It’s been a long couple of years, but our streaming subscriptions flourish now more than ever. It’s entirely likely that you or someone you know has recently uttered the phrase, « I’ve watched everything in my list, » or, « I’ve seen everything on Netflix. »
No, sweetie, you haven’t.
Whether you’re a fan of animation, horror, or sci-fi, these Netflix originals have got you covered. While some have taken the world by storm, others mistakenly only got their 15 minutes of fame and deserved so much more. So buckle up, because the Mashable Entertainment team has banded together to share what we believe are the best Netflix original series, to watch or rewatch as you see fit.
Here are the 15 best Netflix originals series to date (in no particular order).
1. Squid Game
Thanks to a nail-biting premise and life-or-death stakes, it’s almost impossible not to binge the record-breaking phenomenon Squid Game in one or two sittings. The 456 participants in the titular Squid Game are all in financial trouble and have agreed to play children’s games in exchange for money. The catch? If they lose, they die. Squid Game leans fully into the brutality of its premise, contrasting pastel playground aesthetics with tragedy and gore. However, the show also makes time for plenty of substance by fleshing out the relationships between its leads and interrogating the royally messed-up circumstances that led to each player ending up in this position. — Belen Edwards, Entertainment Reporter (*)
Where to watch: Squid Game is streaming on Netflix.
2. Heartstopper
Artist and writer Alice Oseman has brought her beloved webcomic/graphic novel series to the screen with Doctor Who/Broadchurch/Torchwood director Euros Lyn. Kit Conner and Joe Locke take on the roles of Nick Nelson and Charlie Spring, whose big wonderful crush on each other sits at the heart of the Netflix series. The pair are worlds apart: a stoic, rugby-loving Year 11 and sweet, Strokes-loving Year 10 boy from different social groups and different levels of figuring out their sexuality, but, dear reader, sparks quite literally fly. Charlie’s mates — fiercely protective Tao (William Gao), level-headed Elle (Yasmin Finney), and cucumber-level chilled Isaac (Tobie Donovan) — are also here for the ride, as well as Elle’s gloriously awesome new friends at the all-girls school, Tara (Corinna Brown) and Darcy (Kizzy Edgell). And of course, this is high school, so everyone’s got their own stuff going on. — Shannon Connellan, UK Editor
Where to watch: Heartstopper is streaming on Netflix.
3. The Witcher
Based on the similarly titled book by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher is a fantasy series following the many adventures of monster hunter Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), as he navigates the increasingly hostile landscape of his home, The Continent. While he at first seems like your typical brooding and burly monster hunter, Geralt is actually part of a grander scheme of destiny involving a potently powerful sorceress (Anya Chalotra) and a young princess hiding a special gift (Freya Allan). What is the destined trio bound to do, and how will they get there? The Witcher is a fun yet dark amalgamation of fantasy and explores the monsters lying within demons, beasts, and above all, people. — Yasmeen Hamadeh, Entertainment Intern
Where to watch: The Witcher is streaming on Netflix.
4. The Midnight Gospel
A gorgeously colorful animated series, The Midnight Gospel treks through the multiverse not by spaceships or Eldritch Magic, but through a podcast — or more specifically, a spacecast. The story follows our host Clancy as he makes his way to different planets and galaxies thanks to his multiverse stimulator, and interviews a broad range of characters on the meaning of life, drugs, religion, and so much more. Each episode derives real audio from the show’s creator, Duncan Trussel’s, podcast (The Duncan Trussell Family Hour), and neatly packages it in a glorious feat of animation that’s as trippy as it is touching. The beauty of The Midnight Gospel lies in its ability to balance hard emotional topics with hilariously surreal settings and characters. Warning, the show’s last episode is particularly guaranteed to make you bawl. — Y.H.
Where to watch: The Midnight Gospel is streaming on Netflix.
