35 Best Shows on Netflix Right Now (April 2026): ‘Beef’ Season 2 and More

When it premiered in 2023, Beef was an instant sensation. A drama series chronicling the escalating tensions between strangers  Danny (Steven Yeun) and Amy (Ali Wong) after a road rage incident in Los Angeles, Beef won a slew of awards and was immediately renewed for a second season.

Three years later, Beef season 2 is finally here, with a new location and cast but retaining the incisive social commentary that made the first season such a hit. When young couple Austin (Charles Melton) and Ashley (Cailee Spaeny) visit their country club boss Josh’s (Oscar Isaac) home to return his wallet, they witness and record a violent fight between him and his wife, Lindsay (Carey Mulligan), before fleeing. That starts a chain of events which pits each couple against each other in a passive-aggressive battle that ends in — well, we won’t spoil how it ends.

Compared to season 1, Beef season 2 is more of a slow burn, but that just makes it all the more fun to watch when everyone starts to get really pissed off with each other. All four leads are terrifically nasty, but let’s give a special shout-out to Melton for creating yet another fascinating portrait of arrested masculinity. After May December and now this, he’s an actor you’d want to have in whatever film or show you’re watching.

Remember Weeds, Showtime’s long-running crime series about a suburban mom who gradually becomes a pot kingpin? If you do, then you’ll probably like Big Mistakes, which has a similar set-up. Siblings Nicky (Dan Levy) and Morgan (Taylor Ortega) bicker a lot, but deep down, they love each other. Their brother-sister bond will soon be tested when they unintentionally steal a valuable item belonging to the Russian mob. Soon, they’re digging shallow graves at night to hide the mess they find themselves in. Is there any way they can get out of the mess they’re in without letting their aspiring politician mother, Laurie (Laurie Metcalf), find out?

Big Mistakes is Levy’s first scripted comedy since Schitt’s Creek, and while it doesn’t reach the heights of that beloved comedy classic, it’s still pretty funny. Metcalf is unsurprisingly terrific as Morgan and Nicky’s increasingly worried mom, while Elizabeth Perkins steals every scene she’s in as the intimidating Annette. Big Mistakes is purposefully absurd, but it’s enjoyable enough to justify its excesses.

For their first post-Stranger Things project, the Duffer brothers are producing the horror miniseries Something Very Bad is Going to Happen. It’s the story of two people who are going to get married: Rachel Harkin (Camila Morrone) and Nicholas “Nicky” Cunningham (Adam DiMarco).

Bad omens abound as Rachel and Nicky prepare for their nuptials, and there’s something off about Nicky’s family, including his mother, Victoria Cunningham (Jennifer Jason Leigh). Everyone has their secrets, but the show’s title isn’t a lie. Something very bad will happen.

Something Very Bad is Going To Happen is streaming on Netflix.

If you’ve seen The Snowman, then you’re going to recognize the main character of that police thriller, Detective Harry Hole, even though Michael Fassbender isn’t playing him this time. Instead, Tobias Santelmann is taking the leading role in Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole.

The show is based on Jo Nesbø‘s fifth Harry Hole novel, The Devil’s Star, and there’s a serial killer on the loose in Oslo. Harry’s hunt for that murderer is complicated by Tom Waaler (Joel Kinnaman), a police colleague whom Harry openly suspects is corrupt. There are a lot of mysteries for Harry to unravel, and it looks like there’s room for season 2.

Detective Hole is streaming on Netflix.

based on Jo Nesbø‘s fifth Harry Hole novel, The Devil’s Star, and there’s a serial killer on the loose in Oslo. Harry’s hunt for that murderer is complicated by Tom Waaler (Joel Kinnaman), a police colleague whom Harry openly suspects is corrupt. There are a lot of mysteries for Harry to unravel, and it looks like there’s room for season 2.

Detective Hole is streaming on Netflix.

