Netflix was a little light on new original series in March, but it had a pair of recent additions that belong on your watchlist. The first is a gripping new true crime documentary called Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer. That one may keep you up at night, especially when the victims’ families share how they were affected by the murders.
Wolf King may be a tonal whiplash from Gone Girls, but perhaps we need a little light to counter that darkness. This British animated series has been unexpectedly popular, making show a worthy addition to Netflix. You can find these shows and the rest of the best Netflix original series below.
If you want to know the latest additions to the Netflix library, be sure to check out our list of what’s new on Netflix this month, the best movies on Netflix, and the best shows on Netflix. If you need more programs to watch, check out the best new shows to stream this week, the best shows on Hulu, the best shows on Amazon Prime Video, the best shows on Max, and the best shows on Disney+.
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Wolf King2025
Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer (2025)
Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer follows the case of the Gilgo Beach murders that stretched from 1993 to 2011. The murderer, Rex Heuermann, was only known as the Long Island Serial Killer, and he apparently targeted escorts and sex workers as his victims. The documentary follows the search for Heuermann as related by loved ones of the victims and the law enforcement officers who had to break the case. Heuermann’s story is a reminder that some of the most evil people imaginable can successfully hide behind a normal persona. But he couldn’t hide forever.
Wolf King (2025)
6.6/10Wolf King is an ambitious British animated series based on Curtis Jobling’s Wereworld fantasy novels. The story from all six of the novels is expected to be adapted across two seasons on Netflix. The show puts a spotlight on Drew Ferran (Ceallach Spellman), a seemingly ordinary boy whose life is upended when he discovers that he’s a werewolf and potentially the rightful heir to the throne.
Now, Drew’s friends and people are trying to kill him because of the hatred they have for the near-extinct line of werewolves. Drew’s going to need a new set of friends and allies to find his place in this world and master the abilities that make him the Wolf King.
Zero Day (2025)
51%
7.0/10Robert De Niro is a little too old to be an action hero, but he can still lead a thriller as he does in Zero Day. De Niro plays former President George Mullen, a man whose twilight years and retirement are upended by a massive cyberattack that claims the lives of thousands of Americans.
Mullen’s conduct in the aftermath catches the attention of his successor, President Evelyn Mitchell (Angela Bassett), who appoints him to head the commission to investigate the attacks. Mullen’s estranged daughter, Congresswoman Alexandra Mullen (Alexandra Mullen), is less than pleased to be working with her father, but she doesn’t fully appreciate what he can bring to the table. Even so, Mullen’s mind may be failing him just when he needs it the most.
Cobra Kai (2018)
71%
8.5/10Netflix likes to tout the success of Cobra Kai, but let’s not forget that this Karate Kid sequel series was born out of YouTube’s abandoned push for scripted content. YouTube’s loss was Netflix’s gain, as viewers embraced the updated saga of former rivals Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka).
The sixth and final season of Cobra Kai is now complete, and fans can revisit this show from the very beginning to its graceful ending. But first, Daniel and Johnny clash over their philosophical approaches to karate and what it means for their students before they can come together and confront their mutual enemy, John Kreese (Martin Kove), and the resurgent Cobra Kai dojo.
American Primeval (2025)
59%
8.1/10American Primeval doesn’t attempt to whitewash the ugly realities of the frontier in the old West. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does take issue with the show’s portrayal of Brigham Young (Kim Coates), who facilitates a massacre in the name of claiming a homeland for his followers. Young is far from the only sinner in this miniseries.
Sara Holloway (Betty Gilpin) is running from some sins of her own, and there’s a price on her head as she attempts to cross the untamed country with her son, Devin (Preston Mota), and a young indigenous woman, Two Moons (Shawnee Pourier). Isaac Reed (Taylor Kitsch) is sympathetic to Sara’s plight and willing to escort her makeshift family through danger. However, this may be a one-way trip as they get caught up in the battles between the native population and the American settlers.
The Night Agent (2023)
67%
7.5/10Against the odds, FBI agent Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) and cybersecurity expert Rose Larkin (Luciane Buchanan) exposed a highly placed traitor in The Night Agent season 1. As a reward, Peter was assigned to an even more dangerous mission while Rose returned to her civilian life.
