The Top Movies and TV Shows on Netflix in 2021

The list of the best shows and movies to watch on Netflix right now is constantly shifting, thanks to Netflix’s world domination strategy of producing as many things to watch as it can, which is undeniably more than you can feasibly consume. The newest additions include the Norwegian dark comedy Post Mortem: No One Dies in Skarnes, about a woman who comes back from the dead with some unwanted thirsts, and the surprisingly good horror film The Old Ways, a film festival favorite about a journalist who goes back to her small hometown in Veracruz, Mexico, where the locals believe she is possessed by a demon. But not everything is dark! Other recent additions include Sandra Oh’s new collegiate dramedy The Chair, the sports docuseries Untold, and the first episodes of Grace and Frankie‘s final season.

Our selections might look different from other sites because we know you’ve watched most of the popular shows on Netflix already, so we’re focusing more on new releases, buzzy shows and movies, and old favorites that were recently added to Netflix. Don’t worry, Stranger Things will make our list when it’s time to rewatch in anticipation of Season 4, but there are other shows out that are more important in the zeitgeist at the moment. These are the best shows and movies to watch on Netflix right now. 

Looking for more recommendations of what to watch next? We have a ton of them! We also have hand-picked selections based on shows you already love.

Last updated September 1; newer additions are at the top

Post Mortem: No One Dies in Skarnes

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For fans of: Santa Clarita Diet, loud food eating, Norwegian dark humor and dark drama

This Norwegian series couldn’t decide if it wanted to be a comedy or a drama, so it chose to be both, and it does a damn fine job at it. It follows a woman not-so-curiously named Live (Kathrine Thorburg Johansen) who is murdered in a field but wakes up during her autopsy wondering what all the fuss is. In her second shot at life, she develops unusual traits, some good, like enhanced hearing, and some bad, like a, uhhhh, thirst for blood. Yeah, it’s a bit like Santa Clarita Diet, but not about zombies and without the corniness. Busy people rejoice: Season 1 is only six episodes long. [Trailer]

The Old Ways

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For fans of: Witchcraft, Latin American demonology, creepy crawlies

A young journalist goes deep into the jungles of Veracruz, Mexico, for a story on indigenous people who practice ancient witchcraft, only to be kidnapped by them when they believe she is possessed by a demon. It’s full of terrifying imagery, as is expected, but it’s the claustrophobia of being imprisoned that really drives the horror. On top of that, there are themes of cultural identity that take it to a smarter level than your typical horror film, and visually, it’s aces. [Trailer]

The Chair

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For fans of: Sandra Oh, the pains of academia
Number of seasons: 1

Sandra Oh is starring in another TV show, which means everything is once again right with the world. Oh plays Dr. Ji-Yoon Kim, the newest (and first woman) Chair of the embattled English department at a swanky university. She navigates both professional and personal struggles, and crushes on a professor played by Jay Duplass, which is very relatable.

Untold

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For fans of: ESPN’s 30 for 30 series, the human side of sports

Netflix goes for its own version of ESPN’s excellent sports docuseries 30 for 30 with five almost film-length deep dives into investigative, humorous, and socially relevant sports stories. Most notable is a recounting of the Malice at the Palace, in which NBA player Ron Artest went into the home crowd and fought with fans, causing a near riot and a black eye for the NBA. But as Untold tells it, the narrative would be much different today. Other episodes cover tennis player Mardy Fish’s battle with anxiety, a minor league hockey team financed by the mob, and Caitlyn Jenner’s journey from Olympic superstar to embracing her identity as a trans woman. [Trailer]

Grace and Frankie

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For fans of: Classic sitcom feels, female friendships, odd couples
Number of seasons: 7

One of Netflix’s longest running original series (and soon to be its longest American series once its final season concludes), Grace and Frankie follows the two titular women, played by Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, as they embark on new lives when their husbands come out as gay and couple up together. There’s an Odd Couple vibe as Grace (Fonda) is a no-nonsense cosmetics mogul and Frankie (Tomlin) is a hippie artist, which only cements their friendship beyond the sitcom-setup bond. Netflix released the first four episodes of the final season, with the remaining 12 coming in 2022. [Trailer]

The Edge of Seventeen

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For fans of: High schoolers not played by 25-year-old models, painful authenticity

