Netflix’s 25 Best Original Series, Ranked

There’s little groundbreaking about sitcoms these days, and the ones featuring black families attempt to cater to everyone except its black audiences (see black-ish). But Mike Epps and Kim Fields’ family turns that notion on its side with The Upshaws. Both equally enduring and irreverent, the series sees Benny (Epps) attempting to navigate his family with his wife (Fields) and ex, both of whom he has children with. – Isaac Rouse

Big Mouth premiered on September 29, 2017, garnering widespread critical acclaim. The half-hour adult animation chronicles the adventures of real-life best friends (Nick), Nick Kroll, and Andrew (John Mulaney) as they navigate the tumultuous journey of teenage puberty. As a result of its popularity, it became the longest-running series for the streamer and also spawned a spinoff, Human Resources. –Isaac Rouse

Based on the Alice Oseman graphic novel of the same name, this British rom-com features tender performances from Kit Connor and Joe Locke as two grammar school classmates figuring out life and love. Better yet, the show gives young queer viewers reason to believe in happily-ever-afters. –Dan Clarendon

Castlevania is an animated series based on the video game series of the same name that succeeds in crafting a better tale than the original source material, a rare accomplishment for a video game adaptation. It uses notable characters, iconography, and other things about the franchise to tell its own vampiric tale. As the seasons and popularity of the show progressed, it was a pleasure watching the art and animation improve to the point of becoming one of Netflix’s best-looking anime-inspired shows. –Isaac Rouse

Netflix cruelly un-renewed this comedy-drama in 2020, meaning the Glorious Ladies of Wrestling only got three seasons in the ring. With Alison Brie and Betty Gilpin playing ‘80s-era actors embarking on a surprising second act, the show had us happily in a headlock. –Dan Clarendon

Starring Ellie Kemper as the titular “Mole Woman,” alongside Tituss Burgess, Jane Krakowski, and Carol Kane, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt tracks Kimmy’s life post-rescue from a 15-year cult stint as she navigates the eccentricities of New York alongside a unique set of characters, with none more eccentric than the titular heroine. –Isaac Rouse

Try not to go through an entire box of tissues watching a season of this reboot of the 2000s’ Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. The show’s Fab Five aren’t just making over their subjects — not all of whom are straight — they’re also making over the minds and hearts of its viewers and making the world a little more affirming. –Dan Clarendon

Yes, there are alien erotica and chlamydia outbreaks and phallic prosthetics, but Sex Education is a surprisingly sweet comedy-drama about a teen who follows in his sex-therapist mother’s footsteps at his English secondary school. The series is, improbably, horny and wholesome in equal measure. –Dan Clarendon

The guiltiest of guilty pleasures, Love Is Blind is a social experiment that provided ridiculous, mindless delights throughout the pandemic, especially when we were all stuck in “pods” of our own. And it has sparked the most fan fervor for a dating show we’ve seen since early seasons of The Bachelor. –Dan Clarendon

This South Korean drama became Netflix’s most-watched series ever when it debuted in 2021. And its millions of viewers will never think of the playground game Red Light, Green Light the same way after watching cash-strapped players compete for a shot at a life-changing jackpot. –Dan Clarendon

This Channel 4 import hit its stride when it became a Netflix Original, winning the Emmy for Outstanding Television Movie three years in a row. Created and chiefly written by Charlie Brooker, the anthology depicts how the greatest of technological innovations can bring out the worst of humanity. –Dan Clarendon

The comedy, which is loosely based on Aziz Ansari’s own life, follows his character Dev, an actor living in New York City, as he navigates the challenges of adulthood and finds his path in life. Also featuring Lena Waithe and Eric Wareheim as Dev’s pals Arnold and Denise, the show put a spotlight on Ansari’s real-life parents, Shoukath and Fatima as Dev’s mom and dad, as well as their Indian Tamil Muslim culture and relationship with one another. –Isaac Rouse

A soapy romance set in Regency-era England might seem like an unlikely Netflix hit… unless, of course, it has source material by bestselling author Julia Quinn, the insight of executive producer Shonda Rhimes, and a cast of actors so photogenic that we’re reaching for our smelling salts. –Dan Clarendon