The Night Agent season 2 may break Peter, as his latest assignment ends in tragedy. Thankfully, Rose finds her way back to Peter, standing by his side as his ally once again. These two have each other’s backs, but can they trust anyone else around them? This is one of Netflix’s top action series, and it will return for a third season.
Black Doves (2024)
78%
7.2/10Helen Webb (Keira Knightley) doesn’t have time to focus on spending Christmas with her husband, Wallace Webb (Andrew Buchan), this year. That’s because Helen is no mere housewife; she’s an undercover spy who works for the Black Doves intelligence agency. And someone has made the very grave mistake of angering Helen by murdering her lover, Jason Davies (Andrew Koji).
Helen’s willingness to abandon her “family” and her mission worries her boss, Reed (Sarah Lancashire). So as Helen sets out on her bloody path of revenge, Reed summons Helen’s closest friend, Sam Young (Ben Whishaw), to watch her back.
The Madness (2024)
65%
6.4/10Fear the Walking Dead and Rustin‘s Colman Domingo finally gets his own spotlight TV project with The Madness. Domingo plays Muncie Daniels, a media star on the verge of getting his own series. Life would be just about perfect if Muncie’s marriage with Elena Daniels (Marsha Stephanie Blake) wasn’t falling apart amid other family drama.
Muncie’s attempt to get away from it all leads him to accidentally witness the murder of a man who turns out to be a well-known white supremacist. The killers quickly frame Muncie for the crime, leaving him a fugitive and unsure of who he can trust to reclaim his life. Muncie’s not going to take this lying down, but he’ll have to figure out how to save himself.
A Man on the Inside (2024)
77%
7.6/10Ted Danson has enjoyed such longevity in television because he knows how to pick shows well-suited for his talents. With A Man on the Inside, Danson picked another winner from The Good Place creator Michael Schur. This time, Danson plays Charles, an older man who really needs a fresh start in life, which he finds by moving into the Pacific View Retirement Community.
Charles seems to have found his place among his fellow retirees, but what they don’t know is that he’s only there as an undercover operative for Julie (Lilah Richcreek Estrada), a private detective who is trying to locate a stolen ruby necklace. Someone inside Pacific View either knows who stole it or did it themselves. Charles just needs to figure out who before his true motives are exposed.
Territory (2024)
71%
6.9/10In retrospect, we probably shouldn’t be surprised that Netflix got its own Yellowstone-like series. The real shock is that it’s an Australian show with Succession overtones. The Last of Us‘ Anna Torv stars as Emily Lawson, a woman who has essentially walked into a struggle between her husband, Graham (Michael Dorman), and his father, Colin Lawson (Robert Taylor), for control over the largest cattle station in Australia.
If the Lawson family could stick together, their empire would probably be assured. When Daniel (Jake Ryan) is named the heir, all hell breaks loose, especially after he disappears. Everyone outside of the family wants their land for themselves, and if the Lawsons can’t stop fighting each other, then they might lose everything they’ve worked so hard to keep for generations.
Nobody Wants This (2024)
73%
8.0/10Picture this: An atheist and a rabbi walk into a bar, fall in love, and deliver one of Netflix’s biggest original series of 2024. Nobody Wants This has proven that it can’t live up to its title because people clearly do want it. That’s also the name of the sex and relationship podcast that Joanne (Kristen Bell) hosts in the world of the show.
Joanne hasn’t had a relationship that can last, and that’s one of the few things she has in common with Rabbi Noah Roklov (Adam Brody). He’s getting out of a long-term relationship, and the sparks immediately fly between him and Joanne. There are still plenty of hurdles for both of them to overcome, not the least of which is the backlash that Noah faces for dating a non-Jewish person. His love life may even harm his aspirations as a rabbi.
Outer Banks (2020)
58%
7.5/10John B. Routledge (Chase Stokes), Sarah Cameron (Madelyn Cline), Kiara “Kie” Carrera (Madison Bailey), JJ Maybank (Rudy Pankow), Pope Heyward (Jonathan Daviss), and Cleo (Carlacia Grant) wanted to find a treasure that could change the course of their lives and help them escape poverty. That’s what they did in the first three seasons of Outer Banks.
As season 4 rolls around, the gang is back to square one and scrambling for their next break. They’ve pulled off the impossible before, but now the Pogues have to find a treasure that once belonged to the legendary pirate Blackbeard. And they won’t be the only treasure hunters on this search.
