The 50 best Netflix series you should binge in October 2025
From Stranger Things and Squid Game to hidden gems, Netflix has some of the best TV shows on streaming
Netflix series are widely credited with popularising the binge-watch, which isn’t surprising, given the platform has some of the best TV shows you can stream right now.
Unlike movies, TV shows ask a lot of their viewers. You can write off a film you didn’t like, but it stings when you spend hours upon hours watching a new series, only to fall away from it or realise it’s rubbish along the way.
If you’re in search of a new TV show that won’t leave you disappointed, you’re in luck. We’ve rounded up the 50 best series on Netflix… and there are a few hidden gems.
Contents
50. Alice in Borderland
Alice in Borderland will fill the Squid Game-shaped hole in your life [Credit: Netflix]
- Genre: Sci-fi, Thriller
- Year: 2020 – present
- Cast: Kento Yamazaki, Tao Tsuchiya, Nijiro Murakami, Ayaka Miyoshi
- Creator: Shinsuke Sato
- Length: 3 seasons, 22 episodes
What it’s about: Arisu – a jobless and video-game-obsessed young man – suddenly finds himself in a strange, emptied-out version of Tokyo in which he and his friends must compete in dangerous games in order to survive.
Why to watch: At first glance, Alice in Borderland may seem a little Squid Gamey; after all, it’s a game-based East Asian dystopian thriller.
But it’s so much more than that. It has broader influences, like Battle Royale, Saw, and The Maze Runner, with a suspenseful, gear-shifting plot, grisly action, and a sense of hope that can be quite powerful.
49. 3 Body Problem
- Genre: Sci-fi
- Year: 2024 – present
- Cast: Benedict Wong, Eiza González, Jess Hong, Liam Cunningham, Jonathan Pryce
- Creator: David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Alexander Woo
- Length: 1 season, 8 episodes (two more seasons announced)
What it’s about: One fateful decision in 1960s China ripples across space and time into the present day, where a close-knit group of scientists join forces with an unorthodox detective to confront the greatest threat in humanity’s history.
Why to watch: 3 Body Problem was a major gamble for Netflix: an adaptation of a near-inaccessible sci-fi saga from Game of Thrones’ excommunicated creators.
Thankfully, the risk paid off. As the first of three planned seasons, it’s weighty and ambitious – occasionally to a fault, but you need to allow it to sweep you up in the grandeur of its big ideas. Put it this way: it isn’t something you should watch as you scroll on your phone.
48. I Think You Should Leave
- Genre: Comedy
- Year: 2019 – 2023
- Cast: Tim Robinson, Sam Richardson, Patti Harrison
- Creator: Tim Robinson, Zach Kanin
- Length: 3 seasons, 18 episodes
What it’s about: A pay-it-forward misdeed at a drive-thru, a sweary ghost tour, a nonsensical focus group; in I Think You Should Leave, Tim Robinson’s sketch show about ridiculous people in absurd situations, nothing is off the table.
Why to watch: Comedy (perhaps only rivalled by horror) is the most subjective genre of entertainment. A scene can leave one person wiping tears from their grin-stretched face, while another viewer sits completely baffled, maybe even annoyed by the fact that someone could find something so funny.
There’s a good chance you won’t like I Think You Should Leave… at first. All it takes is one gateaway sketch to recalibrate your sense of humour, and suddenly, everything Tim Robinson does will make you laugh out loud.
47. The Crown
- Genre: Drama
- Year: 2016 – 2023
- Cast: Claire Foy, Olivia Colman, Imelda Staunton, Matt Smith
- Creator: Peter Morgan
- Length: 6 seasons, 60 episodes
What it’s about: From her ascension to the throne in the 1940s to the early 21st century, The Crown portrays the life of Queen Elizabeth II through some of the most significant and affecting events of her reign.
Why to watch: It may have begun as Netflix’s most prestigious TV show, but by the time you reach its later seasons, The Crown can feel like a regal soap opera. That’s not a bad thing, especially when you have a series with such a good ensemble; casting Emma Corrin as Princess Diana was a masterstroke.
At its best, it’s riveting, enlightening television about perhaps the most famous family in the world. At its worst, it’s a subversive costume drama.
46. Star Trek: The Next Generation
- Genre: Sci-fi
- Year: 1987 – 1994
- Cast: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton
- Creator: Gene Roddenberry
- Length: 7 seasons, 178 episodes
What it’s about: A century on from Captain Kirk, a new crew takes the helm of the starship Enterprise. Led by Jean-Luc Picard, they explore the farthest corners of space and strange new worlds, seeking out new life and new civilisations, and boldly going where no one has gone before.
Why to watch: Star Trek’s halcyon days are over (despite Paramount’s efforts to keep it alive). However, regardless of whether you’re a longtime Trekkie or a newbie curious about the franchise, this is the perfect place to start.
Stick with the first seasons and you’ll arrive at the show’s complex, character-first storytelling that’s far mature than its space opera contemporaries (and successors) would have you believe from the outset. For many fans, this is where they fully fell in love with Star Trek.
45. Mad Men
- Genre: Drama
- Year: 2007 – 2015
- Cast: Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, John Slattery, January Jones
- Creator: Matthew Weiner
- Length: 7 seasons, 92 episodes
What it’s about: Donald Draper, one of the most talented ad executives at an agency in New York, tries to balance his immense success at work, the pressure of selling dreams, and being able to look at himself in the mirror.
Why to watch: Breaking Bad may be AMC’s most famous series, but the network’s original storytelling began in 2007 with Mad Men. Nearly 20 years later, you could argue it’s one of the most seminal TV shows of the 21st century, reshaping the medium just like The Sopranos and Six Feet Under.
