Best series to watch on Netflix right now - updated (April 2024) - Radio Times
However, if fantasy isn't your thing, there is still so much to enjoy on Netflix right now – from Richard Gadd's emotional, shocking and unique drama Baby Reindeer to Guy Ritchie's gangster epic The Gentlemen, and trippy sci-fi series 3 Body Problem.
Meanwhile, documentary fans can dive into series such as Our Living World, Can I Tell You a Secret?, The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping and Homicide: New York.
Other firm favourites right not include Andrew Scott's drama Ripley, and ITV series Cleaning Up , which arrived on the platform at the start of this month.
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With all of these options available in the Netflix library right now, you might be struggling to sort through it all. However, never fear – we've got you covered.
Scroll on for our latest suggestions of the best TV series on Netflix, so you can stop searching and start watching ASAP. Alternatively, you can check out our line-up of the best Netflix movies for other recommendations.
You can also tweet us @RadioTimes if we've missed your favourite off the list – otherwise, happy streaming!
Best series to watch on Netflix right now
Dead Boy Detectives
It's been almost two years since The Sandman first debuted, and as fans wait for season 2 this new series set in the same universe is here to fill the gaps. Based on Neil Gaiman's comics of the same name, Dead Boy detectives follows Charles and George, two teenage ghosts who work as detectives on Earth, solving supernatural mysteries and helping other spirits to move on to their afterlives.
It may not quite live up to the highs of The Sandman, but this new show strikes out a tone and style of its own, and is an adventure worth going on in its own right. It's darker than some may be expecting, and all the better for it, and while there are some plot threads which work better than others, and some clunky dialogue along the way, this series is bolstered by some terrific performances, emotional through-lines and a central duo that are absolutely dynamite on screen together. - James Hibbs
Baby Reindeer
There's no doubt that many will be speaking about this seven-part drama which, on the face of it, many may think is a comedy – but actually delivers devastating blow after blow as we dig deeper into comedian Richard Gadd's real-life tale.
Having created and written the series after performing it as a one-man theatre show, Gadd stars as Donny Dunn, an aspiring comedian who works in a pub to make ends meet.
There, he meets a vulnerable woman called Martha, who starts to develop an unhealthy obsession with him and becomes his stalker. While the unrelenting nature of Martha's constant messaging punctuates this series with a kind of claustrophobia, it is actually the explorations of trauma in this series that make it the kind of watch that will linger with you – and make Gadd a name on many people's lips thereafter.
If you've watched I May Destroy You, there are definite similarities to be drawn to the Michaela Coel series – but here, Gadd is unflinchingly reflective on his own past and his own downfalls. - Morgan Cormack
Our Living World
The BBC may still be the go-to for nature documentary lovers, with shows such as the recent Planet Earth 3 stemming from the broadcaster, but over recent years Netflix has been quietly making a play as a serious contender in the field. Its latest release is Our Living World, a four-part series narrated by Cate Blanchett which showcases different ecosystems across the globe, explaining how they are surprisingly interconnected.
It may not be the most extraordinary nature docuseries we've seen, but it does make for compelling viewing, and slowly builds to making a monumental point about the climate crisis and the need for urgent action. As expected, the shots are striking and the glimpses of the natural world fascinating, while Blanchett proves a natural in the narration booth. - James Hibbs
Ripley
There have been plenty of adaptations of Patricia Highsmith's Ripley novels before, none more famous than 1999 film The Talented Mr Ripley, starring Matt Damon. However, perhaps none have been quite as faithful to the novels, nor as alluring, than this new black and white Netflix original series starring Andrew Scott.
Scott is dazzling, eerie and unknowable as con artist Tom Ripley, who schemes and worms his way into the life of Johnny Flynn's Dickie Greenleaf in the 1960s. It's a masterful, tense series, with style to spare, gorgeous visuals and phenomenal performances, while the plot will keep you guessing and lead to more than a few gasps and the episodes go on. - James Hibbs
3 Body Problem
Coming from famed Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and DB Weiss, and True Blood's Alexander Woo, this series has been anticipated for quite some time now since it was first announced in 2020. Based on the novel of the same name by sci-fi author Liu Cixin, 3 Body Problem sees a young woman's fateful decision in 1960s China reverberate across space and time into the present day.
