The 8 Most Groundbreaking Shows on Netflix Right Now
Every once in a while, a series comes out on TV or streaming that quickly becomes all anyone can talk about. It finds its way into every conversation, onto ads and talk shows — some even get parodied on sitcoms like The Simpsons. But the greatest shows aren’t the ones that just capture the public imagination for a moment; they change how we think on a fundamental level in a way that’s hard to put into words. Whether it’s because they talk about things that shows don’t usually talk about or because they find new ways to reframe familiar topics, these are the shows that truly represent how the small screen has shaped our lives.
Netflix’s massive catalog is home to a few such innovative, game-changing series, and we’ve put them all together into a handy guide for your streaming convenience. Read on to discover our selection of the most groundbreaking shows on Netflix right now.
For more recommendations, be sure to check out our lists of the best shows on Netflix, the best anthology shows on Netflix, and TV masterpieces streaming on Netflix.
Disclaimer: These titles are available on US Netflix.
‘Adolescence’ (2025)
Rotten Tomatoes: 99% | IMDb: 8.3/10
Created by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham, Adolescence is a British crime drama mini-series that unpacks the case of a 13-year-old boy (Owen Cooper) who is arrested for the murder of a girl at his school. As the story progresses, we discover how the child’s actions may have been influenced by severe cyberbullying and online misogyny. Graham co-stars in the show alongside an ensemble cast that includes Ashley Walters, Erin Doherty, Faye Marsay, Christine Tremarco, and more.
Adolescence received near-universal critical and audience acclaim when it premiered in March 2025. The show has been praised for its outstanding direction, writing, and cinematography, as well as for the performance of its young star. A compelling statement about the troubling ways in which social media has exposed children to unprecedented levels of harmful content, Adolescence is not an easy watch, but it is a gripping one. The show presents its story through amazing, highly stylized filmmaking, with each of the four episodes composed as a single continuous take.
‘Breaking Bad’ (2008 – 2013)
Rotten Tomatoes: 96% | IMDb: 9.5/10
- Release Date
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2008 – 2012
- Network
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AMC
- Showrunner
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Vince Gilligan
- Directors
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Vince Gilligan, Michelle Maclaren
- Writers
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Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, Vince Gilligan, George Mastras, Moira Walley-Beckett, Sam Catlin, Thomas Schnauz
Created by Vince Gilligan, Breaking Bad follows an over-qualified and beaten-down high-school chemistry teacher in Albuquerque, New Mexico, who learns that he has stage-three lung cancer. So naturally, he builds a meth empire. Bryan Cranston stars as the teacher, Walter White, with Aaron Paul playing his former student and partner-in-crime, Jesse Pinkman. The series also stars Anna Gunn, RJ Mitte, Betsy Brandt, Dean Norris, Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks, Giancarlo Esposito, and more in supporting roles.
Easily one of the most acclaimed TV shows of the 21st century so far, Breaking Bad has received universal acclaim from critics and fans throughout its five-season run. A grounded, slow-burn drama with powerful performances and inventive cinematography, the series has earned numerous accolades, including 16 Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globes, and enjoys a massive global fan following. The show has also spawned a franchise that includes the spinoff series Better Call Saul and the sequel feature film El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie.
‘Black Mirror’ (2016 – Present)
Rotten Tomatoes: 83% | IMDb: 8.7/10
- Release Date
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December 4, 2011
- Network
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Channel 4, Netflix
- Directors
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Owen Harris, Toby Haynes, James Hawes, David Slade, Carl Tibbetts, Ally Pankiw, Bryn Higgins, Dan Trachtenberg, Euros Lyn, Jodie Foster, Joe Wright, John Hillcoat, Sam Miller, Tim Van Patten, Uta Briesewitz, Colm McCarthy, Jakob Verbruggen, James Watkins, John Crowley, Otto Bathurst, Anne Sewitsky, Brian Welsh
- Writers
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Jesse Armstrong
Created by Charlie Brooker, Black Mirror is an anthology series that primarily explores dystopian stories about the dangerous ways in which modern media and technology are evolving. The show has featured a number of celebrated stars in its revolving cast, including Andrew Scott, Daniel Kaluuya, Wyatt Russell, Bryce Dallas Howard, Cristin Milioti, Miley Cyrus, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Jon Hamm, among others.
Black Mirror originally premiered in the UK on Channel 4, then moved to Netflix after the second season. The show has had six seasons and one special so far, receiving stellar reviews from fans and critics. The series is widely regarded to be one of the best TV shows of the 2010s, with sharp writing and beautifully crafted productions that thoroughly thrill the mind. The series has won three consecutive Emmy Awards for Outstanding Television Movie, as well as a host of other accolades. A spinoff interactive film, Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, was released in 2018 as well, and the show’s seventh season is currently in the works.
‘Orange is the New Black’ (2013 – 2019)
Rotten Tomatoes: 90% | IMDb: 8.0/10
Created by Jenji Kohan, Orange Is the New Black is a comedy-drama series based on Piper Kerman‘s eponymous 2010 memoir. The show is a fictionalized retelling of Kerman’s experiences at a minimum security women’s prison, following the lives of inmates and guards as well as her own complicated past. Taylor Schilling stars as Piper Chapman, with Laura Prepon, Kate Mulgrew, Uzo Aduba, Danielle Brooks, Natasha Lyonne, and more in significant roles.