One of the best teen comedies of the last decade, The Edge of Seventeen has everything you want in a coming-of-age movie. After finding out her best friend is hooking up with her popular older brother, awkward outsider Nadine (Hailee Steinfeld) is thrown into crisis mode. Meanwhile, Nadine is navigating a strained relationship with her mother (Kyra Sedgwick) and a crush on an older boy by herself, with her only friend being her teacher, Mr. Bruner (Woody Harrelson), who barely tolerates her existential ramblings. It’s a funny, sweet movie that will remind you of the classics you already love, like Clueless and Mean Girls, while standing totally on its own. [Trailer]

Naomi Osaka

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For fans of: The true lives of professional athletes, mental health awareness
Number of seasons: 1

Professional tennis player Naomi Osaka, like most athletes who have achieved the highest levels of their sport, projects an air of confidence. Filmed partly by Osaka, an advocate for mental health who has withdrawn from major events to raise support for the way athletes are treated by the media, the docuseries shows that those thrust into fame aren’t always ready for it. [Trailer]

I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson

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For fans of: Chaos, having good car ideas
Number of seasons: 2

Sometimes what you want is to see your id, your most base animal instincts, the unhinged thoughts you definitely have but rarely voice, reflected on screen. You may or may not remember Tim Robinson from his time on Saturday Night Live; honestly, they didn’t really know what to do with him over there, and in retrospect it’s clear that what he needed was something of his own where he could really let his freak flag fly. That’s I Think You Should Leave in a nutshell! It’s a madcap rollercoaster of a sketch series that features Robinson playing a host of weirdo characters with big personalities and strong convictions about things that don’t really matter, such as his highly memeable hot dog mascot who refuses to admit he was the one who crashed his car into a storefront. Like anything that’s really, truly hilarious, it’s sort of impossible to describe. You just have to watch it to understand. [Trailer]

Gunpowder Milkshake

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For fans of: Stylish violence by female heroines, Kill Bill

If you are a fan of women shooting bad guys, breaking the necks of  bad guys, and just overall bringing pain of all sorts to bad guys, then the Netflix original movie Gunpowder Milkshake is for you. Karen Gillan stars as a female assassin who teams up with her estranged female assassin mom (Game of Thrones‘ Lena Headey) and her female assassin friends (Angela Bassett, Carla Gugino, Michelle Yeoh) to rescue a young girl from kidnappers, and the action is frequently put in slow-motion to soundtrack-ready songs like Janis Joplin’s “Piece of My Heart.” It’s a fun film even if it’s just more apery of Tarantino’s catalog. –Tim Surette [Trailer]

The Fear Street trilogy

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For fans of: Gruesome horror, not wanting to wait for the sequel or threequel

R.L. Stine, the guy who wrote the Goosebumps books, set his sights on a slightly older crowd with his Fear Street novel series, which are now the foundation for one of Netflix’s biggest film experiments yet. The three teen-slasher horror films, which all tell the origin story of a cursed town, were each released over three consecutive Fridays in July 2021. Each film is set in a different year (1994, 1978, and 1666), culminating in a flashback to witch trials in the 1600s, and feature carryover cast members and plenty of gory deaths. Let’s just say you’ll be extra careful around a bread slicer. –Tim Surette [Trailer]

Atypical

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For fans of: Laughing and crying (sometimes at the same time), penguins
Number of seasons: 4

Atypical is not your typical coming-of-age story. The family drama focuses on Sam (a wonderful Keir Gilchrist), a young man on the autism spectrum dealing with the drama of high school and college, and his family and friends, who are perpetually supporting him through the challenges of growing up even as his unique viewpoint and understanding of the world occasionally frustrate them. It’s incredibly heartwarming as we watch Sam become a more independent person, but it gives Sam’s friends and family equally enjoyable storylines. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Black Summer

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For fans of: Intense no-cut actions sequences, life and death situations
Number of seasons: 2

Not all zombie shows are built the same, and this spiritual spin-off of the goofy Z Nation focuses on the gritty life-or-death situation of a small group of people trying to survive a zombie apocalypse. It’s intentionally minimal on plot (and at times dialogue), letting the action — frequently told in long takes with no cuts and some athletic cameramen — tell the story. This is a different kind of zombie show. –Tim Surette [Trailer]

13th

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For fans of: Learning about the prison industrial complex and social injustice