Even its quietest moments (probably someone smoking – aptly, it’s an unfortunate ad for looking great with a cigarette) are captivating, and it features some of the best-written characters to ever grace the small screen.
44. House
- Genre: Drama
- Year: 2004 – 2012
- Cast: Hugh Laurie, Omar Epps, Robert Sean Leonard, Lisa Edelstein
- Creator: David Shore
- Length: 8 seasons, 177 episodes
What it’s about: Dr Gregory House is a medical genius who can successfully diagnose any patient. He’s also rude, misanthropic, and addicted to pain medication. Each day, along with his amazing team, he figures out how to help people.
Why to watch: House is one of the most addictive shows on Netflix. You’re guaranteed to like it if you watched E.R., and unlike the genre’s yawningly corny offerings (*cough* Grey’s Anatomy *cough*), its sweetness is matched with cutting cynicism.
It’s part medical drama, part comedy, and part unofficial Sherlock Holmes adaptation. That’s an easy TV prescription for anyone.
43. Sex Education
- Genre: Comedy, Drama
- Year: 2019 – 2023
- Cast: Asa Butterfield, Gillian Anderson, Emma Mackey, Ncuti Gatwa
- Creator: Laurie Nunn
- Length: 4 seasons, 32 episodes
What it’s about: Otis, a sexually insecure teen and the son of a renowned sex therapist, teams up with Maeve, a rebellious classmate, to open a sex therapy clinic in their school. They’re an immediate success, but things get messy when Otis starts to fall for Maeve.
Why to watch: Sex Education is explicit, with its horny band of secondary schoolers caught in all sorts of awkward sexual misadventures. It’s not just sex for sex’s sake: as bawdy as it is, it’s all completely normal (one writer described it as a “cumming-of-age” show).
It’s also got a wealth of talent in its cast (Gillian Anderson in her best role after The X-Files, Ncuti Gatwa, and Aimee Lou Wood, to name a few) and some incredibly brave, refreshing storylines, especially in its final two seasons.
42. Schitt’s Creek
- Genre: Comedy
- Year: 2015 – 2020
- Cast: Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Dan Levy, Annie Murphy
- Creator: Dan Levy, Eugene Levy
- Length: 6 seasons, 80 episodes
What it’s about: After losing their fortune in an embezzling scheme, the once-wealthy Rose family move to Schitt’s Creek, a remote town in Canada that’s also their sole remaining asset.
Why to watch: Watching an ignorant, rich family get humbled is anyone’s idea of a good time, but Schitt’s Creek (a title that’s as funny as the show) goes one step further: over the course of six seasons, you’ll end up rooting for them.
It helps that they’re not as emotionally corrupt as the Roys, or as cosmically absurd as the Bluths. As written (and played) by Eugene and Dan Levy, these are funny, nice people – it isn’t a hardship to spend time with them.
41. Top Boy
- Genre: Crime, Drama
- Year: 2011 – 2023
- Cast: Ashley Walters, Kane Robinson, Michael Ward, Jasmine Jobson
- Creator: Ronan Bennett
- Length: 5 seasons, 32 episodes
What it’s about: Originally airing on Channel 4 before it was revived by Netflix, Top Boy revolves around two drug dealers – Dushane and Sully – as they try to keep control of their London estate and overcome tensions between gangs.
Why to watch: Top Boy’s original run was great; a gritty, homegrown urban crime drama… that was unceremoniously cancelled by Channel 4.
Nobody was happy – especially Drake, who successfully lobbied Netflix to revive it with three fantastic new seasons, with Ashley Walters and Kano reprising their roles alongside a new cast. It’s the UK’s closest match to The Wire, if you needed another reason to watch it.
40. Virgin River
- Genre: Drama
- Year: 2019 – present
- Cast: Alexandra Breckenridge, Martin Henderson, Tim Matheson, Annette O’Toole
- Creator: Sue Tenney
- Length: 6 seasons, 60 episodes (renewed for two more seasons)
What it’s about: Melinda Monroe leaves her big-city life behind to work as a nurse practitioner in Virgin River, a remote town in California. However, small-town living isn’t as easy as she expects, and she needs to heal herself before she can see a new horizon.
Why to watch: Virgin River is pure comfort TV at its finest – small-town melodrama, big emotions, and just enough chaos to keep you hooked.
It’s incredibly soapy, and some things are a bit preposterous (including a woman who’s pregnant for four seasons), but that’s part of the charm. If you want sophisticated drama, look elsewhere: this is a cosy escape, nothing more.
39. Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
- Genre: Drama, Horror, True Crime
- Year: 2022
- Cast: Evan Peters, Niecy Nash, Richard Jenkins, Molly Ringwald
- Creator: Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan
- Length: 1 season, 10 episodes
What it’s about: Between 1978 and 1991, 17 men and boys died at the hands of Jeffrey Dahmer, a murderer and sex offender who became one of America’s most notorious serial killers. This is his story in all of its disturbing detail.
Why to watch: True crime helped fortify Netflix’s position as the king of the streamers. Its subscribers have an insatiable appetite for the macabre, as proven by the success of Monster: A Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
It isn’t for the faint of heart, to the point that some critics even accused it of exploiting Dahmer’s victims and relishing his crimes. That’s up for debate, but one thing is clear: this is grimly compelling TV, morbid in ways once reserved for video nasties. That isn’t normal for such a mainstream release – and that’s why it’s worth watching.