The Lincoln Lawyer (2022)
61%
7.7/10Mickey Haller (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) is still operating out of the back of his town car in The Lincoln Lawyer season 3. (The Tesla Lawyer just doesn’t have the same ring to it.) But Mickey’s life is once again getting complicated, and he’s mourning the murder of his friend Glory Days (Fiona Rene).
Mickey wants to know who killed Glory, to see his friend get justice, and also to make sure that he isn’t representing her killer in court. The police have arrested Glory’s friend, Julian La Cosse (Devon Graye), for the crime, and Mickey’s not quite sure if he’s innocent.
The Perfect Couple (2024)
67%
6.6/10Amelia Sacks (Eve Hewson) has it made in The Perfect Couple because she’s about to marry into the wealthy Winbury family and be set for life. However, Amelia is already showing signs of being bored with her fiancé, Benji Winbury (Billy Howle), as well as jealously toward her maid of honor, Merritt Monaco (Meghann Fahy), and her freedom to flirt and seduce Benji’s best man, Shooter Dival (Ishaan Khatter).
When someone close to Amelia is found dead after the wedding rehearsal dinner, the Winbury family realizes that their long-held secrets may soon spill out into the open. The family matriarch, Greer Garrison Winbury (Nicole Kidman), is willing to do almost anything to prevent that from happening. Plus, there may be a murderer among them.
Terminator Zero (2024)
70%Don’t pass up Terminator Zero just because it’s animated. This anime series has the best Terminator story in years, and it doesn’t simply rehash the last few movies. Set shortly before Judgment Day in 1997, a scientist in Japan, Malcolm Lee (André Holland), has come up with an advanced AI, Kokoro (Rosario Dawson), that could prevent the end of the world as we know it.
Unfortunately for Malcolm, Kokoro has its own ideas about what humanity’s future holds. And Skynet isn’t simply going to let the future slip away. A new Terminator (Timothy Olyphant) has been sent back in time to eliminate Malcolm, and target his kids first. Eiko (Sonoya Mizuno), a resistance soldier from the future, has also come to the past to stop Malcolm from launching Kokoro. And as time runs out for humanity, there may not be any good choices for either Eiko or Malcolm to make.
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (2024)
66%
6.8/10Wednesday’s Emma Myers comes into her own as a star in A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, an adaptation of Holly Jackson’s novel. Myers’ character, Pippa Fitz-Amobi, has spent years obsessing over the murder of a girl named Andie (India Lillie Davies), who was around Pippa’s age when she died. And Pippa always believed that the “confession” of Andie’s late boyfriend, Sal Singh (Rahul Pattni), was suspect.
Confident in her abilities as a detective, Pippa decides to make solving this case her class project for her last year in school. This doesn’t sit well with Sal’s younger brother, Ravi Singh (Zain Iqbal), until he realizes this may be his chance to clear Sal’s name. Pippa is kicking at the proverbial hornet’s nest, and it’s going to eventually kick back.
Vikings: Valhalla (2022)
70%
7.3/10You don’t need to watch Vikings to appreciate the sequel series, Vikings: Valhalla, although both shows are on Netflix. The streamer also ordered this show to chronicle the end of the Viking age. Over 100 years have passed since the events of the first series, and the Vikings’ dominance is giving way to other forces including the rise of Christianity.
Siblings Leif Erikson (Sam Corlett) and Freydís Eiríksdóttir (Frida Gustavsson) are the main characters alongside Harald Sigurdsson (Leo Suter). This trio of warriors aren’t always on good terms with each other. But their collective actions will determine the fate of their people.
Bodkin (2024)
58%
7.0/10It seems like true crime podcasters just can’t stop getting into trouble in comedy/mystery hybrids. Bodkin is going to give you some Only Murders in the Building vibes as Gilbert Power (Will Forte) heads to Ireland with his associate, Emmy Sizergh (Robyn Cara), to look into an old cold case, revisit his roots, and toot his own horn.
Dove Maloney (Siobhán Cullen), an actual journalist, is roped into accompanying Gilbert and Emmy, much to her displeasure. However, Dove’s investigative skills lead to breaks in the case… which may put this unlikely trio in danger from Bodkin’s locals, especially those who have something to hide.
