The first episode of House of Guinness begins with the recipe for a world-changing dark beer: Water, malted barley, hops and yeast. Well, Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight mixed together a little bit of Irish history, great actors like Anthony Boyle and Louis Partridge, stylish production design and a rocking soundtrack in order to brew a delicious new drama for Netflix about the four children of Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness and their attempts to deal with the aftermath of his death.
Amid rising tensions on the streets of Dublin and in the Guinness siblings’ personal lives, the story ferments into captivating TV that feels like Succession meets Downton Abbey.
How much is too much “tough love” for a “troubled teen”? That’s one of the many questions asked by the new Netflix series Wayward, created by writer, actor and producer Mae Martin. (Martin’s previous Netflix series, Feel Good, was critically acclaimed, with a 100 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.) While Feel Good was semi-autobiographical, Wayward is a thriller with supernatural undertones about a transgender police officer, Alex (Martin), who begins investigating the disturbing, cult-like happenings at Tall Pines Academy, a center for troubled teens in the small town of Tall Pines.
The Academy is run by Evelyn Wade (Toni Collette), a magnetic, strangely haunting headmistress who seems to have power over everyone in town, including Alex’s wife Laura (Sarah Gadon). As Alex uncovers more secrets about Tall Pines Academy, he begins to realize strange things are happening to the students who attend… This mystery thriller is twist-filled, thoughtful and perfect for spooky season.
Widely considered one of the best TV dramas ever, Breaking Bad is one of those shows we can watch over and over again — although we often need to take breaks because the drama is so intense! The show follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a high school chemistry teacher whose diagnosis with terminal lung cancer causes him to take a dangerous turn to secure his family’s future. He partners with former student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) and begins cooking crystal meth.
What ostensibly starts as a noble quest to provide for his wife, Skylar (Anna Gunn), and son Walt Jr. (RJ Mitte) soon spirals into an ego trip and a descent into the criminal underworld. The more enemies that Walter defeats, the more power-hungry he becomes — and the show’s examination of morality and identity is one of the best we’ve ever seen.
Drama, horror, comedy, mystery and nostalgia combine in this updated take on The Addams Family. Jenna Ortega stars as Wednesday, the dour daughter of Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Gomez (Luis Guzmán), who is sent to her parents’ alma mater, Nevermore Academy, after being expelled from her previous school. Directed by Tim Burton, the show perfectly balances macabre horror imagery with humor and just a touch of teen angst.
“Outcasts,” or people with supernatural abilities and tendencies, form the student body at Nevermore, creating a world populated by werewolves, sirens, psychics and more — including some original creatures created for the series, like the monstrous Hydes or technologically gifted Da Vincis. Fans of all things gruesome will find something to love in Wednesday.
Based on the novel by May Cobb, The Hunting Wives is Netflix’s newest hot show — and for good reason. It’s sexy, soapy fun that puts a “coastal elite” named Sophie O’Neal (Brittany Snow) in the wilds of East Texas, where she meets a group of rich, gun-toting women led by Margo (Målin Akerman).
These not-so-desperate housewives love to hunt, shoot, drink and party — but before long, their fun has deadly consequences. With a murder mystery thrown in for good measure, The Hunting Wives feels like a mix of Big Little Lies and Desperate Housewives with a Texas twist and some racy sex scenes. Don’t miss out on the fun.
Time travel meets romance in this stunning epic series. You may not have even realized the Starz show was on Netflix until recently, but with the prequel series Blood of My Blood coming out this year, it’s the perfect time to get obsessed with Outlander.
Based on the popular book series by Diana Gabaldon, this time-hopping historical series follows Claire Randall (Caitríona Balfe), a former World War II nurse who is mysteriously transported from 1945 to 1743 Scotland. There, she encounters a world embroiled in political intrigue and meets a dashing Scottish warrior named Jamie Fraser, portrayed by Sam Heughan. Their passionate and tumultuous romance is at the heart of the series, set against the backdrop of the Jacobite risings.
The complexities of love, loss, grief and war are explored in this intense show, and the explosive chemistry between Balfe and Heughan sells it all. Drama fans will love Outlander for its unique premise and its captivating blend of action, romance and historical adventure.
Untamed stars Eric Bana as Kyle Turner, an Investigative Series Branch agent who is called to investigate a brutal murder at the serene Yosemite National Park. Kyle gets more than he bargains for as his quest to find the killer unlocks shady secrets about the park — and his own past.