38. Wayward
- Genre: Thriller
- Year: 2025
- Cast: Mae Martin, Toni Collette, Sarah Gadon
- Creator: Mae Martin
- Length: 1 season, 8 episodes
What it’s about: Nothing is what it seems in Tall Pines. After an escape attempt from an academy for “troubled teens”, two students join forces with a newly local police officer, unearthing the town’s dark and deeply rooted secrets.
Why to watch: It may take place in a remote, wooded town. It also follows a police officer investigating some pretty strange goings-on. However, don’t expect Wayward to be Netflix’s answer to Twin Peaks – that’s an impossible bar, and it’s a lazy comparison.
Mae Martin’s series deserves to be praised on its own terms: it’s an absorbing mystery that’s only guilty of trying to do too much, and it has Toni Collette in gripping, spiky form.
37. Gilmore Girls
- Genre: Comedy, Drama
- Year: 2000 – 2007
- Cast: Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel, Scott Patterson, Kelly Bishop
- Creator: Amy Sherman-Palladino
- Length: 7 seasons, 153 episodes
What it’s about: Lorelai and her teenage daughter Rory live in Stars Hollow, a quaint town in Connecticut, learning about life, love, and family as Rory goes through several milestones.
Why to watch: Gilmore Girls has benefited from the Netflix effect: giving a terrific show a new, deserved lease of life, making it so successful (again) that the streamer commissioned a revival.
It was fine, but the original series is wonderful; smart, cosy, with sharp, well-observed dialogue and performances from Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel, and its charming supporting cast. There’s a reason so many people watch it every Autumn: it’s the quintessential fall TV show.
36. Godless
- Genre: Drama, Western
- Year: 2017
- Cast: Jack O’Connell, Michelle Dockery, Jeff Daniels
- Creator: Scott Frank
- Length: 1 season (7 episodes)
What it’s about: Frank Griffin and his gang of outlaws are seeking revenge against Roy Goode, who seeks refuge with Alice Fletcher and the residents of La Belle, a worn-down, isolated town governed mainly by women.
Why to watch: Westerns never died, not really – but Godless is among the finest efforts to avenge and retool a genre that’s fallen out of favour.
Coming from Scott Frank (who made The Queen’s Gambit), it brings the Wild West – its beauty, its gunslinging ferocity – to the small screen without compromising its cinematic values. If anything, it benefits from its extended form: the characters are fuller formed, and there’s more time to appreciate its timely substance.
35. Bridgerton
- Genre: Drama, Romance
- Year: 2020 – present
- Cast: Phoebe Dynevor, Regé-Jean Page, Jonathan Bailey, Nicola Coughlan
- Creator: Chris Van Dusen
- Length: 3 seasons, 24 episodes (renewed for two more seasons)
What it’s about: Against the backdrop of the Regency era, the Bridgerton family navigate high society (and scandal) in search of love, facing battles between desire and duty under the watchful eye of gossip writer Lady Whistledown.
Why to watch: Bridgerton is a period drama. That’s a tough sell on its own, but there are three big reasons it’s one of Netflix’s biggest shows ever: steamy sex scenes, attractive and charismatic stars, and deliciously frothy, fun storytelling.
The first season followed Regé-Jean Page and Phoebe Dynevor’s Duke and Duchess. Season 2 shifted to Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley, before Season 3 focused on Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton. Here’s the best part: there are (at least) three more seasons in the works.
34. Black Mirror
- Genre: Sci-fi, Horror
- Year: 2011 – present
- Cast: Cristin Milioti, Jesse Plemons, Hayley Atwell, Bryce Dallas Howard
- Creator: Charlie Brooker
- Length: 7 seasons, 33 episodes
What it’s about: Created by Charlie Brooker, Black Mirror is an anthology series that explores the dark consequences of the digital age, whether it’s a Prime Minister forced to have sex with a pig, killer video games, or simulated realities.
Why to watch: Black Mirror’s reputation precedes itself. It is the benchmark for dark satire, so much so that it’s become a reference point for anything dystopic. To be clear, it deserves that level of notoriety – it could be the peak of bleak and popular television.
Yes, some of its later episodes feel a little Americanised. But when it sticks a twist and nails a story, those highs are gloriously low. Its newest seventh season was a major return to form, with one episode – ‘Eulogy’ – offering rare tenderness for a show so rooted in horror.
33. Cunk on Earth
- Genre: Comedy
- Year: 2022
- Cast: Diane Morgan
- Creator: Charlie Brooker
- Length: 1 season, 5 episodes
What it’s about: Philomena Cunk, a curious but hapless investigative reporter, travels around the world and speaks to real experts about the history (and fate) of the world.
Why to watch: After you watch Cunk on Earth, you’ll agree with this statement: Philomena Cunk is the greatest fictional TV personality to emerge from the BBC since Alan Partridge.
Much like Steve Coogan’s Partridge (and unlike Sacha Baron Cohen’s gallery of dimwits), Cunk seems like a real person. She’s hilariously ill-informed, but also shrewd in ways that aren’t always acceptable. Who among us hasn’t looked at a piece of art and thought, “What the [bleep] is that?”
32. Sirens
- Genre: Comedy, Drama
- Year: 2025
- Cast: Milly Alcock, Julianne Moore, Meghann Fahy
- Creator: Molly Smith Metzler
- Length: 1 season, 5 episodes
What it’s about: Devon is wary of her sister Simone’s relationship with her boss, enigmatic socialite Michaela Kell. Simone clearly loves Michaela’s life of luxury, but over the course of one explosive weekend, Devon decides enough is enough.
