The 50 best shows on Netflix right now
Last update: August 17, 2020.
Netflix has a treasure trove of terrific movies that you can stream right now, but if you’re looking for more than just a two-hour commitment, it’s also got a boatload of great TV shows you can delve into to keep yourself occupied for days — or even weeks — on end. If you just finished a good series and need a new one to fill the void, Netflix is the place to go, given the service’s phenomenal mix of classic, current, and original programming. Below, we’ve rounded up the best shows on Netflix right now, so you can binge-watch without having to hunt for the right title.
Looking for something else? We’ve also rounded up the best movies on Netflix, the best shows on Hulu, the best shows on Amazon Prime, and the best shows on Disney+.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
It’s four seasons, plus a fun choose-your-own-adventure-style interactive special, full of silly hilarity. The sitcom takes a serious premise — a teenage girl is kidnapped and kept in an underground bunker for 15 years until finally being rescued — and makes it funny. Now 29, Kimmy has been completely cut off from the real world and still has the attitude of a 15-year-old girl living in the ’90s. But despite emerging to a world filled with negativity and stress, she is determined to live life to the fullest and make every moment count, which prompts her to move to The Big Apple in hopes of fulfilling her dreams … whatever they may be. While Kimmy, played by Ellie Kemper, is the title character, the real star of the series is arguably her lazy, effeminate, eccentric, and judgmental roommate and friend Tituss (Tituss Burgess). With a cast that also includes comedic icons like Carol Kane and Jane Krakowski, along with Jon Hamm in a recurring role, it’s an unconventional, sugary-sweet, and uplifting comedy full of color and old pop-culture references that will make you smile.
Created By: Tina Fey, Robert Carlock
Cast: Ellie Kemper, Tituss Burgess, Carol Kane, Jane Krakowski
Number of Seasons: 4
Russian Doll
Natasha Lyonne brings her signature comedic stylings to this comedy-drama as Nadia, a woman stuck in a time loop who keeps reliving the same day over and over again, each time dying in increasingly freakish ways. She eventually discovers another man going through the same thing, and together, they try to figure out how to get out of the recurring nightmare. Earning four Primetime Emmy Award nominations, the mind-bending series will keep you puzzled and have you guessing all the way through. It’s the kind of series with lots of water-cooler-chatter potential by the end.
Created By: Natasha Lyonne, Leslye Headland, Amy Poehler
Cast: Natasha Lyonne, Greta Lee, Yul Vazquez, Charlie Barnett, Elizabeth Ashley
Number of Seasons: 1
The Umbrella Academy
Based on the comic book series of the same name by Gerard Way, this superhero series follows the lives of seven of 43 children born to women who mysteriously never knew they were pregnant until they went into labor. It turns out they are superheroes, and when these seven children are adopted by an eccentric billionaire, he turns the siblings into a superhero team called The Umbrella Academy. Later, however, the children become estranged from one another and their father. But when they discover he has passed away, they reconnect for his funeral. Warnings of a pending apocalypse prompt them to band together again to stop it, though it isn’t without clashing personalities and plenty of familial dysfunction.
Created By: Steve Blackman
Cast: Ellen Page, Tom Hopper, David Castaneda, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, Aidan Gallagher, Mary J. Blige, Cameron Britton, John Magaro, Adam Godley, Colm Feore, Justin H. Min, Ritu Arya, Yusuf Gatewood, Marin Ireland, Kate Walsh
Number of Seasons: 2
The Baby-Sitters Club
Just released in summer 2020, this television adaptation of the popular children’s novel series of the same name by Ann M. Martin has become an instant hit, with a 100% approval rating on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes and critics calling it “sweet, sincere, and full of hope.” Like the books, the series follows five middle-school girls who start their own babysitting business in Connecticut, and their adventures as they do so. Each girl has her own unique passion and personality, and a different job in the club, from Kristy Thomas (Sophie Grace), the president who makes it a point to call out social injustices, to the shy Mary Anne (Malia Baker), who serves as secretary. It’s a great show that pre-teens and young teens will love, and nostalgic parents who might have read the book series when they were kids will appreciate, too.
Created By: Rachel Shukert
Cast: Sophie Grace, Momona Tamada, Shay Rudolph, Malia Baker, Alicia Silverstone, Mark Feuerstein, Xochitl Gomez
Number of Seasons: 1
Never Have I Ever
Never Have I Ever is a coming-of-age dramedy about a young woman who, after the death of her father, decides she wants to change her life and elevate her social status. However, Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), an Indian girl raised in America, finds that her family and friends aren’t fully on board with this renaissance. Considered a standout in a crowded field of coming-of-age dramedies on Netflix, Never Have I Ever delightfully balances the traditional perils of high school like teen romance and popularity with the challenges of grief, being a first-generation American, and finding yourself in a crowd of loved ones.
