The 25 Best Shows on Netflix to Watch Right Now (2024)

We’ve all been overwhelmed by streaming TV choices, only to give up and watch something we’ve already seen. But this curated list of the best shows on Netflix is here to narrow down your choices and help you figure outexactly which titles you want to sample next.

American Vandal (2017)

Every high school has its legendary scandals, notorious pranks, and perennial screw-ups. Not every high school has them chronicled in an elaborate docu-series with lavish production values. In this extremely straight-faced mockumentary that’s also one of the best comedies on Netflix, Hanover High senior Dylan Maxwell (Jimmy Tatro) is assumed to have vandalized 27 faculty members’ cars by spray-painting phallic images on them, and gets expelled for it. When he maintains his innocence, classmates Peter Maldonado (Tyler Alvarez) and Sam Ecklund (Griffin Gluck) decide to film their own investigation. Season 2 takes them to another state, and another equally juvenile high school “crime.”

Babylon Berlin (2017)

In 1929 Germany, Gereon Rath (Volker Bruch) is a World War I veteran now working as a police inspector in Cologne. His assignment to unravel an extortion ring in Berlin is complicated by his use of morphine to dull his painful memories of the war; however, his efforts are soon aided by Lotte Ritter (Liv Lisa Fries), a sometime sex worker at one of the city’s hottest cabarets. Run, Lola, Run director Tom Tykwer is among the creative forces behind the show that debuted in 2017 and remains among the best shows on Netflix right now. Catch up on Netflix, then skip over to MHz Choice for Season 4, which started streaming there in June.

Better Call Saul (2015)

After the tremendous critical success of Breaking Bad, creator Vince Gilligan partnered with series writer Peter Gould on this prequel series, one of the best drama series streaming on Netflix. In the Breaking Bad timeline, Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) is the crooked lawyer serving Albuquerque’s underworld. Better Call Saul takes us back to his time as Jimmy McGill, the screw-up brother to Chuck (Michael McKean), one of the city’s most esteemed attorneys, and sometime paramour to the capable but occasionally corruptible paralegal turned lawyer Kim (Rhea Seehorn). All six seasons are now streaming.

BoJack Horseman (2014)

The titular BoJack (voiced by Will Arnett, now a host of the wildly successful podcast Smartless) was, back in the ’90s, the star of a wildly successful family sitcom called Horsin’ Around. In the 2010s, he’s a has-been barely hanging on to his acting career. As part of a comeback attempt, he hires Diane Nguyen (Alison Brie, whose new limited series, Apples Never Fall, recently premiered on Peaco*ck) to ghostwrite his memoir, drawing her into his world of substance use and depression. It really is a comedy! Paul F. Tompkins deserves special note for his work as BoJack’s onetime sitcom rival turned frenemy, a Labrador retriever named Mr. Peanutbutter.

The Boyfriend (2024)

Netflix has no shortage of unscripted dating shows, but none are quite like The Boyfriend. At an elegant house nicknamed The Green Room, the cast of six Japanese and East Asian men—all of whom identify as gay or bisexual—assemble for a temporary stay. (More cast members join as the season progresses.) Offscreen producers select one houseguest each day to run a coffee truck offsite, and that man then gets to choose another man to join him on his shift. The pair at the truck then have the opportunity to get acquainted away from the busier atmosphere at the house. There’s no competition element—just cute, eligible guys testing out their connections with each other. Find out why them.us commentator Michael Cuby wrote that The Boyfriend “sets an exciting, interesting precedent for the future of LGBTQ+ reality dating programming.”

Call the Midwife (2012)

Life can be rough in late ’50s Poplar, a disadvantaged neighborhood in London’s East End. But while struggling residents must endure deprivations of all kinds—unethical landlords, insecure employment, open racism for new immigrants of color—one boon they can count on is top-notch medical care. Working with the U.K.’s National Health Service, an order of Anglican nuns, assisted by several secular nurse-midwives, provide pre- and post-natal care to Poplar families. As the series has progressed through more than ten seasons (and counting!), it’s also moved forward in time to show characters dealing with limb differences caused by Thalidomide; an outbreak of diphtheria; and the introduction of the Pill. No less an eminence than Vanessa Redgrave narrates. The attention to detail on the period design, the understated performances, and the thoughtful portrayal of complex issues make this one of the best TV shows on Netflix. The 13th season—the show’s latest—has just been added to the platform. (Warning for anyone suffering with American health insurance—or in America, without it: the care depicted on this show may cause intense jealousy.)