Why to watch: Sirens is one of the best kinds of Netflix show: a twisted dark comedy that’s dispensable, but not wasteful. In other words, you may not think about it that much after it’s done, but you won’t regret pressing play in the first place; like a smaller rollercoaster you enjoyed in the moment.
If there’s another reason to watch Sirens, it’s Milly Alcock. After her breakthrough performance in House of the Dragon, this is another superb turn – and she’ll star as Supergirl next year.
31. Suits
- Genre: Drama
- Year: 2011–2019
- Cast: Gabriel Macht, Patrick J. Adams, Meghan Markle, Sarah Rafferty, Rick Hoffman
- Creator: Aaron Korsh
- Length: 9 seasons, 134 episodes
What it’s about: Mike Ross, a college dropout with a photographic memory, lands a job at a prestigious New York law firm… even though he doesn’t have a degree. Alongside attorney Harvey Specter, he tackles all sorts of cases – all while covering his fraudulent tracks.
Why to watch: Suits has a ridiculous premise that falls apart if you take it too seriously. It’s also brilliant; a whip-smart and entertaining procedural with likeable characters and easy-to-grasp arcs that don’t bog themselves down with legalese.
The last few seasons are pants, but Seasons 1-6 are about as good as ‘crap TV’ gets. Fun fact: it was the most-streamed show in 2023 after it was added to Netflix.
30. Heartstopper
- Genre: Drama, Romance
- Year: 2022 – present
- Cast: Kit Connor, Joe Locke, Yasmin Finney, William Gao
- Creator: Alice Oseman
- Length: 3 seasons, 24 episodes (finale film confirmed for 2026)
What it’s about: Charlie, a quiet, gay teenager, falls for Nick, a popular classmate who’s never been with another boy. Their relationship tests them and everyone around them, from concerned friends to frosty family members.
Why to watch: Very rarely does a TV show come along that feels like a genuine force for good. Heartstopper is just that: a coming-of-age queer love story that’s sensitive and instructive, without leaning on the edgy material that made Skins and Euphoria so popular.
Kit Connor and Joe Locke have captured the world’s hearts as Charlie and Nick, and even if you’re turned off by its soppiness, it’s hard to imagine you won’t be won over in the end.
29. The Queen’s Gambit
- Genre: Drama
- Year: 2020
- Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Bill Camp, Marielle Heller, Thomas Brodie-Sangster
- Creator: Scott Frank, Allan Scott
- Length: 1 season, 7 episodes
What it’s about: In 1950s America, orphaned prodigy Beth Harmon discovers a strong aptitude for chess and begins climbing to the top of the game’s world. As her fame grows, so do her inner demons – addiction, obsession, and the pressure to be perfect.
Why to watch: Anya Taylor-Joy starred in incredible movies before she became an A-lister; The Witch, Thoroughbreds, Split, to name a few. It’s The Queen’s Gambit that made her a worldwide star. She’s absolutely magnetic, and she never makes one move out of place.
It’s also continuously defies expectation (the mere fact that a limited series about a chess champion is on this list should tell you that). Don’t be surprised if you’re digging out that chessboard at the back of the cupboard afterwards.
28. Taboo
- Genre: Thriller
- Year: 2017 – present
- Cast: Tom Hardy, David Hayman, Jonathan Pryce, Jessie Buckley, Oona Chaplin
- Creator: Steven Knight, Tom Hardy, Chips Hardy
- Length: 1 season, 8 episodes (season 2 in development)
What it’s about: In 1814, adventurer James Delaney returns to London after 10 years in Africa, determined to avenge his father and claim his legacy as he fends off conspiracy, murder, and betrayal.
Why to watch: Taboo is, in itself, taboo; there’s incest and exorcisms, a dark undercurrent in a show that thrives on its grimy atmosphere.
Once upon a time, that may have turned people away – and it could still be a bit much for some viewers – but in a post-Game of Thrones world, it could be just the show you’re looking for. Plus, it’s the ideal star vehicle for Tom Hardy, who delivers a brooding, intense performance.
27. The Office (US)
- Genre: Comedy
- Year: 2005 – 2013
- Cast: Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer
- Creator: Greg Daniels
- Length: 9 seasons, 201 episodes
What it’s about: Inspired by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s mockumentary sensation, The Office (US) takes workplace tedium and shenanigans across the pond. This time, we’re in Dunder Mifflin, a boring paper company in Pennsylvania with unambitious staff and “the world’s best boss”, Michael Scott.
Why to watch: Admitting to enjoying the American version of The Office is tantamount to treason, going by some Brits’ impassioned dismissal of it. That’s a shame, because it’s not as simple as one being better than the other – they’re both brilliant.
The US counterpart is altogether different (its first samey, awkward season aside). It’s defiantly uncynical, romantic, and kind-hearted, anchored on one of the 21st century’s defining and funniest performances from Steve Carell, all-time will-they-won’t-they romances, and countless hilarious moments that are embedded in the internet’s lexicon (GIFs are posted daily). David Brent even rears his head a couple of times. (Re)watch it.
26. Young Sheldon
- Genre: Comedy
- Year: 2017–2024
- Cast: Iain Armitage, Zoe Perry, Lance Barber, Montana Jordan, Raegan Revord, Annie Potts
- Creator: Chuck Lorre, Steven Molaro
- Length: 7 seasons, 141 episodes
What it’s about: Long before his thrice-knocking life in The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon chronicles the early years of its titular genius as he grows up in East Texas, annoying (and sometimes charming) everyone he meets.
Why to watch: The Big Bang Theory aged like left-out milk as it aired; an overdependent laugh track, lazy jokes, and shallow characters. And, yet, it spawned Young Sheldon, a show that’s so good that it’ll make you feel romantic about those long-ago giggles before you saw the light.
