15 best Netflix Originals: fantastic movies and TV shows made for Netflix
Did your favourite make the our list?
There's no doubt about it: Netflix has a lot of money. Read some of the entertainment trade press and you could be forgiven for thinking it has all of it, which means that there are many great movies and TV shows to choose for a best Netflix Originals guide.
Since its first big TV show investment – House Of Cards back in 2013 – it's built a reputation for backing series and films other platforms or production companies wouldn’t, spending big on them, and putting whole seasons on its streaming service at once, at a time when that absolutely wasn’t the done thing.
Netflix now makes hundreds of hours of original material every year, on top of all the content it buys in, and sifting through it inevitable presents a challenge. Here’s a mix of twelve to get you started, that across them demonstrate how Netflix has shifted the metaphorical goalposts…
15. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Ellie Kemper was a scene-stealer already in The Office before the role of Kimmy Schmidt came along. Her joyous comedic innocence, paired with Tituss Burgess’s gleeful performance as her roommate Titus, makes for one of the best sitcom pairings of recent years. Fuelled by positivity, the show was actually originally developed for US TV networks, before Netflix swooped in with its chequebook and a bigger commitment than was otherwise on offer.
14. GLOW
GLOW (or, the Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling) is a laugh-out-loud TV show with some spectacular highs and heartbreaking lows. On the surface it's all wrestling, glitter and a lot of tight leotards but it's a show with an excellent cast, fantastic script and a whole lot of heart.
13. The Irishman
The highly-anticipated new crime drama directed and produced by Martin Scorsese has landed on Netflix. It's one of the hottest new Netflix Originals ever made, with Scorsese at the helm and a fantastic cast to boot, including Robert De Niro, Jo Pesci and Al Pacino. The movie is about a man called Frank Sheeran (played by De Niro) who becomes a hitman and gets tied up in mob affairs.
12. Roma
Not content with nearly becoming the first film fully funded by a streaming service to win the Best Picture Academy Award (Green Book, of course, pipping it to the post), Alfonso Cuaron’s widely acclaimed movie Roma then sparked a bust-up with one or two British cinema chains. After BAFTA gave the film its top movie prize, UK cinema chain Vue sent a letter of protest, whilst Cineworld withdrew privileges from BAFTA members. All in protest at what they saw as a film primarily not intended for cinema winning such prestigious cinema prizes.
11. Orange Is The New Black
Jenji Kohan’s television adaptation of Piper Kerman’s memoir led to Orange Is The New Black, a groundbreaking drama set in a women’s prison. As well as earning huge, rich acclaim for its black humour and quality drama, the show’s keenness to show human beings as human begins is what really sees it soar. Not for nothing has the programme gone on to become one of Netflix’s most-watched originals on its service.