Netflix is a genuine hub for some of the most fantastic shows ever seen on television. Plenty of universally beloved watches come from the streaming platform, marking it as the ideal library of gems that features all of the best TV genres. Those outstanding shows are often the streaming service's most recommended, most rewatchable, and most memorable watches that truly leave a lasting impact, even long after their final episodes.
Netflix originals like the brilliant sci-fi work of art, Sense8, which earned a lasting devotion despite being painfully underrated, and the miniseries The Queen's Gambit, which transforms chess into a stylish and extremely human tale about loneliness and talent, are just two clear examples of Netflix's easy-to-love gems. On this list are must-watch shows that stand as amazing global hits produced by the well-known streaming platform, Netflix.
8 'The Haunting of Hill House' (2018)
Image via NetflixThis scary Netflix horror miniseries comes with tons of emotional depth beneath all the ghosts and frights, which truly give it lasting appeal. The Haunting of Hill House follows two timelines: one in 1992, when the Crain family lives in a supposedly haunted mansion, and another in 2018, when they reunite as adults to confront past tragedies.
Despite it being a rather short series, The Haunting of Hill House remains one of Netflix’s strongest examples of horror storytelling with actual depth. The series is a peak family drama, with horror elements that serve not only as a source of thrilling scares, but also as a powerful tool for exploring trauma, grief, and the lasting impact of the past. The Haunting of Hill House is a modern horror staple that is often lauded as a landmark in the TV genre. Fans find the horror series plenty rewatchable, frequently highlighting its tragic storytelling and intense jump scares, helping it remain a strong contender at the top of Netflix’s most beloved shows.
7 'Derry Girls' (2018–2022)
Image via Channel 4Derry Girls is a rare comedy that is woefully too underrated despite its lovable characters and hilariously chaotic story. Set in Northern Ireland during the 1990s, the series centers around teens Erin Quinn (Saoirse-Monica Jackson), Orla McCool (Louisa Harland), Michelle Mallon (Jamie-Lee O’Donnell), and Clare Devlin (Nicola Coughlan) as they navigate school, parties, and crushes, all amid the occasional bomb threat.
With a masterful balance of real affection between characters and laugh-out-loud comedy, the show turns family arguments, everyday embarrassments, loyal friendships, and even school disasters into something genuinely unforgettable. Despite it being an incredibly underrated Netflix series, Derry Girls' British and international audiences absolutely adore its humor and heart. Fans are known to quote the show’s witty lines and have lauded it as the perfect binge-watching material. Derry Girls’ warm portrayal of pure friendships during extremely difficult times helps make it a truly fantastic addition to this list of beloved Netflix shows.
6 'The Queen's Gambit' (2020)
Image via NetflixThis beloved limited series is a true cultural phenomenon that sparked a passion for the game of chess. The Queen’s Gambit focuses on chess prodigy Beth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy), who begins her journey in an orphanage in the 1960s, but then grows into a world-class competitor whose extraordinary talent propels her through the ranks of professional chess, all the while she struggles with the pressures of her own genius, loneliness, and addiction.
On paper, The Queen’s Gambit is a drama simply about chess, which may not sound like a true Netflix crowd-pleaser, but in reality, the series quickly proved that it was so much more than that. It’s a magnetic watch that is genuinely addictive and has garnered a fanbase that’s extremely large. The Queen’s Gambit became an almost instant Netflix hit, which spurred an addictive need to play the competitive game, causing an epic surge in chess sales. The show’s glowing user ratings and popularity on social media beautifully reflect why audiences have considered it the perfect watch that is a natural fit for this list of well-loved Netflix series.
5 'The Crown' (2016–2023)
Image via NetflixThe Crown is a Netflix original that has definitely earned its spot on this list for its grand scope. The lavish period drama follows Queen Elizabeth II, exploring decades of her reign at different ages and stages of her life. The show meticulously reconstructs royal events, ranging from political crises to marriage scandals and so much more.