Unlike its sitcom predecessor, the prequel is a single-cam set-up (in layman’s terms, it resembles something like Malcolm in the Middle). It’s funny, charming, and very breezy; you’ll binge the whole thing in no time.
25. Yellowstone
- Genre: Drama, Western
- Year: 2018 – 2024
- Cast: Kevin Costner, Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley
- Creator: Taylor Sheridan, John Linson
- Length: 5 seasons, 53 episodes
What it’s about: The Dutton family own the largest cattle ranch in Montana. From crooked politicians to rival ranchers, its patriarch and his kids fight to protect their land and way of life from everyone who threatens it.
Why to watch: You could praise Yellowstone for being a Shakespearean drama; it’s ultimately a story about loyalty and bitter betrayal. You could also highlight its spectacular production value, revelling in the dreamy (and dangerous) vistas of Montana.
But there are three reasons why people start Yellowstone and keep watching it: Kevin Costner’s charismatic turn as John Dutton, Beth Dutton being a badass, and its violent, soapy drama.
24. The Gentlemen
- Genre: Comedy, Crime
- Year: 2024 – present
- Cast: Theo James, Kaya Scodelario, Giancarlo Esposito, Daniel Ings
- Creator: Guy Ritchie
- Length: 1 season, 8 episodes (renewed for season 2)
What it’s about: Eddie Horniman, a soldier and aristocrat, unexpectedly becomes his family’s new Duke. This means he inherits an enormous estate – and the drug empire that comes with it, dropping him straight into the criminal underworld.
Why to watch: The Gentlemen is long-form Guy Ritchie with all of the trimmings; a naughty, nasty, and electrically scripted sojourn into a world of verbal gymnastics and pound-of-flesh justice.
But it’s not just potty-mouthed, violent frivolity: his post-RocknRolla career has been a bit disappointing, but this show’s Ritchie’s evolution as a filmmaker and storyteller. You’ll be desperate for Season 2 – and you’re in luck, because it’s coming out in 2026.
23. Friday Night Dinner
- Genre: Comedy
- Year: 2011 – 2020
- Cast: Simon Bird, Tom Rosenthal, Tamsin Greig, Paul Ritter
- Creator: Robert Popper
- Length: 6 seasons, 37 episodes
What it’s about: Every Friday night, Adam and Jonny go back to their eccentric parents’ house for dinner. There are three constants: “a lovely bit of squirrel”, “crimble crumble”, and interrogations about the “females” in their lives. Tomfoolery always ensues.
Why to watch: Friday Night Dinner is beautifully undignified. You have Simon Bird and Tom Rosenthal’s ruthless, practical joke-based warfare, Mark Heap’s cringeworthy, socially inept neighbour, and Paul Ritter’s revelatory performance.
All in all, it’s an antidote to vanity and taking yourself too seriously. Though not without its tender moments (one of Ritter’s final lines may even make you cry), it’s happy to be a complete farce.
22. Derry Girls
- Genre: Comedy
- Year: 2018 – 2022
- Cast: Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Louisa Harland, Nicola Coughlan, Jamie-Lee O’Donnell
- Creator: Lisa McGee
- Length: 3 seasons, 19 episodes
What it’s about: Erin, Orla, Clare, Michelle, and her English cousin navigate their teenage years at a Catholic school in Derry, with their fallouts and embarrassing mishaps unfolding against the backdrop of the Troubles.
Why to watch: Derry Girls isn’t just The Inbetweeners for girls. Though it is just as funny, whether it’s Grandpa Joe’s merciless attitude to Gerry, Michelle making fun of her English cousin, or one character’s coming-out moment being taken as an insult (“Look at the state of you!”).
Yes, it has crude humour and bad language, but it should be shown in schools. For a lot of viewers, it taught them more about Irish history and the Troubles than any teacher.
21. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
- Genre: Animation, Sci-fi
- Year: 2022 – present
- Cast: Zach Aguilar, Emi Lo, William C. Stephens, Marie Westbrook
- Creator: Rafal Jaki, Mike Pondsmith
- Length: 1 season, 10 episodes (renewed for Season 2)
What it’s about: A street kid in Night City abandons his life and tries to survive on the wrong side of the law as an edgerunner, an augmented, black-market mercenary. He falls for a girl running from her past, chasing freedom and glory around the city’s criminals – but everything comes at a cost.
Why to watch: The best thing to come out of CD Projekt Red’s video game franchise isn’t even a game: it’s Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, a dazzling, involving series that stands alone as the stylish peak of Netflix’s anime efforts.
If you played 2077, it builds upon the alluring, dangerous appeal of Night City. If you’re a newcomer, you’ll be buying an Xbox or a PlayStation right after.
20. Catastrophe
- Genre: Comedy, Drama
- Year: 2015 – 2019
- Cast: Rob Delaney, Sharon Horgan, Mark Bonnar, Ashley Jensen
- Creator: Rob Delaney, Sharon Horgan
- Length: 4 seasons, 24 episodes
What it’s about: Rob and Sharon have a steamy six-day fling during a business trip to London. When she realises she’s pregnant, he moves to the UK, determined to make their relationship work – no matter their (many) differences.
Why to watch: If “a Yank and an Irish woman have a one-night stand” sounds like the beginning of a joke, Catastrophe works tirelessly to find the funniest and emotionally resonant punchlines possible across four seasons.
It wouldn’t work without Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan’s infectious chemistry; lovers and foils to one another, often in the same scene. However, special credit is owed to The Celebrity Traitors star Mark Bonnar, whose deadpan Scottishness secures some of the show’s biggest laughs.