Bridgerton (2020)
69%
7.4/10Almost everyone eventually finds love on Bridgerton. This season, it’s time for Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) to get her chance. For two seasons, Penelope has been the hidden gossipmonger behind the Lady Whistledown persona while secretly pining for Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton). When Colin thoughtlessly insulted Penelope in conversation with his friends, he didn’t know that she heard every word.
Now, Colin is looking to save his friendship with Penelope. And as they repair their bond, both Penelope and Colin see each other in a new light. But Penelope’s double life as Lady Whistledown is still hanging over their heads.
Baby Reindeer (2024)
88%
8.1/10There are no actual baby reindeer in Baby Reindeer. It’s just a nickname that Martha Scott (Jessica Gunning) has for Donny Dunn (Richard Gadd), a struggling comedian who took pity on her and showed her kindness. That turns out to be a very big mistake on Donny’s part, as Martha reveals herself to be an obsessive stalker.
Donny’s attempts to get Martha to back off only serve to enrage her. And once Martha feels that she’s been wronged by Donny, her obsession gets even more destructive for both of them.
RIPLEY (2024)
75%
8.2/10Patricia Highsmith’s novel The Talented Mr. Ripley gets a modern adaptation in Ripley, which is shot entirely in black-and-white and set in the 1950s. In this incarnation, Tom Ripley (Andrew Scott) is no twentysomething young man, but he’s still a gifted con artist. Tom’s fortunes start to rise when a wealthy man, Herbert Greenleaf (Kenneth Lonergan), hires him to find his son, Dickie Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn), and convince him to return home. Once he catches up with the younger Greenleaf, Tom manages to get into Dickie’s inner circle.
But Dickie soon rejects Tom, and the latter makes a ruthless choice that kicks off an elaborate game of-cat and-mouse. Tom wants everything that Dickie has, but he’ll have to stay one step ahead of the law to remain a free man.
3 Body Problem (2024)
70%
7.4/103 Body Problem may turn out to be Netflix’s most expensive original series of 2024, if not the most expensive show of all-time. Sci-fi epics on this scale are very expensive, and this is also David Benioff and D. B. Weiss’ first TV series since Game of Thrones. Benioff, Weiss, and Alexander Woo have adapted Liu Cixin’s sci-fi novel, which was the first part of a trilogy.
Decades ago, Ye Wenjie (Rosalind Chao) made a decision that may have doomed humanity. In the present, scientists are inexplicably killing themselves, and some of them are haunted by visions of a countdown which only they can see. Something from beyond the stars is heading to Earth, and all the time in the world may not be enough to get ready for it.
The Gentlemen (2024)
67%
8.4/10Viewers who saw Guy Ritchie’s 2019 film, The Gentlemen, may be surprised that the series has only a handful of common elements with the movie. The show is largely its own thing, even though Ritchie created both the film and the series. Theo James stars as Eddie Halstead, a young man who is accustomed to having the finer things in life. He is also the new Duke of Halstead, following the death of his father.
Eddie soon discovers that his late father failed to mention that the family’s ancestral estate is being used by a gangster, Bobby Glass (Ray Winstone), as a key part of his illegal marijuana activities. This means Eddie is now personally involved in those crimes as well, and he may be more suited for the criminal underworld than he would care to admit.
Avatar: The Last Airbender (2024)
56%
7.4/10Was 19 years too soon to reboot Avatar: The Last Airbender as a live-action series? Apparently not, as it’s already a hit on Netflix. Fans of the original animated series should be able to follow along without any issues. For everyone else, the short version is that this fantasy series takes place in a world where select people can manipulate or “bend” water, fire, earth, and air. Unlike everyone else, Aang (Gordon Cormier) can bend all four. That’s why he’s the Avatar.
However, this Avatar is also a 12-year old boy who just literally spent a century on ice. Aang awakens in a world that is at risk of being overrun by the Fire Nation. And the only one who can stop that from happening is Aang himself — if he can master all four of his bending disciplines and live up to the legacy of the Avatar.
One Day (2024)
76%
8.2/10Dexter Mayhew (Leo Woodall) and Emma Morley (Ambika Mod) seem destined to be lovers in One Day, if only they can get past their own personal issues with each other. This very long romantic miniseries unfolds over 14 episodes, with the story beginnings when Dexter and Emma nearly hook up after graduating from college.