Created By: Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher
Cast: Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Jaren Lewison
Number of Seasons: 1
Avatar: The Last Airbender
When it comes to animated series, few rival Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender. The beloved series continues to garner a following more than 15 years after its initial debut, likely due to the way it deftly balances child-friendly themes with more sophisticated narratives, ones that revolve around war and the oft-ambiguous line between good and evil. The show is centered on the titular Aang, a master of the elements, and four nations, each of which is named after a different element (Earth, Air, Fire, and Water). The main story follows Aang and his companions in their effort to quell unrest and an ongoing feud with the Fire Nation, but the show’s detailed world-building and character development extend well beyond the scope of any one individual. To this day, it’s still considered a masterclass in storytelling, and considering Netflix is currently working on a live-action adaptation, there’s no better time to watch than now.
Created By: Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko
Cast: Zach Tyler Eisen, Mako Iwamatsu, Mae Whitman
Number of Seasons: 3
The Legend of Korra
Anything following Avatar: The Last Airbender was going to face an uphill battle, but series creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko once again struck gold in the sequel series, The Legend of Korra. The follow-up takes place over five decades after The Last Airbender, as a 17-year old girl named Korra emerges as the next Avatar. Aang’s presence is felt, but the world has been greatly changed into a more industrial society where bending the elements has become commonplace.
Korra’s quest of self-discovery leads her to Republic City, where she becomes a professional bender on a sports team. But the Avatar is always meant for something greater, and Korra’s journey pushes her physical and spiritual limits as she takes on a coup, evil benders, and even a dark Avatar. The series also tackles more complex sexualities with aplomb — an unprecedented feat for a children’s show in 2014 — and features an unforgettable moment to close out the series. It’s a cartoon like no other.
Created By: Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko
Cast: Janet Varney, David Faustino, P. J. Byrne
Number of Seasons: 4
The Haunting of Hill House
One dark and ominous night, Hugh Crain (Henry Thomas) gathers his children and flees their vast, gothic mansion, leaving his wife, Olivia (Carla Gugino), behind. Olivia dies that night, her death ruled a suicide, and the tabloids run wild with stories of the haunted Hill House. The five Crain children — Steven, Shirley, Theo, Nell, and Luke — all grow up dealing with their trauma in varying ways, whether writing a successful memoir about the haunting of Hill House (Steven), or abusing drugs to numb the pain (Luke). As adults, the Crain siblings are barely on speaking terms, until a tragedy forces them all back together, and back to Hill House. Mike Flanagan’s The Haunting of Hill House is a character-driven story, delving into the psychological problems of its many protagonists. It’s no mere family drama, though. In addition to their personal demons, there are some very real ghosts haunting the Crains, and Flanagan orchestrates some intense scares in the first episode alone, building tension but also knowing when to bust out a jump scare.
Created By: Mike Flanagan
Cast: Henry Thomas, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Kate Siegel
Number of Seasons: 2
Alias Grace
Based on a novel by Margaret Atwood (itself based on a true story), Alias Grace begins with a mystery. Grace Marks (Sarah Gadon) is serving a sentence for murder, for which her male accomplice was hanged. Grace has numerous supporters, who hire Dr. Simon Jordan (Edward Holcroft) to interview Grace and hopefully reveal a truth that will absolve her. Grace’s story takes her from Ireland to Canada, where she works as a servant for the wealthy man she will allegedly kill. The show is no mere whodunit — as a member of the lower class, and a woman, Grace navigates social hierarchies that grasp at her every moment of every day. In its examination of Grace’s story, her dismal past, and the shifting views society takes of her, Alias Grace weaves a tale about what it is to be a woman in a world governed by men.
Created By: Mary Harron
Cast: Sarah Gadon, Edward Holcroft, Rebecca Liddiard
Number of Seasons: 1
Peaky Blinders
Set in the aftermath of World War I, Peaky Blinders is a crime drama about a British crime family, the Shelbys. After Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) returns from the war, he sets about trying to expand the family’s control of Birmingham, stealing a shipment of guns to give his gang an edge in the world of crime. The show follows Tommy and his family as they move up in the world, butting heads with other crime families and the British government. Peaky Blinders is gorgeously shot, and the story it tells is one of complicated people and muddy morality.
Created By: Steven Knight
Cast: Cillian Murphy, Paul Anderson, Helen McCrory
Number of Seasons: 7
Mindhunter
In 1977, cultural earthquakes have toppled faith in the American ideal, and the agents of the FBI face an unfamiliar kind of criminal: The serial killer, whose crimes have no basis in reason as far as the agency can see. Agent Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) believes that, with enough research, the FBI can make sense of the seemingly senseless violence. Together with Behavioral Science Unit agent Bill Tench (Holt McCallany), Ford travels the country, interviewing imprisoned serial killers to understand what drives them, but gazing into the abyss starts to gnaw at the agents. From director David Fincher, Mindhunter is a sleek, eerie production, with a focus on the nature of criminal psychology, rather than grotesque violence.