19. Still Game
- Genre: Comedy
- Year: 2002 – 2019
- Cast: Ford Kiernan, Greg Hemphill, Paul Riley, Gavin Mitchell, Jane McCarry, Mark Cox, Sanjeev Kohli
- Creator: Ford Kiernan, Greg Hemphill
- Length: 9 seasons, 62 episodes
What it’s about: This Scottish sitcom follows Jack and Victor, two widowed pensioners in a rundown area of Glasgow. They have simple lives; bickering and bantering in their high-rise flats, losing money in the bookies, and drinking pints in their local pub.
Why to watch: Still Game probably means nothing to most people. From the outside, it may seem like a cheap gimmick; young comics caked in old-age makeup, pretending to be elderly and trying to be funny.
Little do they know, it’s practically a religion on the west coast of Scotland. This is one of the most widely quoted, beloved sitcoms in the country, and beneath every pint and sweary insult, there’s a sad and affecting sense of honesty.
18. Peaky Blinders
- Genre: Drama, Crime
- Year: 2013 – 2022
- Cast: Cillian Murphy, Paul Anderson, Helen McCrory, Sophie Rundle
- Creator: Steven Knight
- Length: 6 seasons, 36 episodes
What it’s about: In the aftermath of the First World War, Tommy Shelby leads the Peaky Blinders gang in Birmingham, clashing with rivals and corrupt officials as they fight for survival – and power.
Why to watch: Violence, politics, impeccable outfits, an expertly curated soundtrack, and one of British TV’s most iconic performances; what else is there to say to convince you to watch Peaky Blinders?
There’s no excuse: now’s the time, by order of the… well, you know.
17. Beef
- Genre: Comedy, Drama
- Year: 2023
- Cast: Steven Yeun, Ali Wong, Joseph Lee, Young Mazino
- Creator: Lee Sung Jin
- Length: 1 season, 10 episodes (renewed for season 2)
What it’s about: Two strangers – Danny Cho, a struggling contractor, and Amy Lau, a businesswoman on the verge of a huge deal – nearly crash into each other in a car park. Their respective rage goes far beyond the road, with the feud impacting every part of their lives.
Why to watch: An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind, something shockingly and addictively illustrated by Beef, one of the best series on Netflix.
Steven Yeun and Ali Wong’s characters are a masterclass in writing: a rock to another’s hard place, both equal parts deplorable and sympathetic. Everyone’s experienced road rage, but Beef will make you think twice about beeping your horn.
16. Ozark
- Genre: Drama, Crime
- Year: 2017 – 2022
- Cast: Jason Bateman, Laura Linney, Julia Garner
- Creator: Bill Dubuque, Mark Williams
- Length: 4 seasons, 44 episodes
What it’s about: After a scheme with a Mexican drug cartel goes haywire, financial advisor Marty Byrde relocates his family to the Ozarks, where he sets up an even bigger, more profitable money laundering operation.
Why to watch: If each channel has an acclaimed crime drama (Breaking Bad on AMC, The Sopranos on HBO), Ozark is Netflix’s best contribution to the genre, and just as good as its greatest contemporaries.
Laura Linney is incredible, and the series introduced the world to the versatile, imposing screen presence of Julia Garner. It’s Jason Bateman’s performance that makes the show work; a wry, dead-eyed twist on his everyman persona.
15. Normal People
- Genre: Drama, Romance
- Year: 2020
- Cast: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Paul Mescal
- Creator: Alice Birch, Sally Rooney, Mark O’Halloran
- Length: 1 season (12 episodes)
What it’s about: Marianne and Connell, two teens in a small Irish town, begin a secretive relationship in school. They have a strong, intimate connection, but complications arise as they grow up and go to university, whether it’s other partners or their own anxieties.
Why to watch: Normal People is one of the most intimate and sexually vivid shows that’s ever aired on British TV. As tempting as it is to talk about it on those terms (don’t watch it with your mum and dad), and as inseparable as it is from why the series works, it’s much, much more than that.
It’s among the most soul-stirring love stories ever written, and the fact that people struggle to accept Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones not being a couple in real life tells you everything you need to know.
14. Mindhunter
- Genre: Thriller, Crime
- Year: 2017 – 2019
- Cast: Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany, Anna Torv
- Creator: Joe Penhall
- Length: 2 seasons, 19 episodes
What it’s about: What makes a serial killer tick? That’s the basic question in Mindhunter, David Fincher’s series that follows agents Holden Hord and Bill Tench as they interview imprisoned murderers. Alongside psychologist Wendy Carr, they try to apply their learnings to ongoing cases.
Why to watch: There are two reasons Mindhunter is on this list. One, it brought David Fincher’s cerebral, precise, and icy style to TV in one of the most expertly crafted true crime thrillers in the history of streaming.
Secondly, if we remind Netflix how much everyone loved (and still loves) it, maybe they’ll finally make season 3.
13. Arcane
- Genre: Animation, Sci-fi
- Year: 2021 – 2024
- Cast: Hailee Steinfeld, Ella Purnell, Kevin Alejandro, Katie Leung
- Creator: Christian Linke, Alex Yee
- Length: 2 seasons, 18 episodes
What it’s about: In the utopian city of Piltover, two sisters – Vi and Jinx – find themselves on both sides of a magical, bloody conflict with Zaun, its oppressed, poorer underworld.
Why to watch: Arcane shouldn’t work. It’s a show based on League of Legends — a massive, lore-heavy game most people have never touched.
