If you have a Netflix subscription you know how overwhelming finding the right shows for you to enjoy can be. There are so many options from heavy-hitting dramas to animated comedies. The best shows on Netflix right now likewise vary in genre, mood, and length. There are some great miniseries that you can knock out over a lazy weekend or multiple seasons of beloved shows for you to catch up on.
We decided to take stock of the current content on offer at the streamer to share with you our picks for the best shows on Netflix right now. We’ll share Emmy-winning gold standards to lesser viewed hidden treasures with you so that you have plenty of options for your next Netflix binge. There are tons of shows on Netflix and we managed to trim our list down to just 25 TV shows that we feel are the best of the best. If you’re ready to discover your next TV obsession, check out our list of the best Netflix shows below!
Find the Best Shows on Netflix to Stream Today!
The Chair
Sandra Oh executive produced and stars in The Chair which premiered in August 2021. The series centers on Oh as an English Department Chair who can’t seem to catch a break. The season is a brisk 6 episodes and you will be left wanting for more by the end of this winning series.
The Queen’s Gambit
Anya Taylor-Joy stars in The Queen’s Gambit, a show that really feels like a prestige drama with immaculate sets, gorgeous costuming, and performances that are simply unbeatable. Joy plays Beth Harmon an orphaned child and chess prodigy who struggles with addiction. Set during the Cold War, the show really transports you to a time when chess players really were superstars on the world stage,
30 Rock
Tina Fey‘s endlessly watchable sitcom 30 Rock has 7 seasons streaming on Netflix. It’s one of the best shows on Netflix to turn on if you want to escape your troubles and just laugh at the absurdity that Fey has cooked up.
Dead to Me
Dead to Me is so unapologetically melodramatic, soapy, and at times, unhinged. We loved the latest season which landed in 2020 and viewers can expect a Season 3 as the series was renewed in July. How can you go wrong with a dramedy vehicle starring Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini?
Pretend It’s a City
Sit down with your favorite, funny curmudgeon, Fran Lebowitz as she embarks on a conversation with Martin Scorsese in Pretend It’s a City. The topic in question? All things New York City. If you love NYC, Scorsese, and the fabulously cranky Lebowitz, you really can’t see this show soon enough. It’s one of the best shows on Netflix to be released in 2021.
Chef’s Table
Look to Chef’s Table for some of the best cinematography of any television series airing today. The series takes you on an adventure around the world to meet some of the most renowned chefs and to hear their intimate stories. The plates of award-winning food are filmed with such care and attention paired with the intimate stories told by the chefs that make them feel voyeuristic (in a good way!). Chef’s Table is one of the best shows on Netflix for foodies and travelers alike.
Bridgerton
Do you fancy a Regency-era bodice-ripper? Bridgerton is one of the best shows on Netflix right now for lovers of steamy drama and palace intrigue. The show follows eight siblings at court who each struggles to find love. This series is Shonda Rhimes‘ first at Netflix and she really knocked it out of the park!
GLOW
One of the best shows on Netflix that sadly did not get renewed is GLOW. The show follows a rag-tag group of misfit women who come together to create something truly remarkable, a platform for female wrestlers and entertainers who kick butt by their own rules. The entire cast is truly phenomenal and, as the show progresses, you get deeper into each’s backstory which is such a heartfelt treat.
Schitt’s Creek
Schitt’s Creek wrapped up its final season a year ago but the show already feels like a classic. The sitcom follows the Rose family’s fall from grace and fortune as they land in Schitt’s Creek to oversee the management of a rundown hotel. A very funny, sweet, and soulful show, it never fails at cheering us up. If you’ve somehow missed this one, do yourself a favor and indulge!
The Haunting of Hill House
There aren’t many horror television series that prove successful. American Horror Story, for instance, always starts with an intriguing premise but squanders it before it can get midway through a season. The Haunting of Hill House, on the other hand, is a tightly crafted and told classic horror story that scares from beginning to end. The horror genre often fails its characters in favor of cheap scares. In THoHH, it’s the characters’ backstories and motivations that prove the most terrifying aspect.
Maniac
One of the best shows on Netflix right now that’s not easy to explain to folks is Maniac. Emma Stone and Jonah Hill star in this miniseries which finds them playing characters who are looking for a cure for all their woes. When a pharmaceutical company promises a drug that will fix it all, with no side effects, both embark on a journey unlike any other.
The Great British Bake Off
The Great British Baking Show was a smash hit when it first aired on the BBC. It crossed the pond and landed on PBS before finally finding an American home on Netflix. There are currently eight seasons of the show available with more to come. The show is a cooking competition, but it doesn’t have the high-stakes drama that comes standard with American cooking competitions. The show features bakers baking traditional British desserts, bread, and savory pies that are oftentimes a bit odd to American viewers.
Russian Doll
Hands down one of the best shows on Netflix, or anywhere else, is the original Russian Doll. Orange is the New Black‘s Natasha Lyonne created the show as well as wrote, starred, and even directed episodes. If her star power and comedic genius aren’t enough to persuade you, the entire writer’s room for the show consisted of women. The show follows a woman who is stuck in a strange time loop à la Groundhog Day and she can’t seem to figure out how or why it’s all happening. In each episode, she returns to the same party again and again. Each time, she gleans more from the experience. It’s a dream!