Created By: Joe Penhall
Cast: Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany, Anna Torv
Number of Seasons: 2
Queer Eye
The original Queer Eye for the Straight Guy introduced the world to a whole new kind of reality show. More than a decade later, Netflix rebooted the franchise with a new Fab Five and a new mission. The new Fab Five consists of food and wine specialist Antoni Porowski, interior designer Bobby Berk, grooming consultant Jonathan Van Ness, fashion designer Tan France, and culture expert Karamo Brown. Every season, they travel to new parts of the country to meet and pick up under-recognized people, helping them to find the value within themselves and accomplish a specific goal. It’s a heart-warming, provocative show that sees the Fab Five fly into cities and rural areas where they very clearly stand out and attempt to prove that we’re all not that different after all.
Created By: David Collins
Cast: Antoni Porowski, Bobby Berk, Jonathan Van Ness, Tan France, Karamo Brown
Number of Seasons: 5
Breaking Bad
Walter White (Bryan Cranston) is a high-school chemistry teacher diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer. To secure his family’s finances before he dies, White uses his chemistry background to cook and deal premium blue meth. His partner is former student and burnout named Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul). Breaking Bad is teeming with moral consequences and family issues, and fittingly, it’s as addicting as the crystal meth White produces in his beat-up van in the desert.
Created By: Vince Gilligan
Cast: Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn
Number of Seasons: 5
Better Call Saul
Starring Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul takes fans of Vince Gilligan’s Breaking Bad back to the New Mexico desert for a look at Saul Goodman’s origin story. Before Goodman became the quirky, crooked lawyer Walter White played like a fiddle, he was Jimmy McGill, an aspiring lawyer who just couldn’t seem to keep his hands clean. The show is set six years prior to the events of Breaking Bad, and throws out the convention that a spinoff must pale in comparison to its source material. It also proves Gilligan and company remain at the top of their game.
Created By: Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould
Cast: Bob Odenkirk, Rhea Seehorn, Jonathan Banks
Number of Seasons: 5
Rectify
How would you handle readjusting to life after being wrongfully imprisoned for 19 years of your life? Sundance TV’s Rectify addresses this quandary as it follows the life of Daniel Holden. Convicted and sent to death row as a teenager for the rape and murder of his 16-year-old girlfriend, new evidence sets the stage for his return home to Paulie, Georgia. Now in his late 30s, Holden attempts to rekindle relationships with his family and friends, something not easily accomplished for someone whose name had been denounced for so long.
Created By: Ray McKinnon
Cast: Aden Young, Abigail Spencer, J. Smith-Cameron
Number of Seasons: 4
Penny Dreadful
Crossovers are not a new concept — superheroes have been doing it for decades — but Penny Dreadful’s gothic milieu helps it stand out, particularly in the television landscape. The show is a who’s who of 19th-century icons, including Victor Frankenstein and Dorian Gray, as well as several original characters. The show begins with stately adventurer Sir Malcolm Murray (Timothy Dalton) and his compatriot, the psychic Vanessa Ives (Eva Green), recruiting American gunslinger Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett) and Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway) to investigate the disappearance of Murray’s daughter, Mina. The case takes them to dark places, but all of them carry their own secrets that may be darker still. True to its genre roots, Penny Dreadful takes things slow, building relationships between characters and coyly unfurling its mysteries. The show’s unique atmosphere and mastery of tone set it apart from everything else on television.
Created By: John Logan
Cast: Josh Hartnett, Timothy Dalton, Eva Green
Number of Seasons: 3
The Fall
Following a number of murders in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson (Gillian Anderson) arrives to supervise the investigation. The killer, Paul Spector (Jamie Dornan), is a family man and therapist who’s trying to maintain his personal and professional lives while hunting young women. Unlike many police procedurals, The Fall makes its villain known very early. Thus, for the audience, the tension comes not from trying to guess the killer’s identity, but from watching the detective and murderer go about their days, never knowing who is about to get the upper hand. The Fall is a psychological procedural, focusing more on the lives and motivations of the central characters than hunting for clues. A simmering detective story, to be sure, but one well worth the time investment.
Created By: Allan Cubitt
Cast: Gillian Anderson, Jamie Dornan, John Lynch
Number of Seasons: 3
The Crown
Britain’s current and longest-reigning monarch is also one of its most unassuming. Elizabeth II ascended to the throne in the aftermath of World War II, at a time when the monarchy had ceded much of its power to Parliament and the Prime Minister. Despite a lack of governmental power, the Queen remains one of the most important heads of state in the world, and civic duties abound. Netflix’s The Crown traces Elizabeth’s (Claire Foy) life from her marriage to Prince Philip (Matt Smith) in 1947 to the present day, digging into the web of agendas and alliances the Queen must navigate. Heavy on political intrigue, The Crown is sure to satisfy viewers who appreciate Machiavellian television, as well as those who love the decor of TV shows like Downton Abbey. However, the show also has a deeply intimate side, in that it examines Elizabeth’s personal relationships and the toll exacted by her duties as Queen.
