25 most underrated TV exhibits on Netflix

Mining for hidden gems on Netflix? We have you coated.

Whether or not you have been scrolling for ten minutes or ten hours, discovering the best Netflix present might be tough. You may move up one thing good for you since you do not acknowledge the title, watch one thing you hate as a result of it had a cool thumbnail, then panic and quit.

So, we at Mashable put our heads collectively to discover a entire bunch of exhibits you are most likely scrolling previous however will certainly love. As a result of we have had this drawback too.

Listed in no specific order, listed here are 25 of essentially the most underrated Netflix TV exhibits streaming now.

1. The OA

In case you’re not already firmly aboard The OA prepare, it is best we not spoil the thriller.

What we will say: A younger girl named Prairie Johnson (performed by sequence creator Brit Marling) reappears after having been lacking for seven years. When she disappeared, she was blind. Now, she will be able to see. Oh, and he or she’s insisting she’s an angel.

Excellent for followers of science fiction, nice performing, and good TV. — Alison Foreman, Leisure Reporter

How you can watch: The OA is now streaming on Netflix.

2. Santa Clarita Eating regimen

Santa Clarita Eating regimen was too good for this world. Canceled after simply three seasons, Victor Fresco’s pitch-perfect narrative of a suburban mother mutating into the undead hooked us from the beginning. Leads Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant’s sparky chemistry remained plausible, grounding their world of parenting, actual property, and homicide in an emotional bedrock price killing for. — A.F.

How you can watch: Santa Clarita Eating regimen is now streaming on Netflix.

3. The Finish of the F***ing World

Someplace between a Wes Anderson film and a PSA for staying in class, The Finish of the F***ing World masters the teenager street journey. Starring Alex Lawther and Jessica Barden as star-crossed somethings James and Alyssa, this two-season romp blends humor, coronary heart, and a basic rock soundtrack to punchy impact. As darkish as it’s touching, this present was one in all a form. — A.F.

How you can watch: The Finish of the F***ing World is now streaming on Netflix.

4. Sense8

Science fiction has the facility to interrupt storytelling boundaries every time and nonetheless its creators see match. Sense8 did that in all of the ways in which matter.

This numerous, LGBTQ-inclusive story of “sensates” (folks emotionally and psychologically linked to at least one one other) reimagined the boundaries of human connection and made numerous viewers really feel seen. With simply two seasons, followers may by no means get sufficient of Sense8, however at the least Netflix made good on that finale — delivering an enduring legacy to streaming-kind. — A.F.

How you can watch: Sense8 is now streaming on Netflix.

5. Copenhagen Cowboy

Director Nicolas Winding Refn made a giant identify for himself on the massive display screen, turning Tom Hardy and Ryan Gosling into icons with movies like Bronson and Drive. However his small-screen streaming work has frequently slipped via the cracks, beginning with Amazon’s magnificently trippy Too Outdated To Die Younger in 2019 and persevering with on to this yr’s additionally, whaddya know, magnificently trippy Copenhagen Cowboy. 

Maybe the longform slow-burn surrealism is an excessive amount of for some, however it’s good for us. Throughout six chapters, Cowboy tells the story of Miu (newcomer Angela Bundalovic) who will get dragged right into a Danish underworld of criminals and perverts because of her means to provide off good luck to whomever asks favors of her. She is a heroine of little discuss and far motion — so principally each different protagonist in a Refn venture. She and Gosling’s character in Drive would discover heaps to not speak about! It is fashionable psychosis, a hallucinogenic delight. – Jason Adams, Leisure Reporter

How you can watch: Copenhagen Cowboy is now streaming on Netflix.

6. Simple

Followers of Joe Swanberg and his “mumblecore” stylings can rejoice in Simple.

An anthology sequence analyzing intimacy in trendy Chicago, this three-season masterpiece explored love, loss, and alter with immeasurable kindness. For every mistake there was forgiveness. For each heartbreak, the hope of one thing new.

Appearances by Marc Maron, Elizabeth Reaser, Jake Johnson, Aya Money, Hannibal Buress, and extra make Simple a must-watch sequence for any indie movie fan. — A.F.

How you can watch: Simple is now streaming on Netflix.

7. Aggretsuko

Who does not wish to watch a cartoon purple panda discover herself towards all odds? Pressured by an unforgiving job and disappointing courting prospects, Aggretsuko does her finest to seek out the life she desires by secretly singing demise steel karaoke at night time. It is pleasant. Attempt 5 minutes. You may get it. — A.F.

How you can watch: Aggretsuko is now streaming on Netflix.

8. Derry Women

Set towards the tumultuous Northern Eire battle of the late ’90s, this coming-of-age story is surprisingly hysterical. Centered on 4 Catholic college women and one English bloke named James, Derry Women is a sitcom within the truest sense of the style, discovering humor in a actuality rife with battle and concern. What’s extra, the sequence paints a transferring portrait of friendship untethered by time or place, making it a standout illustration of camaraderie and development. — A.F.