5. Sense8
Created by the Wachowski sisters and J. Michael Straczynski, Sense8 is, well, exactly as trippy as you’d expect a sci-fi drama created by those three to be. The series follows eight strangers who discover in quick succession that they’re linked by a single mind and soul, which makes them a target for certain mysterious forces. Thrills ensue in the form of cool superpowers, deadly chases, sinister conspiracies, and intricately choreographed fight scenes, all shot and edited together with dazzling precision.
But what makes Sense8 feel truly special is its emphasis on emotional connection. It’s a show that feels almost radical in its earnestness — in its plea for empathy, its faith in humanity, and its celebration for love. It wears its tender, beating heart on its sleeve, and invites you to touch it, and then asks if perhaps you wouldn’t like to open up your own heart to it, too. — Angie Han, Deputy Entertainment Editor
Where to watch: Sense8 is streaming on Netflix.
6. Arcane
Whether you’re a big fan of League of Legends or have no idea who Jinx, Vi, and Jayce are, you’re guaranteed to smash through Arcane. The show’s gorgeous animation is the perfect vehicle for an excellent story about magic, betrayal, and family ties. Trust us: As soon as you enter the cities of Piltover and Zaun, you won’t want to leave until you’ve finished all nine episodes. — B.E. (*)
Where to watch: Arcane is streaming on Netflix.
7. The Haunting of Hill House
Inspired by Shirley Jackson’s novel of the same name, The Haunting of Hill House is a remarkable feat of both horror and drama, as its cast of characters are forced to reckon with ghosts both literal and figurative. Alternating between past and present, the show explores the Crain family’s paranormal experiences at their childhood home, and all the ways the house’s ghosts followed them into adulthood. A bundle of plot twists, Easter eggs, and perfectly executed jump-scares, The Haunting of Hill House is an exploration of fright as much as it is of feeling, with a supernatural story grounded in the complexities of family. After you fall in love with the show, be sure to watch the second installment in its anthology, The Haunting of Bly Manor. — Y.H.
Where to watch: The Haunting of Hill House is streaming on Netflix.
8. Bridgerton
Gossip Girl meets Pride and Prejudice, and what more could you want? It’s the era of ballrooms, courtship, high society, and scandal, with a monarch of gossip, Lady Whistledown (voiced by Julie Andrews), keeping all of its elite in check. Based on the novels by Julia Quinn, Bridgerton is a fun, yearn-filled romance series, following the Bridgerton family’s pursuit of love while trying to appease both their own desires and society’s. Each season takes on a new couple, with the first following the Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page) and Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor), and the second following Daphne’s brother, Anthony (Jonathan Bailey), with — well, we won’t spoil it. Ridiculously ravishing romance, Bridgerton is yet another feat from TV veteran Shonda Rhimes, and a must-watch for all the girlies that want to dance in pretty dresses. — Y.H.
Where to watch: Bridgerton is streaming on Netflix.
9. The Umbrella Academy
Imagine having seven kids. Now imagine having seven kids with superpowers. The Umbrella Academy follows the story of seven children who were all born at the same time by different mothers around the world (cue the oohs and ahhs of sci-fi goodness), and who were all adopted by billionaire Sir Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore), who molded them into a superhero sibling team called The Umbrella Academy. After years of estrangement, the siblings reunite for their father’s funeral, where they realize his death is shrouded with more mystery than they imagined, and they may (or may not) have a role to play in an imminent apocalypse. What a funeral service! Based off Gerard Way’s (yes, My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way) incredible comic books, The Umbrella Academy is a cornucopia of geeky goodness and phenomenal television that’ll have you clicking “next episode” again and again. — Y.H.
Where to watch: The Umbrella Academy is streaming on Netflix.
10. All of Us Are Dead
Combine zombie outbreak with teen drama and you’ve got All of Us Are Dead. Based on the webtoon by Joo Dong-geun, the South Korean series was written by Chun Sung-Il, directed by Lee Jae-kyoo and Kim Nam-su, and includes superb cinematography from Park Se-seung. The series takes place during a pretty damn intense zombie apocalypse that emerges from Hyosan High School, wherein students balance fighting off their former classmates with…their crushes. — S.C. (*)
Where to watch: All of Us Are Dead is streaming on Netflix.