The Night Agent season 3 has thrown FBI Agent Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) out of the frying pan and into the proverbial fire. Peter was supposed to get close to black market intelligence dealer Jacob Monroe (Louis Herthum) only to have the entire situation blow up in his face. Now, someone close to Peter is dead, and he suspects that Monroe is working with someone at the highest level of the United States government.

In the aftermath of a terrorist attack, time is a luxury that Peter doesn’t have. Journalist Isabel De Leon (Genesis Rodriguez) may have information that Peter needs to take down Monroe, but only if he can keep the assassin known as The Father (Stephen Moyer) from finding her first.

Rachel Weisz headlines the Netflix original series Vladimir, but not as the title character, of course. Instead, Weisz is playing M, a college professor who is beyond bored with her marriage to John (John Slattery), her philandering colleague who is hot water for a romantic relationship with one of his students.

Vladimir (Leo Woodall) enters this sea of mediocrity that M calls a life, and she’s instantly taken with him. He’s a younger colleague of hers, but M can’t stop fantasizing about him. She’ll also go to any lengths to make her fantasies about Vladimir a reality, even at the cost of her family and her career.

Vladimir is streaming on Netflix.

Mickey Haller (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) is the title character of The Lincoln Lawyer, and he got that nickname by running his successful criminal defense law firm out of the back of his Lincoln town car. Usually, Mickey takes on some of the most difficult cases and personally fights for his clients in court.

Season 4, however, is shaking up the formula because Mickey is on trial for a bogus murder charge. Someone went through a lot of trouble to set Mickey up for the ultimate fall. Mickey’s first ex-wife, Maggie McPherson (Neve Campbell), is working with his friends to help secure his release. But the prosecutor is squeezing all of them, and this is one jam that Mickey may not get out of.

The Lincoln Lawyer is streaming on Netflix.

For its era, Southland was one of the most daring cop dramas on broadcast TV and later cable. Nearly 17 years after its premiere, this show still has a lot of relevance to the world we live in. The series is set in Los Angeles as Officer John Cooper (Michael Cudlitz) shows rookie officer Ben Sherman (Ben McKenzie) the ropes.

The series also focuses on Detectives Lydia Adams (Regina King) and Sammy Bryant (The Pitt‘s Shawn Hatosy), as well as the rest of its ensemble cast. This is a more character-driven series than most, and some of the personal drama affecting these people shows up in their work on the streets.

Southland is streaming on Netflix.

Prolific TV producer Shonda Rhimes brought Julia Quinn‘s Bridgerton novels to Netflix in 2020, and the show has since become one of the streamer’s signature series. Each season centers on a different sibling in the Bridgerton family as they seek a lasting romance with their soulmate.

While season 3 focused on Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan), season 4 will bring Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) to the forefront as he meets and woos Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha). Netflix has already renewed this series through its sixth season, so there are still more love stories to come.

Bridgerton is streaming on Netflix.

In the early 2000s, Veronica Mars gave Nancy Drew a run for her money by introducing a modern teenage sleuth. Kristen Bell had a star-making turn as Veronica, a high school student who was shunned by her former friends after her father, Keith Mars (Enrico Colanton), was forced out as the sheriff of their affluent town.

Veronica was driven to discover who murdered her best friend, Lilly Kane (Amanda Seyfried), as well as the identity of the man who sexually assaulted Veronica shortly thereafter. To achieve both goals, Veronica worked alongside her father as a private investigator.

Veronica Mars is streaming on Netflix.

Two decades ago, The Closer was one of the biggest hits on basic cable. Kyra Sedgwick leads the cast of this police procedural as LAPD Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson. She’s called “The Closer” because she’s very good at making suspects confess their crimes during interrogations. J. K. Simmons costars as her boss, Will Pope, and the cast has a solid lineup including Robert Gossett, G. W. Bailey, Tony Denison, Jon Tenney, Michael Paul Chan and Raymond Cruz.

Mary McDonnell doesn’t join the cast until season 5 when she debuts as Brenda’s frenemy, LAPD Captain Sharon Raydor. She’s a major character who ended up starring in the show’s spinoff series, Major Crimes. That’s also a good show, but it’s more fun to watch them butt heads here.

