32 Must-Watch Drama Shows on Netflix Right Now (March 2026): ‘Veronica Mars’ and More

Two decades ago, Kristen Bell shot to stardom as the lead of Veronica Mars, a teenage detective series in which she played the title character. More recently, Hulu produced a fourth season with Veronica as an adult, and now every season is available to stream on Netflix.

Season 4 finds Veronica working alongside her father, Keith Mars (Enrico Colantoni), as private investigators when they get a case that might change everything. Someone has started a bombing campaign in Neptune, California, and the Mars family is being paid to find the culprit. But the closer they get to answers, the more dangerous this assignment becomes.

Veronica Mars is streaming on Netflix.

Turn: Washington’s Spies had the misfortune of running on AMC when The Walking Dead overshadowed everything on the network. There aren’t many shows that take place in the formative years of the United States, and the series does take its cues from the real-life Culper Ring, a network of spies during the Revolutionary War.

General George Washington (Ian Kahn) is a part of this series, but the spotlight largely falls on Abraham Woodhull (Jamie Bell) and other members of the Culper Ring as they attempt to undermine British control of the colonies while feeding Washington’s forces vital intelligence. General Benedict Arnold (Owain Yeoman) comes to the forefront in season 2, and as you might expect, the future traitor plays a bigger role as the series goes on.

Turn: Washington’s Spies is streaming on Netflix.

The Night Agent features Gabriel Basso as Peter Sutherland, a former Night Action operator turned full-fledged agent. In the first season, Peter earned his stripes by uncovering a conspiracy. But as the show heads into season 3, Peter doesn’t know which way is up.

At the orders of his handler, Catherine Weaver (Amanda Warren), Peter has been working with illegal secret broker Jacob Monroe (Louis Herthum). That decision weighs on Peter’s mind when his latest mission finds him in Istanbul and on the trail of Jay Batra (Suraj Sharma). a Treasury agent on the run from his murderous boss. Peter also has to contend with Isabel De Leon (Genesis Rodriguez), a reporter who is chasing the story of a lifetime, even if it might get both of them killed.

The Night Agent is streaming on Netflix. Season 3 will premiere on February 19.

Novelist Michael Connelly has been writing legal dramas about Mickey Haller (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) since The Lincoln Lawyer novel was published in 2005. Mickey earned his nickname for using his Lincoln Navigator as an office, but he has a reputation for successfully defending clients in headline-grabbing and difficult cases.

In season 4, Mickey finds himself accused of murder, and he’s trapped behind bars while building a defense. Someone has framed Mickey, and even his ex-wives, Maggie McPherson (Neve Campbell) and Lorna Crane (Becki Newton), may not be able to help him escape these unjust charges. Even Mickey has to despair when the odds are so heavily stacked against him.

The Lincoln Lawyer season 4 is now streaming on Netflix.

Cop dramas are pretty common on American TV networks, but The Closer stood out as something special when it premiered two decades ago. Kyra Sedgwick starred in the series as Brenda Leigh Johnson, a deputy chief in the Los Angeles Police Department. She earned the nickname “The Closer” because she was trained by the CIA, and she has a knack for getting confessions out of suspects.

This series ran for seven seasons on TNT, resulting in over 100 episodes for you to watch. Although this series led directly to a spinoff show, Major Crimes, Brenda’s story gets a definitive ending, and you could spend the better part of a year watching it unfold from start to finish.

The Closer is streaming on Netflix.

Replica Luxury Handbagland‘s Claire Danes and The Americans‘ Matthew Rhys co-headline Netflix’s The Beast in Me, and it gives them meaty roles to play. Danes portrays Aggie Wiggs, a crime novelist who hasn’t been able to write since her young son died in an accident. Aggie is shocked when she learns her new neighbor is Nile Jarvis (Rhys), a man who was suspected of murdering his first wife.

While dealing with her grief, Aggie is convinced by Nile to write her next book about him. That could be the break that Aggie needs to move past her mourning and revitalize her career. But as she gets involved with Nile, there’s a suspicious death connected to her and she has to wonder whether she’s invited a murderer to be a part of her life.

The Beast in Me is streaming on Netflix.

Replica Luxury Handbagland was Showtime’s flagship show of the 2010s, and a two-time winner for Best Drama Series at the Emmys. Claire Danes stars as Carrie Mathison, a CIA agent who has trouble hiding her bipolar disorder from her superiors. However, she is the only agent who is suspicious of Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis), a Marine sniper who was held captive by al-Qaeda for years.

