Best Shows on Netflix: What’s Worth Your Time
April 29, 2025
Opening Netflix and picking something to watch isn't the casual decision it used to be. Between endless recommendations, auto-playing trailers, and “Because You Watched” lists, sometimes the only thing harder than starting a new series is deciding which one deserves your time.
Some shows pull you in with their first scene. Others take a few episodes to find their rhythm but leave a deeper mark when they do. Finding the best shows on Netflix isn’t about hype or social media buzz. It is about the ones that stay with you after the credits roll. If you're more in the mood for films instead, you might want to explore our picks for the best netflix movies. And if you're still figuring out where to stream what you love, we’ve also broken down the best streaming services worth considering.
🎞️ Quick Fact: Over 220 million people worldwide subscribe to Netflix, but surprisingly few actually finish the shows they start. Making the search for a truly engaging series even more important.
Your Next Watch
If You Want to Laugh
BoJack Horseman
There’s no shortage of comedy movies, but very few manage to hit you with a joke and an existential crisis in the same scene. BoJack Horseman somehow balances outrageous humor with some of the sharpest commentary on fame, depression, and personal failure ever put on television. The first few episodes feel almost too absurd to take seriously. Then, somewhere along the way, you realize you’re watching one of the most honest portraits of modern life ever animated.
It’s not just another adult cartoon packed with gags. The writing here is layered, often cutting deep where you least expect it. One minute you’re laughing at a sight gag involving anthropomorphic animals; the next, you're thinking about the weight of regret and the search for meaning. It’s not an easy show to categorize, and that’s exactly what makes it stick.
- 🎬 Genre: Animated Comedy-Drama
- 📅 Year 2014–2020
- 📺 Seasons 6
- 🏆 Awards Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Animated Series
Derry Girls
There’s something about teenagers trying to navigate the chaos of life that always feels familiar, no matter where you're from. Derry Girls captures that with sharp wit and a setting you don't see every day: 1990s Northern Ireland during the Troubles. It manages the rare trick of making political unrest and strict Catholic schools the backdrop for some of the funniest, fastest one-liners you’ll hear on TV.
Unlike a lot of American teen comedies, there’s no glossy polish here. The humor is messy, loud, and sometimes wildly inappropriate. This makes it all feel more real. Every character, from the painfully awkward Erin to the perpetually terrified James, feels fully alive. Derry Girls doesn't just entertain; it reminds you that growing up is ridiculous no matter what's happening outside your front door.
- 🎬 Genre: Comedy
- 📅 Year 2018–2022
- 📺 Seasons 3
- 🏆 Awards BAFTA Nomination for Best Scripted Comedy
The Good Place
Some shows start with a simple premise and unravel something much bigger without ever losing their humor. The Good Place kicks off with the question, “What happens after we die?” and somehow turns it into a bright, chaotic, and genuinely thoughtful comedy. It's clever without being smug, funny without being lazy, and light even when it’s asking some of the heaviest questions imaginable.
At its heart, the show is about moral growth. However, it never feels preachy. The ensemble cast, led by Kristen Bell and Ted Danson, keeps things grounded even as the plot twists get increasingly wild. It’s rare to find a comedy that actually leaves you thinking about ethics, philosophy, and second chances. But still makes you laugh while doing it.
- 🎬 Genre: Fantasy Comedy
- 📅 Year 2016–2020
- 📺 Seasons 4
- 🏆 Awards Peabody Award; multiple Emmy nominations
If You Need a Mystery
Mindhunter
Some shows grab you with action; Mindhunter works in silence. It’s built on long, tense conversations, quiet realizations, and the slow, unsettling feeling that sometimes the most dangerous minds look perfectly ordinary. Set in the early days of the FBI’s criminal profiling program, the series isn’t about chasing criminals down alleyways. It is about sitting across from them and trying to understand what makes them tick.
There's an incredible patience to how the story unfolds. Every interview, every detail matters, but the show never feels like it's shouting at you to pay attention. Mindhunter trusts the audience to absorb its tension gradually. It's not flashy, but it leaves a mark that’s much harder to shake than a cheap jump scare.
- 🎬 Genre: Psychological Crime Drama
- 📅 Year 2017–2019
- 📺 Seasons 2
- 🏆 Awards Satellite Award for Best Television Series – Drama
Dark
Confusion isn’t a flaw in Dark. That is the whole point. This German sci-fi thriller leans into complexity from the first episode and never really lets you go. Time travel, family secrets, generations tangled across past, present, and future. It’s a lot to keep track of, and that's exactly what makes the story so gripping. You’re not just watching events unfold; you’re trying to piece them together in real time, and that investment makes every twist land harder.
Despite the heavy subject matter, Dark never feels cold. It’s anchored by emotional storytelling that treats grief, guilt, and the struggle for meaning with real weight. If you like your mysteries thick enough to lose yourself in and don't mind pausing occasionally to untangle who's related to who this one’s hard to beat.
- 🎬 Genre: Science Fiction, Mystery, Thriller
- 📅 Year 2017–2020
- 📺 Seasons 3
- 🏆 Awards Grimme-Preis for Fiction
The OA
Some mysteries feel bigger than the plot they’re built around. The OA never pretends it’s going to explain everything neatly and that's part of its strange, lingering power. It starts with a young woman returning home after disappearing for seven years, now inexplicably able to see despite having been blind before. From there, the story dives into alternate dimensions, near-death experiences, and the stubborn hope that there’s more to life than what we can touch.
It's not a show that holds your hand or offers easy answers. The OA is messy, ambitious, and deeply personal. At times, it feels more like an experience than a story. Something you feel as much as you follow. It's not for everyone, but if you’re willing to lean into its weirder moments, it can hit emotional chords that stick around long after it’s over.
