Exploring Netflix’s hundreds of titles can be both exhilarating and overwhelming. Content of various kinds abounds, from dramas and comedies to reality shows and documentaries. There’s also one of the top 10 best TV shows on Netflix list to help you limit your options and see what’s trending on the streamer.
Let’s look at the 10 best TV shows on Netflix of all time.
Overview of the Best TV shows on Netflix
| Series Name | Release Date | Rating |
| Our Planet | April 5, 2019 | IMDb: 9.3/10 Rotten Tomatoes: 93% |
| The Last Dance | April 19, 2020 | IMDb: 9.1/10 Rotten Tomatoes: 97% |
| When They See Us | May 31, 2019 | IMDb: 8.9/10 Rotten Tomatoes: 97% |
| Peaky Blinders | September 12, 2013 | IMDb: 8.8/10 Rotten Tomatoes: 93% |
| Black Mirror | December 4, 2011 | IMDb: 9.3/10 Rotten Tomatoes: 93% |
| BoJack Horseman | August 22, 2014 | IMDb: 8.8/10 Rotten Tomatoes: 93% |
| Narcos | August 28, 2015 | IMDb: 8.8/10 Rotten Tomatoes: 89% |
| Stranger Things | July 15, 2016 | IMDb: 8.7/10 Rotten Tomatoes: 92% |
| The Crown | November 4, 2016 | IMDb: 8.7/10 Rotten Tomatoes: 86% |
| Dark | December 1, 2017 | IMDb: 8.7/10 Rotten Tomatoes: 95% |
1. Our Planet
Executive Producers: Alastair Fothergill, Keith Scholey, and Colin Butfield
Genre: Nature Documentary
Cast:
- David Attenborough (English-speaking countries)
- Salma Hayek (Latin America)
- Penélope Cruz (Spain)
Official Trailer:
Running Time: 48–53 minutes per episode.
Our Planet is a Netflix-exclusive British wildlife documentary series. David Attenborough narrates the series produced by Silverback Films, led by Alastair Fothergill and Keith Scholey, who also developed the BBC documentary series Planet Earth, Frozen Planet, and The Blue Planet in conjunction with the conservation organization World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Steven Price, an award-winning composer, wrote the music.
The series tackles conservation concerns while showcasing these distressed animals in their natural habitats. It has been praised for emphasizing humans’ influence on the environment more than typical nature documentaries, focusing on how climate change affects all living beings.
The Guardian’s Lucy Mangan scored Our Planet four out of five stars, writing, “It emphasizes the fragility and interconnectivity of all the species and eco-systems on exhibit, as well as the enormous influence humans has had on them in such a short period of time. According to Bryan Resnick of Vox, the series “can’t properly capture the scope of what’s lost.”
2. The Last Dance
Director: Jason Hehir
Genre: Television documentary, Miniseries, Sports
Cast:
- Michael Jordan
- Dennis Rodman
- Scottie Pippen
- Phil Jackson
- Carmen Electra
Official Trailer:
Running Time: 48–50 minutes per episode.
The Last Dance is an American sports documentary miniseries co-produced by ESPN Films and Netflix that will premiere in 2020. The series, directed by Jason Hehir, centers around Michael Jordan’s career, with a special focus on the 1997-98 season.
His final season with the National Basketball Association’s Chicago Bulls (NBA). The series includes a unique video from a film team with all-access to the Bulls and interviews with various NBA stars, including Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Steve Kerr, and Phil Jackson.
The docuseries tells the story of Michael Jordan’s career and the Chicago Bulls, including never-before-seen video from his final season with the team in 1997-98.
The series includes interviews and previously unseen footage from the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls season. The 10-part documentary series was created using over 500 hours of all-access footage. Jordan accepted the recording with the condition that the tape would only be used with his express approval.
3. When They See Us
Director: Ava DuVernay
Genre: Crime drama, True Crime, Tragedy
Cast:
- Asante Blackk
- Caleel Harris plays Justin Cunningham
- Jovan Adepo
- Ethan Herisse.
- Chris Chalk
Official Trailer:
Running Time: 64–88 minutes per episode.
When They See Us is a four-part Netflix American crime drama television miniseries produced, co-written, and directed by Ava DuVernay that aired on May 31, 2019. It is based on the 1989 Central Park jogger case and follows the lives and families of the five Black and Latino male suspects.
When They See Us is based on April 19, 1989, Central Park jogger case and delves into the lives of the five suspects who were charged with sexual assault on a female victim, as well as their families.