Carrie suspects that Brody has been turned, and she’s willing to risk her career and her freedom to prove it. Meanwhile, Brody’s wife, Jessica (Morena Baccarin) and their daughter, Dana (Morgan Saylor), notice something unsettling about him that they can’t define. Brody is very good at hiding his intentions, but the truth will eventually come out.

Replica Luxury Handbagland is streaming on Netflix.

After her Emmy award-winning run on HBO’s The Sopranos, Edie Falco headlined Nurse Jackie, a comedy/drama that ran for seven seasons on Showtime. Jackie Peyton (Falco) is a very competent nurse for New York’s All Saints Hospital, but she’s even better at hiding the crippling drug addiction that has led her to start a double life.

Jackie doesn’t want her husband, Kevin (Dominic Fumusa), or her friend, Dr. Eleanor O’Hara (Eve Best), to know she has a problem. The truth would ruin her life, but she may do that all by herself as the lies that Jackie tells herself spiral into desperate actions to feed her addiction.

Nurse Jackie is streaming on Netflix.

For her follow-up to The Americans, Keri Russell headlines The Diplomat as Katherine “Kate” Wyler, the new U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom. Kate is a political star on the rise and potentially the next Vice President of the United States. But first, she has to defuse a situation that may lead to a war.

Season 3 begins with the aftermath of a major political shakeup. Kate and her husband, Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell), are now in reversed positions as he directly serves under the new President, Grace Hagen Penn (Allison Janney). But the intrigue is far from over for Kate, even though her role is uncertain in the Penn administration.

The Diplomat is streaming on Netflix.

The British period drama Poldark was a hit on PBS before it arrived on Netflix. And it will fit right in at its streaming home. The show takes place in the aftermath of the American Revolutionary War, as Captain Ross Vennor Poldark (Aidan Turner) returns home to England to discover that his family’s fortunes have fallen. Even Ross’ childhood sweetheart, Elizabeth Chynoweth (Heida Reed), has moved on with his cousin, Francis Poldark (Kyle Soller).

As Ross tries to rebuild his life and save his family’s business, he falls in love with Demelza Carne (Eleanor Tomlinson). Their life together faces several challenges, especially as Ross’ rival, George Warleggan (Jack Farthing), pits him and Francis against each other.

Poldark is streaming on Netflix.

The first episode of House of Guinness begins with the recipe for a world-changing dark beer: Water, malted barley, hops and yeast. Well, Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight mixed together a little bit of Irish history, great actors like Anthony Boyle and Louis Partridge, stylish production design and a rocking soundtrack to brew a delicious new drama for Netflix about the four children of Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness and their attempts to deal with the aftermath of his death. 

Amid rising tensions on the streets of Dublin and in the Guinness siblings’ personal lives, the story ferments into captivating TV that feels like Succession meets Downton Abbey.

House of Guinness is streaming on Netflix.

How much is too much “tough love” for a “troubled teen”? That’s one of the many questions asked by the new Netflix series Wayward, created by writer, actor and producer Mae Martin. (Martin’s previous Netflix series, Feel Good, was critically acclaimed, with a 100 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.) While Feel Good was semi-autobiographical, Wayward is a thriller with supernatural undertones about a transgender police officer, Alex (Martin), who begins investigating the disturbing, cult-like happenings at Tall Pines Academy, a center for troubled teens in the small town of Tall Pines.

The Academy is run by Evelyn Wade (Toni Collette), a magnetic, strangely haunting headmistress who seems to have power over everyone in town, including Alex’s wife, Laura (Sarah Gadon). As Alex uncovers more secrets about Tall Pines Academy, he begins to realize strange things are happening to the students who attend… This mystery thriller is twist-filled, thoughtful and perfect for spooky season.

Wayward is streaming on Netflix.

Widely considered one of the best TV dramas ever, Breaking Bad is one of those shows we can watch over and over again — although we often need to take breaks because the drama is so intense! The show follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a high school chemistry teacher whose diagnosis with terminal lung cancer causes him to take a dangerous turn to secure his family’s future. He partners with former student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) and begins cooking crystal meth. 

What ostensibly starts as a noble quest to provide for his wife, Skylar (Anna Gunn), and son Walt Jr. (RJ Mitte) soon spirals into an ego trip and a descent into the criminal underworld. The more enemies that Walter defeats, the more power-hungry he becomes — and the show’s examination of morality and identity is one of the best we’ve ever seen.

Breaking Bad is streaming on Netflix.