But, against all odds, it’s one of the most visually stunning and emotionally charged series Netflix has ever made. Forget The Last of Us and Fallout — this is the gold standard for video game adaptations.
12. After Life
- Genre: Comedy, Drama
- Year: 2019 – 2022
- Cast: Ricky Gervais, Diane Morgan, Tom Basden, Tony Way
- Creator: Ricky Gervais
- Length: 3 seasons, 18 episodes
What it’s about: After his wife dies from cancer, Tony considers killing himself. Instead, he decides to punish the world by doing and saying whatever he wants, when he wants, regardless of how it makes people feel, all while working for his town’s local newspaper.
Why to watch: As a portrait of grief, After Life has a heartbreaking, rightly uncomfortable candour, and then it can swing to the saccharine in the same episode.
Ricky Gervais’ dramatic tact is definitely Marmitey (Derek certainly wasn’t for everyone), his comedic chops aren’t up for debate. It’s likely you’ll cry, either from laughing or its frequently devastating moments.
11. Batman: The Animated Series
- Genre: Animation, Superhero
- Year: 1992 – 1995
- Cast: Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Loren Lester
- Creator: Eric Radomski, Bruce W. Timm
- Length: 2 seasons, 85 episodes (only 65 episodes on Netflix)
What it’s about: By day, Bruce Wayne is Gotham City’s most famous billionaire. By night, he’s Batman, a masked, caped vigilante who fights crime and corruption, facing off against the Joker, Catwoman, Two-Face, and other villains.
Why to watch: Try as other shows might, no other superhero show will ever usurp Batman: The Animated Series’ place on the genre’s cartoon throne.
Some animated series are overpraised; sorry, sometimes they’re just fun cartoons. The same can’t be said here: this understands Batman more than any movie or game, affording an iconic hero the courtesy of dark, moody, and sophisticated stories that are not only suitable but entertaining for children and adults alike.
10. Peep Show
- Genre: Comedy
- Year: 2003 – 2015
- Cast: David Mitchell, Robert Webb, Olivia Colman, Matt King
- Creator: Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain, Andrew O’Connor
- Length: 9 seasons, 54 episodes
What it’s about: Mark and Jez met at university. Years later, they’re roommates in a depressing, dreary flat in South London, but their efforts to succeed as adults are almost always undone by how pathetic they are.
Why to watch: Is Peep Show the most miserable sitcom ever made? Almost nothing good happens to Mark and Jez; they are losers caught in a self-imposed cycle of non-stop embarrassing blunders. You don’t even really root for them, either.
Yet, thanks to David Mitchell and Robert Webb’s hysterical writing (not to mention the show’s ingenious POV camerawork), it never falls victim to cringe. Here’s to the El Dude Brothers [half-hearted honk, honk].
9. Dept Q
- Genre: Thriller, Crime
- Year: 2025 – present
- Cast: Matthew Goode, Kelly Macdonald, Chloe Pirrie, Kate Dickie
- Creator: Scott Frank, Chandni Lakhani
- Length: 1 season, 9 episodes
What it’s about: DCI Carl Morck, a miserable but brilliant cop in Edinburgh, is exiled to the basement to take charge of Department Q, a cold case unit that slowly unravels the truth behind a prosecutor’s disappearance.
Why to watch: Scott Frank already has two entries on this list, so why not add a third? Dept Q is his strongest series to date, and one of the very best shows on Netflix.
Think Slow Horses with a dash of Luther; grim, intelligent, and incisively written, anchored on Matthew Goode’s performance as a grumpy, first-rate detective. You’ll binge it in a weekend (or maybe even one night).
8. Adolescence
- Genre: Drama, Crime
- Year: 2024
- Cast: Stephen Graham, Owen Cooper, Ashley Walters, Erin Doherty, Christine Tremarco
- Creator: Jack Thorne, Stephen Graham
- Length: 1 season, 4 episodes
What it’s about: A family’s life is upended when Jamie, a 13-year-old boy, is arrested after the murder of a teenage girl. As the investigation unfolds, they’re forced to reckon with the truth and how it led to such a tragedy.
Why to watch: Adolescence, a tragic, masterful ‘real-time’ series from the team behind Boiling Point, forces you to reckon with the corruption of young boys growing up in the ‘manosphere’. That’s extremely uncomfortable for a lot of people – and that’s why everyone needs to see it.
That, and it stars Stephen Graham (who surely qualifies for legend status), starring alongside small-screen stalwart Christine Tremarco and Owen Cooper, who became the youngest person in the history of his category to win an Emmy.
As trite as it may sound, this is an important TV show – and, quite frankly, unmissable.
7. Friends
- Genre: Comedy, Romance
- Year: 1994 – 2004
- Cast: Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer
- Creator: David Crane, Marta Kauffman
- Length: 10 seasons, 236 episodes
What it’s about: Six friends – Ross, Rachel, Monica, Chandler, Joey, and Phoebe – navigate life, love, and all of the messy, sad, and hilarious moments in between in this iconic sitcom.
Why to watch: Friends’ characters are modern archetypes; try and find a friend group that hasn’t debated over who’s their Joey, Chandler, or Monica.
It’s the most iconic and widely watched sitcom of the past 30 years. That’s enough reason to stream it, but it warrants proper praise. Its laugh rate is still incredibly high, there isn’t a weak link in the main cast, its least tolerable plot lines (Joey and Rachel, ugh) are brief, and contrary to recurring belief, it isn’t problematic.