Untamed has everything you’d want in a well-made Netflix mystery show: a haunted hero, a twisty story with plenty of surprises and some stunning visuals of one of America’s most beautiful parks. The series also boasts an impressive supporting cast that includes Jurassic Park vet Sam Neill and Mad Men’s Rosemarie DeWitt, both of whom do great work as Kyle’s boss and ex-wife, respectively.
Maggie Sullivan (Morgan Kohan) had a satisfying life as a neurosurgeon in Boston until everything came crashing down around her. Sullivan’s Crossing follows Maggie’s attempt to get a fresh start as she goes home to Timberlake, Nova Scotia and reunites with her father, Harry ‘Sully’ Sullivan (Scott Patterson).
Somehow, Maggie and Sully have to rebuild their strained relationship and find a way back to each other. Meanwhile, Maggie feels a strong attraction to California ‘Cal’ Jones (Chad Michael Murray), which is complicated when her estranged boyfriend, Andrew Mathews (Allan Hawco), tries to win back her heart.
Netflix just added Sullivan’s Crossing season 3, so you have even more Canadian melodrama to binge-watch right now.
The Waterfront is a family drama that dips into crime and dark comedy. Dawson’s Creek creator Kevin Williamson came up with the story of the Buckley family, whose wealth and power have greatly faded while Harlan Buckley (Holt McCallany) was recovering from serious health issues.
Upon learning that his wife, Belle (Maria Bello), and his son, Cane (Jake Weary), made shady deals to save the family business, Harlan doubles down by making an alliance with a drug lord, Grady (Topher Grace). Keeping that alliance a secret proves to be very difficult, because Harlan’s daughter, Bree (Melissa Benoist), is ratting out the family to her DEA boyfriend, Marcus Sanchez (Gerardo Celasco).
The Waterfront is streaming on Netflix.
Department Q isn’t meant to be a second chance for Detective Chief Inspector Carl Morck (Leap Year‘s Matthew Goode). Instead, it was meant to bury him in the aftermath of a shooting that left his partner paralyzed and another officer dead.
Although Carl is far from emotionally recovered, Dept. Q demonstrates his keen mind for breaking mysteries others have deemed impossible. It may even give Carl some redemption, in addition to providing Akram Salim (Alexej Manvelov) and Detective Constable Rose Dickson (Leah Byrne) a chance to prove themselves as members of Carl’s new team.
Dept. Q is streaming on Netflix.
How far would you go to give yourself and your children a better life? Georgia Miller (Brianne Howey) goes pretty far in Ginny & Georgia, and she even has a history of murder when it comes to protecting herself and her kids.
Georgia’s oldest child, Ginny Miller (Antonia Gentry), gets a large spotlight in this show as she tries to make a life for herself when her mom finally settles in a small town. Ginny may have her own problems, but she can’t escape the shadow of her mother’s bad choices. She can’t even get past her own questionable decisions, which may doom Ginny to a future similar to her mother’s present.
Ginny & Georgia is streaming on Netflix.
Who is Michaela “Kiki” Kell (Julianne Moore)? And why does she have such a commanding influence on the people around her? Those are the questions facing Devon DeWitt (Meghann Fahy) in Sirens, a darkly funny comedy/drama. Devon tracked down her sister, Simone DeWitt (Milly Alcock), to Michaela’s estate only to discover that she’s deeply embedded in her cult-like following.
Despite her immediate friction with Michaela, Devon resolves to stick around long enough to pull Simone away from her employer. But Devon doesn’t know the full story behind this group, and she’s going to get a first-hand look at what makes them unravel.
Sirens is streaming on Netflix.
Three upper-middle-class couples have been married or partnered for years, and they’re so close they travel together when they go on vacation in the spring, summer, fall and winter. But their tight-knit group soon unravels when one of the couples decides to divorce. Will the other couples reconsider their own relationships? And what happens to the group once the divorced couple’s new lovers are introduced?
The Four Seasons is a remake of the forgotten 1981 movie starring Alan Alda, and it balances drama and humor just as well as its predecessor did. The show deals with serious themes like love and infidelity, but with a light touch that never becomes too broad or cartoonish. Tina Fey, Steve Carell and Colman Domingo are all terrific as the lead characters, and the show’s glossy production values make it enjoyable as an escapist fantasy.