Drama, horror, comedy, mystery and nostalgia combine in this updated take on The Addams Family. Jenna Ortega stars as Wednesday, the dour daughter of Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Gomez (Luis Guzmán), who is sent to her parents’ alma mater, Nevermore Academy, after being expelled from her previous school. Directed by Tim Burton, the show perfectly balances macabre horror imagery with humor and just a touch of teen angst.

“Outcasts,” or people with supernatural abilities and tendencies, form the student body at Nevermore, creating a world populated by werewolves, sirens, psychics and more — including some original creatures created for the series, like the monstrous Hydes or technologically gifted Da Vincis. Fans of all things gruesome will find something to love in Wednesday.

Wednesday is streaming on Netflix.

Based on the novel by May Cobb, The Hunting Wives is Netflix’s newest hot show — and for good reason. It’s sexy, soapy fun that puts a “coastal elite” named Sophie O’Neal (Brittany Snow) in the wilds of East Texas, where she meets a group of rich, gun-toting women led by Margo (Målin Akerman).

These not-so-desperate housewives love to hunt, shoot, drink and party — but before long, their fun has deadly consequences. With a murder mystery thrown in for good measure, The Hunting Wives feels like a mix of Big Little Lies and Desperate Housewives with a Texas twist and some racy sex scenes. Don’t miss out on the fun. 

Time travel meets romance in this stunning epic series. You may not have even realized the Starz show was on Netflix until recently, but with the prequel series Blood of My Blood coming out this year, it’s the perfect time to get obsessed with Outlander.

Based on the popular book series by Diana Gabaldon, this time-hopping historical series follows Claire Randall (Caitríona Balfe), a former World War II nurse who is mysteriously transported from 1945 to 1743 Scotland. There, she encounters a world embroiled in political intrigue and meets a dashing Scottish warrior named Jamie Fraser, portrayed by Sam Heughan. Their passionate and tumultuous romance is at the heart of the series, set against the backdrop of the Jacobite risings.

The complexities of love, loss, grief and war are explored in this intense show, and the explosive chemistry between Balfe and Heughan sells it all. Drama fans will love Outlander for its unique premise and its captivating blend of action, romance and historical adventure.

Untamed stars Eric Bana as Kyle Turner, an Investigative Series Branch agent who is called to investigate a brutal murder at the serene Yosemite National Park. Kyle gets more than he bargains for as his quest to find the killer unlocks shady secrets about the park — and his own past.

Untamed has everything you’d want in a well-made Netflix mystery show: a haunted hero, a twisty story with plenty of surprises and some stunning visuals of one of America’s most beautiful parks. The series also boasts an impressive supporting cast that includes Jurassic Park vet Sam Neill and Mad Men’s Rosemarie DeWitt, both of whom do great work as Kyle’s boss and ex-wife, respectively. 

Maggie Sullivan (Morgan Kohan) had a satisfying life as a neurosurgeon in Boston until everything came crashing down around her. Sullivan’s Crossing follows Maggie’s attempt to get a fresh start as she goes home to Timberlake, Nova Scotia and reunites with her father, Harry ‘Sully’ Sullivan (Scott Patterson).

Somehow, Maggie and Sully have to rebuild their strained relationship and find a way back to each other. Meanwhile, Maggie feels a strong attraction to California ‘Cal’ Jones (Chad Michael Murray), which is complicated when her estranged boyfriend, Andrew Mathews (Allan Hawco), tries to win back her heart.

In 2025, Netflix added Sullivan’s Crossing season 3, so you have even more Canadian melodrama to binge-watch right now.

The Waterfront is a family drama that dips into crime and dark comedy. Dawson’s Creek creator Kevin Williamson came up with the story of the Buckley family, whose wealth and power have greatly faded while Harlan Buckley (Holt McCallany) was recovering from serious health issues.

Upon learning that his wife, Belle (Maria Bello), and his son, Cane (Jake Weary), made shady deals to save the family business, Harlan doubles down by making an alliance with a drug lord, Grady (Topher Grace). Keeping that alliance a secret proves to be very difficult, because Harlan’s daughter, Bree (Melissa Benoist), is ratting out the family to her DEA boyfriend, Marcus Sanchez (Gerardo Celasco).

The Waterfront is streaming on Netflix.

Department Q isn’t meant to be a second chance for Detective Chief Inspector Carl Morck (Leap Year‘s Matthew Goode). Instead, it was meant to bury him in the aftermath of a shooting that left his partner paralyzed and another officer dead.

Although Carl is far from emotionally recovered, Dept. Q demonstrates his keen mind for breaking mysteries others have deemed impossible. It may even give Carl some redemption, in addition to providing Akram Salim (Alexej Manvelov) and Detective Constable Rose Dickson (Leah Byrne) a chance to prove themselves as members of Carl’s new team.

