futurism of Black Mirror, but made it slightly less depressing and animated it? You’d get David Fincher’s new Love, Death & Robots, a new Netflix original anthology series that’s comprised of 18 episodes that run about 15 minutes a piece. We just found out that a second season is coming this May.
Cast: Topher Grace, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Gary Cole
Seasons: 2
Year: 2019 – 2021
Genre: Sci-fi
Rotten Tomatoes score: 79%
Halt and Catch Fire
A fictional version of the dawn of the personal computer era doesn’t sound like a must-watch, but Halt and Catch Fire is one of the best Netflix series thanks to fantastic acting and tightly-written dialogue. Seen as the under-appreciated sleeper hit of AMC (it came out alongside Breaking Bad and Mad Men).
Cast: Lee Pace, Scoot McNairy, Mackenzie Davis
Seasons: 4
Year: 2014–2017
Genre: Drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%
Supergirl
The cure for Zack Snyder’s dour and gritty murderverse of DCEU movies, Supergirl tells the tale of Kara Danvers, a plucky employee of the CatCo media empire. Of course, Kara’s got something in common with her cousin Clark Kent, as her real name is Kara Zor-El.
Cast: Melissa Benoist, Calista Flockhart, Mehcad Brooks
Seasons: 5
Year: 2015–2020 (ongoing)
Genre: Comic book drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 86%
I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson
Critics are raving about this new sketch comedy series from Tim Robinson (Detroiters), which pushes cringe-comedy to new heights. His characters manage to stretch jokes out far longer than you’d expect, and the show’s tone is so over-the-top that you’ll find yourself laughing so hard you’ll need a chance to pause and breathe.
Cast: Tim Robinson, Andy Samberg, Ashleigh Nicole Johnson
Seasons: 1 (6 episodes)
Year: 2019 (ongoing)
Genre: Comedy
Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%
Grace and Frankie
An excellent odd-couple comedy, Grace and Frankie gives Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin starring roles with a lot of great one-liners. The series begins with a life-shattering moment as Frankie and Grace (Tomlin and Fonda) discover that their husbands are leaving them. Soon, the natural enemies slowly become friends.
Cast: Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Martin Sheen
Seasons: 6
Year: 2015–2020 (ongoing)
Genre: Comedy
Rotten Tomatoes score: 89%
Mindhunter
Thought we had enough crime dramas? Think again. Mindhunter brought cinema-quality visuals and strong character development to the genre, and took us back in crime to the 1970s as police began to track serial killers. Excellent acting and moody writing help make it one of the best Netflix series. Frustratingly, MIndhunter has apparently been put on an indefinite hiatus, so we don’t know if or when season 3 will happen.
Cast: Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany, Anna Torv
Seasons: 2
Year: 2017–2019
Genre: Crime drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%
The Great British Baking Show
Competitive reality TV doesn’t have to be a backstabbing mess. The Great British Baking Show (which is called The Great British Bake Off when it originally airs in the U.K.) subverts that trend with contestants who have a surprising amount of camaraderie as they produce plentiful amounts of pastries and cakes.
Cast: Anna Beattie, Richard McKerrow, Letty Kavanagh
Seasons: 7
Year: 2010–2020 (ongoing)
Genre: Cooking reality TV
Rotten Tomatoes score: 89%
Peaky Blinders
The first five seasons of Peaky Blinders has spanned a decade of crime drama in Birmingham, England. The series, driven by Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later) starring as the upwardly criminal Tommy Shelby, started off slow but currently moves at a breakneck pace.
Cast: Cillian Murphy, Tom Harper, Iddo Goldberg
Seasons: 5
Year: 2013–2019 (ongoing)
Genre: Crime drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
For once, a modernized update isn’t a lifeless, gritty reboot, as She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is the best new animated series on Netflix and a ton of fun. Sure, it might start in a dark place — as protagonists Adora and Catra did grow up as orphaned child soldiers — but it doesn’t live in that despair.
Cast: Aimee Carrero, Amanda Michalka, Marcus Scribner
Seasons: 5
Year: 2018–2020
Genre: Animated adventure
Rotten Tomatoes score: 96%
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
What if you took everything people love about the hit show Riverdale, but added horror sensibilities and made it funnier? That’s what you get with Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, which has an excellent lead in Kiernan Shipka. Yes, Sally Draper’s taking everything she learned on Mad Men and bringing it to a weirder world.
Cast: Kiernan Shipka, Miranda Otto, Chance Perdomo
Seasons: 4
Year: 2018–2020
Genre: Drama/Fantasy
Rotten Tomatoes score: 82%
Salt Fat Acid Heat
This series adapts chef Samin Nosrat best-selling book into a joyous adventure breaking down the essential elements of great-tasting food. Not only does the beautifully-shot show encourage audiences to believe in their ability to cook, but it educates audiences on the cultures that spawned these culinary marvels. Salt Fat Acid Heat is one of the best shows to watch on Netflix to improve your kitchen prowess.
