Best Netflix TV shows: 25 great Netflix TV series
Netflix's transition from a DVD rental service to a streaming behemoth has been impressive to watch. The company has sunk tons of money and effort into making itself into the Number 1 destination for on-demand content that it isn't just a place to watch things, it also creates them. So much so that the big TV and movie studios are rightly running scared.
While Netflix slowly makes a land grab for movies, it's perhaps its television output that is the reason most people have an account. There's a ton of TV content to feast upon - too much to ever consider watching in one lifetime.
This is why we've created the TechRadar guide to the greatest TV shows on Netflix in the US right now. We'll keep this best TV show list constantly updated with the latest television shows that you should be watching and also tell you why.
- Check out our in-depth Netflix review
1. Daredevil
When it comes to superhero movies, Marvel are bossing DC thanks to the rich tapestry it has weaved with its cinematic universe. Its TV shows, as fun as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and Agent Carter are, haven't had the same success as DC's The Arrow or The Flash.
Thankfully Daredevil has come along to change all this.
Released in one binge-watching dose, Daredevil is superb television, regardless if you are a superhero fan or not. Matt Murdoch's (Boardwalk Empire's Charlie Cox) rise from blind lawyer to vigilante is brutal and steeped in realism. The reason it works so well is that it doesn't shy away from being violent - each crack and crunch is a world away from Ben Affleck's terrible movie version. And special mention has to go to Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk, his best role since the tortured Private Pyle.
Seasons on Netflix: 1
2. Archer
Given that Archer is set at the International Secret Intelligence Service (unfortunately abbreviated as ISIS), recent terror atrocities have meant the animation has been getting headlines for the wrong reasons. But don't let this unlucky nomenclature put you off. Archer is a brilliant send-up of spy movies of yore, complete with some of the best voiceover talent - many of which have been pruned from the cast of Arrested Development. While the fifth season 'reboot' wasn't the success it should have been, Archer is still one of the best cartoon comedies around.
Seasons on Netflix: 5
3. Arrested Development
If it wasn't for Netflix, Arrested Development would have stayed as a three-season wonder. The streaming giant decided to take a gamble and fund a fourth season of Mitchell Hurwitz's brilliant family comedy and we are glad it did. While splitting the family up for most of the season meant some of the spark had disappeared - this was done to fit in with the actors' busy schedules - the fourth season proved that there was still a lot to like about the dysfunctional Bluth family. Filled with season-long in-jokes, perfect site gags and spot-on wordplay, Arrested Development is a comedy that needs to be watched on repeat - and even then you will find something new to laugh at.
Seasons on Netflix: 4
4. Futurama
In honor of Netflix pulling the plug on Battlestar Galactica (we all make mistakes), we've decided to use the fourth spot in our list to give a nod to a show that's no stranger to getting the pink slip.
Created, written and well-loved by animation legend Matt Groening, you might have wrote Futurama off as filler content for Fox's Sunday night programming block. If that sounds like you, you inadvertently did a major disservice to creativity, humor and passion Groening poured into every panel year after year for over a decade. Futurama is funny, witty and has the uncanny ability to poke fun at cultural icons without sinking to juvenile mud-slinging. Each time the series got the axe broke our heart a little more, which didn't get the mending it needed until the final episode of the final season. So just as Fry asks Leela to go around one last time, we ask you on behalf of the wildly beautiful, if perhaps somewhat strange, cartoon to give it one more go.
Seasons on Netflix: 10
5. Mad Men
Mad Men is more addictive than the cigarettes Don Draper is trying to market us. If you've never watched it, essentially Mad Men is a show about everything we now consider taboo in glaringly harsh light. Set in 1960s America, inter-office intercourse is par for the course, along with ashtrays overflowing with cigarettes, sexism at the highest levels and a complete disregard for morals so long as it serves the characters on their climb to the top of the corporate ladder. Don Draper (Jon Hamm) and his assistant Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss) shock and entertain us by showing the lifestyles of the advertising executives who got the public to buy cigarettes long after they knew the health risks.
Seasons on Netflix: 6
6. Black Mirror
There's no better person to portray not-so-distant future dystopias than Charlie Brooker. He's been holding a warped mirror up to the ridiculous nature of the world's media for years, mixing cutting comments with comedy, but Black Mirror sees him entering darker territory. Each series is just three episodes long but they are all standalone treats, twisting reality in their own unique way while commenting on things we seem to hold dear today - namely technology and television.
Seasons on Netflix: 2
7. Breaking Bad
More addictive than the meth pushed by Walt and Jessie, Breaking Bad is brilliant binge-watching television. The initial plot is simple: a straight-laced teacher is told he has cancer and to make sure he leaves his family with the best possible life, he turns to drug making and dealing. There's method to his madness as he ends up being pretty good at it. Creator Vince Gilligan has created such a good group of characters, he is currently mining the same world again with Better Call Saul. But that has some way to go reach the highest highs that Breaking Bad offers.
