Netflix has been around as a streaming platform for almost 16 years. With 3600+ movies and more than 1800 TV shows to stream, it is one of the biggest streaming platforms in the world and, arguably, the prototype for every platform that became popular afterwards. In times of a global pandemic when streaming has become one of the dominant consumption of media, Netflix is dominating the industry.
By funding global projects and documentaries, Netflix is opening the door for movies and TV shows that, under any other circumstances, wouldn’t have previously been available to 190 countries around the world. This year alone, Netflix's list of original movies, from The Adam Project to Munich - The Edge of War, has proven to be crowd-pleasers. What's more, its slate of original TV series continues to grow. Indeed, here's a look at the best TV series overall that you can stream on Netflix right now.
11 How to Get Away With Murder
How to Get Away With Murder is a legal thriller Shondaland television series where Annalise Keating (Viola Davis) and her law students (Alfred Enoch, Jack Falahee, Aja Naomi King, Matt McGorry, and Karla Souza) get involved in a murder, and they try getting away with it by hiding their traces. Davis became the first Black woman to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her performance. All the characters represent a different response to the situation they have found themselves in, with Connor (Jack Falahee) arguably acting as the best person in that zoo of horrible two-faced people.
10 Lucifer
Based on the DC Comics character created by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth, and Mike Dringenberg as their version of the Devil, Lucifer is an urban fantasy drama. The plot revolves around Lucifer Morningstar (Tom Ellis) who decided to leave Hell for Los Angeles to open his own nightclub Lux, only to become a consultant for the LAPD and meet his partner in crime Chloe Decker (Lauren German). Chloe and Lucifer are probably one of the least toxic hetero relationships you get to watch on screen, where Chloe knows her worth and knows that she’s still Lucifer’s equal despite his status as an angel.
9 Bojack Horseman
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Bojack Horseman is an American adult animated comedy-drama revolving around an anthropomorphic horse, the titular Bojack Horseman, who plans his return to celebrity relevance after everyone forgot about his popularity in the 1990s, all while he struggles with his addiction and depression. Trying to explain this Netflix show to other people is very challenging: because yes, it's a comedy, but it's not hilarious in that sense; and, yes, it's about an animated horse, but, no, it's not for children. And yes, the horse is a terrible person and, no, he never gets better.
8 Orange is the New Black
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Orange Is The New Black is an American comedy-drama based on Piper Kerman's memoir Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison about her experience in a minimum-security federal prison. But the series focuses on a variety of different women, many of whom are racialized and queer. It was one of the first series produced by Netflix that earned huge critical success with twelve Primetime Emmy Award nominations. If you want to laugh, cry, and fall in love with every woman character, this is the show for you.
7 The Good Place
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The Good Place is an American fantasy-comedy series that premiered on the NBC. The plot tells the story of Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell) who accidentally ends up in a utopian Heaven after her death even though she led a life of wrongful actions. She sets on a mission to become a morally perfect person to be allowed to stay in The Good Place with the help of Chidi Anagonye (William Jackson Harper). The series ended with season four. The show will undoubtedly bring you a lot of joy and comedic bliss.
6 Money Heist
Money Heist (La Casa De Papel) is a Spanish heist crime drama following two long-prepared heists in the Bank of Spain and Royal Mint of Spain, both put together by The Professor (Álvaro Morte) and narrated by one of the robbers Tokyo (Úrsula Corberó). The show will surely blow you away with the thoroughly pre-planned details of the heists and the intelligence of the characters. As long as you love the thieves, their close relationships, and despise Arturito, you will fit right into the fandom.
5 Stranger Things
Stranger Things is a science-fiction horror Netflix drama set in the 1980s fictional town Hawkins as it deals with supernatural occurrences. The show follows the plot lines of young characters such as Eleven (Millie Bobby Brows) who has psychokinetic abilities, Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Will (Noah Schnapp), and Max (Sadie Sink). It has just been announced that the upcoming episodes of season four, that will release on the 27th of May, will be almost feature length.
4 Black Mirror
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This British TV series created by Charlie Brooker uses a dystopian setting and a different genre almost in every episode in order to tackle contemporary social issues. It's been almost three years since season five of Black Mirror released on Netflix and everyone is impatiently waiting for the upcoming season six. It's argued that the creators are waiting until the world calms down, as it appears we're already living in our own Black Mirror episodes. Indeed, we think that it's safe to say that the episodes are starting to feel more like a prophecy than a warning.
3 The Umbrella Academy
Based on the comic book series of the same name, The Umbrella Academy is a superhero TV series revolving around a dysfunctional family of adopted siblings with superhero abilities who try to solve the mystery of their father's death and the upcoming apocalypse. Season three is arriving on June 22, 2022, and we hope to get some important questions left unanswered by previous seasons. To support Elliot Page as a trans actor, the series has recently announced a change in his character from Vanya to Viktor, and we can't wait to get more of his content.
2 Sense8
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Sense8 is a Netflix TV show that was announced as a multinational project, following the lives of strangers from different corners of the world as they find out that they're "Sensates," connected physically and mentally with each other. The show explores the topics of gender, sexuality, political issues, and many more. It has created such a strong fanbase of mostly queer people that when the series got abruptly canceled after season two, they revolted, according to IndieWire, and earned themselves a proper two-hours long episode to end the series. Lana Wachowski (one of the creators) even used The Matrix Resurrections as a stealth Sense8 reunion.
1 Bridgerton
Season two of Bridgerton released in late-March, earning the number one spot in 92 countries with 193 million hours of viewing time in its premiere weekend. Based on Julia Quinn's novels, the plot follows the family of Bridgertons during the London Regency Era, when debutantes are presented at court to secure themselves a marriage. The first season follows Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) and her fake-pretend marriage to Duke Simon (Regé Jean-Page), while the second season follows her brother Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) as he falls in love with his bride Edwina's (Charithra Chandran) sister Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley).