Best Netflix shows: discover the 50 best Netflix TV series
The best Netflix shows you should be watching - including The Queen's Gambit
Netflix is home to so many excellent TV shows these days, which means it was tough for us to come up with a list that didn't run into the hundreds for our best Netflix shows guide. But we did it, and thousands of you have already had your say about the best Netflix series around.
We've chosen a wide selection of Netflix shows that you should be watching right now. There's ones that will make you chuckle (Santa Clarita Diet, RIP), those that will make you scratch your head (The OA, RIP) and shows that, despite flying below the radar, already have a huge fanbase (Lucifer).
Below you'll find the Netflix TV shows you should all check out, even if it's just for a one-episode taster.
50. Star Trek Discovery
The current iteration of the sprawling Star Trek franchise appears to be ticking along nicely. Season 2 of Discovery has introduced a new captain (Kirk’s predecessor Captain Pike), as well as a certain pointy-eared science officer, who has been given some retconned history by series protagonist Michael Burnham. All in all, Star Trek Discovery is a much slicker and more action-packed take on Gene Rodenberry’s sci-fi universe than you might be used to.
49. Love, Death & Robots
This animated sci-fi anthology series certainly isn’t for the young or easily offended. These 18 short stories are packed full of the kind of sex, violence and downright surreal subject matter that would make your parents tut. There’s a lot of talent behind the series, including executive producers David Fincher and Tim Miller (he of Dead Pool fame). If nothing else, it shows Netflix tries to cater to all markets, no matter how niche.
48. The OA
We’ve had a fair amount of craziness in our Netflix series round-up so far, but The OA takes the loony biscuit. The first season was an unexpected combination of abduction escapes, mysterious powers, fledgling cults, and thwarted romance - all with a curious supernatural undertone. Part II is set to be no less strange, as we find out where Britt Marling’s quasi-angelic space cadet warped off to during the dizzying Part I finale.
47. Santa Clarita Diet
This TV show, which was sadly cancelled after its third season, has a concept that sounds cooked up by some drunk friends in a bar. Joel and Sheila Hammond are a normal suburban couple, until Sheila becomes a zombie.
Santa Clarita Diet explores the bizarre and frequently hilarious unwinding of this high-concept premise. Drew Barrymore is brilliant in the lead, flesh-munching role. Why was it cancelled if it was so good? Like most shows that end up canned, Santa Clarita Diet just didn’t attract quite enough eyeballs. But it deserves yours.
46. Russian Doll
Russian Doll takes the classic Groundhog Day conceit and runs with it, not stopping for breath until it crashes into a hip New York party. Natasha Lyonne plays Nadia, a hard-living programmer who finds herself dying and repeating the same day again and again (and again). What could have been tired and formulaic fare turns out to be one of the freshest and funniest shows of recent times. Let's hope this same energy is maintained for the recently-announced second season.