Ava DuVernay’s documentary takes a deep dive into the truth about American prisons and the disproportionate incarceration of Black Americans. Its title comes from a topic the film is predicated on: the 13th Amendment, which led to the end of slavery and made involuntary servitude illegal in the United States, except in cases of conviction for a crime. Using archival footage as well as talking heads from activists and politicians, DuVernay offers an eye-opening look at the prison-industrial complex, and how the legacy of slavery continues to impact our present-day society. [Trailer]

Alone

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For fans of: Survivor, but scarier
Number of seasons: Season 7 available on Netflix

History’s survival competition Alone is unlike pretty much anything else on TV. The show invites tough people from all around the globe to be dropped in the middle of the wilderness with one rule: don’t die! They’re armed with limited resources and a camera to document their experience, and whoever succeeds the longest without getting choppered out of the woods wins half a million dollars. It’s a pretty brutal watch, but thrilling and impressive if you’re curious just how much humans are able to survive if they’re resourceful. And even better to know you literally will never have to do this yourself! (Note: Only Season 7 is available on Netflix, but History has made a total of eight seasons of this baby so far.) [Trailer]

High on the Hog: How African American Culture Transformed America

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For fans of: Getting a history lesson while your stomach growls
Number of seasons: 1 (four hour-long episodes)

Netflix has a large catalog of food shows, but none quite like High on the Hog. Hosted by Stephen Satterfield, the four-part docuseries is about Satterfield’s journey to learn about the storied history of African American cuisine. He learns about the contributions Black people have made to food, and how much of an influence food from the past has on the food we eat now, including the origins of okra, dishes created by Thomas Jefferson and George Washington’s enslaved chefs, and how mac and cheese came to be. The show is infectiously joyful, and has a lovely “discover your roots” spirit. Fair warning, though: You’re going to be starving after each episode. [Trailer]

Virgin River

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For fans of: Hallmarkian romance, heartwarming tearjerkers
Number of seasons: 3

Do you like your TV to feel like one long Hallmark movie? If that’s the case, you should know that few other shows are currently doing that better than Virgin River. In this adaptation of the novels by Robyn Carr, Alexandra Breckenridge stars as Mel, a nurse practitioner from Los Angeles who, after having her heart broken one too many times, starts a new life in a remote Northern California town. As these things go, she quickly meets Jack (Martin Henderson), a bartender who makes her want to love again. This show really has everything: long lost twin brothers, bombshell pregnancies, and main characters getting shot by mysterious gunmen. OK, maybe it’s more like Hallmark After Dark. [Trailer]

Army of the Dead

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For fans of: Zombie gore, Tig Notaro

Say what you want about Zack Snyder, but the movie that put him on the map, 2004’s remake of the classic zombie flick Dawn of the Dead, was pretty frickin’ great. Snyder returns to the undead with this Netflix original film starring former pro wrestler Dave Bautista as a soldier planning a casino heist in a post-apocalyptic Las Vegas swarming with zombies who have evolved to be smart, faster, and more organized than their numb-skulled ancestors. Snyder. Bautista. Zombies. And somehow Tig Notaro? You know what you’re getting with this movie: dumb fun. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Beastars

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For fans of: Addictive but uncomfortable anthropomorphic sexualized drama, philosophical discussions of one’s true nature
Number of seasons: 2

Even in a genre that is well known for pushing the limits of sanity, the anime Beastars is pretty damned weird. Set at a high school for anthropomorphized animals, Beastars follows a wolf whose predatory nature surfaces when he falls for an adorable young rabbit. But Beastars is adept at capturing the confusing feelings of puberty and the complicated dynamics of the teen social scene by mixing them with murder, instinct, and sexual desire through the eyes of animals. Does he want to eat the rabbit or just make out with her? Sometimes the line isn’t as clear as you’d think in this YA (young animal) whodunnit. –Tim Surette [Trailer]

Bo Burnham: Inside

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For fans of: Existentialism, music

Indie auteur and certified bad movie boyfriend Bo Burnham surprised his fans when he announced he had orchestrated a return to his comedic roots during the pandemic. With Inside, which Burnham wrote, directed, and edited without a crew or an audience while stuck at home, he lets out his feelings through music, delivering a setlist of very catchy, very meme-worthy songs that have titles like “White Woman’s Instagram” and “FaceTime with My Mom (Tonight).” The special gets in touch with the collective mood 2020 inspired in all of us — the anguish, the despair, the horniness. Burnham’s comedy has always touched on the existential, but he goes deeper than ever here in one of 2021’s best. [Trailer]