How you can watch: Derry Women is now streaming on Netflix.

9. Elevating Dion

A serialized tackle Dennis Liu’s comedian of the identical identify, Elevating Dion follows mom and son Nicole (Alisha Wainwright) and Dion (Ja’Siah Younger) as they address the demise of Dion’s father, Mark (Michael B. Jordan). When it’s revealed that Dion has otherworldly skills, Nicole should do all the things she will be able to to guard her son from himself — and the world. — A.F.

How you can watch: Elevating Dion is now streaming on Netflix

10. Archive 81 

Put together your self beforehand, as a result of Netflix canceled this present after its first season and the climax leaves an terrible lot hanging within the air, so that you’re going to be annoyed by the shortage of decision. Nevertheless, this horror sequence is each ingenious and terrifying, with two timelines — one involving a video archivist within the current (Mamoudou Athie) and one involving a younger girl (Dina Shihabi) recording her seek for her start mom prior to now — overlapping in more and more unsettling methods.

Even the unfinished query mark at its finish hasn’t saved these advantageous eight episodes which we did get (a few of which have been directed by present indie It Boys Justin Moorhead and Aaron Benson of The Infinite and One thing within the Dust fame) from frequently creeping up on me at night time. At midnight. Within the night time. – J.A.

How you can watch: Archive 81 is now streaming on Netflix.

Mashable Prime Tales

11. A Sequence of Unlucky Occasions

It is no secret Lemony Snicket’s A Sequence of Unlucky Occasions books are nice. However why their Neil Patrick Harris-led TV adaptation by no means acquired the next it deserved stays a thriller.

Whether or not each web page got here to life the way in which you’d imagined or not, there is no denying Netflix’s tackle the story of the Baudelaire orphans was riveting. From “The Unhealthy Starting” to “The Finish,” creators Mark Hudis and Barry Sonnenfeld introduced each nook of this fantastical world to life with care and precision. The visuals? Spectacular. The solid? Excellent. The ankle? Tattooed. With a watch. — A.F.

How you can watch: A Sequence of Unlucky Occasions is now streaming on Netflix. 

12. The Get Down

The Get Down was forward of its time. A musical drama from co-creators Baz Luhrmann and Stephen Adly Guirgis, this single season spectacular launched to underwhelmed audiences in 2016 who dismissed it as extra model than substance. Right now, it is acquired “Emmy winner” written throughout it.

Soulful performances by Justice Smith, Shameik Moore, Herizen Guardiola, and an impressive supporting solid remodel this historic take a look at late ’70s hip-hop tradition right into a visceral expertise. The scope of the characters’ imaginations is simply outpaced by the ambition of the sequence’ creators. Value a revisit should you handed it up the primary time. Value a rewatch should you did not. — A.F.

How you can watch: The Get Down is now streaming on Netflix.

13. Every little thing Sucks!

Ben York Jones and Michael Mohan’s send-up of ’90s excessive schoolers had only one season, however its reminiscence lives on in our queues. Set within the aptly-named Boring Excessive College, the interlocking dramas between the A/V and drama golf equipment was cringe-worthy, candy, and entertaining.

Followers of Euphoria look out for a stellar efficiency by Sydney Sweeney, alongside sequence leads Jahi Di’Allo Winston, Peyton Kennedy, Quinn Liebling, and Elijah Stevenson. — A.F.

How you can watch: Every little thing Sucks! is now streaming on Netflix.

14. Tuca & Bertie, Season 1

A simple and breezy binge made up of simply 10 episodes, Tuca & Bertie Season 1 is amongst Netflix’s finest choices. Hilarious-yet-heart-wrenching, topical-yet-timeless, this story of thirtysomething birdies discovering themselves is faultless. Voice performances by Ali Wong, Tiffany Haddish, and Steven Yeun shine via distinctive visuals that increase animated comedy for the higher. 

It is laborious to think about a present as magnetic as this one getting canceled after only one season. And but, Netflix made that mistake. Fortunately Grownup Swim picked it up and made two extra seasons… earlier than canceling it once more in November of 2022. — A. F.

How you can watch: Tuca & Bertie is now streaming on Netflix. 

15. Neo Yokio

Created by Vampire Weekend frontman Ezra Koenig, Neo Yokio tackles social stratification via the lens of an absurd pink-haired dude named Kaz Kaan. Combining surreal styling with deadpan humor, this animated sequence seems at “the best metropolis on the planet.” If it is for you, you will know. — A.F.

How you can watch: Neo Yokio is now streaming on Netflix.

16. Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts

In Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, the top of the world is not all unhealthy information. In reality, as protagonist Kipo Oak figures out, it is an opportunity to construct one thing that is even higher than what got here earlier than. Observe Kipo and her associates as they journey via a vibrant post-apocalyptic panorama, full with mutant animals (“mutes”) like Timbercats and Megabunnies, and do their finest to unite mutes and humankind. This present is ingenious, heartfelt, and accompanied by a really groovy soundtrack…What extra may you ask for? — Belen Edwards, Leisure Reporter

How you can watch: Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts is now streaming on Netflix.

17. Alias Grace

Earlier than there was Girls Speaking, there was this six-part adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s 1996 novel additionally from actress-turned-writer Sarah Polley, and which covers numerous the identical territory – particularly, how girls in historical past have managed to outlive beneath the burden of a tradition that seeks to subjugate them at each flip. 

Grace, like Girls Speaking, tells a real story – this one in all a Nineteenth-century maid turned murderess (performed by a terrific Sarah Gadon) who’s interviewed about her life and eventual crime by a psychiatrist (Edward Holcroft). Directed not by Polley however by the exceptionally underrated Mary Harron (American Psycho), this sequence aches with implication, disappointment, and devastating perception. – J.A.

How you can watch: Alias Grace is now streaming on Netflix.

18. Blown Away

Observe me: Aggressive. Glassblowing.

Within the back-breaking world of glass arts, the stakes could not be increased. One unsuitable transfer and an award-winning masterpiece can turn out to be nugatory shards in seconds. For the rivals in Blown Away, the strain is on to nail weekly challenges and progress nearer to the coveted title of “Finest in Glass.” There’s screaming, there’s crying, there’s an entire bunch of individuals casually saying “glory gap,” all subsequent to a 2,000-degree furnace.* — A.F.

How you can watch: Blown Away is now streaming on Netflix.

19. Model New Cherry Taste

This sequence already feels forward of its time, and never simply because it had the foresight to solid Manny Jacinto earlier than he grew to become MANNY JACINTO. Bizarre and wacky and horny and darkish and stuffed with witchy Catherine Keener making folks puke up child kittens, Model New Cherry Taste got here to us from the stellar group of Nick Antosca and Lenore Zion, who additionally made the additionally vastly underrated SyFy sequence Channel Zero.

It tells the story of a younger filmmaker named Lisa (Rosa Salazar from Alita: Battle Angel) who goes to Hollywood with huge goals and as a substitute…she begins to puke up child kittens. After which there are the zombies. Like Heathers made by David Lynch or a sillier Starry Eyes, these eight episodes may have you concurrently cackling with laughter and coughing up bile — and sure, that’s a most heartfelt suggestion. – J.A. 

How you can watch: Model New Cherry Taste is now streaming on Netflix.

20. The Serpent

Your mileage might differ relying on how true crimed-out you’re, however this eight-episode sequence from 2021 dramatizing the case of serial killer Charles Sobhraj (performed with equal doses of chill and allure by the nice Tahar Rahim) is likely one of the finest there are. Set primarily in Thailand within the Seventies, Sobhraj would lure overseas backpackers at his lodge by stealing their cash and passports, after which homicide them within the jungle. That setting alone makes the present stand aside. 

Nevertheless it’s within the performances the place The Serpent actually shines. Rahim is stellar per typical (nicely, Madame Internet excepted) however Jenna Coleman as Sobhraj’s good-time girlfriend turning a blind eye and Billy Howle because the Dutch diplomat on the 2’s path additionally drop ace turns. And future Home of the Dragon star Fabien Frankel as a wayward Frenchman who falls beneath Sobhraj’s terrifying spell virtually steals the entire thing; the perverse relationship between the 2 males presents The Serpent its sickening pull. — J.A.

How you can watch: The Serpent is now streaming on Netflix.

21. Cunk On Earth 

It might be a stretch to name comic Diane Morgan’s character of Philomena Cunk “underrated” inside the UK, the place she’s been tickling the British populace pink together with her daft proclamations for over a decade, and even gotten a BAFTA nomination for her hassle. However I will not cease till Morgan might be safely proclaimed a comedy legend right here within the U.S. too, as this five-episode miracle of a program has turn out to be my go-to for a pick-me-up every time wanted. (And lo, has it been wanted currently.)

Cunk On Earth follows the investigative reporting of 1 Philomena Cunk, who’s resolutely ill-informed about all the things however much more confident in her misbegotten data than that, as she takes us via her one-woman tour of human historical past. Befuddling real-life consultants with moronic questions and assertions, Cunk kicks it off with the Massive Bang and works her unwieldy means throughout the centuries from there, tearing a gap via space-time one riotously dumb proclamation after one other. It is the funniest anti-history lesson ever crafted, Monty Python be damned. (And a brand new particular, Cunk On Life, is dropping Jan. 2!) — J.A.