Emma and Dexter keep running into each other over the next several years. Even when they’re with someone else, they always seem to find their way back. You may want to keep some tissues handy when watching the show, because this relationship isn’t without its share of tragedy as well.
House of Ninjas (2024)
7.3/10As much as House of Ninjas sounds like it would be the best fraternity ever, it’s actually about the Tawara family. Years ago, the Tawaras were collectively a formidable shinobi family. But the death of one of their own has caused them to turn their backs on the legacy that made them who they are.
Each of the family members carries that burden with them, but especially Haru Tawara (Kento Kaku). Although his father, Souichi Tawara (Yōsuke Eguchi), has settled down and wants his son to take over the family brewery, Haru wants to take control of his own destiny. As for destiny, it has its own ideas for Haru, Souichi, and the rest of their family as they are drawn back into action.
Griselda (2024)
65%
7.6/10Don’t expect to see multiple seasons of Griselda. Netflix’s crime drama is based on the very finite story of Griselda Blanco (Sofia Vergara), a woman who was once called “the Godmother of Cocaine,” and it was not a term of endearment. The real Blanco was just as ruthless as the male drug lords, and perhaps even more so as she kept a grip on Miami’s underworld.
The miniseries takes a look back at Blanco’s life and establishes how she became involved in the drug trade, and why she was able to rise to the top. And just because Blanco ruled Miami’s drug scene with an iron fist, it didn’t save her when her fortune finally ran out.
Masters of the Universe: Revolution (2024)
8.1/10In our opinion, five episodes is a little too short to be considered a real season. But Masters of the Universe: Revolution covers a lot of ground despite missing the 40th anniversary of He-Man’s animated adventures in 2023. Picking up where things left off in Masters of the Universe: Revelation, Prince Adam/He-Man (Chris Wood) is rocked by two events: the death of his father, King Randor (Diedrich Bader), and the return of a long-lost relative voiced by Star Trek’s William Shatner.
Meanwhile, Teela (Melissa Benoist) enlists her former rival, the woman formerly known as Evil-Lyn (Lena Headey), to help her restore the afterlife on Eternia. But their plans are derailed when Skeletor (Mark Hamill) returns with the backing of the Evil Horde, including Hordak (Keith David) himself.
The Crown (2016)
84%
8.6/10The Crown could have easily been called The Queen, since it chronicled the life of Queen Elizabeth II from the early days of her reign (as played by Claire Foy), through her middle-age years (as played by Wonka‘s Olivia Colman), until finally reaching the last years of her life as an older queen (Imelda Staunton).
Although the series never caught up to the present, or even to Elizabeth’s death in 2022, The Crown’s later seasons shifted some of the focus to Princess Diana (Emma Corrin) before and after her death. Even the current royal heir, Prince William (Ed McVey), and his estranged brother, Prince Harry (Luther Ford), get their time in the spotlight in the show’s final season. And unlike many other Netflix originals, The Crown gets to reach a true conclusion.
Bodies (2023)
65%
7.4/10If the naked body of an unidentified man (Tom Mothersdale) had only been found once, then Bodies could have had a singular name. But when the same dead body turns up in 1890, 1941, 2023, and 2053, then there’s more than just a simple murder in play.
DI Alfred Hillinghead (Kyle Soller), DS Karl ‘Charles Whiteman’ Weissman (Jacob Fortune-Lloyd), DS Shahara Hasan (Amaka Okafor), and DC Iris Maplewood (Shira Haas) don’t initially realize that the case can’t be solved in their respective time periods. But if they don’t figure it out, then the consequences may be grave.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (2023)
81%
8.8/10Almost the entire cast of the 2010 live-action Scott Pilgrim vs. the World film has returned to lend their voices to the new anime series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. But it’s not simply a rehash of the movie. Instead, the anime takes its cues more directly from Bryan Lee O’Malley’s bestselling Scott Pilgrim graphic novels and even incorporates his style into the animation.
Despite some changes, the core of the story is intact. Semi-loser Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) has a shot at winning the heart of the most intriguing woman he’s ever met: Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), However, winning Ramona’s heart comes with lots of strings. Now, Scott has to duel with Ramona’s seven evil exes in a series of video game-style boss battles.
Blue Eye Samurai (2023)
86%
9.1/10Blue Eye Samurai is more than just the best anime of 2023. Through its first season, the series has earned its place among the best shows on Netflix. One of the main reasons for that is the way that series creators Michael Green and Amber Noizumi treat the series like a serious one-hour drama.