Kim’s Convenience

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For fans of: Feel-good family sitcoms
Number of seasons: 5

Following a Korean-Canadian family who own and operate a convenience store in Toronto, Kim’s Convenience is a true screwball comedy that is as great as it is not only because of its takes on immigrant family life but also thanks to the bonds between its characters. The show understands how complicated parent-children relationships can be, even (or especially) when you love each other, which is what makes Appa (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee), the traditional and stubborn patriarch, slowly begin to mend his relationship with his estranged son Jung (Simu Liu), or Janet (Andrea Bang) trying to pave her own way as a young, independent woman without upsetting her mother (Jean Yung) so lovely to watch. It’s the kind of show that feels like a hug. [Trailer]

Breaking Bad

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For fans of: Great TV, great acting, great cinematography, great writing, great everything
Number of seasons: 5

Well, it’s perhaps the greatest television show ever made, so yeah, you should watch Breaking Bad. Bryan Cranston stars as antihero Walter White, a mild-mannered high school chemistry teacher who begins cooking meth to pay for his cancer treatments and finds that he really, really likes it. It won 16 Primetime Emmy Awards, including two for Best Drama Series in 2013 and 2014. Some will say the first season is only OK, but those people are morons. While you’re at it, watch the excellent spin-off, Better Call Saul, which is also on Netflix. –Tim Surette [Trailer]

Bridgerton

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For fans of: Romance, sexy times, string covers of pop songs
Number of seasons: 1 (renewed for Season 2, date TBD)

The first fruit of Shonda Rhimes’ massive Netflix development deal follows Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) through her first season out in 1800s London society and her rollercoaster journey of falling in love with a reluctant duke (Rege-Jean Page), and it introduces us to the rest of the Bridgerton siblings and their immediate social circle as the elusive Lady Whistledown mysteriously catalogs all of the their gossip for her anonymous column. Phew! It’s Pride and Prejudice meets Gossip Girl and Scandal in the most delicious way possible. Heads up: Though the art for the series may make it look like a demure relaxing binge, Shonda and company stay true to the spirit of the source material, and things get very steamy as you get further into the season. –Megan Vick [Trailer]

Blood Red Sky

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For fans of: Airborne violence, supernatural horror

Blood Red Sky hit Netflix with little fanfare but instantly shot up to the No. 1 spot on the Top 10 rankings in July 2021 based on positive reviews and word of mouth, which is a surprise considering it’s a German- and English-language film with no actors who are well known to Americans. The supernatural thriller is set aboard a transatlantic flight that’s hijacked, but the terrorists don’t realize that one of the passengers isn’t entirely human. Gore and surprises ensue in this surprisingly good flick. –Tim Surette [Trailer]

Da 5 Bloods

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For fans of: Spike Lee, being reminded that war is bad

Spike Lee’s latest is a sprawling drama split between two timelines: the first during the Vietnam War, where a group of Black soldiers band together, and the second during the present, where the surviving members, now aging veterans, return to the country in the hopes of recovering the remains of their fallen squad leader (Chadwick Boseman, in one of his last performances) and locating the gold they buried years ago. It’s a dazzling, stylized adventure, and the kind of movie that will make you walk away feeling like you learned something without skimping on character development. [Trailer]

Lupin

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For fans of: Committing crimes with style
Number of seasons: 2

Omar Sy stars as Assane Diop, a man who is essentially a French Bruce Wayne if Batman was more of a cat burglar than dark knight. Inspired by the classic French character Arsène Lupin, known as the “gentleman burglar,” Diop starts the series off trying to steal a valuable necklace from the Louvre with a grand heist as part of a revenge plot against the wealthy family responsible for the death of father several years prior. Sy is a charming dude, and the heists and trickery are fun, complicated acts, performed under the guise of being the good guy. It may not be the greatest show Netflix ever put out, but it is a very entertaining distraction that’s easy to get through. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Workin’ Moms

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For fans of: Cult sitcoms, giving moms their due
Number of seasons: 5