Seasons on Netflix: 5
8. Parks and Recreation
We always knew Amy Poehler was funny. Sketch after sketch on Saturday Night Live proved she had the comedic timing of a professional stand-up mixed with the creative capacity of an executive producer. Each episode of Parks and Rec is a chance to see Poehler do what she does best, with an excellent supporting cast of Nick Offerman, Chris Pratt, Aubrey Plaza and Rashida Jones behind her every step of the way. While we were sad to see the show come to a heart-wrenching conclusion this year, the finale in February was the perfect excuse to go back and binge-watch the entire series from start to finish.
Series on Netflix: 6
9. Louie
If you like Louis C.K.'s stand up, you're going to love Louie. It's dark. It's funny. It makes us look at ourselves and our situations and just think "Huh, I guess it could be a lot worse." Each episode is divided into two parts: a stand-up segment where Louie tells jokes to a faceless audience and a fictional vignette that either refutes or enforces the previous joke. So how can a comedian's life, even a fictional version of it, be funny? We have no idea, but it just works.
Series on Netflix: 3
10. Fargo
There was a collective groan by Coen Brothers fans the world over when Fargo the television show was announced. But what could have been darn tootin' awful ended up being fantastic, thanks to the casting of Billy Bob Thornton who is both funny and psychotic - well, his character is anyway. The series thankfully didn't retread the movie but added to it, acting as a strange but sublime companion piece. It's so good, the Coens initially refused to have their name on the show - until they saw it and loved it.
Seasons on Netlflix: 1
11. Fringe
Not since X-Files has a show managed to balance 'monster of the week' storylines with an overarching story that goes beyond this universe and into many more. Fringe was always a shows that never quite gained superstar status but, thanks to stellar casting (which included the late Leonard Nimoy and Pacey from Dawson's Creek) and mind-bending themes, it was consistently one of the brainiest and craziest things on television. It was thanks to its cult support that Fringe actually had an ending too - and a decent one that managed to wrap all that went before it with a poignant conclusion, even though we were a little sad to let go of Walter Bishop and co.
Seasons on Netflix: 5
12. House of Cards
If there ever was a poster boy for Netflix, House of Cards would be it. Funded completely by the streaming service, Cards' first season boasted direction by David Fincher and acting by Kevin Spacey and was addictive television. The reason: Netflix positively wanted you to binge watch, putting all episodes up at once. Now in its third season, Netflix's Card trick is still impressive and shows just how far Netflix has come, given it's shot in both 4K and HDR.
Seasons on Netflix: 3
13. It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
Initially made on a shoe-string budget, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia first season had a cult following, but low viewing figures meant it was destined to be a one-series wonder. Thankfully, everything changed when Season 2 was eventually green-lit, thanks to some big-time star power. Danny De Vito joined for a 10-episode run that was extended because he loved it so much. He's still in the show that's now in its 10th season, bringing with him huge viewing figures. The antics of Dennis (Glenn Howerton), Mac (Rob McElhenney, the show's creator), Charlie (Charlie Kelly) and Sweet Dee (Kaitlin Olson) won't be for everyone - at its darkest the show's 'comedy' themes range from nazism to drug abuse - but stick with it and this deliciously depraved classic will reward you.
Seasons available on Netflix: 9
14. Firefly
After he had produced the perfect female lead in Buffy and before he was Hulk smashing with The Avengers, Joss Whedon created a short-run sci-fi series that has spawned not only a massive cult following but, quite astonishingly, a movie. The reason it was such an underground success was because Firefly takes the Star Wars framework of making space messy, where everything is a little rough around the edges - including the crew. It even has its own Han Solo in the form of Nathan Fillion's Malcolm Reynolds. Whedon's witty words permeate the whole of Firefly, which is not so much a space opera but a space rock opera.
Seasons on Netflix: 1
15. The Killing
The US version of The Killing is a strange beast. It starts out to be an inferior version of the Nordic original but thanks to some interesting plotting and a longer series run it ends up being better. The cast is great, too. Donning the infamous jumper is Mireille Enos and her partner is rebooted RoboCop himself Joel Kinnaman. Netflix has also been the show's saviour, picking up the fourth season when it looked unlikely to be renewed. And the Seattle backdrop is even more menacing than the bleak outskirts of Copenhagen.
Seasons on Netflix: 4
16. The Walking Dead
Most shows that take place after the apocalypse dry up after a season or two, typically because things can only go from bad to better so many times before the survivors set up a new utopia. It's good then that The Walking Dead isn't like most shows. Sure, sometimes situations go from bad to better, but that's only before things fall apart and the situation becomes even more dire than when the episode started. Oh, and the old joke about main characters always being safe when they're in a room together? That doesn't apply here. No one is safe, and that's what makes The Walking Dead a show that works season after season, episode after episode.
Seasons on Netflix: 4
17. Orange is the New Black
It may have never reached the heady heights of House Of Cards, but Orange Is The New Black is another show that proves Netflix is now up there with HBO when it comes to offering decent programming.