Sex Education
If you get uncomfortable talking about sex, you should most definitely skip Sex Education. There are 2 seasons available on Netflix and it’s been renewed for a third. We would have never given this show a second thought until we heard that Gillian Anderson stars in it. She plays Jean, a sex therapist and single mom to Otis, a boy who wins friends by helping them with their high school sex lives. It’s wild, funny, subversive, and surprisingly full of heart.
Keep Reading for Even More of the Best Shows on Netflix Right Now!
The People v O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
One of the best shows on Netflix comes from FX and was one of the most decorated series at the 2016 Primetime Emmy Awards. The show follows one of the most infamous murder trials in American history, that of OJ Simpson. Brilliantly told, this series offers some of the best performances ever to hit the small screen. Sarah Paulson, Sterling K. Brown, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Courtney B. Vance each dazzle throughout!
Halt & Catch Fire
One of the best shows on Netflix that you’ve likely never tried is AMC’s Halt and Catch Fire. When we tell you this show begins rockily, it’s an understatement. We urge you to give it time, however, as it is one of the most rewarding shows to ever land on Netflix.
The show follows a group of misfits who launch their own tech startup in Silicon Prairie in Dallas in the 1980s. There’s so much juicy drama and you’ll be pleased to see the show’s female stars going full-on boss in an industry that, to this day, is inhospitable to women.
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The Crown
One of the best shows on Netflix, The Crown, will likely be remembered as one of the greatest television series of all time. It’s one of the streamer’s biggest hits. You don’t need to be an anglophile or obsessed with Queen Elizabeth II to enjoy this melodramatic look into the lives of members of the British monarchy. The series has won a mountain of awards for Netflix throughout its first four seasons and we expect that streak to continue as we get a new cast playing your favorite characters in 2022.
Making a Murderer
Making a Murderer is a masterclass on documentary filmmaking as the documentarians, Moira Demos and Laura Ricciardi really let the events unfold and took stock of them as they were happening in this sizzling true crime doc. One of the best shows on Netflix to take a look at the structural problems of our justice system, this documentary is not one to be missed.
Pose
FX’s Pose is a revelation. The show looks at the ball culture that flourished in the 1980s and tells the story of queer artists of color who compete in lavish balls. The entire cast of the show is perfect, but MJ Rodriguez, Indya Moore, and Billie Porter are exceptional. Plenty of laughs, lots of love, and a little heartbreak make Pose one of the best shows on Netflix right now.
Jane the Virgin
If you somehow missed the hype about Jane the Virgin, you really must give it a shot. A young woman gets accidentally inseminated at a routine visit to her gynecologist and her world gets turned upside down. Gina Rodriguez plays the title role of Jane and won numerous awards including a Golden Globe for her performance. All five seasons of the show are available on Netflix (that’s 100 episodes). It’s one of the best shows on Netflix to watch with your family.
Broadchurch
If you have not seen the first season of Broadchurch, do yourself a favor and get around to it. This show exploded when it came out in 2013 in the UK and its popularity quickly sailed across the pond and was recognized by American audiences. Thanks in large part to fantastic performances by David Tennant and Olivia Colman the show has become a huge success. While Tennant’s broody performance of DI Alec Hardy gets a lot of credit, it’s Olivia Colman as DS Ellie Miller that really elevates the entire show. If you are in need of an ugly cry, Broadchurch is one of the best shows on Netflix to remedy that!
Dear White People
There are already three electric seasons of Netflix’s Dear White People streaming with the final installment landing in 2021, which will be a musical… We don’t know what to expect from a musical season of this show, but we do know we loved the first three seasons and how they mined the Black experience of collegiate life in a predominately white institution. Insightful, endearing, and cast with a team of extremely talented young actors, Dear White People is not to be missed.
Mindhunter
If you love gritty crime dramas, Mindhunter, mostly directed by David Fincher, tells the story of Holden Ford and Bill Trench, two FBI agents who are tasked with interviewing and profiling serial killers. Set in the 1970s, the drama tells the story of how the FBI began studying the damaged psyches of convicted serial killers to better be able to catch active ones. It’s one of the best shows on Netflix for you if you like your drama with plenty of suspense and a touch of horror.
Unbelievable
Another detective show, Unbelievable, is probably one of the heaviest and hard-hitting on this list of the best shows on Netflix. However painful the subject matter might be, performances by Toni Collette and Merritt Wever are absolutely captivating. Based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning true story, the show centers on a young woman named Marie who was charged with lying to police about being raped. Collette and Wever play two detectives who intervene to follow a path to the truth.
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Unorthodox
One of the best shows on Netflix that the streamer has ever released, Unorthodox, quietly premiered on the streaming platform in March 2020. Shira Haas stars as Etsy, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish woman who flees her arranged marriage and Brooklyn community to attend music school in Germany. At only four episodes long, this is an easy one to get through that tells a huge story. Watch it!
There you go! We hope you found some excellent TV to try. The best shows on Netflix are just a click away. We all need escapism from time to time and each of these series will transport you to new worlds with intriguing stories and characters. Happy binge-watching!
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