In Japan’s Edo period, half-Caucasian and half-Japanese people like Mizu (Maya Erskine) were regarded as inhuman. So Mizu hides her blue eyes and her true gender as she goes off in search of vengeance on the man she believes may have fathered her.
The Fall of the House of Usher (2023)
75%
7.8/10As a Halloween treat, Mike Flanagan’s final horror series for Netflix, The Fall of the House of Usher, updates the original story by Edgar Allan Poe as well as a few other tales by the famous author. Flanagan also made the very timely choice to re-envision the Usher family as the incredibly wealthy owners of a corrupt company, Fortunato Pharmaceuticals.
Siblings Roderick (Bruce Greenwood) and Madeline Usher (Mary McDonnell) have literally made their business a killing. Now, someone is making a killing by eliminating all of the Usher children, one by one. Suddenly, there may not be a legacy for the Ushers, or even a family left to receive it.
Lupin (2021)
80%
7.5/10Everyone’s favorite gentleman thief is back in Lupin, and Assane Diop (Omar Sy) has almost everything he could want … except his family. In order to remain free, Assane had to abandon his wife, Claire Laurent (Ludivine Sagnier), and their son, Raoul (Etan Simon).
In the newest batch of episodes, Assane hatches his most ambitious plan to date to reunite with his family by faking his own death, which should get his name off of the world’s most wanted lists. But walking away from his life of crime won’t be easy for Assane, especially since he has a new enemy gunning for him.
One Piece (2023)
67%
8.7/10Live-action anime adaptations are always tricky, and Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop is a prime example of that. However, One Piece appears to have won over fans of the anime with its largely faithful tone and its energetic adventures on the high seas.
Two decades before the start of this series, the famous pirate, Gol D. Roger, made his last stand. Now, Gold Roger’s legendary lost treasure, the One Piece, is sought by many.
Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy) wants to find the One Piece so he can become the new Pirate King. Monkey is also a bit ridiculous regardless of his superhuman stretching powers. But Monkey is so earnest that he draws together a crew of Straw Hat Pirates who will follow him to the ends of the Earth and beyond.
Wrestlers (2023)
8.7/10Professional wrestling still has a dedicated following that doesn’t care that the business has been exposed as scripted for decades. Fans love it anyway, and the industry has produced performers like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and John Cena who have gone on to Hollywood stardom after headlining WWE events for years.
The performers in Netflix’s Wrestlers may never reach the heights of Johnson or Cena, but their dream is to make it to major league promotions like WWE and AEW. This docuseries follows the wrestlers at Ohio Valley Wrestling, a small regional promotion that once helped Cena learn his craft. The men and women of OVW have their own personal stories, but they share a common goal. Yet in this business, not everyone will get the chance to live out their dreams.
Virgin River (2019)
70%
7.4/10After memorable stints on American Horror Story, The Walking Dead, and This Is Us, Alexandra Breckenridge finally has a starring vehicle of her own in Virgin River. This show is so successful that Netflix has already renewed it for a sixth season, and that just doesn’t happen very often with the streamer’s live-action series.
Breckenridge plays Melinda “Mel” Monroe, a nurse practitioner who wants to reinvent herself as a midwife in Virgin River, a small town in Northern California. Mel immediately clashes with her new employer, Vernon “Doc” Mullins (Tim Matheson). Mel also finds herself romantically drawn to Jack Sheridan (Martin Henderson), a local bar owner. Mel’s relationships and friendships in the town drive this series, which recently premiered the first part of its fifth season.
Painkiller (2023)
How did the opioid crisis become such a devastating ongoing problem for our country? Netflix’s Painkiller puts a lot of the blame at the feet of Richard Sackler (Matthew Broderick) and his company, Purdue. However, Sackler and Purdue aren’t the only ones at fault, and there’s plenty of blame to pass around in this dramatization.
Many of the addicts depicted in the show are victims of their own choices regardless of anything Purdue did to push OxyContin on the nation. But perhaps the most affecting moments come at the beginning of the episodes when real people talk about who they lost to addiction during the show’s disclaimer sequences.
