What are the best TV series on Netflix? The 22 titles below star the likes of Bob Odenkirk, Rhea Sheehorn, Andy Samberg, Stephanie Beatriz, Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Olivia Colman, Shefali Shah, Martin Freeman, Kirsten Dunst, Alison Brie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Millie Bobby Brown, Toni Collette, and Will Arnett. Aziz Ansari Josh Thomas are co-creators and stars on their respective series. And the rest of them are made by Vince Gilligan, Charlie Brooker, Raphael Bob-Waksberg, Michael Schur, Peter Morgan, Richie Mehta, Noah Hawley, David Crane and Marta Kauffman, Jed Mercurio, David Fincher, Scott Frank, Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, the Duffer brothers, Susannah Grant, and Ava DuVernay.
Of course, this list cannot possibly cover everything. And that’s why we have separate recommendations for some select genres that you should also check out.
This spin-off prequel to Breaking Bad follows a small-time lawyer (Bob Odenkirk) with the tendencies of a con artist as he transforms into the morally-challenged criminal lawyer most knew him as, Saul Goodman. Some consider it superior to the original. Has steadily improved to become one of the best TV shows. Sixth and final season in 2022.
Charlie Brooker’s anthology series consisting of standalone episodes — with an ever-changing cast, in addition to new settings and storylines — explores the unanticipated consequences of new technologies, often in dark and satirical ways. There’s also the interactive special, Bandersnatch.
Set in a world where humans and anthropomorphic animals live alongside each other, a washed-up sitcom star plans a comeback to fame with help from a ghostwriter, his ex-girlfriend who’s also his agent, and his freeloading roommate, while dealing with his rival who’s dating the ghostwriter. The show had a stellar run after a rocky season 1. A Netflix original.
Diagnosed with lung cancer, a struggling high school chemistry teacher (Bryan Cranston) decides to get into the business of making and selling meth to secure his family’s financial future, with the help of his former student (Aaron Paul). The first season is a little slow, but then it blossomed into one of the all-time best series.
The lives of a group of detectives in a fictional New York precinct — an ensemble featuring Andy Samberg, Melissa Fumero, Stephanie Beatriz, Andre Braugher, and Terry Crews — get the sitcom treatment from Parks and Recreation alums Dan Goor and Michael Schur. Eighth and final season releases in 2021.
Monica Bellucci, Isabelle Huppert, Sigourney Weaver, and Juliette Binoche are among the many guest stars in this self-deprecating comedy about the personal and professional lives of a dysfunctional Parisian talent agency. Praised as both sharp and warm. A 90-minute film and season 5 are in the works. A Netflix original.
A look at the life of Britain’s longest-ruling monarch Queen Elizabeth II (Claire Foy, Olivia Colman, and Imelda Staunton), from her wedding in 1947 to the present day, including the political rivalries, romances and world-changing events during her reign. Changes its entire ensemble cast every two seasons. A Netflix original.
An International Emmy-winning anthology series — starring Shefali Shah and Rajesh Tailang — whose first season follows the Delhi police’s investigation into the 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape case, which saw all six suspects arrested in less than a week. Season 2 is due in 2021, without the involvement of creator Richie Mehta. A Netflix original.
The Coen brothers’ acclaimed film of the same name is the inspiration for this black comedy/crime anthology series from Noah Hawley, featuring quirky characters across different eras dealing with deception, intrigue and murder amidst the cold of the American Midwest. The first three seasons —led by Martin Freeman, Kirsten Dunst, and Ewan McGregor — are the highlights. Season 4 is on Prime Video.
The show that needs no introduction follows six 20-something pals — played by Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer — dealing with the misadventures of love and the pitfalls of work. Bumpy start, blossomed into a hit, and finished on a high, barring an ill-advised ninth season.
An exploration of the real-life 1980s women’s professional wrestling — the Gorgeous Ladies Of Wresting, or GLOW — by focusing on the personal and professional lives of the fictionalised Hollywood misfits involved in it. Alison Brie, Betty Gilpin lead the cast. Ended prematurely due to COVID-19. A Netflix original.
Parks and Recreation co-creator Michael Schur spun his sitcom web into the afterlife with this series, following a woman (Kristen Bell) who’s mistakenly assigned to a Heaven-like utopia and then tries to be a better person to hide herself. William Jackson Harper, Jameela Jamil, and Ted Danson co-star. Ran for four seasons.
Before he made Bodyguard, Jed Mercurio’s best-performing show was this police procedural set in an anti-corruption unit, following a demoted counter-terrorism officer (Martin Compston) who partners with an undercover specialist (Vicky McClure). Renowned for its addictiveness and episodic cliffhangers. Ranks among the top cop TV shows.
Loosely based on Aziz Ansari’s own life experiences, 30-year-old struggling actor Dev Shah (Ansari) tries to get his life in order on personal and professional fronts, some of which is affected by his Indian ancestry. The third spin-off season focuses on Dev’s best friend (Lena Waithe). A Netflix original.
In the late 1970s, two FBI agents (Jonathan Groff and Holt McCallany) push their superiors to expand research into criminal science, which involves them getting up close and personal with imprisoned serial killers to understand how they think. Currently on “indefinite hold” despite two good seasons. David Fincher is a director and executive producer. A Netflix original.
After being dumped by his girlfriend, an Australian man (Josh Thomas, also creator and co-writer) living in Melbourne realises that he’s gay. But that’s just one new challenge alongside taking care of his depressed, suicidal mother (Debra Lawrence). Praised for its rawness, and nuanced portrayal of mental health.
An orphaned girl (Anya Taylor-Joy) rises to the top of the male-dominated chess world in the 1960s, while battling her own demons and of those around her. From Scott Frank (Godless, Logan). A seven-episode Netflix original miniseries.
Created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon (Community), an adult animated sci-fi series in which a cynical and alcoholic mad scientist Rick (Roiland) and his weak-willed easily influenced grandson Morty (also Roiland) go on a series of misadventures across dimensions and universes.
Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman play the famous detective and his doctor sidekick, respectively, in this modern-day adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories. Terrific and compelling in first few years, though it derailed in its fourth season. From Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat.
A nostalgia-heavy love letter to the ‘80s set in a suburban small town where secret scientific experiments into the paranormal and supernatural, at times with human subjects, starts to wreak havoc on the normal lives of its residents. Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown star. A Netflix original.
Based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning news article that chronicled the 2008–2011 series of rapes in two US states, a dramatisation that follows a teenage victim charged with lying about rape and the two detectives (Toni Collette and Merritt Wever) who find a way to her truth through other cases. An eight-episode Netflix original miniseries.
After 13th, Ava DuVernay presents another hard-hitting look at how the US criminal justice system contributes to racism, through the lens of the Central Park Five — five African-American and Hispanic teenagers — who were falsely imprisoned for several years. A four-episode miniseries, a Netflix original.