If you like your dramas set in the West and tinged with a bit of romance, then Ransom Canyon is for you. Josh Duhamel as Staten Kirkland, a lonely Texas rancher who is still grieving the death of his wife. That changes when Quinn O’Grady (Minka Kelly) returns to Staten’s small town, Ransom Canyon, to oversee the local dance hall.
Why? Well, Staten and Quinn were once high school sweethearts, and Staten still has feelings for her. But first, he’ll have to deal with shady developers who want to build on his family land and destroy everything that makes Ransom Canyon so great to live in. Featuring charismatic lead performances by Duhamel and Kelly, an engrossing narrative and some stunning cinematography of the Lone Star State, Ransom Canyon is a drama series you can’t help but binge.
Michael Desiato (Bryan Cranston) is a respected New Orleans judge who believes in the rule of law. His beliefs are tested when his teenage son, Adam (Wednesday‘s Hunter Doohan), kills a mob kingpin’s son in a hit-and-run car accident. Michael will protect his son at all costs, and that may include his career, his reputation and maybe even his life.
Your Honor only ran for two seasons, and both seasons feel like two different shows. The first season is a terrific thriller that chronicles the moral dilemma of a law-abiding man driven to do terrible things for his son, while the second season is more of an action-drama about mob informants. Both are good for different reasons, yet they also contain some of Cranston’s best TV work ever as the corrupted titular character.
Fifty years after its debut, Judy Blume‘s Forever has received a modern update on Netflix that’s successfully changed with the times. In this new retelling, Keisha Clark (Lovie Simone) and Justin Edwards (Michael Cooper Jr.) are former childhood friends who reunite at a high school party, and they instantly feel an intense attraction towards each other.
Although Keisha and Justin haven’t seen each other in years, their lives have a lot of parallels. Both of them are high school athletes who are chasing the dream of college scholarships. They’re also facing inordinate pressure from their families to succeed, which may ultimately pull Keisha and Justin apart as their time in high school comes to an end.
Forever is streaming on Netflix.
13-year-old Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper) seems like an ordinary English teenager, but his angelic face conceals a dark secret: he’s angry at the world, and he has violent impulses that are hard to ignore. But when he’s accused of killing a fellow classmate, his family, friends, the cops who interrogate him and the psychologist who interviews him all have to answer hard questions to determine Jamie’s innocence.
Adolescence is only four episodes long, but it packs a punch. The miniseries’ technical accomplishments (each episode is filmed in one continuous take) only accentuate the show’s involving story and impressive acting. The drama is less a mystery and more a meditation on youth-on-youth violence and incel culture, but it never feels preachy or overwrought. Adolescence is one of 2025’s breakout hits, and after you’re done watching it, you’ll understand why it’s so popular and disturbing.
In 2015, Joyce “Tilly” Mitchell (Patricia Arquette) was arrested for helping two convicts, Richard Matt (Benicio del Toro) and David Sweat (Paul Dano), escape from the Clinton Correctional facility in Dannemora, New York. What would possess Joyce, one of the prison’s trusted employees and a devoted wife, to help two murderers break out and potentially harm others?
Escape from Dannemora is a seven-part, eight-episode answer to that question and almost every minute of it is engrossing. The story alone is captivating, but what really elevates this miniseries, which originally aired on Showtime in 2018, are the performances by the leads. Arquette, del Toro and Dano pull off the tricky task of making you empathize with people who have done terrible things, and their work here deservedly received critical attention and awards. Escape at Dannemora will be available on Netflix until October 21.
George Mullen (Robert De Niro) is an ex-president with a lot of time on his hands. Maybe that’s why he accepts the current president’s request to investigate a massive cyberattack that affected the whole world. But George’s memory isn’t what it once was, and he’ll have to use all of his remaining resources to find out who is behind the attack and why.
Zero Day is the first series De Niro has starred in, and he leads a stacked ensemble cast that includes Angela Bassett, Dan Stevens, Lizzy Caplan, Joan Allen, Jesse Plemons and Connie Britton. The show blends elements of other, better shows like Homeland and Bodyguard, but the fun, conspiracy-thriller nonsense and performances, especially by De Niro and Plemons, can’t be beat.