Created By: Peter Morgan
Cast: Claire Foy, Olivia Colman, Matt Smith
Number of Seasons: 5
Derry Girls
A civil war might not seem like the best setting for a jaunty coming-of-age comedy, but Derry Girls shows that hijinks can ensue even in times of violence. Set in Derry, Northern Ireland, during The Troubles, the show follows a group of teenage friends — neurotic Erin (Saoirse-Monica Jackson), her cuckoo cousin Orla (Louisa Harland), Clare (Nicola Coughlan), crass Michelle (Jamie-Lee O’Donnell), and Michelle’s English cousin James (Dylan Llewellyn) — as they go about their daily lives as students at an all-girls school (James is attending because, due to his English accent and awkward demeanor, he might get bullied at the boy’s school). Although the show is very conscious of the conflict raging around the cast — a bomb scare early in the first episode leads to griping about how it will affect traffic — the focus is on the characters, each lovably obnoxious in their own way, and their rapid banter.
Created By: Lisa McGee
Cast: Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Louisa Harland, Nicola Coughlan
Number of Seasons: 3
Sex Education
Sex Education is a bawdy comedy about teens grappling with sexuality. Just how bawdy is it, though? The opening scene concludes with a macho bully faking an orgasm, after which his girlfriend angrily demands to know “Where’s the spunk, Adam!?” As in a lot of high school comedies, the teens of Sex Education are having (or trying to have) a lot of sex, but for various reasons, none of them are really enjoying themselves; that’s where Otis (Asa Butterfield) comes in. The son of prominent sex therapist Jean (Gillian Anderson), Otis knows a thing or two about sexual dysfunction (due to some childhood trauma, he has some dysfunctions of his own). When a delinquent named Maeve (Emma Mackey) realizes Otis’s therapy skills could make money, they go into business together, treating the neuroses of their classmates. It should be smooth sailing, but then Otis realizes he has feelings for Maeve. Sex Education gets a lot of mileage out of sex jokes, but what leaves a lasting impression is the show’s recognition that sex can be an emotionally perilous adventure and the effects that can have on people.
Created By: Laurie Nunn
Cast: Asa Butterfield, Gillian Anderson, Ncuti Gatwa
Number of Seasons: 3
Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness
The “crazy true crime” documentary has become the iconic genre of the streaming age, and Tiger King might be the Platonic ideal. The setup is simple enough: Director Eric Goode is making a documentary about a snake dealer in Florida, stumbling from there into the world of big cat owners, and the eponymous “Tiger King” in particular: Joe Exotic, the grandiose owner of a big cat zoo (and country musician) who was convicted in 2019 of trying to put a hit on animal rights activist Carole Baskin. From the moment he appears on screen, Exotic is an outlandish figure, and the story only gets wilder from there.
Created By: Eric Goode, Rebecca Chaiklin
Cast: Joe Exotic, Carole Baskin
Number of Seasons: 1
The Good Place
Bureaucratic mix-ups can be a nightmare — just ask anyone who has needed to apply for a passport — but on occasion, they can work out in your favor. Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell) finds herself on the good side of a paperwork snafu when, after dying, she ends up in the Good Place, a serene afterlife neighborhood built by a cosmic architect named Michael (Ted Danson). In reality, Eleanor was an abrasive person who only looked out for herself. Now, in order to avoid being discovered and sent to the Bad Place, she must learn how to behave like a nice person. The Good Place is an upbeat comedy whose unique setting and surprising plot set it a notch above most sitcoms.
Created By: Michael Schur
Cast: Kristen Bell, William Jackson Harper, Jameela Jamil
Number of Seasons: 4
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Musicals are in short supply on television — perhaps because audiences just find song-and-dance a bit too corny. That same drought makes Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s lavish musical numbers all the more striking, however. The titular ex is Rebecca Bunch (Rachel Bloom), a tightly strung lawyer who abandons her career in New York and moves to West Covina, California, to reconnect with her first crush, Josh (Vincent Rodriguez III). The premise seems like typical rom-com fare, but Crazy Ex-Girlfriend rises above by embracing absurdity. The musical numbers, of which there are many, are funny and bombastic, paying homage to various genres of music and classic films.
Created By: Rachel Bloom, Aline Brosh McKenna
Cast: Rachel Bloom, Donna Lynne Champlin, Vincent Rodriguez III
Number of Seasons: 4
Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy
The original Transformers animated series was, admittedly, a cool way to sell kids toy robots that could turn into vehicles. There have been several subsequent Transformers animated series, but Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy is the first one to truly embrace the pathos behind the struggle between the Autobots and the Decepticons. The gorgeous CGI animation retains the look and feel of the Generation 1 Transformers, and it also adds moments of genuine awe in Cybertron and the return of some unexpected heroes and villains.
But the most impressive part of this series is the way that it allows both Autobots and Decepticons to question their place in the war, as well as the morality of their leaders, Optimus Prime and Megatron. The line between the good and evil robots is no longer cut and dried. This incarnation of Transformers is an unexpectedly rich drama with terrific writing and performances. It’s the show we always wanted it to be.