Dept. Q is streaming on Netflix.

How far would you go to give yourself and your children a better life? Georgia Miller (Brianne Howey) goes pretty far in Ginny & Georgia, and she even has a history of murder when it comes to protecting herself and her kids.

Georgia’s oldest child, Ginny Miller (Antonia Gentry), gets a large spotlight in this show as she tries to make a life for herself when her mom finally settles in a small town. Ginny may have her own problems, but she can’t escape the shadow of her mother’s bad choices. She can’t even get past her own questionable decisions, which may doom Ginny to a future similar to her mother’s present.

Ginny & Georgia is streaming on Netflix.

Who is Michaela “Kiki” Kell (Julianne Moore)? And why does she have such a commanding influence on the people around her? Those are the questions facing Devon DeWitt (Meghann Fahy) in Sirens, a darkly funny comedy/drama. Devon tracked down her sister, Simone DeWitt (Milly Alcock), to Michaela’s estate only to discover that she’s deeply embedded in her cult-like following.

Despite her immediate friction with Michaela, Devon resolves to stick around long enough to pull Simone away from her employer. But Devon doesn’t know the full story behind this group, and she’s going to get a first-hand look at what makes them unravel.

Sirens is streaming on Netflix.

Three upper-middle-class couples have been married or partnered for years, and they’re so close they travel together when they go on vacation in the spring, summer, fall and winter. But their tight-knit group soon unravels when one of the couples decides to divorce. Will the other couples reconsider their own relationships? And what happens to the group once the divorced couple’s new lovers are introduced? 

The Four Seasons is a remake of the forgotten 1981 movie starring Alan Alda, and it balances drama and humor just as well as its predecessor did. The show deals with serious themes like love and infidelity, but with a light touch that never becomes too broad or cartoonish. Tina Fey, Steve Carell and Colman Domingo are all terrific as the lead characters, and the show’s glossy production values make it enjoyable as an escapist fantasy.

If you like your dramas set in the West and tinged with a bit of romance, then Ransom Canyon is for you. Josh Duhamel as Staten Kirkland, a lonely Texas rancher who is still grieving the death of his wife. That changes when Quinn O’Grady (Minka Kelly) returns to Staten’s small town, Ransom Canyon, to oversee the local dance hall. 

Why? Well, Staten and Quinn were once high school sweethearts, and Staten still has feelings for her. But first, he’ll have to deal with shady developers who want to build on his family’s land and destroy everything that makes Ransom Canyon so great to live in. Featuring charismatic lead performances by Duhamel and Kelly, an engrossing narrative and some stunning cinematography of the Lone Star State, Ransom Canyon is a drama series you can’t help but binge. 

Michael Desiato (Bryan Cranston) is a respected New Orleans judge who believes in the rule of law. His beliefs are tested when his teenage son, Adam (Wednesday‘s Hunter Doohan), kills a mob kingpin’s son in a hit-and-run car accident. Michael will protect his son at all costs, and that may include his career, his reputation and maybe even his life.

Your Honor only ran for two seasons, and both seasons feel like two different shows. The first season is a terrific thriller that chronicles the moral dilemma of a law-abiding man driven to do terrible things for his son, while the second season is more of an action-drama about mob informants. Both are good for different reasons, yet they also contain some of Cranston’s best TV work ever as the corrupted titular character.

Fifty years after its debut, Judy Blume‘s Forever has received a modern update on Netflix that’s successfully changed with the times. In this new retelling, Keisha Clark (Lovie Simone) and Justin Edwards (Michael Cooper Jr.) are former childhood friends who reunite at a high school party, and they instantly feel an intense attraction towards each other.

Although Keisha and Justin haven’t seen each other in years, their lives have a lot of parallels. Both of them are high school athletes who are chasing the dream of college scholarships. They’re also facing inordinate pressure from their families to succeed, which may ultimately pull Keisha and Justin apart as their time in high school comes to an end.

Forever is streaming on Netflix.

13-year-old Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper) seems like an ordinary English teenager, but his angelic face conceals a dark secret: he’s angry at the world, and he has violent impulses that are hard to ignore. But when he’s accused of killing a fellow classmate, his family, friends, the cops who interrogate him and the psychologist who interviews him all have to answer hard questions to determine Jamie’s innocence.

