Scrolling through the Netflix guide deciding on the best shows to watch can be a difficult task. You wanted the best; you got the best coming up. We will count down the top 10 original series that you can watch right now on Netflix. To qualify, the series must be current with new episodes released in the last 12 months or be an active development with a new season forthcoming.
Here are the top 10 best Netflix Original TV series to watch now.
Britain is a mixture of despair and hedonism in 1919 in the aftermath of the Great War. Returning soldiers, newly minted revolutions and criminal gangs are fighting for survival in a nation rocked by economic upheaval. One of the most powerful gangs of the time is the Peaky Blinders, run by returning war hero Thomas Shelby and his family.
But Thomas has bigger ambitions than just running the streets. When a crate of guns goes missing, he recognizes an opportunity to advance in the world because crime may pay but legitimate business pays better. Trying to rid Britain of its crime is Inspector Chester Campbell, who arrives from Belfast to try to achieve that goal.
2. Mindhunther
Catching a criminal often requires the authorities to get inside the villain’s mind to figure out how he thinks. That’s the job of FBI agents Holden Ford and Bill Tench. They attempt to understand and catch serial killers by studying their damaged psyches. Along the way, the agents pioneer the development of modern serial-killer profiling.
3. Dark
When two children go missing in a small German town, its sinful past is exposed along with the double lives and fractured relationships that exist among four families as they search for the kids. The mystery-drama series introduces an intricate puzzle filled with twists that includes a web of curious characters, all of whom have a connection to the town’s troubled history – whether they know it or not. The story includes supernatural elements that tie back to the same town in 1986. “Dark” represents the first German original series produced for Netflix.
4. Ozark
Created by Bill Dubuque, this drama series stars Jason Bateman as Marty Byrde, a financial planner who relocates his family from Chicago to a summer resort community in the Ozarks. With wife Wendy and their two kids in tow, Marty is on the move after a money-laundering scheme goes wrong, forcing him to pay off a substantial debt to a Mexican drug lord in order to keep his family safe. While the Byrdes’ fate hangs in the balance, the dire circumstances force the fractured family to reconnect.
5. The Last Kingdom
As a child, Uhtred witnessed his father being killed and the Saxon army defeated by invading troops. Danish warlord Earl Ragnar captured Uhtred and raised him in a Danish camp alongside fellow captive Brida, a sharp-tongued girl. Years later, Uhtred is a valiant warrior who is dealt another tragic blow when his home is deliberately set on fire, killing his surrogate family, including Ragnar.
Now exiled, alone except for Brida by his side, he vows to avenge Ragnar’s death and reclaim his homeland. But, he must choose between his birth country and the people who raised him. If he is going to help birth a new nation and ultimately recapture his ancestral land he must walk dangerous path between both sides.
6. The Witcher
Set on a fictional, medieval-inspired landmass known as “the Continent”, The Witcher explores the legend of Geralt of Rivia and princess Ciri, who are linked by destiny to each other. It stars Henry Cavill, Freya Allan and Anya Chalotra. The show initially follows the three main protagonists at different points of time, exploring formative events that shaped their characters, before eventually merging into a single timeline.
7. Stranger Things
It’s the fall of 1984, about a year after Will Byers was found, and he has been plagued by seeing visions of the Upside Down featuring a more dangerous monster. That leads the boy to see a suspiciously friendly new doctor, with the possibility that Will’s visions are the result of suffering from PTSD. Nancy deals with survivor’s remorse over the death of best friend Barb. Meanwhile, a new sinister entity threatens the Hawkins residents who survived the year-earlier events. New to the town is tomboy Max, who befriends the boys and attracts the romantic interests of Dustin and Lucas.
8. The Crown
Based on an award-winning play (“The Audience”) by showrunner Peter Morgan, this lavish, Netflix-original drama chronicles the life of Queen Elizabeth II from the 1940s to modern times. The series begins with an inside look at the early reign of the queen, who ascended the throne at age 25 after the death of her father, King George VI. As the decades pass, personal intrigues, romances, and political rivalries are revealed that played a big role in events that shaped the later years of the 20th century.
9. Marcos: Mexico
This continuation of “Narcos” explores the origins of the modern drug war by going back to its roots, starting at a time when the Mexican trafficking world was a loose, disorganized confederation of independent growers and dealers. It’s the 1980s, and Felix Gallardo takes the helm of the Guadalajara Cartel, unifying traffickers to build an empire. As DEA agent Kiki Camarena moves his wife and young son from California to Guadalajara to take on a new post, he learns his assignment is more challenging than he imagined. A tragic chain of events unfolds as Camarena gains intelligence on Gallardo and becomes more entangled in the mission.
10. After Life
Tony had a perfect life – until his wife Lisa died. After that tragic event, the formerly nice guy changed. After contemplating taking his life, Tony decides he would rather live long enough to punish the world by saying and doing whatever he likes. He thinks of it as a superpower – not caring about himself or anybody else – but it ends up being trickier than he envisioned when his friends and family try to save the nice guy that they used to know. Golden Globe winner Ricky Gervais stars in the comedy series, which he also writes and directs.