Created By: F. J. DeSanto, George Krstic
Cast: Jake Foushee, Jason Marnocha, Joe Zieja
Number of Seasons: 1
Master of None
Created by and starring comedian Aziz Ansari, the Netlfix original series Master of None concerns the everyday life of Dev, a 30-year-old actor who attempts to navigate the twists and turns of adulthood while making a living for himself in New York City. Reportedly based somewhat loosely on Ansari’s own life, the show even features the former Parks and Recreation actor’s real-life mother and father as Dev’s parents in the show. Even if you haven’t dabbled in Ansari’s prior work (you should, too, he’s absolutely hilarious) Master of None is sure to please with its witty dialogue, multidimensional cast of characters, and relatable storylines.
Created By: Aziz Ansari, Alan Yang
Cast: Aziz Ansari, Eric Wareheim, Lena Waithe
Number of Seasons: 2
BoJack Horseman
Netflix’s original animated show features voices from some of the brightest stars on TV today (i.e., Will Arnett, Alison Brie, Aaron Paul). Comedian Amy Sedaris also lends her voice to this raucous show about a washed-up celebrity horse who attempts to reignite his stagnant career. Ridiculous in all aspects, BoJack Horseman is good for some hearty laughs at the expense of the commonplace celebrity lifestyle. Season 1 starts off goofy, but by the first season finale, the show evolves into a shockingly sad, yet still hilarious examination of depression and pop-culture into the second season.
Created By: Raphael Bob-Waksberg
Cast: Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie
Number of Seasons: 6
Arrested Development
Cult-classic sitcom Arrested Development is the story of a wealthy family that lost everything, and has spent five seasons losing even more. The show follows the Bluths, a dysfunctional clan of fools and sociopaths who lose their fortune after patriarch George Bluth Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor) goes to prison. George’s middle son, Michael (Jason Bateman), the only marginally decent Bluth, must keep the family business running — and keep the family together. Arrested Development relies on snappy dialogue, memorable characters, and dense scripts with plenty of jokes that get better with every viewing. After a long hiatus, the streaming giant revived the show for a fourth season that got mixed reviews for splitting up the many characters, but season 5 (the first half, with the second to come later) seems to have righted the ship, returning to the ensemble nature of the first three seasons.
Created By: Mitchell Hurwitz
Cast: Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, Portia de Rossi
Number of Seasons: 5
Portlandia
Given Digital Trends is headquartered mere blocks from the Portlandia sculpture in downtown Portland which the show is named after, sometimes the deadpan humor — nearly always done at the expense of Portlanders — is a send-up of hipster culture so dead-on it hurts. Even so, the show represents a landmark success considering you’ll laugh more than you’ll wince as Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein guide you through their version of Portland, which is only slightly zanier than the real thing. It’s scripted, but the two stars leave plenty of room for improvisation and cameos.
Created By: Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein, Jonathan Krisel
Cast: Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein, Kyle MacLachlan
Number of Seasons: 8
Parks and Recreation
What started out as a sitcom done in the typical, post-Office mockumentary style turned into one of those truly amazing TV shows. It’s a hilarious study of the comical residents of Pawnee, Indiana. The show centers on public servant Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), an excitable midlevel official in the parks and recreation department, along with a team that diligently works to make the city of Pawnee a better place for everyone. The cast is filled with some of the biggest names in comedy including Nick Offerman, Aziz Ansari, and Rashida Jones.
Created By: Greg Daniels, Michael Schur
Cast: Amy Poehler, Jim O’Heir, Nick Offerman
Number of Seasons: 7
New Girl
Zooey Deschanel plays the quirky Jess in this Fox comedy about a woman who moves into a loft in L.A. with three guys she meets online. While Jake Johnson’s Nick character serves as the second lead behind Deschanel, it’s performances from Max Greenfield (Schmidt) and Lamorne Morris (Winston) that steal the show. This single-camera sitcom perfectly blends elements of drama into its comedic writing, and remains one of the wittiest shows on TV. To top things off, it even created its own drinking game called “True American.” What other show has that on its résumé?
Created By: Elizabeth Meriwether
Cast: Zooey Deschanel, Jake Johnson, Max Greenfield
Number of Seasons: 7
Big Mouth
Middle school is hard. Changing bodies, social awkwardness, hormone monsters … it’s tough. Ah yes, hormone monsters only exist in the cartoon version of puberty, Big Mouth. This off-the-walls, provocative, yet jarringly insightful comedy centers around kids but it’s certainly full of adult language and themes. The kids at Bridgeton Middle School are trying to navigate their adult lives as best they can, but understanding anatomy, sex, love, and adult life is easier said than done. Especially when their hormone monsters can’t stop giving terrible advice. With an all-star voice cast and a brazen willingness to discuss any topic, no matter how difficult, Big Mouth is one of the boldest, most honest takes on the coming-of-age story on television.
