# Best Netflix Original shows **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, netflix\ **Created:** [January 9, 2020, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-netflix-original-shows/846172 "2020-01-09T13:35:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CastletonSnob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ea924/32.png) [@CastletonSnob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastletonSnob)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-netflix-original-shows/846172/1 "2020-01-09T13:35:25Z")
Recommend me some Netflix original shows. Is there anything on Netflix that’s as good as something on HBO or FX? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-netflix-original-shows/846172/2 "2020-01-09T13:38:04Z")
Anne with an E The Crown Both superb shows, well written with great actors. As good as anything you see in any other network. ---
**Author:** ![SykoSkotty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@SykoSkotty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SykoSkotty)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-netflix-original-shows/846172/3 "2020-01-09T14:23:24Z")
Well, jeez, this is purely speculation as far as “better than HBO or FX” so YMMV: -Stranger Things -Dead To Me -OITNB -Ozark -After Life -Dark -BoJack Horseman -Mindhunter -Russian Doll -GLOW -Sense8 -Altered Carbon -Grace & Frankie -The OA There are many more that I have not seen but are highly rated. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-netflix-original-shows/846172/4 "2020-01-09T15:02:55Z")
Bloodline The Haunting of Hill House Ozark Master of None The Umbrella Academy The Crown Anne With An E After Life Atypical Derek Glow Virgin River Longmire Living With Myself Dracula In the Dark ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-netflix-original-shows/846172/5 "2020-01-09T15:09:26Z")
As good as FX?. Sure. A few things. A season of Stranger Things. A season of 13 Reasons why. Three seasons of Orange is the New Black. The OA (not seen second, so probably just first). As good as HBO? Maybe some of their best is as good as some of HBO’s worst. Glow. Mindhunter. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-netflix-original-shows/846172/6 "2020-01-09T15:29:57Z")
Some things on Netflix that I’ve enjoyed: **Santa Clarita Diet** : gory zombie comedy starring Drew Barrymore and Tim Olyphant. **Umbrella Academy** : original superhero series. **Wormwood** : docudrama about the MKUltra program. Sometimes difficult to discern the documentary parts from the dramatized parts, but it was still pretty good. **Mindhunter** : crime drama about the FBI behavioral science unit’s interviews with serial killers. **Ozark** : crime drama starring Jason Bateman and Laura Linney. **Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt** : Tina Fey-produced comedy. Outstanding if you like Tina Fey’s sense of humor. **Master of None** : series by comedian Aziz Ansari. Each episode tackles a different topic. The episodes are loosely related and there are recurring characters, but they are not necessarily part of an overarching story. **GLOW** : fictionalized portrayal of the 80s all-female wrestling show. **F is for Family** : animated sitcom created by and starring Bill Burr. If you like Bill Burr, you’ll like this. **The Toys That Made Us** : really fun look back at popular old toys, mostly from the 70s and 80s. **The Movies That Made Us** : the same thing, but with movies. Again, heavy emphasis on the 80s. **Happy!** : I don’t think this originated with Netflix, but I really enjoyed it. Dark cop/crime show with a fairly bizarre fantasy element. Very dark, black humor. **Nailed It!** : baking competition where amateur bakers (who generally aren’t very good at it) attempt to recreate a professionally made and decorated themed cake within a short time period (a few hours). This is an extremely lightweight, fairly stupid show that’s remarkably hilarious. The Marvel stuff was hit or miss. **Daredevil** was probably the best of them, followed by **Jessica Jones** , then **The Punisher**. **Luke Cage** was so-so, and you can entirely skip out on **Iron Fist**. **The Defenders** was marginally worth watching; you don’t necessarily need to have watched the rest of them before this. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-netflix-original-shows/846172/7 "2020-01-09T15:37:32Z")
Bojack Horseman is as good as the HBO prestige shows. I also really enjoyed Ozark, Stranger Things, and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, but they’re not as good as the premier TV shows. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-netflix-original-shows/846172/8 "2020-01-09T15:42:42Z")
_ **Great to Very Good** _ Stranger Things Russian Doll GLOW Troll Hunters\* (animated but really well done)\* The Dark Crystal Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Daybreak _(Matthew Broderick does TV)_ The Kominsky Method The Haunting of Hill House Russian Doll Lucifer \*Now \* Comedians in Cars drinking coffee _Seinfeld, some are great, some are duds: now a Netflix show_ \*1st season of \*The Crown \*1st season of \*Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Crazy Heads _(only 6 episodes but excellent)_ \*\*\*Pretty Good: \*\*\* Sex Education Disenchanted _(From Matt Groenig)_ The Order Glitch _(co-production with Australia)_ ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-netflix-original-shows/846172/9 "2020-01-09T16:03:06Z")
Other people have pretty much covered mine. But I enjoyed Messiah GLOW Bojack Horseman Ozark Haunting of Hill House Russian Doll santa clarita diet (It sucks they ended this at season 3 and on a cliffhanger no less) peaky blinders punisher Travelers (started out good, got worse as time went on though) Narcos ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-netflix-original-shows/846172/10 "2020-01-09T16:12:49Z")
Oh, what seasons of Black Mirror are Netflix originals? Some of those are quite great too. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-netflix-original-shows/846172/11 "2020-01-09T16:16:06Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > **Umbrella Academy** : original superhero series. Maybe I’m misunderstanding your meaning but _The Umbrella Academy_ is based on a comic book series of the same name written by Gerard Way. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-netflix-original-shows/846172/12 "2020-01-09T16:23:01Z")
I enjoyed GLOW as well. Love the chemistry between the leads. I was expecting a bimbo show and got a show with rich character development. ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-netflix-original-shows/846172/13 "2020-01-09T16:37:46Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Oh, what seasons of Black Mirror are Netflix originals? Some of those are quite great too. Third season onwards. It was Channel 4 Uk originally. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-netflix-original-shows/846172/14 "2020-01-09T18:03:42Z")
I forgot, the new **Lost in Space** , 1st season watchable with potential, 2nd season was good. ---
**Author:** ![kath94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/67e7ee/32.png) [@kath94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kath94)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-netflix-original-shows/846172/15 "2020-01-09T22:50:06Z")
No love for “The Kominsky Method?” Love it! ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-netflix-original-shows/846172/16 "2020-01-09T22:56:51Z")
> [@kath94](#): > > No love for “The Kominsky Method?” Love it! Post 8, I list it. ---
**Author:** ![Isosleepy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/isosleepy/32/479_2.png) [@Isosleepy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isosleepy)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2020, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-netflix-original-shows/846172/17 "2020-01-09T22:58:34Z")
If you’re ok with subtitles, there are some strong foreign shows on Netflix, for example “Babylon Berlin” ---
**Author:** ![Personal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Personal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Personal)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-netflix-original-shows/846172/18 "2020-01-10T00:04:07Z")
The first couple of seasons of Orange Is the New Black were pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![DrForrester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8edcca/32.png) [@DrForrester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrForrester)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-netflix-original-shows/846172/19 "2020-01-10T01:00:19Z")
I really liked the German sci-fi show [Dark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_(TV_series)) ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2020, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-netflix-original-shows/846172/20 "2020-01-10T01:07:52Z")
> [@DrForrester](#): > > I really liked the German sci-fi show [Dark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_(TV_series)) This was really good! I don’t think Happy Valley is officially a Netflix original but it’s probably one of the best UK police procedural type shows out there (if you like that kind of thing which I’m pretty much addicted to.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-netflix-original-shows/846172.md?page=2)