Liza Miller (Sutton Foster) is a recent divorcee whose teenage daughter has just gone to college. Alone and without a purpose, Liza decides to get an entry-level job in the publishing industry to pick up where she left off before settling down. But her new career comes with a secret: she’s posing as a twentysomething to get hired by her ageist superiors. Her ongoing flirtation with 26-year-old tattoo artist Josh (Nico Tortorella) convinces her she can pull off the ruse, but will her new friends and coworkers discover her secret before she can move up the corporate ladder?
Younger has an appealing premise and an even more irresistible cast. Foster is charming as the innocently duplicitous Liza, while Debi Mazar is enjoyably salty as her roommate and best friend Maggie. Hilary Duff is surprisingly good as Liza’s book editor friend Kelsey, and Miriam Shor does a good Miranda Priestly impersonation as an intimidating publishing executive. Younger ran for seven seasons from 2015 to 2021, and all 84 episodes are available to stream on Netflix.
What’s it like to get into the mind of a serial killer? That’s the central question the Netflix original series Mindhunter tries to answer across two great seasons. Jonathan Groff stars as Holden Ford, a special agent working in the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit. Along with his partner, Bill Tench (Holt McCallany), Holden interviews various famous serial killers — like Ed Kemper (Cameron Britton) and Richard Speck (Jack Erdie) — to understand the complex and peculiar psychology of serial killers.
Based on the true crime book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Killer Crime Unit, Mindhunter blends fact and fiction to produce an unsettling look at criminal compulsion and mass murder. The show was produced and directed by David Fincher, and the Zodiac director’s stylish flourishes are all over the series. (That’s a good thing.) Rumors of a third season have persisted for years, but the two that have been made are near-perfect.
Elizabeth “Beth” Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy) is a rebellious girl with an unusual gift: she is a master at chess and can beat just about anyone. Although this gift is mostly overlooked due to her wild upbringing in 1950s Kentucky, she eventually finds an outlet for her genius and begins to win local chess tournaments.
As Beth’s fame grows, so does her addiction to drugs and proclivity to indulge in behavior that could jeopardize her future. With a pivotal championship in Russia on the line, can she overcome her inner demons and win it all?
Released in October 2020, The Queen’s Gambit was a COVID-era hit and made chess cool again. As Beth, Taylor-Joy showcases her impressive range as a dramatic actress with her nuanced portrayal of a genius traumatized by her past. The supporting cast is great, too, with Marielle Heller as Beth’s adopted mother Alma and Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Beth’s rival/lover standing out. The show’s seven episodes masterfully blend drama, comedy and genuine suspense throughout Beth’s unlikely journey from abused orphan to chess champion.
Before Peak TV, there was HBO, and the cable channel was the primary destination for adult dramas you couldn’t find anywhere else. One of the best ones was Six Feet Under, a drama with black comedy elements that chronicled the complicated lives of the Fisher family.
They run a funeral home in Los Angeles, and each episode opens with the death of their next customer. Older brother Nate (Peter Krause) is the irresponsible one, while younger brother David (Michael C. Hall) is mature, meticulous and crushed by the weight of his own expectations. Their mother Ruth (Frances Conroy) is still reeling from the unexpected death of her husband and Claire (Lauren Ambrose) just wants to survive high school.
Six Feet Under ran for five seasons and ended with one of the most moving series finales in the history of television. Not every season is great — season 4’s murder mystery plot is best skipped over — but the show is just as powerful now as it was nearly a quarter of a century ago, and Brenda (Rachel Griffiths) remains one of the most complex female TV characters ever created.
Writer Peter Morgan’s historical drama The Crown depicts the long reign of Queen Elizabeth II, from her time as a young princess thrust into leadership by the death of her father to a long-reigning monarch dealing with personal loss and public scandals. Each of the show’s six seasons features a different set of actors to portray the royals across various ages. Claire Foy portrayed the young Queen Elizabeth II in the first two seasons, while Olivia Colman took over the role for seasons 3 and 4 and Imelda Staunton in seasons 5 and 6.
There’s a reason why the show has won multiple Emmys and a reputation as one of Netflix’s finest dramas. The Crown is arresting television, using Elizabeth — and by extension, the British Royal Family — as a way to chronicle England’s turbulent post-World War II history. Foy, Colman and Staunton all excel in the lead role, while Josh O’Connor, as a young Prince Charles, and Emma Corrin, as a doe-eyed Princess Diana, are superb. The third and fourth seasons are the best, but you can’t go wrong with any of them.