Sometimes you just need an immersive drama, and thankfully, Netflix delivers. From what are now TV classics (like Breaking Bad) to Peak TV gems (Hap and Leonard, Mindhunter), Netflix is home to some of the most wonderfully crafted and engaging television of our time.
This list will continue to grow, but for now, check out our list of the best drama shows on Netflix below, and let us know some of your other favorites in the comments:
Editor’s Note: This piece was last updated on January 20 to add Squid Game and Money Heist.
Table of Contents
Squid Game
Created by: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Cast: Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo, Wi Ha-joon, HoYeon Jung, O Yeong-su, Heo Sung-tae, Anupam Tripathi, and Kim Joo-ryoung
One of Netflix’s biggest hits of 2021, Squid Game is an intense South Korean survival drama. The show revolves around an underground tournament where everyday people compete in deadly games in order to win a huge cash prize. Squid Game has received widespread acclaim for its story, performances, and especially for the themes of inequality and greed that lie at the heart of the series.
Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) is a divorced chauffeur who lives with his elderly mother. He has a daughter whom he struggles to support financially, and the fact that he’s a gambling addict doesn’t help his situation either. So when he is invited to play children’s games in exchange for a large amount of money, Seong Gi-Hun jumps at the chance. But once he accepts the invite, he is taken to an unknown location where he must play alongside 455 other people who are also deeply in debt. It quickly becomes clear that if they lose a game, they will die, and the only way to survive is to outsmart both the other players and the game’s mysterious organizers.
It’s a tense, violent, and wholly engrossing story spread over nine episodes. And in case the first season leaves you hungry for more, Season 2 of Squid Game is currently in the works. – Remus Noronha
Money Heist
Created by: Álex Pina
Cast: Úrsula Corberó, Álvaro Morte, Itziar Ituño, Pedro Alonso, Paco Tous, Alba Flores, Miguel Herrán, Jaime Lorente, Esther Acebo, Enrique Arce, María Pedraza, Darko Perić, Kiti Mánver, Hovik Keuchkerian, Luka Peroš, Belén Cuesta, Fernando Cayo, Rodrigo de la Serna, and Najwa Nimri
Money Heist (Spanish: La Casa de Papel) is easily one of the most influential shows on Netflix’s catalog. Over the course of its three seasons on the streaming service, the heist drama series has managed to become a global phenomenon. Set in Madrid, Money Heist revolves around a group of eight people brought together by a mysterious man known only as “the Professor” (Álvaro Morte). In the first season, the Professor and his crew set out to rob the Royal Mint of Spain, using a complex plan that’s decades in the making. Over the course of the story, we learn more about each of these people as the full extent of the plan slowly unfolds. Seasons 2 and 3 show the group taking on another heist, this time targeting the Royal Mint of Spain.
It’s a show about rebellion and bravery against insurmountable odds. And, perhaps more importantly, it’s a story about a group of people and the relationships they build with each other, all while pulling off two of the most ingenious heists ever imagined. – Remus Noronha
The Queen’s Gambit
Created by: Scott Frank
Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Marielle Heller, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Harry Melling, Bill Camp, and Moses Ingram
If you want a drama series that has a short beginning, middle, and end, check out The Queen’s Gambit. This smash-hit Netflix original takes place in the 1950s and 60s and tells the story of a young orphan working through her trauma to find some semblance of joy anywhere she can, and the people she meets along the way. That journey leads her to chess, where she becomes a world-renowned champion despite struggles at home. Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch) is incredible in the lead role, and Scott Frank (who writes and directs every episode) knocks this one out of the park. One part sports story, one part prestige drama series, and one part intense character study, The Queen’s Gambit has it all. – Adam Chitwood