The prosecutor split the five adolescent boys of color, the series’ protagonists, into two groups for trial: Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, Korey Wise, and Raymond Santana. Jurors found each juvenile guilty of assault offenses, including rape in four cases. Except for Korey Wise, they received the maximum penalty for a minor. He had been detained and had served his sentence.
4. Peaky Blinders
Director:
- Otto Bathurst (season 1)
- Tom Harper (season 1)
- Colm McCarthy (season 2)
- Tim Mielants (season 3)
- Mr. David Caffrey (season 4)
- Mr. Anthony Byrne (seasons 5 and 6)
Genre: Historical fiction, Crime drama
Cast:
- Cillian Murphy
- Helen McCrory
- Paul Anderson
- Sophie Rundle
Official Trailer:
Running Time: 55–83 minutes per episode.
Peaky Blinders is a Steven Knight-created British historical crime drama television series. It is set in Birmingham, England, and chronicles the adventures of the Peaky Blinders crime group in the aftermath of World War I. The fictitious gang is partially based on the same-named real-life urban youth gang that operated in the city from the 1880s through the 1910s. It is one of the top 10 best TV shows on Netflix.
Peaky Blinders is a crime thriller set in Birmingham, England, in 1919, six months after the conclusion of World War I. It follows a family of mixed Irish Traveller and Romani heritage. It revolves around the Peaky Blinders gang and their ambitious, crafty crime lord Tommy Shelby.
Major Chester Campbell, a detective chief officer in the Royal Irish Constable sent by Winston Churchill, where had been sent to rid the city of the Irish Republican Military flying columns, the Communist Party of the United Kingdom, street gangs, and common criminals became aware of the gang.
Winston Churchill accuses him of putting down a riot and an insurrection in Birmingham and retrieving a stolen cache of munitions destined for Libya. The first series culminates on December 3, 1919, on “Black Star Day,” when the Peaky Blinders intend to take over Billy Kimber’s betting stands at the Worcester Races.
The fifth series takes place two years later, from 29 October 1929 (Black Tuesday) to 7 December 1929, the morning following a demonstration led by British Union of Fascists leader Sir Oswald Mosley.
The sixth season begins on December 5, 1933, when prohibition in the United States is lifted. The Nazi Party gained power in Germany, which increased membership in the British Union of Fascists. Tommy must cope with Mosley and plans from the Irish Mafia and the Anti-Treaty IRA.
5. Black Mirror
Executive Producers: Annabel Jones and Charlie Brooker.
Genre: Anthology, Speculative fiction, Science fiction, Dystopia
Cast:
- Bryce Dallas Howard
- Hayley Atwell
- Michaela Coel
- Jon Hamm
- Anthony Mackie
Official Trailer:
Running Time: 41–89 minutes per episode.
Charlie Brooker developed the British anthology television series Black Mirror. Individual episodes cover a wide range of genres, although most are set in near-future dystopias with sci-fi technology, which is a sort of speculative fiction. It is one of the 10 best TV shows on Netflix that you must watch!
Black Mirror displays a gloomy picture of the never-ending quest for scientific and technological improvement. The vast majority of instances end in tragedy. Characters who thoroughly evaluate the hazards of the technology with which they engage, such as in “San Junipero,” have happy endings.
According to Juliana Lopes of Via Panorâmica, the dystopian scenarios recall French Marxist Guy Debord’s notion of the spectacle, in which mass media generate alienation and an unachievable paradise for humans to chase. In “Nosedive,” for example, the heroine Lacie seeks a utopian existence through superficiality and performativity in a world where social media success adds to a high financial position.
On the other hand, individual episodes go into various genres. The crime dramas “Hated in the Nation” and “Smithereens,” as well as the Nordic noir “Crocodile,” are among the crime fiction episodes. “Black Museum” and “Playtest” both include horror and psychological horror. “The National Anthem,” the opening episode, mixes black humor and political satire.
6. BoJack Horseman
Creator: Raphael Bob-Waksberg
Genre: Animation, Comedy-drama, Tragicomedy, Black comedy, Surreal humor, Psychological Drama, Satire
Cast:
- Will Arnett
- Amy Sedaris
- Alison Brie
- Paul F. Tompkins
- Aaron Paul
Official Trailer:
Running Time: 25 minutes per episode.
Raphael Bob-Waksberg originated the American adult animated dark comedy-drama streaming television series BoJack Horseman. The comedy is set mostly in Hollywood and focuses on the anthropomorphic horse BoJack Horseman, a washed-up star of a 1990s sitcom who plots a comeback with an autobiography written by ghostwriter Diane Nguyen. It is on the list of the top 10 best TV shows on Netflix.