The Witcher (2019)
63%
8.1/10Black Mirror (2011)
8.8/10Netflix has premiered the sixth season of Black Mirror, and series creator Charlie Brooker is up to his old tricks again. Just when you think Black Mirror can’t go more over-the-top, the new season has five all-new standalone episodes that point the finger at the perils of modern technology. And one of this season’s targets is none other than Netflix itself!
The rest of the season explores two astronauts in an alternate history, a woman who is compelled to murder to prevent an apocalypse, and an unexpectedly supernatural encounter. As always, Brooker has lined up some very recognizable actors and actresses to play out these horror stories to their bitter end. And we love it.
Our Planet (2019)
It’s not an exaggeration to call Our Planet one of the very best documentaries on Netflix. The team behind this series offer viewers some absolutely jaw-dropping visuals of places on Earth that most people would never have seen without the window that this show provides them. We’re happy to say that Our Planet II is just as visually stunning as the first season was four years ago.
Season 2 once again explores the way that climate change has affected Earth and the creatures who live there. To do otherwise would have been dishonest, and it’s disheartening at times to watch the animals struggle to find ways to survive. But if you love nature, this is a show you shouldn’t miss.
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (2023)
76%
6.6/10God save the queen. Bridgerton fans have made sure that the first spinoff series, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, is already a chart-topping hit. This is a prequel that follows Charlotte (India Amarteifio) decades before the events of the primary show. It’s also an origin story for Bridgerton itself as Charlotte’s marriage to King George III (Corey Mylchreest) has an amazing effect on the world around them. Unfortunately for Charlotte, a happy ending and true love will not come as easily.
This show doesn’t ignore the events of the primary Bridgerton series, as the older Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) finds herself facing some serious questions about who will inherit the crown after she is gone.
The Diplomat (2023)
75%
7.8/10BEEF (2023)
86%
8.0/10In an ideal world, Danny Cho (Steven Yeun) and Amy Lau Nakai (Ali Wong) would never have met. In Netflix’s black comedy, Beef, Danny and Amy both come from very different worlds and different social circles. And if they hadn’t had an ugly road rage incident with each other, their lives wouldn’t be so inexorably linked going forward.
A grudge like this can only fester and grow, and by the end, revenge is the only thing that matters to either one of them. Fortunately, it makes for some terrific stories, and this is likely to be a breakout hit for Netflix.
You (2018)
Stranger Things (2016)
75%
8.7/10The throwback sci-fi series Stranger Things is set the world ablaze in the summer of 2016, igniting a bonfire of nostalgia while simultaneously telling a gripping story that gets more exciting with each episode. Now, it’s back for season 4. When 12-year-old Will Byers goes missing in the small town of Hawkins, Indiana, his mother, Joyce (Winona Ryder), thinks she’s losing her mind, believing that Will has been taken by supernatural forces. Meanwhile, Will’s friends work to find and rescue him, with the help of a mysterious young girl named Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), who appears seemingly out of nowhere.
The mystery gets deeper and darker as the show goes on, while more and more members of the Hawkins community get drawn into the creepy tale. Few shows have been as willing to let children drive the story, and Stranger Things is better for it. The show is a clear homage to Spielberg’s coming-of-age films and ’80s horror, and superb performances across the board make this a must-watch.
Peaky Blinders (2013)
8.8/10Ozark (2017)
67%
8.4/10Jason Bateman has had as interesting a career as anyone in the limelight. He burst onto the Hollywood scene in the early 1980s as a young heartthrob, starring in stuff like Teen Wolf Too and The Hogan Family before experiencing a major career renaissance in the late aughts with shows like the brilliant comedy Arrested Development. Ozark marks a different look for Bateman than many have seen, as he plays a financial planner-turned-money launderer who relocates his family to the remote Ozark mountains in Missouri to avoid attention from the law.
Unsurprisingly, the law finds him anyway, and Marty (Bateman) must scramble to stay afloat while paying off debts to a Mexican cartel. Laura Linney is awesome as Marty’s wife, who gets caught up in the scheme, and Julia Garner is particularly good as the odd local girl Ruth Langmore. Though Ozark will naturally draw comparisons to Breaking Bad, its scope isn’t nearly as grand, but Bateman seems to improve with each passing episode.
Squid Game (2021)
69%
8.1/10The Queen’s Gambit (2020)
8.0/10Related Topics: Netflix | Hulu | Amazon Prime | More Streaming Services