Ozark
Created by: Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams
Cast: Jason Bateman, Laura Linney, Julia Garner, Peter Mullan, and Janet McTeer
If you’re a fan of Breaking Bad and want another drama series in that vein, you’ll probably spark to the Netflix original Ozark. The show begins with Jason Bateman playing a financial manager whose entire life falls apart when he learns that his partner has been in business with Mexican drug cartels. The only way to pay them back is to start laundering money himself, so he uproots his family from Chicago to the Ozarks to start a new life as a criminal. Intrigue, danger, and murder ensue as Bateman tries to keep his head (and his family’s head) above water. This one is notably for burning through story at a quick pace. – Adam Chitwood
Breaking Bad
Created by: Vince Gilligan
Cast: Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn, Aaron Paul, Dean Norris, Betsy Brandt, RJ Mitte, Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks, and Giancarlo Esposito
If for some reason you’ve never seen Breaking Bad, allow me to convice you: Over the course of five seasons, the show takes a lead character and evolves him from a mild-mannered chemistry teacher to a dangerous and feared drug dealer, and the entire evolution feels completely earned. Bryan Cranston deserved all those Emmys as he plays a man diagnosed with terminal cancer who decides he has nothing to lose and starts cooking crystal meth so he can leave some money behind for his family. It’s an absolutely thrilling journey, made all the more special that the ending is actually kind of great. You won’t regret bingeing this one. – Adam Chitwood
Mindhunter
Created by: Joe Penhall
Cast: Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany, Anna Torv, Hannah Gross, and Cotter Smith
If you’re into crime shows and procedurals, but are also a fan of auteur cinema or the grisly yet meaty movies of David Fincher, you have to watch Mindhunter. This Netflix original is based on true events and chronicles the early days of the FBI’s criminal profiling unit in the late 1970s. Two FBI agents from the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit—Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and Bill Tench (Holt McCallany)—set out to interview imprisoned serial killers to see if they can understand why they did what they did, to help create a profile for the FBI to catch these kinds of killers. Fincher directs a large number of the episodes throughout the show’s two seasons, and the series does a great job of offering a bit of a cat-and-mouse thrill ride while also offering a lot to chew on in terms of human behavior. – Adam Chitwood
Maniac
Created by: Patrick Somerville
Cast: Emma Stone, Jonah Hill, Justin Theroux, Sally Field, Sonoya Mizuno, Gabriel Byrne, Julia Garner and Billy Magnussen
If you’re game to check out a sci-fi drama that’s unlike anything else on TV, check out Maniac. Directed entirely by No Time to Die filmmaker Cary Fukunaga, this limited series takes place in a slightly more advanced version of Earth in which two depressed individuals—played by Emma Stone and Jonah Hill—take part in a mind-bending pharmaceutical trial meant to cure them of their ills. The trial finds them mentally living out various fantasies and scenarios, which then gives Fukunaga the opportunity to present the shows in genres as varied as dark comedies and even fantasy stories. – Adam Chitwood
The Crown
Created By: Peter Morgan
Cast: Claire Foy, Matt Smith, Jared Harris, John Lithgow
Netflix’s most expensive series yet, The Crown examines the early reign of England’s Queen Elizabeth II. The series is beautifully directed in sumptuous yet staid tones, as young Elizabeth (Claire Foy) — newly married to Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh (Matt Smith, playing against type) — first lives as a privileged princess before having to transition into the position of Queen. From there, as her grandmother cautions her, there will be two Elizabeths at odds with one another: one who is a young woman with her own hopes and dreams, and one who is a royal, whose life will be full of duty and sacrifice. “But the crown must always win.”