It also follows his squabbles with his agency, Princess Carolyn, erstwhile adversary Mr. Peanutbutter, roommate Todd Chavez, and his deteriorating mental state. Despite receiving mixed reviews upon its first release, critics were much more complimentary about the second half of the first season, and succeeding seasons gained widespread critical praise.
The series is set in an alternate universe where humans and anthropomorphic animals coexist, with most of the action taking place in Hollywood (the name is replaced after the D is removed from the sign). BoJack Horseman is the washed-up star of the 1990s comedy Horsin’ Around, which centered on a young bachelor horse attempting to raise three orphaned human children.
BoJack, who is now living in relative obscurity on his Hollywood Hills estate, intends to make a massive comeback to public significance with a tell-all autobiography penned by ghostwriter Diane Nguyen. At the same time, he battles his drug and alcohol addiction and the ensuing carelessness. BoJack must also deal with the demands of his agency and ex-girlfriend Princess Carolyn, his freeloading roommate Todd Chavez, and his erstwhile competitor Mr. Peanutbutter.
7. Narcos
Executive Producers: Chris Brancato, Carlo Bernard, Doug Miro, Katie O’Connel,l Eric Newman, José Padilha, and Elisa Todd Ellis
Genre: Crime drama, Biographical
Cast:
- Wagner Moura
- Boyd Holbrook
- Pedro Pascal
- Joanna Christie
- Maurice Compte
- André Mattos
Official Trailer:
Running Time: 43–60 minutes per episode.
Chris Brancato, Carlo Bernard, and Doug Miro created and produced the American-Colombian criminal thriller television series Narcos. Seasons 1 and 2 are set and filmed in Colombia and tell the narrative of Colombian narcoterrorist and drug lord Pablo Escobar, the head of the Medellin Cartel, who became a millionaire via the manufacturing and sale of cocaine.
Escobar’s encounters involving drug lords, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officers, and different opposition groups are also highlighted in the series. Season 3 begins after Escobar’s demise and follows the DEA as they attempt to halt the emergence of the deadly Cali Cartel.
Season 1 follows Pablo Escobar’s life from the late 1970s, when he initially began producing cocaine, through July 1992. The story is recounted through the eyes of Steve Murphy, an American DEA agent stationed in Colombia.
The series chronicles Escobar’s initial involvement in the Colombian cocaine trade. When he tried introducing Mateo “Cockroach” Moreno, a Chilean exile and underground chemist, he proposed they would go into a company or organization together.
Moreno started to produce and Escobar distributing a new, profitable drug—cocaine—he was an established black marketeer in Medelln, relocating trucks of illicit items (hard liquor, rolling tobacco, and home appliances) into Colombia during a time when this was strictly forbidden.
Escobar experiences minimal change at first since he still has devotion of his cartel. This commitment begins to wane as Escobar needs more time and resources to hide from the authorities. He avoids detection by traveling about town in the trunk of a taxi cab and utilizing teenage lookouts to report police movements to him.
Season 3 debuted on September 1, 2017. Following Pablo Escobar’s death, the tale follows the DEA’s struggle against the Cali cartel. With Escobar out of the way, the cartel’s business is growing, with new markets opening up in the United States and abroad.
To everyone’s amazement, the Cali cartel’s boss, Gilberto Rodrguez Orejuela, revealed that the cartel would abandon the cocaine business totally within six months to focus on lawful commercial interests. Within the cartel, there are varied feelings about the decision.
8. Stranger Things
Creator: The Duffer Brothers
Genre: Science fiction, Horror, Mystery, Drama
Cast:
- Winona Ryder
- David Harbour
- Finn Wolfhard
- Millie Bobby Brown
Official Trailer:
Running Time: 42–150 minutes per episode.
If we have to make a list, Stranger Things has to be in the top 10 best TV shows on Netflix. Stranger Things is a television series developed by the Duffer Brothers, who act as showrunners and executive producers alongside Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen.
The series, set in the 1980s, revolves around the citizens of Hawkins, Indiana, who are besieged by a malevolent parallel realm known as the “Upside Down” when a neighboring human research facility opens a portal between the Upside Down and the normal world.
In November 1983, the first season began. An Upside Down entity kidnaps Will Byers. Joyce, his mother, the town’s police chief, Jim Hopper, and a group of volunteers look for him. Eleven, a young psychokinetic girl, escapes from the laboratory and is discovered by Will’s pals. Eleven befriends them and supports them in their search for Will.
The second season begins in October 1984, a year later. Will has been rescued, but he begins to see visions of Hawkins’ fall, which was caused by a monster in the Upside Down.