- 🎬 Genre: Mystery, Fantasy, Science Fiction
- 📅 Year 2016–2019
- 📺 Seasons 2
- 🏆 Awards Nominated for Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Series
If You’re Craving Drama
The Crown
Royal families aren’t supposed to feel relatable, but The Crown manages to humanize the British monarchy without ever stripping away its grandeur. The show isn’t about scandal or gossip, it’s about responsibility, sacrifice, and the weight of a title that never really comes off, no matter the cost. Every episode carefully unpacks how history and personal ambition collide behind palace doors.
Visually, it’s stunning without feeling hollow. From the recreation of royal events to the intimate, restrained performances, The Crown captures the personal battles that shaped public events we think we know. It’s not about rewriting history; it’s about seeing it from inside the rooms where the world changed; quietly, slowly, and sometimes painfully.
- 🎬 Genre: Historical Drama
- 📅 Year 2016–present
- 📺 Seasons 6 (ongoing)
- 🏆 Awards Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama
Maid
Maid isn’t the kind of show that lets you stay comfortable. It follows Alex, a young mother escaping an abusive relationship and trying to build a stable life for herself and her daughter. There’s no glamorizing of hardship here. Just a raw, often painfully honest portrait of what it actually looks like to start over when everything’s stacked against you. Every small victory feels earned because nothing in Alex’s world comes easily.
The storytelling avoids melodrama by focusing on small, human moments. A conversation with a social worker, a missed shift, a simple decision to buy a toy. Each carries weight without shouting for attention. Maid sticks with you because it never forgets that survival isn’t about one big fight; it’s about a hundred small ones that most people never see.
- 🎬 Genre: Drama
- 📅 Year 2021
- 📺 Seasons 1 (limited series)
- 🏆 Awards Primetime Emmy nominations for Lead Actress and Writing
Unbelievable
Some stories are almost too painful to tell, but Unbelievable handles its subject matter with an honesty that never feels exploitative. Based on real events, the show follows a young woman whose assault is dismissed by authorities and two detectives who, years later, uncover the truth. It’s not just about solving a case; it’s about the cost of not being believed, and the quiet, grinding work it takes to find justice.
Unbelievable doesn’t rely on shock to make its point. Instead, it trusts the strength of its characters and the slow accumulation of evidence to build its emotional impact. The performances are restrained but devastating, and the writing never lets you forget that real people lived through this. It’s powerful not because it’s loud, but because it refuses to look away.
- 🎬 Genre: Drama, True Crime
- 📅 Year 2019
- 📺 Seasons 1 (limited series)
- 🏆 Awards Peabody Award; Emmy nominations for Outstanding Limited Series
If You Miss High-Stakes Thrillers
Bodyguard
Sometimes you don't need twists you can't predict. You just need tension thick enough to feel it in your chest. Bodyguard delivers that from the opening minutes and rarely lets up. The story follows a war veteran assigned to protect a controversial politician, and it moves fast without ever feeling rushed. Every scene hums with unease, where a wrong word or a quick glance can shift the balance of power.
Unlike thrillers that burn out early, Bodyguard keeps raising the stakes in ways that feel earned. There’s a constant sense that something bigger and more dangerous is lurking just outside the frame. Richard Madden’s performance grounds the chaos with a character who’s sharp, wounded, and never quite in control. If you miss shows that know how to build real, pulse-pounding momentum, this one hits the mark.
- 🎬 Genre: Political Thriller
- 📅 Year 2018
- 📺 Seasons 1 (limited series)
- 🏆 Awards Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Series – Drama
Lupin
There’s something endlessly satisfying about watching a master thief stay three steps ahead of everyone else. Lupin taps into that old-school heist energy but gives it a modern, stylish spin. Inspired by the classic French literary character Arsène Lupin, the show follows Assane Diop as he pulls off elaborate schemes not just for the thrill, but to right personal wrongs. It’s fast, smart, and built around a lead character who’s impossible not to root for.
What sets Lupin apart is how it blends charm with tension. The heists are clever without feeling impossible, and the emotional stakes keep growing alongside the action. It's the kind of show that makes you lean forward, trying to spot the trick before it happens and then grin when you realize you missed it entirely. Sharp, quick, and endlessly watchable.
- 🎬 Genre: Mystery, Heist Thriller
- 📅 Year 2021–present
- 📺 Seasons 3 (ongoing)
- 🏆 Awards Nominated for International Emmy Award for Best Drama Series
Fauda
Fauda doesn’t offer clean heroes or simple villains. Set within the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the show thrives in shades of grey, where every action feels both necessary and regrettable. It’s not about big, Hollywood-style explosions. It is about tight, street-level operations where one wrong move can ripple into something far bigger. The tension here doesn’t let up because it’s built into the characters as much as the missions they carry out.
One of the show’s strengths is how personal it makes every conflict. The series takes time to show motivations and grief on both sides, refusing to flatten anyone into a stereotype. That emotional complexity makes the firefights hit harder, and the decisions linger longer. If you’re after a thriller that respects intelligence and doesn't flinch from moral discomfort, Fauda is worth your time.
- 🎬 Genre: Political Thriller, Action Drama
- 📅 Year 2015–present
- 📺 Seasons 4 (ongoing)
The Best Shows on Netflix Are the Ones You’ll Keep Thinking About
Scrolling through endless titles is easy. Finding something that actually stays with you is harder. Whether you’re in the mood for a quick laugh, a layered mystery, or a story that makes you see the world a little differently, the right show can do more than just pass the time.
The best shows on Netflix aren’t always the flashiest ones. They're the ones that pull you in without forcing it, the ones you don’t want to leave even after the credits roll. Somewhere in that long queue, there’s a series waiting to hit you at just the right moment, no algorithms required.