The Crown is a fascinating and easily engrossing portrait of a young monarch in a fairly modern age, and benefits from having one writer (creator Peter Morgan) to lend it narrative continuity. The story, which offers a glimpse of many familiar faces associated with government at the time, glides through history and crosses the globe, yet is most effective when its examining the nuances of Elizabeth’s life and the lives of those around her who must change the way they regard her (from a wife, sister, and daughter, to a monarch they must defer to at all times). The trappings of power, such as they are, are shown here as being claustrophobic and wearisome, even though the lavish lifestyle it seems to offer is also seductive. And that is why, once you enter into the regal world of The Crown, you will not want to leave. It always wins. — Allison Keene
The Haunting of Hill House
Creator: Mike Flanagan
Cast: Carla Gugino, Michael Huisman, Kate Siegel, Mckenna Grace, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Elizabeth Reaser, Victoria Pedretti, Lulu Wilson, Timothy Hutton, Violet McGraw, Julian Hilliard,
Okay so yes, with a title like The Haunting of Hill House you’d be forgiven for assumign this is a straight horror series, and while it is indeed a horror show, it’s also a deeply emotional family drama. Inspired by Shirley Jackson‘s seminal ghost story, the limited series focuses on the sprawling Crain family as it bounces back and forth between their time in the titular house, which ended in tragedy, and present day in which the kids are all adults with some serious daddy issues. As directed by Oculus and Doctor Sleep filmmaker Mike Flanagan, the show feels carefully constructed so each episode builds upon the last, as they culminate in a thrilling and emotion-driven finale that deals heavily with mortality and grief. – Adam Chitwood
Anne with an E
Created by: Moira Walley-Beckett
Cast: Amybeth McNulty, Geraldine James, R.H. Thomson, Lucas Jade Zumann, Dalila Bela
Even though Moira Walley-Beckett’s retelling of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s classic Anne of Green Gables stories leans heavily into the darker side of Anne’s orphan upbringing and the bullying she experiences in school once she gets to Prince Edward Island, Anne with an E is a happy one. And in case you forgot, yes! Dramas can be joyous!
The second season moves away somewhat from its beloved source material, but in doing so, it’s able to find its own voice and become even better. The series is also finding modern relevance with the inclusion of more “woke” storylines, but it never feels forced — it all fits in with Anne’s (McNulty) optimistic view of the world and the people in it. Anne is joyous, funny, and ultimately a delightful exploration of teenage life. And though it’s set over 100 years in the past, the series does an exceptional job creating a deeply relatable mood and aesthetic, one that makes both the perils and precious moments of growing up feel as raw and real as they do in real life. The new season is full of triumphant moments and joyous subplots, as well as scenes of sorrow and hardship. It all adds up to an uplifting season that concludes with Anne Shirley-Cuthbert, and all those around her, looking towards the scope of possibilities in an ever-widening world. — Allison Keene
Hap and Leonard
Developed by: Jim Mickle, Nick Damici
Cast: James Purefoy, Michael K. Williams
Based on Joe R. Lansdale’s series of novels, Hap and Leonard is a wonderfully funny, action-packed, and unique story about two unlikely friends — one a white, hippie-cowboy, and the other a black, gay, Vietnam vet — who live in East Texas in the 1980s. They often get into scrapes and accidentally end up in the middle of a crime they never planned on investigating, but the series is as dark, deep, and soulful as it is manic, violent, and often hilarious. The show walks a difficult line in each of its brisk 6-episode seasons, balancing humor and heartbreak as its heroes, villains, and the gorgeous landscape all pop colorfully off of the screen. Ultimately, it does so with aplomb. Each season is a complete story, like the novels, that tackle very different tales, making it an easy and satisfying binge. The southern-fried banter and unique dynamics also help make Hap and Leonard a wonderfully unique gem of Peak TV. — Allison Keene
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
Created by: Ryan Murphy
Cast: Darren Criss, Edgar Ramirez, Penelope Cruz, Ricky Martin, Cody Fern, Finn Wittrock, Judith Light, and Jon Jon Briones
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story is not really appropriately named, although it is of the same quality as its predecessor The People v. O.J. Simpson. The limited series from Ryan Murphy does indeed focus on the murder of fashion designer Gianni Versace (Edgar Ramirez) in 1997, but its main focus is actually on his killer Andrew Cunanan (Darren Criss) as it presents an American Psycho-esque portrait of a man who was deeply disturbed. Jumping back and forth in time this limited series covers a lot of ground, but by the end you feel like you have a full picture of what happened, making it all the more tragic. – Adam Chitwood
Bodyguard
Created By: Jed Mercurio
Cast: Richard Madden, Keeley Hawes
Bodyguard should come with a warning. There are several stretches of this twisty new thriller series that are so anxiety-inducing, with such unbearable tension, that I almost had to leave the room. I could have paused it, sure, but I didn’t actually want to stop watching it. I just wanted to grimace and sink as far down into the couch as possible, my heart pounding as I attempted to rationalize that the story couldn’t really do this or that, right? RIGHT? It’s stressful — in the best of ways.