If you’re looking for a comedy that’s still flying under the radar, check out Workin’ Moms, a sleeper hit that has quietly built up a following as each season hits Netflix. The series follows mom-friends Kate (creator Catherine Reitman), Anne (Dani Kind), Frankie (Juno Rinaldi), and the rest of the parents in their Mommy and Me group. Workin’ Moms is a brutally honest take on motherhood that doesn’t shy away from its characters’ unlikable sides. –Kelly Connolly [Trailer]

Ginny & Georgia

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For fans of: Mother-daughter dynamics with a side of intrigue, high school drama with a side of intrigue
Number of seasons: 1 (renewed for Season 2, date TBD)

“We’re like the Gilmore girls but with bigger boobs,” Georgia (Brianne Howey) says in the first episode of this high-energy series, and that about sums it up. The mother-daughter dramedy follows Georgia as she hauls her 15-year-old daughter Ginny (Antonia Gentry) and 9-year-old son Austin from Texas to a small town in Massachusetts for two reasons: to start over after Georgia’s husband suddenly — some might say suspiciously — dies, and to run away from a closet full of skeletons. It’s part teen drama as Ginny explores a new high school and part mystery thriller as Georgia’s dangerous secrets come to chase her down. –Tim Surette [Trailer]

Elite

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For fans of: Melodrama, melodrama, melodrama
Number of seasons: 4

Elite, the Spanish-language series about three working-class friends who enroll in a luxe private school, is the ideal mix of unhinged camp and actual high-stakes drama. The show centers around the inevitable culture clash between the new kids and their exorbitantly wealthy classmates, but there’s also a murder mystery woven throughout the plot. A lot of teen shows these days take themselves incredibly seriously, and while Elite deals with its share of socially relevant topics like homophobia and religion, it leans hard into its chaotic roots, and that makes it all the more watchable. [Trailer]

Evil

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For fans of: Supernatural weirdness
Number of seasons: Season 1 available on Netflix

No procedural on TV right now is having more fun than Evil is. The drama starts with a nice opposites-attract partnership: Psychologist Kristen Bouchard (Katja Herbers) teams up with priest-in-training David Acosta (Mike Colter) and tech expert Ben Shakir (Aasif Mandvi) to investigate claims of demonic possession on behalf of the Catholic Church. But because it hails from CBS’ favorite boundary pushers, Robert and Michelle King, it’s also fantastically dark and full of surprises. It’s philosophical, absurd, oh-so-smart, and a total must-watch. Plus, Kristen’s four daughters are the best kids on TV. (Note: Although only Season 1 is available on Netflix, you can watch Season 2 on Paramount+.) –Kelly Connolly [Trailer]

Good Girls

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For fans of: Moms with an edge, crime
Number of seasons: 3

Christina Hendricks, Mae Whitman, and Retta star as three working-class suburban moms exhausted by the never-ending struggle to make ends meet who decide to take control of their lives by robbing a local grocery store. They pull it off, but that’s not the end of the story. It’s the aftermath of the crime that Good Girls is interested in, and the different ways the women react to it, such as Beth’s (Hendricks) realization that life as a criminal is preferable to life as a mother struggling to pay the bills. (Her relationship with Manny Montana’s gang leader Rio will scratch that will they-won’t they itch for you, too.) Good Girls is the kind of show that gets more fun to watch as the characters get in more trouble, so buckle up. [Trailer]

Shadow and Bone

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For fans of: Game of Thrones by way of Freeform
Number of seasons: 1 (renewed for a second season, date TBD)

Based on Leigh Bardugo’s dueling Grishaverse novel series, Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows, the big-budget series follows a young woman who discovers she’s in possession of a power that can save the kingdom, natch. The tone is somewhere between Game of Thrones and something you’d find on Freeform, with a dark color scheme and violence mixing it up with teen love triangles. If you liked The Witcher but could do without the occasional silliness of that show, you’ll probably like this. Fair warning: the world-building of the first two episodes can get a little tedious, but it gets better after that. –Tim Surette [Trailer]

Never Have I Ever

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For fans of: Teen romance, Mindy Kaling, the omniscient voice of John McEnroe
Number of seasons: 2 

