Streaming services are known for having award-worthy series but also plenty of duds. Our guide to the best TV shows on Netflix is updated weekly to help you know which series you should move to the top of your queue. They aren’t all surefire winners—we love a good less-than-obvious gem—but they’re all worth your time, trust us.
Feel like you’ve already watched everything on this list that you want to see? Try our guide to the best movies on Netflix for more options. And if you’ve already completed Netflix and are in need of a new challenge, check out our picks for the best shows on Hulu and the best shows on Disney+. Don’t like our picks or want to offer suggestions of your own? Head to the comments below.
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The Witcher
Almost everything is different in The Witcher’s fourth season. Gone is former leading man Henry Cavill, with Liam Hemsworth donning the gray wig as monster-slaying Geralt of Rivia in his place. It's been a controversial switch, but Hemsworth holds his own well enough, despite being perhaps a bit too cautious in his portrayal. However, this latest chapter in the fantasy epic, based on the novels of Andrzej Sapkowski, really belongs to sorceress Yennefer (the returning Anya Chalotra), gathering forces against the dark mage Vilgefortz (Mahesh Jadu), and trainee Witcher Ciri (Freya Allen), seeking a new life for herself with a group of thieves called the Rats. While the core trio's tales barely intersect this season, the distance allows each to stand on their own strengths. It also sets the stage for greater things to come in the fifth and final season. This Cavill-less Witcher might take some getting used to, but if you've been watching since the beginning, it's definitely worth sticking around.
Boots
Adapted from Greg Cope White’s memoir The Pink Marine, this eight-episode series follows closeted teen Cameron Cope (Miles Heizer) as he follows his friend Ray (Liam Oh) into the US Marine Corps—even as his mother Barbara (Vera Farmiga) barely notices him leaving. Picking up in 1990—before “Don't Ask, Don't Tell”—Boots walks the fine line between drama and comedy as it charts Cameron's fish-out-of-water travails through basic training. While it could all have easily devolved into a collection of tropes, the series instead serves up a smart exploration of masculinity and camaraderie that can feel surprisingly tender at times, while never pulling its punches when it comes to the conditions recruits can face.
Wayward
Wayward was created by comedian Mae Martin, but don’t expect a laugh riot in this dark and distressing thriller. The series focuses on the secretive Tall Pines Academy in Vermont, a boarding school for troubled teens, ruled with an iron fist by self-styled savior Evelyn Wade (a chillingly commanding Toni Collette). Except, to the outside world, Wade is a caring pillar of the community, helping desperate youths—a dichotomy that the school’s latest residents, Abbie (Sydney Topliffe) and Leila (Alyvia Alyn Lind), are about to brutally experience firsthand. Their only hope may be Alex (Martin), a newly transferred cop who grows suspicious of the hold Wade has over both the town and Laura (Sarah Gadon), Alex’s wife who is herself a graduate of Tall Pines. Despite having the vibe of a docudrama, Wayward is entirely fictional—but its exploration of control, coercion, and the power of charismatic figures feels all too real.
House of Guinness
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