Dear White People (2017)

Haunted Mansion director Justin Simien had an indie hit in 2014 as the writer-director of the feature film Dear White People, following students of color at a predominantly white Ivy League college. He returned to the story in 2017, adapting his own work as a series that became one of the best dramedies on Netflix. Logan Browning stars as Samantha White, who delivers hard truths to her classmates via her college radio show, from which the series derives its name; Brandon P. Bell reprises his film role of all-American Troy Fairbanks; Giancarlo Esposito serves as narrator for the first three (of four) seasons.

The Devil’s Plan (2023)

Producer/director Jeong Jong-yeon would already be a reality TV legend if all he’d done was create The Genius, a fiendishly complex game of skill, strategy, and insight. But we’re lucky he’s gone on from fiendish to diabolical with The Devil’s Plan. Twelve extremely impressive contestants—including an MIT-trained lawyer, a professional poker player who studies biomedical sciences on the side, and an actor/inventor/MSc in evolutionary psychology—face off in tests of their intelligence…but there’s a social game, too. If you’re bereft by waiting for the next season of your favorite American competition show, give this brain-breaker a shot.

Documentary Now! (2015)

Saturday Night Live alumni Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Seth Meyers, and (director) Rhys Thomas co-created this anthology series, in which each episode is a painstakingly specific parody reimagining a real noteworthy—if not Oscar-winning—documentary film. Spoof subjects include The Kid Stays In The Picture, The Thin Blue Line, When We Were Kings, and in a rare departure, the Netflix docu-series Wild Wild Country; you quite simply can’t call yourself a fan of musical theatre if you haven’t seen “Co-op,” the show’s take on Original Cast Album: Company. Guest stars include Cate Blanchett, Owen Wilson, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Alexander Skarsgård, and Maya Rudolph, and none other than Helen Mirren appears to introduce each and every episode.

Exploding Kittens (2024)

God (the voice of Tom Ellis) has been quiet quitting his job for a while, ignoring prayers when he’s not passing out drunk and starting fires with the frozen pizza he abandoned in his oven. Heaven’s board of directors decides on a remedy: they’ll transform God into a cat and send Him to live with a troubled family. Little do they know God isn’t the only supernatural figure doing time on Earth in feline form. The beloved card game inspired this adult animation show, which also features the voice talents of comic legends Mark Proksch, Betsy Sodaro, and Sasheer Zamata.

Feel Good (2020)

Mae Martin charmed audiences last year as a contestant on the British panel show Taskmaster; anyone who wants to see what they can do with material that’s less absurdist should check out their breakthrough role in Feel Good. In this highly autobiographical dramedy, co-created and co-written by Martin and Joe Hampson, Martin plays Mae, a Canadian standup comic living in England who falls in love with George (Charlotte Ritchie, star of the U.K. Ghosts AND another past Taskmaster contestant). The road to happiness is rough for the couple, however; Mae is a drug addict in recovery, but still has lingering issues; and George is hesitant about coming out to loved ones. The show’s deep bench of supporting cast members includes Minx star Ophelia Lovibond, Four Weddings And A Funeral alumna Sophie Thompson, Buffy’s Anthony Head, and Lisa Kudrow (now starring in AppleTV+’s series adaptation of Time Bandits) as Mae’s mother Linda.

Fisk (2021)

Helen Tudor-Fisk (Kitty Flanagan, who co-created the series with Vincent Sheehan) was a successful lawyer in Sydney before her marriage fell apart. Seeking comfort, she moves back to her hometown of Melbourne—nearer her dad, Anthony (John Gaden), a retired judge, and his new-ish husband, Viktor (Glenn Butcher). Largely on the strength of her connections through Anthony, Helen is hired at Gruber & Gruber, a small sibling-run firm specializing in probate law. Working on wills and trusts doesn’t come naturally to the prickly Fisk, and seeing how she figures out how to relate to clients in times of heightened sensitivity is part of what makes this one of the most unexpectedly winning sitcoms on Netflix.