Mindy Kaling’s warm, wickedly funny spin on a classic high school comedy stars newcomer Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Devi Vishwakumar, a high achiever desperate to reinvent herself after the sudden death of her father (Sendhil Ramamurthy, joining the ranks of TV’s hot dads even in flashbacks). As she navigates a love triangle and denies the depth of her grief, short-tempered Devi’s inner life is narrated, hilariously, by tennis legend John McEnroe. Never Have I Ever is Kaling’s best show yet, a charming Indian-American coming-of-age story that’s both personal and absurd. Who knew we all needed to hear John McEnroe say “thirst trap”? –Kelly Connolly [Trailer]

Happy Endings

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For fans of: Lovable weirdos, pop culture references up the wazoo
Number of seasons: 3

Happy Endings is one of those shows with a small but mighty fanbase who love to say things like, “I wish they’d bring it back,” and “I can’t believe no one watched it when it was on” whenever it’s brought up. Those people are all correct! The world just wasn’t ready for the truly oddball jokes Happy Endings excelled at, even though its premise — a small group of friends hang out all the time and get into hijinks — pretty much seemed like a recipe for sitcom success. The cast’s chemistry is just so good, the jokes come lightning fast, and there are also some legitimately heartwarming episodes, like the one where the group helps Max (Adam Pally) come out to his parents. The best of the Friends clones, it’s definitely worth a watch if ensemble comedies are your thing. [Trailer]

I Am Not Your Negro

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For fans of: Social justice, visual poetry, hard truths

Raoul Peck’s 2016 documentary that’s an adaptation of James Baldwin’s manuscript about racism in America through the eyes of Black people — specifically civil rights activists Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Medgar Evans — is a visual masterpiece with a clear message: America has failed the Black community. The powerful 2016 film brims with energy through old footage of segregation and current shots of protests in the streets in the wake of police violence against minorities. It’s an essential watch to better understand America’s shameful past and present. –Tim Surette [Trailer]

Sweet Tooth

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For fans of: Animal-human politics, the end of the world
Number of seasons: 1

Set in the aftermath of a catastrophic global virus, the comic book adaptation Sweet Tooth is a show for our times. The series follows a “very special boy” named Gus (Christian Convery), a human-deer hybrid on a journey across the American West, accompanied by an unexpected group of friends. It’s just the right blend of strange, dark, and hopeful, with a resonance no one involved in the show originally could have planned. -Kelly Connolly [Trailer]

Last Chance U & Last Chance U: Basketball

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For fans of: Inspiring sports stories
Number of seasons: 5 seasons of Last Chance U and 1 season of Last Chance U: Basketball

One of TV’s best sports docuseries, Last Chance U follows different junior college football programs across the U.S. It focuses on the students — many of whom are highly touted as players, but deal with challenges on and off the field — as they attempt to keep up their performance both on the team and in the classroom in order to remain eligible. The show gives unique access to the host of issues student athletes face, and goes deep into the ambition many of the players have to move into Division 1 football programs. Its spinoff, Last Chance U: Basketball, is just as good, with its first season spotlighting the East Los Angeles College Huskies as they try to turn their fortunes around with a roster made up of kids who failed to live up to expectations at higher division programs because of various factors. The sport is different, but the emotional impact remains the same as their coach pushes them to be the best players and people they can be. [Trailer]

Lucifer

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For fans of: The devil, hell puns, supernatural romance
Number of seasons: 5 (renewed for Season 6, date TBD)

The playful procedural follows an unlikely police consultant, and in this case, it’s the literal devil. Lucifer Morningstar (Tom Ellis), who’s abandoned hell to become a nightclub owner in Los Angeles, partners up with L.A.P.D. detective Chloe Decker (Lauren German) to solve crime — stranger things have happened, maybe? — while sorting out his otherworldly daddy issues. On top of being a fun show with a steamy will they/won’t they couple, Lucifer is also a clever spin on redemption stories. –Kelly Connolly [Trailer]

Arlo the Alligator Boy

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For fans of: Musicals, stories about identity

This charming animated children’s film wasn’t a hit for Netflix, probably because it was hardly promoted by the streamer, but it’s a solid choice for family movie night and follows a half-alligator half-human boy who grew up in the bayou and goes searching for his human father in the big city. Joined by a ragtag group of companions, the spectacularly upbeat Arlo — voiced by American Idol‘s Michael J. Woodard, who’s got some pipes! — learns that being yourself is more important than satisfying others. It’s got some real bangers in it, too. -Tim Surette [Trailer]