Created By: Nick Kroll, Andrew Goldberg, Jennifer Flackett, Mark Levin
Cast: Nick Kroll, John Mulaney, Jordan Peele, Jennifer Klein
Number of Seasons: 3
GLOW
The job market isn’t great for aspiring actors, so when Ruth Wilder (Alison Brie) answers a call for “unconventional women,” she ends up trying out for the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, an all-female wrestling league overseen by washed-up director Sam Sylvia (Marc Maron). Wilder’s former friend Debbie Gilpin (Betty Gilpin) also tries out, and Sylvia decides to make the two the center of the league’s story: Gilpin the heroic “Liberty Belle,” and Wilder as the villain “Zoya the Destroya.” What follows is a raucous story of misfits chasing their dreams, complete with a melange of ’80s tropes, including cocaine-fueled parties and hokey montages. One scene even busts out Stan Bush’s Dare, which, if you haven’t seen The Transformers: The Movie, is an absolute gem.
Created By: Liz Flahive, Carly Mensch
Cast: Alison Brie, Marc Maron, Betty Gilpin
Number of Seasons: 4
Altered Carbon
An adaptation of a popular cyberpunk novel by Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon is set a few hundred years in the future, by which point humanity has developed the technology to download a person’s consciousness into computers. People can now transfer themselves into new bodies, called “sleeves,” effectively making themselves immortal — provided they have the money. Into this world steps Takeshi Kovacs (Joel Kinnaman), a former soldier who has spent the last 250 years in cold storage. He is back, in a new sleeve, courtesy of Laurens Bancroft (James Purefoy), a wealthy man who wants Takeshi to find the man who killed Bancroft’s previous body. Altered Carbon draws on classic noir elements, as Takeshi explores a grimy city where everyone seems to have a hidden agenda.
Created By: Laeta Kalogridis
Cast: Chris Conner, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Joel Kinnaman
Number of Seasons: 2
Star Trek: The Next Generation
For those of you unacquainted with perhaps the most popular sci-fi television series of all time, there’s not much we can say, other than Netflix has all seven seasons of Star Trek: Next Generation. Created in 1987, 21 years after the original series, the show follows the exploits of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his space-faring crew upon the new USS Enterprise. Despite the omission of the rest of the Star Trek library and Paramount’s decision to end the show prematurely, there’s still 187 episodes lined with Romulans and the Borg, not to mention an entire world of adventure with which to expand your cult-classic knowledge. After all, it did manage to live long and prosper.
Created By: Gene Roddenberry
Cast: Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Jonathan Frakes
Number of Seasons: 7
Dark
Although it drew a lot of comparisons to Stranger Things (due to the small-town setting and teenage protagonists), the German Netflix series Dark is its own thing, a strange, high-concept story set in a town where everyone has their secrets. Dark begins in Winden, a small, wooded town near a nuclear reactor. Teenager Jonas (Louis Hoffman) returns to school, having spent time getting therapy following his father’s suicide, only to find the town in a state of shock over a new tragedy: The disappearance of his fellow student, Erik Obendorf. Erik is not the first child to go missing in Winden’s history, nor will he be the last, and Jonas and his friends soon find themselves on the edge of a mystery that spans generations. Dark is an eerie drama, dense with mysteries and complicated characters.
Created By: Baran bo Odar, Jantje Friese
Cast: Karoline Eichhorn, Louis Hofmann, Jördis Triebel
Number of Seasons: 3
Black Mirror
Each episode of Black Mirror tells a single story, with a theme of modern and near-future technology running through each unnerving tale. It’s often compared to The Twilight Zone for its episodic nature, and just like that classic, some of the stories will leave you sitting and staring at a blank television, wondering what you just watched. Beyond all of the thought-provoking, mind-bending, and world-building, the acting and aesthetic is smart and nuanced, and will leave even the best spoiler guessers out there reeling from the sharp twists and turns in every episode.
Created By: Charlie Brooker
Cast: Daniel Lapaine, Hannah John-Kamen, Michaela Coel
Number of Seasons: 5
The Witcher
A lone swordsman rides into town, a grotesque beast slung over his horse. The townsfolk cast scornful glances, although he’s slain the monster that plagued them. He’ll get no thanks; at best, the bounty he was promised in full. Such is the life of a witcher. Based on the popular fantasy series, Netflix’s The Witcher follows Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), a monster hunter with magical powers: A witcher, to use the parlance of his world. Over decades, Geralt hunts monsters for gold, crossing paths with the cunning sorceress Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) and the refugee princess Ciri (Freya Allen), whose fate is bound tightly to his own. Bloody battles, complicated characters, and memorable songs — courtesy of the bard Jaskier (Joey Batey) — are just some of the charms this dark fantasy series has to offer.