Across the eight episodes, we follow a group of five scientists who team up with a detective when the world around them stops following the laws of nature. But what's the threat to earth and will they be able to save humanity? Featuring plenty of familiar faces, this glossy new production is sure to be a hit with any fans of the sci-fi genre and will quickly have viewers wondering if there will be more seasons to come. - Morgan Cormack
The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping
Rather than being a documentary that takes a step back and explores a topic at hand, The Program immerses you in the mind-boggling world of The Academy at Ivy Ridge, a disciplinary boarding school that is part of the wider and ever-evolving US teen industry.
Filmmaker Katherine Kubler may have left the school many years ago, but the impact of her time there is plain to see as we delve into her experience and get emotional testimony from many of the students who were plucked from their lives to attend the institution. With plenty of stories, evidence (both written and filmed) and even some meetings with some of the school's workers, this three-parter is distressing in many parts but is an important watch nonetheless. - Morgan Cormack
The Gentlemen
Country estates, chicken suits and cannabis combine in this latest Guy Ritchie venture, which returns to the TV roots that Ritchie had set out for the project ahead of its release as a film back in 2020. In this new eight-part series, we follow Eddie Horniman (Theo James), who is given quite the shock when he inherits his father's sprawling country manor only to find that it's actually home to a staggering cannabis empire.
But things get a lot more complicated when a bunch of dangerous characters want a piece of the operation, leading Eddie to slip further into the criminal underworld that he initially doesn't seem all that cut out for. Featuring well-known faces like Vinnie Jones and Ray Winstone, as well as Max Beesley and Joely Richardson, this a series that is all too easy to tear through. - Morgan Cormack
One Day
Is a series like One Day going to divide viewers? Most definitely. But if you're in the mood to watch something romantic, poetic and sure to pull at your heartstrings then the new drama is one you'll not only want to tuck into, but will quickly be lapped up in. 14 episodes may seem like a long stretch of time to dedicate to a series but it's necessary in a show that spans two decades and two separate lives in the form of Emma (Ambika Mod) and Dexter (Leo Woodall).
While their onscreen chemistry may wane at times, One Day pulls you in with that old chestnut of the 'right person, wrong time' trope. From meeting at their graduation ball to being the most important person in each other's lives, you'll want to keep a tissue on hand for the final episodes and Woodall's impressive (and very emotional) performance. - Morgan Cormack
Deadwater Fell
While many of us know him as the charismatic former Doctor in Doctor Who or as Crowley in Good Omens, David Tennant is no stranger to a darker kind of role, as demonstrated in Inside Man. Well, in Deadwater Fell, Tennant takes on a similarly multi-layered performance as beloved GP Tom Kendrick.
He's the kind of respected family man that everyone in their idyllic village loves – that is until the tragic death of his wife and three children in a house fire. Soon, all eyes turn to Tom as his neighbours suspect him of arson – but did he do it? Tennant delivers a haunting performance that'll leave you thinking long after watching but leads a cast that also includes Cush Jumbo, Laurie Brett and Matthew McNulty. - Morgan Cormack
Chimp Empire
You may think you've seen every variation on the format of the nature documentary, but if you haven't yet seen Chimp Empire then you really haven't. Mahershala Ali narrates this four-part series, which is directed by James Reed, the man behind My Octopus Teacher, and focuses on the largest chimpanzee society ever discovered in Uganda's Ngogo Forest.
The series takes place over a year, and sees just as much drama as an episode of Succession – there are battles from supremacy, alliances being made and rivalries being forged. Each chimp has their own distinct personality and character, and the series captures all of this in a way which is not only clear and understandable, but also enormously dramatic and gripping. - James Hibbs