The Closer is streaming on Netflix.

Love & Death is an HBO Max true crime miniseries that is making an extended guest run on Netflix. Most of the audience may be too young to remember Candy Montgomery (Elizabeth Olsen), a Texas housewife in the ’80s who was unhappily married to Pat Montgomery (Patrick Fugit).

Candy and her married neighbor, Allan Gore (Jesse Plemons), found a respite from their respective partners by having a clandestine affair. That’s a crime of the heart. The real crime happens when Allan’s wife, Betty Gore (Lily Rabe), learns about the affair, leaving one of the women dead at the hands of the other. From there, it’s the murder trial of the century, as far as Wylie, Texas, is concerned. But it makes for a great true crime story that’s perfect to watch any time of the year.

Love & Death is streaming on Netflix.

We’re as sad as anyone that Stranger Things is coming to an end, but we’re also excited to finally see what happens. Volume 1 of season 5 takes place one year after the events of season 4. Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Steve (Joe Keery), Max (Sadie Sink) and the rest of the gang must hunt down their ultimate enemy, Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), but military intervention once again gets in the way as they seek to find Eleven.

In its final season, critics and fans agree that Stranger Things continues to be a fantastically engaging piece of pop culture entertainment as it gives our favorite characters a fitting, if bloody, sendoff.

Stranger Things is streaming on Netflix.

Beginning with the death of King William IV in 1837, Victoria chronicles the life and ascent to power of 18-year-old Queen Victoria (Jenna Coleman). During the first few years of her reign, she begins a close relationship with her trusted advisor Lord Melbourne (Rufus Sewell) — with whom she also shares an intense infatuation — marries Prince Albert of Germany (Tom Hughes) and gives birth to her first child.

Originally airing on PBS as part of the channel’s Masterpiece anthology, the historical period drama debuted to a warm reception that only increased with each season, with season 3 receiving the highest amount of praise from critics. The show was particularly commended for the performances from Sewell and Coleman, while fans couldn’t get enough of the rich storylines, beautiful costumes and sets and its masterful blending of history with fictional intrigue and romance.

Victoria is streaming on Netflix.

This gripping miniseries, produced by 50 Cent, details the arrest of Sean “Diddy” Combs for the shocking sexual misconduct allegations first leveled against him back in 2023. Using unreleased footage, Sean Combs: The Reckoning charts Diddy’s life, his rise to becoming a music mogul, his influence on pop culture and his ultimate downfall due to horrific allegations of abuse, assault and violence.

The documentary shows how exactly Diddy was able to get away with everything: how he was ruthless in his quest for power, how he was enabled every step of the way and how his entourage both feared and desired the power he wielded. While there have been multiple documentaries about the ordeal, Sean Combs: The Reckoning provides new details and insight that add necessary depth to the rapper’s story — and revelations his lawyers don’t want you to see.

Sean Combs: The Reckoning is streaming on Netflix.

Cameron Cope (Miles Heizer) is a closeted gay teenager in the 1990s, who spent his time in high school subject to bullying while dealing with his extremely conservative religious family at home. After graduating, he joins his straight best friend in enlisting in the Marine Corps. While keeping his secret safe (being gay in the army was illegal at the time), he endures an intense coming-of-age that tests his resilience, his masculinity and his sense of identity.

Based on the memoir The Pink Marine by Greg Cope White, Boots is a touching and funny portrait of prejudice and self-acceptance, led by a poignant performance from Love, Simon and 13 Reasons Why breakout Heizer. The series has been praised in particular for its commentary on homophobia in the military and its heartfelt narrative, which manages to perfectly balance emotional drama with humorous levity.

Boots is streaming on Netflix.