One of Netflix’s most-watched (and longest) shows, Orange Is the New Black received consistent acclaim from critics and fans throughout its seven-season run on the streaming service. The show has been praised for how it explores themes of race, sexuality, gender, and more while also humanizing prisoners and bringing their struggles to the limelight. The series received numerous accolades, including four Emmy wins out of 16 nominations, and was the first show to receive Emmy nominations in both comedy and drama categories.
‘Stranger Things’ (2016 – 2025)
Rotten Tomatoes: 91% | IMDb: 8.6/10
Created by the Duffer Brothers, Stranger Things is a genre-bending coming-of-age series set in the 1980s. The show is centered on the residents of Hawkins, Indiana, a town that’s the epicenter of supernatural forces and secret government experiments involving an alternate dimension known as the Upside Down. The series boasts an ensemble cast that includes Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Joe Keery, and more.
Stranger Things premiered on Netflix in July 2016 and has had four extremely successful seasons so far, with the fifth and final season expected to premiere in 2025. The show is easily one of Netflix’s most popular original productions, commanding a massive global fan following and receiving near-universal acclaim from critics. A nostalgic mystery adventure at heart, Stranger Things is an electric combination of drama, sci-fi, and horror that takes inspiration from classic horror stories and iconic elements of ’80s pop culture. The series has received numerous accolades and inspired an animated spinoff series that’s currently in development.
‘Squid Game’ (2021 – 2025)
Rotten Tomatoes: 89% | IMDb: 8.0/10
- Release Date
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2021 – 2024
- Network
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Netflix
- Showrunner
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Hwang Dong-hyuk
- Directors
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Hwang Dong-hyuk
- Writers
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Hwang Dong-hyuk
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Lee Jung-jae
Seong Gi-hun / ‘No. 456’
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A South Korean survival thriller series, Squid Game was created, written, and directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk. The series revolves around a secret and lethal competition in which hundreds of contestants risk their lives competing in a series of deadly children’s games to win a massive cash prize. As the story progresses, we learn more about the complexities behind the scenes of the game and in the lives of the contestants. The show features a large ensemble cast that includes Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun, Wi Ha-joon, and more.
Squid Game premiered on Netflix in September 2021, receiving worldwide critical acclaim and becoming Netflix’s most-watched series of all time. The first season won several accolades as well, including six Primetime Emmy Awards. A second season was released in December 2024, which received similarly stellar reviews. Combining sharp social commentary with no-holds-barred brutality, Squid Game is an enthralling thriller show with layered storytelling and a surprisingly deep emotional core. And if you enjoy binge-watching the first two seasons, you’ll be happy to know that Squid Game’s third and final season has already been filmed and is expected to be released sometime in 2025.
‘Sex and the City’ (1998 – 2004)
Rotten Tomatoes: 70% | IMDb: 7.3/10
- Release Date
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1998 – 2004-00-00
- Network
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HBO Max
- Showrunner
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Darren Star
- Writers
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Darren Star
Created by Darren Star, Sex and the City is a romantic comedy-drama series based on Candace Bushnell’s eponymous newspaper column and 1996 book. The show follows the sexual and emotional adventures of four female friends living in New York City: Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Samantha (Kim Cattrall), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), and Charlotte (Kristin Davis).
Sex and the City premiered on HBO in 1998 and aired 94 episodes over six seasons, earning high ratings and critical acclaim throughout its run. The show has received over 50 Emmy nominations, winning seven, and 24 Golden Globe nominations, winning eight. A truly groundbreaking show that set the bar for representations of female friendship on television, the series enjoys a massive global fanbase — to the point where its characters are household names. Since its conclusion in 2004, Sex and the City has expanded into a multimedia franchise that includes two spinoff movies and a sequel series, And Just Like That.
‘Arrested Development’ (2003 – 2019)
Rotten Tomatoes: 75% | IMDb: 8.7/10
- Release Date
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2003 – 2019-00-00
- Network
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FOX, Netflix
- Showrunner
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Mitchell Hurwitz
- Directors
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Troy Miller, Mitchell Hurwitz, Joe Russo, Paul Feig, Anthony Russo, Lee Shallat Chemel, Jay Chandrasekhar, Robert Berlinger, Greg Mottola, Peter Lauer, John Fortenberry, Lev L. Spiro, Patty Jenkins, Andrew Fleming, Jeff Melman, Jason Bateman, Danny Leiner, Arlene Sanford
- Writers
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Dean Lorey, Abraham Higginbotham, Gareth Reynolds, Hallie Cantor, Jake Farrow, Karey Dornetto, Brian Singleton, Chris Marrs, Maggie Rowe, Barbara Adler
Created by Mitchell Hurwitz, Arrested Development is a satirical sitcom that follows the Bluths, a dysfunctional, formerly wealthy family whose lives are upended when the Securities and Exchange Commission arrests the patriarch, George Bluth Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor). Jason Bateman stars as Michael Bluth, George Sr.’s son, who is forced to step up and keep the peace between his eccentric family members. The show’s ensemble cast also includes Portia de Rossi, Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Alia Shawkat, Tony Hale, David Cross, and Jessica Walter. The series was executive produced by Ron Howard, who also narrates the series and appears as a fictionalized version of himself in later seasons.
Arrested Development had low viewership during its original broadcast on Fox; however, it was a critical darling and is widely regarded as a cult classic. The show was canceled by Fox in 2006, but Netflix revived the series in 2013. Over the course of its five-season run, the show earned several awards, including six Primetime Emmys and a Golden Globe. Easily one of the greatest sitcoms of all time, Arrested Development is masterfully written and directed, but its greatest highlight is its cast, who bring to life a memorable and hilariously toxic ensemble of zany characters.