Set in a woman's prison, Orange doesn't shirk the big issues of violence and rape but manages to mix these with a heady dose of black humour. Oh, and its first series was actually more popular than Cards which is a surprise as Netflix's advertising has always been very Spacey heavy.
Seasons on Netflix: 2
18. How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother filled the laugh track-filled void in our lives where Friends used to be. A winning combination of actors and actresses like American Pie's Alyson Hannigan, Jason Segel and Neil Patrick Harris, set against a few dozen plot twists and red herrings, set the stage for one of the must-watch sitcoms of the last decade. Getting sucked into Ted Mosby's search for the one is a heartfelt and earnest affair as you root for everyone to succeed and the group to keep it together for one last season. Whatever you think of the final season, the on-screen chemistry feels downright natural and Ted's struggle, albeit a bit drawn-out and convoluted, is relatable on the most basic of levels.
Seasons on Netflix: 9
19. The West Wing
Producer Aaron Sorkin's Hollywood-meets-Washington show about politics and the people behind them is a cultural institution. For seven seasons its ideas entertained the wannabe politicians inside all of us and has gone on to inspire a renaissance in the youth's interest in government. Insightful, funny, witty and always gripping, The West Wing struck the perfect balance between being airy, feel-good television and a dramatic, no-holds-barred cry fest. For all the emotional highs and lows it brings along the way, there's almost no better way to spend 45 minutes of your day.
Seasons on Netflix: 7
20. Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp
A prequel to the 2001 film of the same name, Wet Hot American Summer follows a gaggle of teenagers barreling down the path to post-adolescence, guided by unscrupulous counselors who are more clueless than the kids themselves. Featuring pretty much every famous comedian of the last decade including Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, Molly Shannon, Michael Ian Black and H. Jon Benjamin, it's about as off-the-wall as it comes but in its utter weirdness explores the influences of the 1980s era. You'll laugh. You'll cringe. You'll feel old. It's the intermingling of these emotions that makes the show one of the best original series on Netflix.
Seasons on Netflix: 1
21. Sherlock
It shouldn't work but it really really does. This modern retelling of the Sherlock Holmes stories is as good as it gets. Benedict Cumberbatch is everything you want in a Holmes - someone that wallows in wit, weirdness and warmth. While Martin Freeman plays Dr Watson as he plays all his characters - he's the everyman that has to learn how to deal with his extraordinary colleague. Episodes are scarce but each one is feature length, which gives them time to breath. Let's just hope these two superstars can find time in their busy schedules to keep doing the show.
Seasons on Netflix: 2
22. Friends
If there's any show more '90s than Friends, we'd like to see it. The story of Rachel, Ross, Chandler, Phoebe, Joey and Monica needs no introduction and no selling point, rather it's a trip down memory lane to a time before we all had cell phones living in our pockets and computers with 16GB of RAM. Every season had its share of twists and turns before culminating in a season finale with one or two paradigm-shifting events that, like a can of Pringles, kept us coming back week after week. Netflix has all 10 seasons which means, unlike your youth, you won't have to wait a whole week to spend time with your … wait for it … friends.
Seasons on Netflix: 10
23. Sons of Anarchy
There's very good reason Sons of Anarchy is the highest rated show on FX ever - its Shakespeare-esque plot (think Hamlet on bikes), following the tumultuous lives of a motorcycle gang, has everyone who watches it gripped. The show ended in 2014 after seven glorious seasons - although later seasons could never quite reach the glory days of one to three - and is perfect fodder for those looking for another Breaking Bad-style fix.
Seasons on Netflix: 6
24. Cosmos
Cosmos had quite a legacy to live up to. The original series was hosted by Cornell Professor Carl Sagan, and inspired untold amounts of scientists to drive the needle forward. Now hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson, Cosmos: A Space Time Odyssey lives up to the original in every way imaginable. Cosmos makes you think about your place in the universe by showing you the outermost reaches of the stars and then grounds it with stories of the humans who figured it out. It's as informative as it is intrepid, the show lifts the curtain on human understanding to make you feel small, only to build you back up with new knowledge and the encouragement that a single discovery can make all the difference in the world. Science TV will never be the same again.
Seasons on Netflix: 1
25. Freaks and Geeks
On the list of shows that were tragically cut down before their prime, Number 1 is Firefly. Number 2, however, is Freaks and Geeks, the show that served as a launching pad for some of our favorite stars in comedy today. Brash, mischievous and hysterical, James Franco, Jason Segel and Seth Rogen provide a perfect counter-balance for the tepid (and completely loveable) Linda Cardellini. The show scores the last spot on our list and in our hearts because at the end of the day we've all been Cardellini's character, Lindsay. We've all been picked on, called a nerd and genuinely loved something - whether that's cellphones, computers, televisions, whatever. And just when you think you'll never fit in, the right group of people somehow find their way into your life.
Seasons on Netflix: 1
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