Netflix’s 6-episode series comes from Jed Mercurio, and first aired on the BBC (to staggering viewership numbers). It follows the story of a metropolitan police officer, David Budd (Richard Madden), a war veteran who uses his special training while off-duty to help diffuse a potential terrorist attack in the first fifteen minutes of the series. But Bodyguard is not interested in becoming Jason Bourne or Jack Ryan, at least not yet. What makes the series work — including all of those ultra-tense moments — is how well Madden sells his badass character as a man who also has deep emotional connections and a compassionate heart. As David is tasked with being the bodyguard (hey!) for a Conservative Home Secretary, Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes), the show really ramps up its tension (and sexiness). Ultimately, the show offers up an exhilarating ride that truly showcases Madden as a major talent,, one who is capable of not just leading Winterfell’s bannermen in Game of Thrones, but leading this breakout series and others — or even a certain movie franchise. — Allison Keene
Narcos: Mexico
Created By: Carlo Bernard, Doug Miro
Cast: Michael Peña, Diego Luna, Tenoch Huerta Mejía, Alyssa Diaz, Joaquín Cosío, José María Yazpik
Whether you’ve seen Narcos or not, it’s not hard to understand and be compelled by the world of Narcos: Mexico, which immediately introduces its opposing forces and sets the stage for their eventual clash. At this point (in the late 1970s and early 1980s), Mexico’s drug trade was chaotic and split up into tiny territories, most of which were constantly at war. When they weren’t, the government came in and burned fields as a show of strength for those who didn’t pay their dues and play their game. This is where Diego Luna’s drug lord Félix Gallardo (who at the time was just an underling to a territory boss) starts to see an opportunity to create an “OPEC of weed.” He’s shrewd and ambitious, and wants to turn drug making and drug-running into a business; in other words, to organize.
His opponent is Kiki Camerena (Michael Peña), a DEA agent who moves his family to Guadalajara from California for a new job opportunity. Like Félix, Camerena is smart and focused, but finds the outpost in Guadalajara lacking in both drive and resources. His assertion that there is something big happening to change Mexico’s drug trade, coupled with his tenacity to prove it despite being thwarted by Mexican officials, lights a fire within his coworkers there. Soon, they have also organized — into a cartel-fighting task force.
With a tense, stirring score from Gustavo Santaolalla, Narcos: Mexico is a really series of meetings and standoffs, with outcomes that have real stakes. There’s an investment and connection to both Félix and Kiki’s operations, and a savviness the show has in fostering empathy for both characters equally, which is a tricky line to toe. But it does so by keeping things as grounded as possible. The series doesn’t glorify the drug lord lifestyle so much as paint it as an ephemeral, cautionary tale — for all involved. — Allison Keene
Better Call Saul
Created by: Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould
Cast: Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks, Michael McKean
AMC’s Breaking Bad spinoff goes back to find Saul Goodman (Odenkirk) at a time when he was known as Jimmy McGill (or “Slippin’ Jimmy”), a hustler with courtroom ambitions, whose life had yet to be turned upside down by Walter White. Though as comedically quirky as expected, the languid and artistically rendered Saul also proved to also be very dark, affecting, and dramatic, thanks to Odenkirk’s outstandingly nuanced performance. Jimmy’s complicated relationship with his brother Chuck (McKean) drives the emotional undercurrent of the season, alongside his being thwarted in his ambitions to join a real law firm. When he opens up his own business (in the closet of a nail salon), a revolving door of crazy clients appear, but it’s the selfless work that Jimmy does on behalf of an elderly contingent in town that imbues his journey with meaning, and gives the series truly dramatic stakes.
Still, at every step, Jimmy finds himself running into walls, and his frustration with the misfires and betrayals that litter his life eventually start adding up to his transformation as the slick Saul Goodman. The show is at its best when it distances itself from Breaking Bad, and though it starts off slow with some curious digressions, Better Call Saul picks up tremendously towards the end of the first season. Ultimately, being swept along in the chaos, hilarity, and sadness of Jimmy’s rise and fall (and eventual resurrection as Saul) is an immersive experience — Allison Keene
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