Chronicling the wrongful accusation and imprisonment of five Black and Latino teens on charges of rape and assault, this Ava DuVernay-directed miniseries showed how the American justice system failed the real-life Central Park Five. The real-life saga played out in 1989, but 30 years later, When They See Us felt, tragically, all too timely. –Dan Clarendon

The series followed FBI Agents Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and Bill Tench (Holt McCallany), who applied behavioral analysis with the help of psychologist Wendy Carr (Anna Tor) to hunt notorious serial killers. The series has featured infamous killers, including Charles Manson, “Son of Sam” David Berkowitz, Ed Kemper, and the BTK killer. Witnessing the unique directorial flair of filmmaker David Fincher in the realm of television was a rare delight for cinephiles, a spectacle that might not be repeated. –Isaac Rouse

Long before Kevin Spacey’s offscreen life landed him in disgrace, he had us captivated as the viciously ambitious congressman-turned-president Frank Underwood. And when Spacey was let go from the series, the spotlight turned to his equally ruthless wife, Claire (Robin Wright). –Dan Clarendon

Kate Mulgrew, Uzo Aduba, Natasha Lyonne, and so many others gave scene-stealing performances in this series about women locked up in a federal prison. Along with the inmates’ humorous antics, though, came heavy-hearted storylines about police brutality, the prison-industrial complex, and ICE deportations. –Dan Clarendon

Netflix has a great streak when it comes to adapting video games into television series, and Arcane, based on two League of Legends champions (Vi and Jinx) and their origins in the utopian region of Piltover and the oppressed underground of Zaun, is no exception. It also features a star-studded voice cast, including Hailee Steinfeld, Ella Purnell, Kevin Alejandro, Katie Leung, Jason Spisak, Toks Olagundoye, and more. –Isaac Rouse

An animated exemplar of the “sadcom” genre, BoJack Horseman stars Will Arnett as an equine TV has-been contending with depression and addiction. And Amy Sedaris, Paul F. Thompkins, Aaron Paul, and the aforementioned Alison Brie lend their characters to other characters, some human, some not. –Dan Clarendon

Pity the teenage children of Marty (Jason Bateman) and Wendy Byrde (Laura Linney), since the two parents endanger their family time and time again as they run afoul of the Mexican cartel, the Kansas City mafia, and local heroin producers in this thriller. –Dan Clarendon

Narcos serves as Netflix’s definitive crime drama, as it follows the ascent of the Colombian cocaine trade in the late ’80s, delving into the real-life tales of drug kingpins. The series also explores law enforcement’s efforts in the war on drugs, focusing on figures like Pablo Escobar (played by Wagner Moura). –Isaac Rouse

Taking us behind closed doors in Buckingham Palace, The Crown follows Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the British monarchy across decades of their lives, showing us the familial dysfunction that continues to make headlines worldwide. It’s fictionalized, certainly, but perhaps not as much as the royal institution would like. –Dan Clarendon

Mike Flanagan’s The Haunting of Hill House, a modern adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s novel, is one of his most widely appealing Netflix shows. It features a well-crafted mystery, excellent dialogue, production value, and performances from a rotating cast, including his wife, Kate Siegel, Samantha Sloyan, Henry Thomas, Carla Gugino, and more. The series follows a family of five children growing up in a haunted house, leading to their departure after a tragic loss. Twenty-six years later, the siblings must confront their past. –Isaac Rouse

Marvel’s Daredevil upped the ante and became the new standard of what a superhero series should look like. It single-handedly ushered out the cheap VFX era of supes made popular by The CW in favor of ground-level heroes, choreographed action, and character-driven storytelling. The series sees blind lawyer Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) fight crime as a catholic vigilante with superhuman senses. –Isaac Rouse

Teen years are hard enough without monstrous creatures crossing over from an alternate dimension to terrorize your small Indiana town. Influenced by Steven Spielberg and Stephen King and countless other cultural touchpoints of the 1980s, the Duffer Brothers created a sci-fi smash hit anchored by star-making turns from the show’s young cast, showing that sometimes adolescence is the real Upside Down. –Dan Clarendon