Nihal (Aslı Enver) and Osman (Engin Akyürek) come from two very different backgrounds. Nihal’s family’s wealth goes back generations, but her family currently owes debts to Osman’s family, who built their empire ground up through Osman’s financial genius. When the two strong-willed individuals come to blows, their rivalry turns into something else — can Nihal and Osman maintain the delicate balance between love and power?

This Turkish soap opera has everything: romantic intrigue, sexual tension, plot twists, betrayals and plenty of high emotional stakes. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that the two lead actors aren’t the only things that are great to look at: the cinematography and visuals are gorgeous. But Enver and Akyürek do just happen to have fantastic chemistry too, and Old Money shines as a riveting melodrama about beautiful people wanting to sleep with each other.

Before Norman Bates and Leatherface, there was Ed Gein. But unlike those horror movie icons, Gein was a real person who really did kill people — and wear their skins as clothes. Gein’s sick reign of terror, and his lasting influence on American society, is documented in Monster: The Ed Gein Story, the latest installment in Ryan Murphy‘s massively successful Netflix anthology series.

British actor Charlie Hunnam plays the all-American sicko Gein, and he’s supported by a talented cast that includes Tony winner Laurie Metcalf, Tom Hollander and pop star Addison Rae. Like past Monster installments, Ed Gein takes a close look at the mind of a serial killer and asks why we’re so fascinated with individuals who do irredeemable things. It’s graphic and disturbing, but it’s also compulsively watchable.

Missing Peaky Blinders? Wish there was another show like Succession? Well, you’re in luck — from the creators of the infamous Tommy Shelby comes this new period drama that combines historical intrigue with dysfunctional family tension all wrapped up in a fictionalized saga about the world-famous beer-brewing company. The series follows the titular Guinness family in the wake of the death of its patriarch, and it leaves the fate of his four heirs tantalizingly up in the air.

While light on historical accuracy, House of Guinness isn’t light on entertainment. The show is a juicy drama full of compelling performances that is sure to turn any naysayers of period pieces and costume dramas. With rich character writing and plenty of narrative twists and turns, the series is a must-watch. The cast features Louis Partridge (Enola Holmes), James Norton (Black Mirror) and Jack Gleeson (Game of Thrones).

S.W.A.T. is one of the rare shows to survive cancellation two different times, but the third time finally caught up with this popular cop drama. Now, the eighth and final season of S.W.A.T. is on Netflix, and there’s already talk of a spinoff series.

Shemar Moore stars as Sergeant II Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson Jr., the leader of a Special Weapons and Tactics team for the LAPD. Hondo was placed in a leadership role to help quell racial tensions over a shooting incident, but he’s more than proven himself capable of protecting his team and his city. The final season presents new challenges to Hondo and the crew, but they usually find their way out of some tight situations.

S.W.A.T. is streaming on Netflix.

Call the Midwife is a British drama that’s been on for so long that it’s moved its setting from the late 1950s to the early ’70s. There’s been a lot of turnover in the cast since the show’s debut in 2012, but the basic premise remains the same. The series follows a group of midwives who work for Nonnatus House, a nursing convent that serves the underprivileged in one of London’s poorest neighborhoods.

While helping women with childbirth is one of the core parts of the show’s DNA, the period setting also allows it to take a broader look at what was happening in British society at the time. Season 13 even touched upon the 1969 moon landing and what that meant for the women. Season 14 is now streaming on Netflix, and this series will keep you hooked with over 120 episodes to binge.

Call the Midwife is streaming on Netflix.

During its initial years on ABC, Nashville was as popular for its original music as it was for the soap opera of the show itself. Connie Britton stars in the series as Rayna Jaymes, an aging country music superstar whose best days may be behind her.

A young upstart, Juliette Barnes (Hayden Panettiere), is determined to claim Rayna’s crown for herself. The first few seasons follow the rivalry between the two women, as well as the ongoing drama of the family and friends in their orbit.

Nashville is streaming on Netflix.

Life takes a strange twist for con artist Sarah Manning (Tatiana Maslany) in Orphan Black. After witnessing the suicide of her near exact doppelganger, Beth Childs (Maslany), Sarah decides to take over the woman’s life and clean out her savings account.