Hopper is anxious about Eleven and Mike’s connection and becomes too protective of his daughter. A secret Soviet laboratory underneath Starcourt, unbeknownst to the town, is attempting to open the doorway to the Upside Down.
The fourth season began in March 1986, many months later. Joyce, Will, Eleven, and Jonathan have relocated to Lenora, California, in search of a new beginning. Eleven is dealing with losing her powers and being ridiculed at school in California.
Meanwhile, in Hawkins, a creature from the Upside Down—later named Vecna—begins slaughtering Hawkins citizens, building new portals between the two realms in the process. Dr. Sam Owens transports Eleven to a clinic to assist her in regaining her powers to stop Vecna. Joyce and Murray go to Russia simultaneously to save Hopper from the Kamchatka Gulag.
9. The Crown
Created by: Peter Morgan
Genre: Historical drama
Cast:
- Claire Foy
- Matt Smith
- Vanessa Kirby
- Eileen Atkins
Official Trailer:
Running Time: 47–61 minutes long per episode.
The Crown is a Netflix historical drama television series about Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, developed and mostly written by Peter Morgan and produced by Left Bank Pictures and Sony Pictures Television. Morgan based it on his drama film The Queen (2006) and, in particular, his stage piece The Audience (2013).
The first season follows Winston Churchill’s resignation as Prime Minister and the Queen’s sister Princess Margaret’s decision not to marry Peter Townsend. The second season shows the Suez Crisis in 1956, which led to Prime Minister Anthony Eden’s departure in 1957.
The third season spans 1964 to 1977, commencing with Harold Wilson’s installation as Prime Minister and concluding with the Queen’s Silver Jubilee and Edward Heath’s tenure as Prime Minister. Camilla Shand is introduced as well. The fourth season occurs from 1979 to 1990, during Margaret Thatcher’s tenure as Prime Minister, and centers on Lady Diana Spencer.
The fifth season, which runs from 1991 to 1997, concentrates on the “War of the Waleses” and Diana and Prince Charles’ divorce, as well as the emergence of the Al-Fayed family and Queen Elizabeth II’s “Annus horribilis” in 1992.
10. Dark
Creator: Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese
Genre: Science fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Tragedy
Cast:
- Louis Hofmann
- Lisa Vicari
- Andreas Pietschmann
- Gina Stiebitz
Official Trailer:
Running Time: 44–73 minutes per episode.
Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese co-created the German sci-fi thriller television series Dark. It is on the list of the top 10 best TV shows on Netflix. From 2017 until 2020, it aired for three seasons. The plot follows residents from the fictional town of Winden, Germany, as they investigate the disappearance of a kid.
They investigate the ties between four separated families to uncover a dangerous time-travel plot that spans several generations. The series delves into the existential implications of time and how it affects human nature. It has an ensemble cast.
Children begin to vanish from the German village of Winden, exposing the damaged relationships, parallel lifestyles, and dark pasts of four families who dwell there and unraveling a four-generation mystery.
When members of the show’s major families discover a hole in the cave system beneath the local nuclear power plant, the first season expands to encompass 1986 and 1953 via time travel.
During the first season, truths about the Kahnwald, Nielsen, Doppler, and Tiedemann families are unearthed, and their lives begin to crumble as their ties are discovered. The conspiracy encompasses the missing children, the town, and its people’s past.
The second season picks up many months after the first season’s end, in 2020, 1987, and 1954, respectively, with the interwoven families’ attempts to reconcile with their lost loved ones. Additional plots are placed in the years 2053 and 1921.
Sic Mundus Creatus Est, a prominent part in the ongoing war for the ultimate fate of the people of Winden and the planet, is introduced in the second season. The season is counting down to the end of the world.
The third season portrays the four families throughout time in the aftermath of the 2020 catastrophe. It establishes a parallel universe that is linked to the first. The third season continues 1954, 1987, 2020, and 2053 stories in the first world while also introducing a new 1888 plot, as well as 2019 and 2052 in the second world, as the factions pursue their own goals on each planet.
Conclusion
Netflix creates original content at such a rapid pace that it may be difficult to track which dramas, comedies, and reality programs are must-sees. Not to mention all of the TV shows Netflix acquires from broadcast and cable networks. So we have come up with the 10 best TV shows on Netflix that you must watch. These series mentioned are definitely worth the watch.
You can binge-watch any of these series you find intriguing. The list is generated based on IMDb rating. But we leave the judgment to you. So buckle up and get busy binge-watching!
- Related: 12 Must-Watch TV Shows of All Time