Manifest

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For fans of: Doomed flights, twists and turns, Lost
Number of seasons: 2 (Season 3 has yet to be added to Netflix)

You may have heard that people were extremely upset when NBC canceled Manifest after three seasons. The supernatural drama has a strong hold on a very vocal group of fans, and it’s pretty easy to see why people love it so much. The Lost-ian series centers on the passengers of a flight that was presumed missing for five years. When the plane finally lands, the people aboard have to reintegrate into a society they no longer recognize, with some of them even beginning to discover that there’s a much deeper mystery going on that they have to work to uncover. [Trailer]

Master of None

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For fans of: When comedians enter their serious auteur era
Number of seasons: 3

When Master of None first premiered in 2015, the series became a reset for co-creator and star Aziz Ansari’s career, who up until that point had mostly been known for his role as the guy on Parks and Recreation who gave us “treat yo’ self.” Ansari played Dev, a New York actor struggling with the personal and the professional, and the show was pretty universally acclaimed, especially in its triumphant second season, which brought black-and-white cinematography, references to French New Wave, and a beautiful, Golden Globe-winning episode about Dev’s friend Denise’s (Lena Waithe) coming out. It was in between Season 2 and its surprise Season 3 that sexual misconduct allegations against Ansari were made public, and when the show eventually did return after a long hiatus, it shifted the focus from Dev to Denise, exploring her relationship with her wife Alicia (Naomi Ackie). The good news is that it stayed fascinating throughout, wrestling with the characters’ flaws and exploring regret and loss in an entirely human way. [Trailer]

Snowpiercer

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For fans of: Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton, Bong Joon-ho, insane metaphors for class struggles

Bong Joon-ho’s 2013 cult classic is set years in the future when climate change has turned the Earth into a giant snowball, and the last of humanity lives on a train that perpetually circles the globe. While the rich wine and dine in the cars at the front, the poor are crammed into the rear of the locomotive, where Chris Evans plays a man who sparks a dangerous revolution. [Trailer]

The Mitchells vs. the Machines

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For fans of: Celebrity voices, families saving the world

On a road trip to drop eldest child Katie (Abbi Jacobson) off at film school, the dysfunctional Mitchell family is interrupted by a technology uprising. Seriously! Everyone’s actual worst fear comes true when all the electronic devices in the world come to life to push back against the humans, and due to a variety of reasons I won’t spoil for you here and also because this is a movie that needs a plot, the Mitchells are the only ones who can save the planet. Few other movies will give you Olivia Colman doing the voice of a bitter robot, and you’ll also recognize the vocal stylings of Maya Rudolph, Danny McBride, Eric Andre, and Fred Armisen. [Trailer]

Murder Among the Mormons

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For fans of: True crime, feeling unsettled
Number of seasons: 1 (three hour-long episodes)

Your next true crime obsession is this three-part series detailing murders that shook the Mormon community in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1985. Following a pair of pipe bombs that killed two people, a third victim was found with a trunk full of rare documents that include the notorious White Salamander Letter, which had the potential to destroy the very foundation of Mormonism. –Tim Surette [Trailer]

Pose

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For fans of: Unbridled joy, queer history
Number of seasons: 3

How wrong we were to believe we’d seen a full, three-dimensional representation of the LGBTQ community on TV before Pose arrived in 2018. The FX series, set decades ago in the New York City ballroom community, has served to show us how much we don’t know and haven’t seen. In this heartwarming and often hilarious drama, the trans women who started the ballroom scene — the scene that’s made black/Latinx gay lingo like “slay,” “read,” and “spill the tea” mainstream — get their due, making them the subject of the story instead of the afterthoughts. Through characters Blanca (Mj Rodriguez), Elektra (Dominique Jackson), Angel (Indya Moore), and Pray Tell (Billy Porter), we befriend queer people of color who’ve banded together for survival, for love, and the pursuit of happiness. It’s radical for humanizing trans people and portraying their unique experiences with compassion, but it shouldn’t be: It’s fundamentally an engrossing, uplifting show stuffed with drama and heart. Consider it essential viewing. –Malcolm Venable [Trailer]

Uncut Gems

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For fans of: Anxiety, the year 2012, serious Sandler

