10 Most Overrated Netflix Originals, Ranked
Netflix wants you to watch every one of its original TV series and movies, and critics certainly think some are must-watches. But which titles just aren’t worth the hype?
To find out, researchers for the British gaming site Amazon Slots compared the critical scores (a.k.a. Metascore) of Netflix originals on the review aggregator Metacritic to the same site’s user scores. “The study highlights a noticeable gap in perspectives between critics and the public, prompting a deeper exploration into what may shape these divergent opinions,” a spokesperson said of the findings.
In that study, the critics’ versus users’ score gaps were as wide as 40 points out of 100. “One contributing factor could be the pervasive hype and social media buzz surrounding an upcoming movie or TV show,” the spokesperson added. “Despite their best efforts to remain fair and impartial, critics can still be inadvertently swept up in the prevailing excitement of a new release and offer a slightly more generous review than might be merited. Users, many of whom view the release at a later date, are not necessarily subject to the same external pressures and may find they can offer a more objective review of each title.”
Here are the 10 films and TV shows with the biggest gaps, with representative reviews illustrating the difference.
The Midnight Sky
Critic score: 58
User score: 46
Score difference: 12 (tie)
George Clooney directed and starred in this film about an Arctic scientist trying to keep astronauts from returning home to a global catastrophe. “Swinging between ice and space, Clooney has upped his directorial ambition and delivered a big-scale, big-hearted story, even if it struggles to match the films it riffs on,” Empire’s Nick de Semlyen said. But Metacritic befoore90 complained that the screenplay was “messy, predictable, and almost pointless.”
Marriage Story
Critic score: 94
User score: 81
Score difference: 13
Polygon’s Karen Han said writer-director Noah Baumbach “takes the time to make room for [the] opposing viewpoints and experiences” of the estranged spouses in this “beautifully bittersweet” film, while Metacritic user Pdfortune dissed it as “a poor man’s version of Kramer vs. Kramer.”
Big Mouth
Critic score: 83
User score: 65
Score difference: 18
Vox’s Emily VanDerWerff declared this animated series is “a vivid, excruciating voyage back to a time in life that so many of us would love to completely forget, but laced with enough humor and good-hearted horniness … to remind us why getting to the other side of puberty is worth it after all.” Metacritic user blobthegob said they didn’t find the show funny, but they added, “It’s just nice to have, so that I know that everything I’m going through is normal.”
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Critic score: 87
User score: 67
Score difference: 20 (tie)
This August Wilson adaptation starring Viola Davis as the namesake blues singer is “a wildly moving experience … stacked with talent, chemistry and life,” according to The Globe and Mail’s Sarah Hagi. But the aptly-named Metacritic user Iamcritic86 wasn’t so hot on the picture, saying that Davis’ screen presence was “superb” but the rest was “a drag.”
Lady Dynamite
Critic score: 85
User score: 65
Score difference: 20 (tie)
This comedy series about a woman “who loses — and then finds — her s—t,” as Netflix put it, showcases “a brilliance of concept and bizarre execution that would be hard sells on many other networks,” per Salon’s Soniya Saraiya. But Metacritic user Scraper thought the show “took some missteps in direction for the sake of wackiness.”
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Critic score: 81
User score: 61
Score difference: 20 (tie)
The Observer’s Wendy Ide said that the real star of this Greece-set murder-mystery sequel was Rian Johnson’s “crisply mischievous screenplay, which crams in so many laughs you almost don’t notice the occasional plot holes.” Metacritic user alizodiac said the film “wasn’t as strong” as Knives Out “but [was] still entertaining.”
The Witcher: Blood Origin
Critic score: 45
User score: 12
Score difference: 33
A prequel to The Witcher following the first Witcher was “creakily-assembled and fueled largely by silliness,” per The Telegraph’s Ed Power. Metacritic user StaindSoul gave it a 1 out of 10 “solely for the presence of Michelle Yeoh” and said that “everything else about this show is a massive disappointment.”
The Queen’s Gambit
Critic score: 79
User score: 43
Score difference: 36
The Los Angeles Times’ Robert Lloyd declared this tale of an orphan-turned-chess champion “thoughtful, exciting, [and] entertaining,” but Metacritic user Bubber deemed it “a very thin and predictable story” that would have been a better movie than series.
Enola Holmes
Critic score: 68
User score: 28
Score difference: 40
RogerEbert.com’s Christy Lemire said this “may be the start of a most welcome girl-powered franchise,” but Metacritic user imthenoob said the YA-friendly movie about Sherlock Holmes’ younger sister “suffers from terrible writing and a bland story that fails to be even remotely interesting.”