Adolescence is only four episodes long, but it packs a punch. The miniseries’ technical accomplishments (each episode is filmed in one continuous take) only accentuate the show’s involving story and impressive acting. The drama is less a mystery and more a meditation on youth-on-youth violence and incel culture, but it never feels preachy or overwrought. Adolescence is one of 2025’s breakout hits, and after you’re done watching it, you’ll understand why it’s so popular and disturbing.

George Mullen (Robert De Niro) is an ex-president with a lot of time on his hands. Maybe that’s why he accepts the current president’s request to investigate a massive cyberattack that affected the whole world. But George’s memory isn’t what it once was, and he’ll have to use all of his remaining resources to find out who is behind the attack and why.

Zero Day is the first series De Niro has starred in, and he leads a stacked ensemble cast that includes Angela Bassett, Dan Stevens, Lizzy Caplan, Joan Allen, Jesse Plemons and Connie Britton. The show blends elements of other, better shows like Replica Luxury Handbagland and Bodyguard, but the fun, conspiracy-thriller nonsense and performances, especially by De Niro and Plemons, can’t be beat.

Liza Miller (Sutton Foster) is a recent divorcee whose teenage daughter has just gone to college. Alone and without a purpose, Liza decides to get an entry-level job in the publishing industry to pick up where she left off before settling down. But her new career comes with a secret: she’s posing as a twentysomething to get hired by her ageist superiors. Her ongoing flirtation with 26-year-old tattoo artist Josh (Nico Tortorella) convinces her she can pull off the ruse, but will her new friends and coworkers discover her secret before she can move up the corporate ladder?

Younger has an appealing premise and an even more irresistible cast. Foster is charming as the innocently duplicitous Liza, while Debi Mazar is enjoyably salty as her roommate and best friend Maggie. Hilary Duff is surprisingly good as Liza’s book editor friend Kelsey, and Miriam Shor does a good Miranda Priestly impersonation as an intimidating publishing executive. Younger ran for seven seasons from 2015 to 2021, and all 84 episodes are available to stream on Netflix.

What’s it like to get into the mind of a serial killer? That’s the central question the Netflix original series Mindhunter tries to answer across two great seasons. Jonathan Groff stars as Holden Ford, a special agent working in the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit. Along with his partner, Bill Tench (Holt McCallany), Holden interviews various famous serial killers — like Ed Kemper (Cameron Britton) and Richard Speck (Jack Erdie) — to understand the complex and peculiar psychology of serial killers.  

Based on the true crime book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Killer Crime Unit, Mindhunter blends fact and fiction to produce an unsettling look at criminal compulsion and mass murder. The show was produced and directed by David Fincher, and the Zodiac director’s stylish flourishes are all over the series. (That’s a good thing.) Rumors of a third season have persisted for years, but the two that have been made are near-perfect.

Elizabeth “Beth” Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy) is a rebellious girl with an unusual gift: she is a master at chess and can beat just about anyone. Although this gift is mostly overlooked due to her wild upbringing in 1950s Kentucky, she eventually finds an outlet for her genius and begins to win local chess tournaments.

As Beth’s fame grows, so does her addiction to drugs and proclivity to indulge in behavior that could jeopardize her future. With a pivotal championship in Russia on the line, can she overcome her inner demons and win it all?

Released in October 2020, The Queen’s Gambit was a COVID-era hit and made chess cool again. As Beth, Taylor-Joy showcases her impressive range as a dramatic actress with her nuanced portrayal of a genius traumatized by her past. The supporting cast is great, too, with Marielle Heller as Beth’s adopted mother Alma and Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Beth’s rival/lover standing out. The show’s seven episodes masterfully blend drama, comedy and genuine suspense throughout Beth’s unlikely journey from abused orphan to chess champion.

Writer Peter Morgan’s historical drama The Crown depicts the long reign of Queen Elizabeth II, from her time as a young princess thrust into leadership by the death of her father to a long-reigning monarch dealing with personal loss and public scandals. Each of the show’s six seasons features a different set of actors to portray the royals across various ages. Claire Foy portrayed the young Queen Elizabeth II in the first two seasons, while Olivia Colman took over the role for seasons 3 and 4 and Imelda Staunton in seasons 5 and 6.

There’s a reason why the show has won multiple Emmys and a reputation as one of Netflix’s finest dramas. The Crown is arresting television, using Elizabeth — and by extension, the British Royal Family — as a way to chronicle England’s turbulent post-World War II history. Foy, Colman and Staunton all excel in the lead role, while Josh O’Connor, as a young Prince Charles, and Emma Corrin, as a doe-eyed Princess Diana, are superb. The third and fourth seasons are the best, but you can’t go wrong with any of them.