That comes back to haunt Sarah when Beth’s body is mistaken for her own, which forces her to separate from her daughter, Kira (Skyler Wexler). Sarah also learns why Beth may have killed herself, as she discovers that she’s a clone … and she’s not the only one left.

Orphan Black is streaming on Netflix.

Three years between seasons is a pretty long wait, even by streaming standards. But Jenna Ortega is finally back as Wednesday Addams in Wednesday season 2. Expect to see more of the rest of the Addams family this season, while Wednesday herself returns to Nevermore Academy.

Wednesday isn’t really the friend-making type, but her roommate, Enid Sinclair (Emma Myers), is a rare exception. That gives Wednesday a personal incentive to save Enid when the latter is apparently marked for a dark fate in season 2. And there’s no guarantee that Wednesday will be able to protect her.

Wednesday is streaming on Netflix.

Ready for your next Netflix murder mystery obsession? 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 ticks all the streaming murder mystery boxes and then some, with a stellar supporting cast that includes Jurassic Park vet Sam Neill and Mad Men’s Rosemarie DeWitt. It’s Bana, though, who steals the spotlight as the increasingly conflicted Kyle. His character has a past he’s not proud of, and it will definitely come back to haunt him as he tries to find the killer.

The Waterfront is a crime drama with a dark sense of humor which finds Cane Buckley (Jake Weary) and his mother, Belle Buckley (Maria Bello), struggling to save the family’s business interests while Belle’s husband, Harlan Buckley (Holt McCallany), recovers from health issues.

After discovering that Cane and Belle made a risky alliance with drug smugglers, Harlan pushes things even further. Meanwhile, Cane’s sister, Bree Buckley (Melissa Benoist), is sleeping with a DEA agent and informing him of her family’s crimes. That may be more than enough to bring the Buckley empire to its knees. 

The Waterfront is streaming on Netflix.

Georgia Miller (Brianne Howey) has a son, Austin (Diesel La Torraca), on Ginny & Georgia. But as implied by the name of the series, a lot of the focus is on her daughter, Ginny (Antonia Gentry). Georgia has tried to be a good mother to her kids, but she’s left some literal bodies in her wake.

Season 3 picks up with Georgia on trial for murder, her marriage to Paul Randolph (Scott Porter) in jeopardy, and she may lose custody of both of her children while fighting for her freedom. Ginny has her own problems at school as the media scrutiny and her complicated relationships threaten to derail her life.

Ginny & Georgia is streaming on Netflix.

The Queen’s Gambit creator Scott Frank has returned to Netflix with a new mystery series, Dept. Q, based upon Jussi Adler-Olsen‘s Department Q crime thriller novels. The show is making some changes to the source material, including setting the series in Scotland instead of Denmark. But the core premise remains.

Carl Morck (Matthew Goode) was once one of the top detectives in his department, but now he’s been reduced to heading up Department Q, the cold case division that has nothing but crimes other detectives couldn’t solve. It’s a career dead end, at least until Carl actually starts making headway on these impossible cases alongside a team of misfits who just don’t fit in around the regular cops.

Dept. Q is streaming on Netflix.

Westerns are all the rage now thanks to Yellowstone, and Netflix is the latest streamer to throw its lasso into the ring with its new series, Ransom Canyon. The 10-episode first season stars Josh Duhamel as Staten Kirkland, a lonesome Texas rancher who is still not over the death of his wife. His mood improves considerably when Quinn O’Grady (Minka Kelly) returns to Staten’s small town to oversee the local dance hall. 

Staten and Quinn were once sweethearts, but can they rekindle the love they felt for each other all those years ago? As you can tell, Ransom Canyon is more romantic than Kevin Costner’s hit cowboy series, but it’s just as watchable and dramatic. Duhamel and Kelly have great onscreen chemistry as reluctant lovers and the show features some amazing shots of the Texas countryside.