I have one piece of advice for you if you decide to hit play on Uncut Gems: Don’t go in with any Adam Sandler-related expectations. Josh and Benny Safdie’s frenetic crime thriller, in which he plays Howard, a gambling-addicted jeweler in New York’s Diamond District, is the Sandman’s way of reminding us that he has pretty incredible range as an actor. Howard’s a guy whose lifestyle is becoming increasingly unmanageable — he’s in the middle of separating from his wife (Idina Menzel), trying to keep his girlfriend (Julia Fox) happy, and has recently come into possession of an item he believes will save him from his many debts: a rare black opal from Ethiopia, which is allegedly worth millions. Uncut Gems isn’t technically a horror film, but it keeps you on the edge of your seat like one, and you’ll probably yell at your screen watching Howard try to fast-talk his way out of yet another confrontation. Come for the sight of Adam Sandler in transition lenses, stay for an excellent performance from first-time actor Kevin Garnett. [Trailer]

Roma

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For fans of: Oscar winners, art films, being moved to a shell of yourself

Sorry Mank, you aren’t the best black-and-white film on Netflix. Not even close. Alfonso Cuaron’s 2018 personal tale of a housekeeper in Mexico to a wealthy Mexican family won Best Foreign Film, Best Director (Cuaron), and Best Cinematography (Cuaron) at the 91st Academy Awards, but could have won tons more. It’s both quiet and epic in scope, balancing a fascinating relationship between a hard-working woman named Cleo and the family that relies on her, unforgettable shots involving hundreds of extras, and a larger story on life. Stick out the first 20 minutes and you’ll be amazed. –Tim Surette [Trailer]

This Is a Robbery: The World’s Biggest Art Heist

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For fans of: Boston accents, true crime that’s actually fun
Number of seasons: 1 (four hour-long episodes)

In 1990, two men posing as police officers robbed Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum of $500 million in art. Over 30 years later, none of that work has been recovered, and the case remains unsolved. That infamous art theft is the subject of this gripping four-part true crime docuseries, which digs into the mystery of who took those paintings and where they are now. The series also promises some juicy mafia drama, because it’s Boston. -Kelly Connolly [Trailer]

Outlander

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For fans of: Sex, time travel, history
Number of seasons: 4

Depending on who you ask, Outlander is either the sexiest show on TV, or it’s a historical drama with a touch of sci-fi. Or maybe it’s both! Based on the book series by Diana Gabaldon, Outlander revolves around Claire (Caitriona Balfe), a married World War II nurse who, during a trip with her husband (Tobias Menzies), mysteriously time travels back to 1743. Thrown into the past and desperate to get home, Claire finds herself embroiled in a Scottish uprising while slowly but surely falling in love with a young warrior named Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan). If you’re looking for something that will give you an occasionally accurate history lesson and get you invested in a sweeping romance that spans centuries, Outlander is the show for you. [Trailer]

The Trial of the Chicago 7

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For fans of: Aaron Sorkin’s whole thing, watered down history

In 1969, a group of anti-war activists were charged with conspiring to start a riot at the Democratic National Convention, and in 2019, Aaron Sorkin told an extremely Hollywood version of their story. Although Sorkin really simplifies a lot of the more radical politics people like Abbie Hoffman (Sacha Baron Cohen) and Jerry Rubin (Jeremy Strong) actually had, a big, showy courtroom drama — full of grandstanding and dramatic speeches and quippy dialogue — is a perfect vehicle for his style. It’s grounded by the performances of its sprawling, star-studded cast (which also includes Mark Rylance, Frank Langella, and Michael Keaton) and the writing, which earned Sorkin a Best Original Screenplay nod at the Oscars, and it’ll teach you something about the injustices of the American justice system, which, spoiler, has always been pretty bad! [Trailer]

Who Killed Sara?

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For fans of: Seeking vengeance
Number of seasons: 2

This Spanish-language drama was an unexpected hit after it premiered in early 2021 on Netflix, and for good reason. The series follows Alex (Manolo Cardona), a former convict who is framed for the murder of his sister, Sara. Alex sets out to exact revenge against whoever framed him, and the mystery comes in as he tries to find the culprit. The best way to describe this show is “soap opera with a slightly bigger budget,” which is not a dig at all. It makes for a compelling, and relatively fast, watch, and anyway, who among us doesn’t love a little melodrama? [Trailer]