Cast: Samin Nosrat
Seasons: 1 (4 parts)
Year: 2018
Genre: Cooking docuseries
Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%
Tuca & Bertie
Tuca & Bertie provided an animated take on the complications of adult friendships. A proper successor to Broad City, the show centers around a brash toucan named Tuca (voiced by Tiffany Haddish) and the anxiety-riddled songbird named Bertie (Ali Wong), who meet through living in the same apartment building. Tuca & Bertie is one of the best shows on Netflix right now, and I say “right now” because we’re not sure if Tuca & Bertie will wind up with Rick and Morty on HBO Max, as S2 is picked up by Adult Swim.
Cast: Tiffany Haddish, Ali Wong, Steven Yeun
Seasons: 1 (10 episodes)
Year: 2019
Genre: Animated comedy
Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%
Glow
Women’s wrestling — heck, all pro wrestling — has historically been laughed at, and called a side-show. Netflix original Glow looks to flip the script on how this predetermined spectacle is viewed, by showing how a group of misfit actors and wanna-be celebrities went from nobodies to superstardom. Sadly, Glow has been cancelled, due to complications with the COVID-19 pandemic, and its fourth season shall not come to life.
Cast: Alison Brie, Marc Maron, Betty Gilpin
Seasons: 3
Years: 2017–2019
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%
Stranger Things
One of the biggest and best Netflix shows takes audiences to Hawkins, Indiana for the retro adventures of Dustin, Mike, Lucas, Will, Max and Eleven, who keep finding themselves in the center of supernatural predicaments. Laugh at the dry wit of police chief Jim Hopper, find the joy in Winona Ryder’s over-the-top performance. One of the best shows to watch on Netflix ever, we’re so enamored with Stranger Things that we’re already wondering about its fourth season.
Cast: Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown
Seasons: 3
Year: 2016–present
Genre: Drama/Fantasy
Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%
The Good Place
What if you woke up in heaven, but knew you didn’t deserve to be there, and had to hide your imperfections? That case of impostor syndrome is at the root of the critically-praised The Good Place, which has crackling chemistry, sharp and clever jokes and an existential education that make it is one of the best Netflix shows. The final season of The Good Place was recently added to Netflix, so make sure to get a hankie for the emotional conclusion.
Cast: Kristen Bell, Ted Danson, William Jackson Harper
Seasons: 4
Year: 2016–2020
Genre: Comedy
Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%
Master of None
While Aziz Ansari got famous for being a tonedeaf wanna-be lothario on Parks & Rec, his Netflix original series takes a much more grounded approach at the insanity that is dating in the era of apps. The series has brought Dev and his friend Arnold (Eric Wareheim) from New York to Italy, to repeated success. A third season of five episodes is set to debut in May 2021.
Cast: Aziz Ansari, H. Jon Benjamin, Eric Wareheim
Seasons: 3
Year: 2015–2021
Genre: Comedy
Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%
The Crown
Claire Foy and Matt Smith (Doctor Who) garnered praise from critics and audiences alike for their portrayals of Queen Elizabeth II and Philip the Duke of Edinburgh in the first two seasons of The Crown that made it a must for our list of best Netflix shows. The Crown season 4 just debuted to a strong response, and we’re tracking all The Crown season 5 details.
Cast: Olivia Colman, Claire Foy, Vanessa Kirby
Seasons: 4
Year: 2016–present
Genre: Drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Musical comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend stars Rachel Bloom as Rebecca Nora Bunch: a NY lawyer who moves to California, only to find her first love living nearby. The songs aren’t just hilarious, they have real emotional depth, turning what seems like a silly rom-com much more and making this one of the best Netflix shows.
Cast: Rachel Bloom, Santino Fontana, Michael McDonald
Seasons: 4
Year: 2015–2019
Genre: Musical comedy
Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%
Better Call Saul
Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul focuses on slick, shady lawyer Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk). Both sequel and prequel to the show that inspired it, Better Call Saul reveals Saul’s sordid past as two-bit con man Jimmy McGill. It’s not easy to stand up to the excellence of Breaking Bad, but Better Call Saul perhaps exceeds it.
Cast: Bob Odenkirk, Michael McKean, Jonathan Banks
Seasons: 4
Year: 2015–2020 (ongoing)
Genre: Drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%
Arrested Development
We all love to see rich people fall, and Arrested Development scratched this itch well, while showing us how dumb the 1% can be. Of course, you might find a way to sympathise with Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman) and his son George Michael Bluth (Michael Cera), who are trying their best to fix the business. Arrested Development is inarguably one of the best shows to watch on Netflix, provided you stop after season 3.
Cast: Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, Jessica Walter, Jeffrey Tambor
Seasons: 5
Year: 2003–2006; 2013–2019
Genre: Comedy
Rotten Tomatoes score: 75%
BoJack Horseman
BoJack Horseman is a hilarious and profound meditation on the nature of depression that just happens to be about an anthropomorphic horse. BoJack (Will Arnett) is a washed-up Hollywood TV star with plenty of money but no real goals or joy left in his life.