Those looking for quality shows that don’t get the spotlight other Netflix shows like Stranger Things and You receive should stream The Eternaut, an outstanding new sci-fi series from Argentina. Based on a popular 1950s graphic novel, the six-episode series begins with a beautiful but deadly snowfall that wipes out most of humanity.

The survivors are left to pick up the pieces, and that includes Juan Salvo (Ricardo Darín), who wants to find his missing daughter while helping others seeking food and shelter. But deeper mysteries remain, including who — or what — caused the snowfall and why? What makes The Eternaut so entertaining is peeling away its many layers and discovering the shocking origin of the event that changed the world forever. Don’t miss it.

Even though it originated on Lifetime, You only became a big hit when it started streaming on Netflix. The show follows charming psychopath Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) as he travels the country — and later the world — looking for love and leaving a lot of dead bodies in his wake.

The recently released season 5 is the show’s last and provides a satisfying conclusion to Joe’s story. He’s back in New York City, the setting in season 1, and obsessed with yet another winsome female, Bronte (Madeline Brewer). But Bronte may be hiding some secrets of her own, and they may prove to be Joe’s downfall.

Is there any sci-fi show as effective and unsettling as Black Mirror? The critically acclaimed Charlie Brooker series has been disturbing audiences since 2011 — and it shows no signs of ending its reign of enjoyable terror. The show just returned from a brief hiatus with new tales of science gone awry and the dangerous allure of technology. 

Season 7 features such stars as Paul Giamatti, Issa Rae, Will Poulter and Emma Corrin in stories that blend reality and fantasy. Some standout episodes include “USS Callister: Into Infinity,” which is a follow-up to season 4’s much-acclaimed “USS Callister,” and “Hotel Reverie,” an unusual romance that explores how artificial intelligence can make someone’s dreams come true with devastating results. 

When 13-year-old Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper) is accused of killing a fellow classmate who rejected his advances, his family must deal with the fallout. Meanwhile, the town’s cops and teachers struggle to understand why a seemingly well-adjusted child would want to murder another.

Since its release in March, Adolescence has ignited worldwide discussion about incel culture and its effects on young males. The series is only four episodes long, with each one devoted to exploring different points of view: Jamie’s family, his teachers and friends, a child psychologist struggling to understand him and, finally, his father. Adolescence is a disturbing drama that is both punishing and rewarding to watch.

Netflix’s hottest properties include Stranger Things, Squid Game, and … Harlan Coben?!? The famed mystery author has had a run of successful Netflix adaptations recently, with his last show, Fool Me Once, becoming one of the streamer’s most-watched programs of 2024. His latest, Missing You, serves up more of what’s worked so well in the past: an intriguing mystery set in England populated by a talented cast.

Detective Kat Donovan (Rosalind Eleazar) is lonely. Eleven years ago, her fiancé, Josh (Ashley Walters), disappeared, and she’s never quite gotten over that. One night, while swiping left on a dating app, she’s stunned to find her missing lover alive and well … and actively looking for a hookup. How is Josh still alive? And what does this have to do with the death of Kat’s father years ago? Missing You weaves an intricate mystery very well, with a genuinely shocking ending.

One of Netflix’s most underrated series, Sweet Magnolias isn’t anything more than an enjoyable drama about good people doing good things. That sounds boring, but throughout its four seasons, the show has provided enough entertaining moments to remain one of the streamer’s most consistently watched original shows.

The show focuses on the friendship between three friends: Maddie Townsend (JoAnna Garcia Swisher), a mother of three recently separated from her husband Bill (Chris Klein); Helen Decatur (Heather Headley), a successful attorney contemplating a career change; and Dana Sue Sullivan (Brooke Elliott), a chef who runs her own restaurant. The three women navigate life, love and everything in between while living in an idyllic South Carolina town. 

Sweet Magnolias is romantic escapism, but it’s done well, and the three leads are genuinely charming. The fourth season premiered on February 6, 2025 and with its continued success, it’s bound to return for another season.