6. Better Call Saul
- Genre: Drama, Crime
- Year: 2015 – 2022
- Cast: Bob Odenkirk, Rhea Seehorn, Jonathan Banks, Giancarlo Esposito
- Creator: Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould
- Length: 6 seasons, 63 episodes
What it’s about: Jimmy McGill tries to leave his conman days behind him and become a straight-laced attorney. However, he can’t live up to his moral aspirations, slowly transforming into his criminal, egocentric alter ego: Saul Goodman.
Why to watch: Vince Gilligan already entered the upper echelons of TV legend with Breaking Bad. Why risk it with Better Call Saul, a prequel about the original show’s soulless, smarmy attorney?
Let’s just say, it’s a good thing the general audience doesn’t call the shots. With some of the strongest visuals on television, nuanced performances, and a carefully plotted arc that casts an unsympathetic sleazeball in a whole new light, Better Call Saul is a staggering achievement.
5. Baby Reindeer
- Genre: Drama, Thriller, Comedy
- Year: 2024
- Cast: Richard Gadd, Jessica Gunning, Nava Mau, Tom Goodman-Hill
- Creator: Richard Gadd
- Length: 1 season, 7 episodes
What it’s about: Based on the true story of Richard Gadd’s stalking ordeal, Baby Reindeer follows Donny, a struggling comedian who works in a London pub. When he takes pity on an upset woman, she takes a bit of a liking to him, but it spirals into a violent obsession.
Why to watch: Baby Reindeer should be recognised as one of Netflix’s defining achievements: an overwhelming, harrowing, and indelible account of a man’s grief and trauma that took everyone by surprise when it dropped on the platform.
Its aftermath may have overshadowed its success (its alleged real-life subject is suing the streamer), but as Gadd said when he accepted an award for writing the series, “The only constant factor in any success in television is good storytelling.” This is (almost) as good as it gets.
4. Squid Game
- Genre: Thriller
- Year: 2021 – present
- Cast: Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hung, Wi Ha-joon
- Creator: Hwang Dong-hyuk
- Length: 3 seasons, 22 episodes
What it’s about: In a secret, faraway location in South Korea, 456 players compete for a life-changing fortune in a series of playground games. The only catch? If they lose, they die.
Why to watch: Squid Game is Netflix’s most-watched show of all time. When it arrived, out of nowhere and becoming a phenomenon, it was often (reductively) touted as, “Takeshi’s Castle… but people die!”
Uber-popularity is a surefire route to people claiming something is overrated, but Squid Game doesn’t qualify. It’s always felt genuinely novel; horrifically brutal, with a twisted sense of humour baked into its righteous, anti-capitalist story.
Season 1 was great, season 2 was better, and it finished on a high with season 3.
3. Stranger Things
- Genre: Sci-fi, Horror
- Year: 2016 – present
- Cast: Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo
- Creator: The Duffer Brothers
- Length: 5 seasons (planned total of 42 episodes)
What it’s about: November 6, 1983: Will Byers, a 12-year-old boy in Hawkins, mysteriously disappears without a trace. As his friends and family try to figure out what happened, they uncover a dangerous “Upside Down” world and meet a young girl with extraordinary abilities.
Why to watch: Stranger Things is a product of ’80s nostalgia. Its ingredients are shamelessly blatant: Stand By Me, The Goonies, It, Ghostbusters, and The Thing, to name a few.
But, unlike the onslaught of movies and shows it inspired that fetishise the same era, this is a heart-rendingly affectionate ode to some of the greatest, most beloved stories ever written. And, as a bonus, it’s absolutely amazing. It’s Netflix’s flagship series for a reason; it’ll be a sad day (this year) when it ends.
2. The Haunting of Hill House
- Genre: Horror, Drama
- Year: 2018
- Cast: Michiel Huisman, Carla Gugino, Timothy Hutton, Henry Thomas, Elizabeth Reaser, Kate Siegel, Victoria Pedretti
- Creator: Mike Flanagan
- Length: 1 season, 10 episodes
What it’s about: When the Crain family moves into Hill House, they experience paranormal phenomena beyond their worst nightmares. Decades later, they’re reunited by a horrific tragedy, forcing them to confront the trauma and fear that’s always haunted them.
Why to watch: The Haunting of Hill House isn’t just the best original series Netflix has ever made: it’s the greatest horror TV show of all time.
Mike Flanagan knew that to make a series scary – not just giving you the heebie-jeebies; proper mind-festering stuff that will keep you up at night – you need weighty, powerful drama.
And, despite its frights (keep an eye out for the hidden ghosts), it isn’t a one-and-done experience, with repeat viewings just as rewarding. Turn the lights off, and as R.L. Stine famously wrote, “Beware… you’re in for a scare.”
1. Breaking Bad
- Genre: Drama, Crime
- Year: 2008 – 2013
- Cast: Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, Dean Norris, Bob Odenkirk
- Creator: Vince Gilligan
- Length: 5 seasons, 62 episodes
What it’s about: When high school chemistry teacher Walter White discovers he has cancer and only two years to live, he resorts to cooking meth to secure his family’s financial future. However, he develops a taste for the wealth and power of becoming a drug kingpin.
Why to watch: Is Breaking Bad the greatest TV show ever made? According to hundreds of rankings across the web, the answer is yes – and they could be right.
It has everything: Bryan Cranston’s iconic, against-type performance, a superb supporting cast, striking visuals, and a rich, shocking, and unpredictable rise-and-fall story. Also, don’t listen to anyone who says it doesn’t get good until Season 2. They’re wrong: it’s phenomenal from start to finish.
If you’re a fan, there’s a prequel on Netflix too: Better Call Saul… and some say it’s even better.
Read more: 10 of the best ‘hidden gem’ TV dramas you can stream for free right now