Friday Night Lights (2008)

The small (and fictional) town of Dillon, Texas doesn’t have much going on, but there is one obsession all residents share: Dillon Panthers football. Loosely adapted from H.G. “Buzz” Bissinger’s nonfiction book of the same name, the series revolves around Coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler), the new head coach at Dillon High. Expectations for his performance are already impossibly lofty, and the pressure only grows after a catastrophe befalls his quarterback, Jason Street (Scott Porter), in the series premiere. The much-lauded show also features Connie Britton in the breakout role of Tami, Coach’s eminently patient, impeccably coiffed wife; later seasons also boast future Creed star Michael B. Jordan. With a new NFL season ramping up, this can help you fill the time between games.

GLOW (2017)

Alison Brie’s Ruth is trying—and mostly failing—to make it as an actor in 1985 Los Angeles. After she blows yet another audition, a casting director gives her a tip on an unconventional production Ruth might be right for: highly choreographed women’s wrestling. Bringing in a bunch of actorly baloney doesn’t help the notably unathletic Ruth make a great first impression on director Sam Sylvia (Marc Maron), but before she entirely washes out, her frenemy Debbie (Betty Gilpin) storms in to confront Ruth about a recent wrong, and Sam sees a great face/heel duo in the making. Gilpin—premiering this month in the Starz original series Three Women—earned Emmy nominations in the category of outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series for all three of the show’s seasons. There’s no wrong time to dig in to one of the best ever comedies on Netflix; you won’t be sorry you did.

Insecure (2016)

If you’re curious about President Barbie’s exploits before she took office, look no further than this HBO sitcom, which recently arrived on Netflix. Issa Rae adapted her web series, Awkward Black Girl, into this show about Issa (Rae), a nonprofit staffer stumbling through her postcollege years in Los Angeles. Yvonne Orji plays Issa’s best friend, Molly, who seems to have her life together as a successful attorney, but still has as much to learn about love as her less polished pals.

Interview With The Vampire (2022)

In present-day Dubai, Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson) has decided the time is right to reach out to an old journalist acquaintance, Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian), to tell Louis’s life story. There’s a lot of story to tell, although how much of it counts as “life” is up for debate: Louis has been a vampire since the 1910s. Back then, he was a “sporting house” owner in New Orleans trying to repress his queer desires. Everything changed when he met Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid), a new arrival with his own secrets—primarily that he was born in the 18th century and was turned into a vampire at, not to be superficial, the absolute hottest moment of his youth. The tale of Louis and Lestat’s love and hate affair is adapted from Anne Rice’s book series, but goes much further into the source material’s queer subtext and gory violence than the 1994 movie did, or probably could.

Lost (2004)

The passengers on Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 all board thinking they’re in for a routine flight from Sydney to Los Angeles. Alas, it is not to be: their plane crashes on a remote island, having gone off its original course and disappeared somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. The survivors have enough problems just figuring out what resources are available and how to remain alive until help can find them. But before long, they realize there’s more to this island than they could possibly imagine. Reasonable people can disagree on where (or whether) the show went on longer than it should have; what is not in dispute is that this game-changer is one of the most culturally significant TV dramas on Netflix.

Madam Secretary (2014)

The current political landscape can be…let’s say “frustrating.” Perhaps you’d like a wish-fulfillment fantasy about an American government run by intelligent people who are actually trying their best? The titular official, the U.S. Secretary of State, is Elizabeth McCord (Téa Leoni), and is surrounded by the likes of Bebe Neuwirth (as Elizabeth’s Chief of Staff) and Tim Daly (as Elizabeth’s husband). If you hang on until season four, you’ll even get to see Sara Ramírez—Che Diaz themself!—as one of Elizabeth’s policy advisors.

My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman (2018)

For each short season of what is practically an event series, David Letterman—the original host of both Late Night and the Late Show—curates a tiny group of guests with whom he spends an entire episode. Past visitors include Tina Fey, Jay-Z, Howard Stern, and Barack Obama, giving his first interview after leaving office. The rhythms are definitely different from what you’re used to seeing Dave do, but it’s still a joy to see it done by one of the greats. Season five premieres June 12.