Created By: Lauren Schmidt
Cast: Henry Cavill, Freya Allan, Anya Chalotra
Number of Seasons: 2
The Last Dance
In the fall of 1997, the Chicago Bulls had won five of the last seven NBA championships and were primed to earn their second three-peat of the ’90s. Nonetheless, owner Jerry Reinsdorf and GM Jerry Krause seemed fully prepared to fire coach Phil Jackson and begin rebuilding the franchise after the 1997-98 season, despite the opposition of the world’s greatest player, Michael Jordan. That fall, the Bulls allowed a film crew to follow them as they embarked upon what Jackson deemed “The Last Dance.” This 10-part docuseries chronicles that season and contextualizes it in Michael Jordan’s remarkable, world-changing career. Following Jordan from being cut from his high school basketball team, through his illustrious college career and battles with Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, all the way to his iconic game-winning shot in the 1998 NBA Finals, The Last Dance is one of the most immersive and exciting sports documentaries of recent memory, even though Jordan’s production company had the final editorial say. The series doesn’t shed much light on the many controversies that followed Jordan throughout his career, but it does help solidify just what an enormous, transcendent icon Jordan really was.
Created By: Jason Hehir
Cast: Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Phil Jackson
Number of Seasons: 1
Stranger Things
The opening sequence of Stranger Things lays out the TV show’s sci-fi aspirations clearly: A scientist flees down an empty hallway, pursued by some unseen force that eventually nabs him as he waits for elevator doors to close; it then cuts to a group of kids playing D&D in a suburban basement. From Alien to E.T. in a matter of seconds. The show is a stew made of various influences from the ‘80s. A mysterious creature and a secret government agency, a group of kids having adventures around their rural town, teens experimenting with sex, drugs, and peer pressure.
There are pieces of Stephen King, Steven Spielberg, and John Hughes strewn throughout Stranger Things, and the result is a show that will feel immediately familiar to people who grew up with that source material. The show is not shallow in its emulation, either. The acting and direction are superb, giving even the most derivative scenes some heft.
Created By: Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer
Cast: Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Winona Ryder
Number of Seasons: 3
Street Food
If you love the best cooking shows but you’re tired of seeing buttoned-up celebrity chefs in pristine kitchens, how about a show that examines the food of the people? Street Food travels the world to explore how chefs from various cultures cook street food. The first season focuses on various Asian countries, including Thailand, Japan, and Singapore, interviewing experts and filming the local vendors. This being a David Gelb production, the cinematography is stunning, and the interviews with local chefs add a personal story to the cuisine on display. Come for the entrancing shots of chicken skewers sizzling on a grill, stay for the insights into the rich customs of cultures of Asian cities.
Created By: David Gelb, Brian McGinn
Cast: Philip Hersh, Caitlyn Elizabeth, Daniel Lee Gray
Number of Seasons: 1
Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj
This Peabody Award-winning series puts the spotlight on The Daily Show alumnus Hasan Minhaj, who uses his platform to take deep dives into the world’s cultural and political landscape today. Rather than tackling the news, Minhaj uses his storytelling skill and comedic voice to look at the larger trends shaping both our American and global society. The weekly has six series, exploring everything from immigration enforcement to the questionable value of higher education.
Created By: Hasan Minhaj, Prashanth Venkataramanujam
Cast: Hasan Minhaj
Number of Seasons: 6
Wild Wild Country
The documentary series Wild Wild Country follows a fascinating yet obscure episode in American history: The rise and fall of the Rajneeshpuram, a religious community that sprang up in remote Central Oregon in the 1980s and was built around the teachings of a guru named Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. The group’s cultish tendencies grated on the locals, and as tensions rose, the Rajneeshees became more militant, attempting to hijack the voting process in Antelope, Oregon, and even staging a bioterror attack. Wild Wild Country makes extensive use of archival footage, as well as interviews with the people who lived through the conflict. The perspectives of the former Rajneeshees are intriguing; many look back fondly on their time in the community. Rajneesh’s lieutenant, Ma Anand Sheela, is a particularly fascinating character. Expertly crafted and highly informative, Wild Wild Country is a sharp exploration of how cults develop, and why they create friction with mainstream America.
Created By: Maclain Way, Chapman Way
Cast: Ma Anand Sheela, Osho, Philip Toelkes
Number of Seasons: 1
Ugly Delicious
Chef David Chang has built a career on bucking culinary authority, and his Netflix series, Ugly Delicious, finds the restaurateur waging total war on the concept of “authenticity.” The first episode is a great example of the show’s thesis, as it examines the ways in which chefs around the world have taken a simple dish like pizza and reinvented it. Ugly Delicious is less about gorgeous shots of cooking than it is about the way culture shapes cuisine, and the show is conscious of how different styles of food are tied to ethnicity. A conversation between two Italian-American pizza chefs takes a sorrowful turn as they reflect on the disintegration of the old Italian-American communities, and the fact that pizza is more an American icon now. Although Chang is not always on screen, his presence always comes through in the show’s dynamic energy.
Created By: David Chang
Cast: David Chang, Peter Meehan, Aziz Ansari
Number of Seasons: 2
Chef’s Table
David Gelb, director of Jiro Dreams of Sushi, returns to the world of cooking with Chef’s Table, a documentary series where each episode follows a different chef. With Jiro, Gelb found not only a guide to the art of sushi, but a story of fatherhood and the burden of legacy. In Chef’s Table, he similarly presents the chefs not as mere professionals, but complex people whose lives inform their work. The chefs involved include traditional culinary icons such as Massimo Bottura and new-wave chefs like Grant Achatz. Of course, those who crave footage of culinary grace will not be disappointed. Gelb has an eye for the sublime, his camera drifting slowly, gently across completed plates.