11. Never Have I Ever
Months after watching Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher’s comedy about 15-year-old Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) and her sublimely teenage woes, I’m still not sure what its naysayers expected. The show was never going to compromise on or depart from its creators’ signature sense of humor as it was first minted on The Mindy Project. It was never going to be the story of every Indian American teenager or every immigrant family, nor was it going to resolve Devi’s many flaws and misjudgments over the course of a single 10-episode season.
But Never Have I Ever does so much else. It puts Devi in full peril of her sexuality, grief, and a wee smidge of sociopathy. It has the best ensemble cast of any Kaling production (no disrespect to the rotating secondary characters of The Mindy Project, but perhaps a healthy dose of shade) and scenes that will leave you laughing, crying, or crawling out of your skin as you remember the blissful highs and nightmarish lows of adolescence. — Proma Khosla, Senior Entertainment Reporter
Where to watch: Never Have I Ever is streaming on Netflix.
12. Dark
German sci-fi show Dark starts with a missing child and ends with a whirlwind of time travel and biblical allegory. Set in the fictional German town of Winden, Dark follows the lives of four families who discover a wormhole underneath their local nuclear power plant and start questioning the impact it’s had on their lives. As time travel and vanishing children begin unraveling all the looming secrets within, the families are forced to confront who they actually may be to one another. — Y.H.
Where to watch: Dark is streaming on Netflix.
13. The Crown
Pile under some blankets and get ready to be soothed by watching one seriously fucked up but deeply captivating family.
The Emmy-winning series made a star out of Claire Foy, who portrayed a young Queen Elizabeth in Seasons 1 and 2. Seasons 3 and 4 — now starring Olivia Colman — remained a stirring portrait of a woman and a marriage that are both world-famous and yet still shrouded in mystery. The series is at its best when it explores the quiet moments that must have followed the big public headlines about news events you know. Foy and Colman both so easily make a meal out of a head turn, a raised eyebrow, or a single tear. Luxe production values ensure that Buckingham Palace is awe-inspiring, but the biggest applause must be held for the meaty monologues about God, family, and country. — Erin Strecker, Entertainment Editor
Where to watch: The Crown is streaming on Netflix.
14. Sex Education
It’s rare that depictions of high school sexual exploits do anything but make you cringe. And yet, in the world of Sex Education, these scenes are the bedrock of a blissfully understanding, caring, and ever-evolving world that presents the best of the best in acceptance. Ncuti Gatwa, Emma Mackey, and Asa Butterfield lead as three friends sorting their way through Moordale Secondary School, its student body, and the trials of the heart that lie within. — Alison Foreman, Entertainment Reporter
Where to watch: Sex Education is streaming on Netflix.
15. Stranger Things
Stranger Things is a great sci-fi series. With roots in horror and coming-of-age arcs, there is so much about these four seasons that is so satisfying. Each season builds itself on an expanding flow of tension and release, of mystery and explosive action, interwoven with growing personal relationships and government conspiracies that make each step forward in the story that much more engaging.
The series begins in Hawkins, Indiana, in the 1980s, and something strange is going on. A sort of interdimensional rift has been opened beneath the rural town. A young girl, Eleven, who is tapped into that that Upside Down dimension, escapes her captors and teams up with a group of kids to put a stop to the terror that has entered the world. As the seasons go on, the threats morph, but that element of horror and unabashed ’80s vibe stays strong, giving Stranger Things a really strong and (mostly) consistent sense of style and narrative. — Kellen Beck, Entertainment Reporter
Where to watch: Stranger Things is streaming on Netflix.
(*) denotes that blurb appeared in a previous Mashable list.
UPDATE: Oct. 15, 2022, 5:00 a.m. EDT This list has been updated to reflect the latest on Netflix.
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