How you can watch: Cunk On Earth is now streaming on Netflix.

22. Wanderlust

If you end up struck by a sudden thirst for Toni Collette — it occurs to us all — I like to recommend you fireplace up the Netflix machine, for the streamer is retaining her booked and busy. Amongst the numerous pickings is that this critically under-appreciated six-episode 2018 sequence from British playwright Nick Payne. 

A showcase for Collette’s ever-adaptable abilities, Wanderlust sees her taking part in a {couples} therapist named Pleasure whose personal marriage is on the rocks. So she and her husband (Steven Waterproof coat) determine they’re going to be helped by attempting out an open relationship, which… Effectively, it is sophisticated. The sequence retains a refreshingly open thoughts although, displaying each the unhealthy and the nice of their association. And there is a banger of an episode the place Collette and her personal therapist (Zawe Ashton) dig deep down into Pleasure’s private troubles. — J.A.

How you can watch: Wanderlust is now streaming on Netflix.

23. Girls5eva

This poor, good present a couple of post-prime pop group acquired tossed round like yesterday’s laundry, however lord, did it not deserve it. Beginning on Peacock after which transferring to Netflix for its third season, Girls5eva at the least managed to reward us 22 beautiful and hilarious episodes earlier than it was canned because of its eternally low scores. And you must go uncover them proper now, as a result of it does not get any funnier. And the showrunners (together with a number of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and 30 Rock folks) have been clever sufficient to see its ending coming, so the present has a correct sufficient send-off and you will not be left hanging. 

Starring Broadway’s Renée Elise Goldsberry and Sara Bareilles alongside comedians Paula Pell and Busy Philipps because the titular Y2K-era one-hit-wonder woman group, the present watched the foursome (minus one member who died earlier than the sequence begins) reunite and attempt to recapture a whisper of their former fame. It is a sequence of hilarious humiliations from there; viciously sensible about popular culture’s disposal of ladies above a sure age, Girls5eva however retains itself ruthlessly feel-good. And you will be buzzing these ridiculously over-the-top authentic songs that finish each episode (“B.P.E.” 4eva!) for the remainder of your days. — J.A.

How you can watch: Girls5eva is now streaming on Netflix.

24. The Terror

Though AMC produced two seasons of The Terror (with a 3rd starring Dan Stevens supposedly touchdown in 2025), Netflix solely has the primary one. However the first season of this anthology sequence is loads sufficient for me, because it stands as a 10-episode horror grasp class. Created by screenwriter David Kajganich (Bones and All, 2018’s Suspiria), the primary season is predicated on Dan Simmons’ novel about an 1840s Arctic expedition that goes terribly horribly unsuitable for 2 ships and their seamen.

Starring a who’s-who of character actors together with Jared Harris, Tobias Menzies, and Ciarán Hinds — and with a number of episodes directed by All Quiet on the Western Entrance and Conclave director Edward Berger — it is a swift descent into insanity for the shipmates as meals and sanity runs low within the ice fields. And that is all earlier than one thing unspeakable begins stalking them. Fiercely acted and thrumming with completely calibrated stress, The Terror is legitimately one of many best items of horror fiction to come back out of current occasions. So wrap your self tight in your Snuggie and maintain on for expensive life. — J.A.

How you can watch: The Terror is now streaming on Netflix.

25. Crashing

A few years in the past in an instantly post-Fleabag world, I might have made the case that going again to find the 2016 comedy sequence Crashing from the UK’s Channel 4 was your alternative to see creator and star Phoebe Waller-Bridge earlier than she broke out huge. And that is nonetheless a giant plus clearly! However right here in a post-Bridgerton and post-Depraved world, Crashing has turn out to be doubly necessary as a result of it is your probability to sneak again and see actor Jonathan Bailey as only a wee twinkling, adorably horned-up in each body. 

Crashing sees Waller-Bridge taking part in Lulu, a misplaced younger soul who strikes to London to fulfill again up together with her childhood finest good friend, Anthony (Damien Molony). Anthony lives there in an deserted hospital as a property guardian alongside a number of of his associates, and the sequence follows alongside and gapes in awe on the gang’s messily intertwined intercourse and love lives. Additionally there for that journey is Sam (Bailey), a womanizer who’s on his personal little facet quest of self-discovery — primarily, that he is sizzling to trot for his homosexual male good friend Fred (Amit Shah). As with something Waller-Bridge’s had a hand in, Crashing weaves a brutally humorous story of fuck-uppery. — J.A.

How you can watch: Crashing is now streaming on Netflix.

Asterisks (*) point out the entry description comes from a earlier Mashable streaming checklist.

UPDATE: Dec. 19, 2024, 12:47 p.m. EST This checklist was first revealed on Feb. 23, 2020. It has been up to date to replicate the newest streaming choices.