Created By: David Gelb
Cast: Dan Barber, Massimo Bottura, Bill Buford
Number of Seasons: 6
Making a Murderer
Heralded as Netflix’s answer to the hit podcast Serial, Making a Murderer tells the tragic story of Two Rivers, Wisconsin, native Steven Avery. After serving 18 years in prison for a horrific sexual assault and attempted murder crime he maintains he never committed, new evidence exonerates Avery, making him a free man. Now 41 years old and looking to clear his name, Avery sues Manitowoc County for a whopping $36 million in damages. However, shortly after filing the lawsuit, Avery’s name is once again tied to a grisly crime, this time the disappearance and assumed death of photographer Teresa Halbach. Coincidentally, Avery faces the same people who wrongfully put him behind bars in the mid-’80s and yet again maintain his innocence. Incredibly riveting yet downright infuriating at times, Netflix’s Making a Murderer is one of the most fascinating true crime documentaries you’ll find anywhere.
Created By: Laura Ricciardi, Moira Demos
Cast: Dolores Avery, Steven Avery, Laura Nirider
Number of Seasons: 2
Planet Earth
Netflix partnered with the BBC to offer streaming of its smash-hit documentary series Planet Earth. Over the course of 11 episodes, Planet Earth takes viewers to all corners of the globe, allowing them to see the Earth as they’ve never experienced before. From the depths of the open ocean to the jungles of Uganda, this docuseries sheds light on the most fascinating areas of the world. Life presenter David Attenborough superbly narrates Planet Earth’s globe-spanning expedition.
Created By: BBC
Cast: David Attenborough, Sigourney Weaver, Huw Cordey
Number of Seasons: 1
The Keepers
The streaming service’s true-crime streak continues with The Keepers, a haunting investigation into the murder of Sister Cathy Cesnik, a nun and Baltimore school teacher who was found near a garbage dump in the winter of 1969. The documentary follows the efforts of two of her former students — Gemma Hoskins and Abbie Schaub — as they try to uncover why someone would murder her. The Keepers is no simple whodunit, however. The documentary’s focus quickly expands from Cesnik’s murder to the atmosphere of Seton Keough High School, where it becomes apparent that sexual abuse was systemic, a scandal Cesnik may have tried to stop. Those who want a satisfying tale of justice may want to look elsewhere; those who want to see how institutions can work to cover up corruption will find The Keepers to be a disturbing case study.
Created By: Ryan White
Cast: Gemma Hoskins, Abbie Schaub, Virginia Anzengruber
Number of Seasons: 1
The Twilight Zone
One of the most influential television series of all time, Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone is an anthology series, with each episode telling a unique story in the realms of sci-fi, horror, or some mix thereof. Each story followed characters caught up in strange, often cruel circumstances beyond their comprehension. Written during a particularly hot part of the Cold War, many episodes — particularly those written by Serling — serve as parables, exploring social and political issues of the 20th century. Take, for example, The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street, set on a cozy, suburban block where the power mysteriously goes out one night, causing the neighbors to turn on each other. Or It’s a Good Life, about a small town cut off from the world, whose inhabitants must bow to each and every whim of a tyrannical tyke. Don’t let the archaic props and special effects deter you — The Twilight Zone is every bit as brilliant today as it was when it first aired.
Created By: Rod Serling
Cast: Rod Serling, Robert McCord, Jay Overholts
Number of Seasons: 5
Twin Peaks
This cult classic of the early ’90s came from the mind of director David Lynch. After homecoming queen Laura Palmer is murdered, FBI agent Dale Cooper arrives in the small Washington town to investigate. Weirdness ensues, with everything from homicidal demons and cryptic dreams to doppelgängers of dead people and an FBI agent who really likes cherry pie and a “damn fine cup of coffee.” Twin Peaks was a revelatory series in its heyday, and it still holds up thanks to its uniquely eccentric characters and memorable moments, even if the murder mystery fizzles out eventually.
Created By: Mark Frost, David Lynch
Cast: Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean, Mädchen Amick
Number of Seasons: 2
Hannibal
This NBC series takes another look at everybody’s favorite cannibal, Hannibal Lecter, the character made famous in Thomas Harris’ trilogy of novels and 1991’s The Silence of the Lambs. Hugh Dancy plays gifted criminal profiler Will Graham, whose unique way of thinking gives him the ability to empathize with anyone, even psychopaths. While pursuing a particularly difficult case with the FBI, however, he decides to enlist the help of psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen). Their partnership flourishes and it soon seems that there is no villain they can’t catch together. Unfortunately, Lecter harbors a dark secret and his mind continually edges towards the dark side until he has more in common with the criminals they hunt than Will understands.
Created By: Bryan Fuller
Cast: Hugh Dancy, Mads Mikkelsen, Caroline Dhavernas
Number of Seasons: 3
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