Narcos (2015)

How did Pablo Escobar go from a comparatively low-level smuggler to one of the world’s most notorious drug kingpins who died at the hands of an international law enforcement task force (er, spoiler alert)? Steve Murphy—a real DEA agent, since retired, who worked on the case—is portrayed here by Boyd Holbrook, who also narrates the story of the DEA’s investigation into Escobar (Wagner Moura). Murphy’s DEA colleague Javier Peña is played by future Mandalorian star Pedro Pascal. The series was followed by a companion series, Narcos: Mexico, in 2018.

Royal Pains (2009)

Given the enormous popularity Suits enjoyed on Netflix (and Peaco*ck) last summer, it stands to reason that the platform would look for its next hit among USA’s “blue sky” shows. A new acquisition is my personal favorite: Royal Pains. Hank Lawson (Mark Feuerstein) is a doctor at a fancy hospital in Manhattan. When a dispute ends in his firing, he partners with his business-major brother, Evan (Paulo Costanzo), to set up shop in the Hamptons, working as a concierge doctor to the ultrarich; every episode contains a medical mystery, but (spoiler) they pretty much all resolve within the hour, and against a backdrop of stunning real estate, looking its best in brilliant summertime. Look out for a pre-Barry Henry Winkler as Eddie, the Lawson brothers’ con artist father.

Russian Doll (2019)

Nadia (Natasha Lyonne, also a co-creator alongside The Acolyte creator Leslye Headland) has a perfectly lovely time at her 36th birthday party. She stops at a bodega and is about to head home when she spots her wandering cat, Oatmeal. Stepping into the street to retrieve him, Nadia is struck by a cab and killed—but only briefly. When she reawakens in the bathroom at her birthday party, she remembers having lived this night already, but no one else does. After living and dying several times over, she meets a stranger who is experiencing the same phenomenon, and they unite to figure out how to break themselves out of their time loop. A second season, in 2022, features a much more central role for season-one guest star Chloë Sevigny and plays with time in an entirely different way.

Sex and the City (1998)

Candace Bushnell’s columns about love and sex in New York City spawned a 1996 book anthology and eventually an HBO series from Darren Star, the legendary wunderkind creator of Beverly Hills, 90210 and its first spin-off, Melrose Place. Here, Sarah Jessica Parker plays Carrie, a free-spirited writer looking for love, dating around, and comparing notes with her three best friends: gallerina Charlotte (Kristin Davis), attorney Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), and publicist Samantha (Kim Cattrall). Six seasons, two movies, and a revival series, And Just Like That…, were ultimately brought to the screen. Once you get through SATC, Star’s current show—the bubbly romance Emily In Paris—is also available to stream on the platform; the back half of its fourth season will drop in September.

Shameless (2011)

On Chicago’s South Side, negligent and substance-addicted Frank Gallagher (William H. Macy) has plenty of time to feed his worst impulses and very little for his many children. So the job of raising them primarily falls to the eldest, Fiona (Emmy Rossum). The supporting cast includes future The Conners star Emma Kenney, future Gotham star Cameron Monaghan, and future VF Hollywood cover star Jeremy Allen White, who just returned to FX/Hulu for season three of The Bear.

UnREAL (2015)

Sarah Gertrude Shapiro’s 2013 short film Sequin Raze is the inspiration for this drama series, set behind the scenes at Everlasting, a fictional reality dating show. She co-created the show with Marti Noxon, formerly a producer on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Our anti-heroine protagonist is Rachel (Shiri Appleby), a producer who, as UnREAL begins, is just returning to Everlasting after a mental breakdown. Rachel is bringing some very dark mother issues to the project, which is part of why she’s so susceptible to manipulation by Quinn (Constance Zimmer), Everlasting’s toxic bitch queen of an executive producer. After seeing the ways Rachel messes with the minds of Everlasting’s flock of aspiring brides—not to mention Adam (Freddie Stroma), the man they’re all vying for—you may never be able to watch The Bachelor the same way again.

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