Whether viewers are looking for performances, drama, history, or period costumes, The Crown definitely delivers in all categories. It’s a masterful series that has grown into one of Netflix’s most widely respected originals. The Crown is frequently praised for its acting, writing, and production values. The series is absolutely stunning, with fans admiring its historical detail and performances that definitely add to its beloved status. The Crown is a must-watch, with accolades and critical acclaim that firmly cement it as one of Netflix’s best. For most subscribers who indulge in the series, it stands as one of the greatest, well-balanced, defining dramas on the streaming platform.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you'd actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
TEST YOUR SURVIVAL →
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
APull on every thread until I understand the system — then figure out how to break it. BStop asking questions and start stockpiling — food, fuel, weapons. Questions don't keep you alive. CKeep my head down, observe carefully, and trust no one until I know who's pulling the strings. DStudy the patterns. Every system has a rhythm — learn it, and you learn how to survive it. EFind the people fighting back and join them. You can't fix a broken galaxy alone.
NEXT QUESTION →
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
AKnowledge. If you understand the system, you don't need resources — you can generate them. BFuel. Everything else — movement, power, escape — runs on it. CTrust. In a world of fakes and informants, a truly reliable ally is rarer than any commodity. DWater. And after water, information — the two things empires are truly built on. EShips and credits. The galaxy is big — you survive it by being able to move through it freely.
NEXT QUESTION →
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you're honest about what you're actually afraid of.
AThat reality itself is a lie — that everything I experience has been constructed to keep me compliant. BA raid. No warning, no mercy — just the roar of engines and then nothing left. CBeing identified. Once someone with power decides you're a problem, you're already out of time. DBeing outmanoeuvred — losing a political game I didn't even know I was playing. EThe Empire tightening its grip until there's nowhere left to run.
NEXT QUESTION →
04
How do you deal with authority you don't trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
ASubvert it from the inside — learn its rules well enough to weaponise them against it. BIgnore it and stay out of its reach. The further from any power structure, the better. CAppear to comply while doing exactly what I need to do. Visibility is the enemy. DManoeuvre within it carefully. You can't beat a system you refuse to understand. EResist openly when I have to. Some things are worth the risk of being seen.
NEXT QUESTION →
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn't just tactical — it's physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
AUnderground bunkers and server rooms — cramped, artificial, but with access to everything that matters. BOpen wasteland — brutal sun, no shelter, constant movement. At least the threat is honest. CA dense, rain-soaked city where you can disappear into the crowd and nobody asks questions. DMerciless desert — extreme heat, no water, and something enormous living beneath the sand. EThe fringe — backwater planets and busy spaceports where the Empire's attention rarely reaches.
NEXT QUESTION →
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
AA tight crew of believers who've seen behind the curtain and have nothing left to lose. BOne or two people I'd trust with my life. Any more than that and someone talks. CNobody, ideally. Alliances are liabilities. I work alone unless I have no choice. DA community bound by shared hardship and mutual survival — people who need each other to last. EA ragtag team with wildly different skills and total commitment when it counts.
NEXT QUESTION →
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they're actually made of.
AI won't harm the innocent — even the ones who'd report me without hesitation. BI do what I have to to protect the people I've chosen. Everything else is negotiable. CThe line shifts depending on who's asking and what's at stake. DI draw a long-term line — nothing that compromises my people's future, even if it'd help now. ESome lines, once crossed, can't be uncrossed. I know which ones they are.
NEXT QUESTION →
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
AWaking others up — dismantling the illusion so no one else has to live inside it. BFinding somewhere — or someone — worth protecting. A reason to keep moving. CAnswers. Understanding what I am, what any of this means, before time runs out. DLegacy — shaping the future in a way that outlasts me by generations. EFreedom — for myself, for others, for every world still living under someone else's boot.
REVEAL MY WORLD →
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You'd Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You're a systems thinker who can't help but notice the seams in things.
- You're drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
- You'd find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines' worst nightmare.
- You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
- The Matrix built an airtight prison. You'd be the one probing the walls for the door.
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn't reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That's you.
- You don't need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
- You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you're good at all three.
- You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
- In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Blade Runner
You'd survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
- You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
- In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
- You're not a hero. But you're not lost, either.
- In Blade Runner's world, that distinction is everything.
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
- Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they're survival tools.
- You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
- Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You'd learn its logic and earn its respect.
- In time, you wouldn't just survive Arrakis — you'd begin to reshape it.