Cast: Will Arnett, Aaron Paul, Amy Sedaris
Seasons: 6 (plus a Christmas special)
Year: 2014–2020
Genre: Animated comedy/drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%
Portlandia
If you don’t know where “the spirit of the 90’s is alive,” then you should take a detour to Portlandia. In this sketch-comedy series, SNL alum Fred Armisen and Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein spent 8 years poking fun at the culture of Portland, Ore, where eccentricity gets pushed beyond all reasonable boundaries.
Cast: Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein, Chloë Sevigny
Seasons: 8
Year: 2011–2020
Genre: Comedy
Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%
Orange Is the New Black
Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling) realizes she can’t escape the mistakes of her past when she winds up in a minimum-security women’s prison on a drug smuggling charge. Granted, it’s not all bad, as she befriends the quirky inmates and reflects on the bizarre backstory that brought her there.
Cast: Taylor Schilling, Laura Prepon, Kate Mulgrew
Seasons: 7
Year: 2013–2019
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%
House of Cards
A remake of the popular UK series of the same name, House of Cards is all about the inner workings of federal politics and just how dirty and deceitful they can get. Kevin Spacey stars as Frank Underwood: an amoral American congressman who will do absolutely anything to gain political power.
Cast: Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, Sebastian Arcelus
Seasons: 6
Year: 2013–2018
Genre: Drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 78%
Black Mirror
Black Mirror plays with all of our worst fears about technology and privacy. While its first episode, the sexually explicit “The National Anthem” pushed at social networks, later episodes — such as “Fifty Million Merits” and “White Christmas” — rip apart future advances in in-app purchases, reality TV and privacy filters.
Cast: Bryce Dallas Howard, Alice Eve, Michael Kelly
Seasons: 5
Year: 2011–2019 (ongoing)
Genre: Drama/Sci-Fi
Rotten Tomatoes score: 83%
Sherlock
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic detective comes to life when Dr. John Watson (Martin Freeman) returns from a tour of duty in Afghanistan. He then takes a room with the brilliant but antisocial Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch). Chemistry and intricate plotting make Sherlock one of the best Netflix shows of all time.
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Rupert Graves
Seasons: 4
Year: 2010–2017
Genre: Drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 78%
Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad is a story about disease, drugs, family, profit, power and much, much more. High school chemistry teacher Walter White needs money for his cancer treatment, and realizes he can profit from scientific know-how by cooking meth. Breaking Bad is not just one of the best Netflix shows, but one of the top series ever.
Cast: Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, RJ Mitte
Seasons: 5
Year: 2008–2013
Genre: Drama/Crime
Rotten Tomatoes score: 96%
The IT Crowd
If you’ve ever tried to explain a simple piece of technology to someone who just doesn’t get it, you know how Roy Trenneman and Maurice Moss feel. On The IT Crowd, the two best friends work in the IT department of a big company under their clueless boss, Jen Barber, with hilariously bad results.
Cast: Chris O’Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson
Seasons: 5
Year: 2006–2013
Genre: Comedy
Rotten Tomatoes score: 86%
Supernatural
Now the longest-running American fantasy series of all time, Supernatural is the story of Sam and Dean Winchester. This pair of brothers fights the paranormal, and battles both heaven and hell for a living. There’s an argument to be made that their ’67 Chevy Impala is the true star of the show.
Cast: Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Seasons: 15
Year: 2005–2020
Genre: Fantasy drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 88%
Twin Peaks
Who killed Laura Palmer? This mystery lies at the heart of Twin Peaks, a small-town drama from visionary filmmaker David Lynch. Kyle MacLachlan plays FBI investigator Dale Cooper, who’s brought in to investigate. One of the best Netflix shows you can watch, Twin Peaks is clever and eerie, and features Lynch’s humor and surrealism.
Cast: Kyle MacLachlan, Madchen Amick, Ray Wise, Sherilyn Fenn
Seasons: 2
Year: 1990–1991
Genre: Drama/Crime
Rotten Tomatoes score: 89%
Star Trek
Join Capt. James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the crew of the starship Enterprise as they boldly go where no man has gone before. Star Trek is a groundbreaking science-fiction adventure that had profound things to say about such concepts as exploration, war, racism and cultural differences.
Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Celia Lovsky
Seasons: 3
Year: 1990–1991
Genre: Sci-fi
Rotten Tomatoes score: 80%
The Twilight Zone
Love Black Mirror? Take a look at the series inspired it. Yes, Netflix is streaming The Twilight Zone, the original TV series with seriously thrilling stories, introduced by the stern Rod Serling. Must-see episodes include the shocking and tragic “Eye of The Beholder,” which has been referenced in popular culture for decades.
Cast: Rod Serling, John Anderson
Seasons: 4
Year: 1959–1964
Genre: Fantasy/Drama
Rotten Tomatoes score: 80%