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn't have it any other way.
- You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
- You'd gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire's grip can be broken.
- You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn't something you're capable of.
- In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
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4 'Stranger Things' (2016–2025)
Image via NetflixThis sci-fi Netflix original is a true icon, beloved for its large-scale supernatural danger that feels quite personal. Stranger Things is set in 1980s Hawkins, Indiana, and focuses on the disappearance of Will Byers (Noah Schnapp), which plunges his mother, Joyce (Winona Ryder), the police, and his close friends into a panicked journey that involves the supernatural as they desperately search for him.
The sci-fi horror series is a brilliant bout of '80s nostalgia that hosts an astonishingly great cast. Stranger Things is a fantastic homage to 1980s genre films that is frequently lauded for its mix of coming-of-age themes, supernatural thrills, and plenty of heart. The series is Netflix’s most-watched original series with a powerful impact, as it's often seen in popular cultural references. With tons of viewership worldwide and fan devotion that makes it clear that it's well-loved, Stranger Things definitely stands as a clear example of a sci-fi work of art that grew bigger than the platform itself.
3 'BoJack Horseman' (2014–2020)
Image via NetflixBoJack Horseman is an animated Netflix beauty that, at first glance, doesn’t truly seem like the kind of show that would garner universal admiration. The series, set in a world of anthropomorphic animals and humans, centers on washed-up 1990s sitcom star BoJack Horseman (Will Arnett), who is haunted by the collapse of his fame while also struggling with loneliness, addiction, and complex relationships.
The series may be rather absurd, bleak, strange, and often uncomfortable, but it is quite raw and darkly humorous. BoJack Horseman is uniquely addictive and resonates really well with viewers. Beneath its surreal comedy is a genuine story that is painfully honest as it explores themes of accountability, self-destruction, loneliness, and the difficult truth that recognizing one’s flaws is sadly not the same as fixing them. BoJack Horseman has gained—and definitely earned—its universal adoration, standing as one of the most thoughtfully written and emotionally intelligent animated shows ever produced.
2 'Sense8' (2015–2018)
Image via NetflixThis woefully underrated sci-fi series is one of the finest Netflix originals ever created, with an incredibly devoted fan base that remains consistent in their praise for its epic story. Sense8 centers around eight individuals across the globe—Nomi Marks (Jamie Clayton), Will Gorski (Brian J. Smith), Kala (Tina Desai), Wolfgang (Max Riemelt), Sun Bak (Bae Doona), Capheus Onyango (Toby Onwumere), Lito Rodriguez (Miguel Ángel Silvestre) and, Riley Blue (Tuppence Middleton)—who suddenly discover that they are emotionally and mentally connected, forcing them to navigate the dangers that come with their new life.
Sense8 is an addictive bout of masterful storytelling that has garnered quite the passionate fanbase. In fact, the series faced early cancellation, but got its well-deserved ending at the behest of its dedicated fans, who launched campaigns for its eventual special. The show is a beautiful celebration of love, connection, and global unity, adored for its LGBTQ+ representation and sci-fi storytelling. Sense8 is a true underrated gem that is universally beloved for its daring storytelling and emotional depth.
1 'Heartstopper' (2022–Present)
Image via NetflixHeartstopper is a teen romance that remains universally loved due to its gentle and healthy portrayal of sweet romance. Based on comics, the series follows two British teenagers, Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) and Nick Nelson (Kit Connor), who first begin as simple classmates, but gradually develop a close friendship that blossoms into a heartfelt and gentle love story.
Heartstopper is a true critical darling, with its first season scoring 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s a genuinely great feel-good watch that locks viewers in with its authentic LGBTQ+ representation and warmth. Fans love Heartstopper’s sweetness, as the show inspires incredibly deep affection from them. The series beautifully captures first love, friendship, and self-discovery with a softness that feels quite rare for teen television. Heartstopper’s tenderness and comforting vibe definitely dub it as one of Netflix’s most comforting and widely adored shows.
Heartstopper
Release Date 2022 - 2024-00-00
Showrunner Alice Oseman
Directors euros lyn, Andy Newbery
Writers Alice Oseman
English (US) ·