As one of the most popular streaming platforms in the world, many families will be turning to Netflix for a fix of festive fun this year.
And there’s a lot to choose from. On the one hand, there’s the dystopian horror of Squid Game, which is returning for a second series on December 26. On the other, there’s the wholesome goodness of Heartstopper.
How to decide? Well, we did it for you. Here’s our guide to the must-watch shows currently streaming, divided by genre.
Horror
Black Mirror
Charlie Brooker’s seminal dystopian horror series is always worth a watch. As an anthology show, each of the episodes presents us with a different scenario, most often featuring some kind of horrific technology. They’re all chilling; watch from behind your fingers.
Squid Game
Released during the pandemic, Squid Game quickly shot to world domination thanks to its nifty editing, liberal use of gore and fantastic premise: what if, in some version of society, poor people could be made to perform deadly tasks for money?
The Haunting of Hill House
Not for the faint of heart. The frankly chilling Haunting of Hill House (which is loosely based on the 1959 novel) follows five adult siblings who moved into the house to renovate it in 1992. Some 26 years later, the traumatised Crains return to finally reckon with the paranormal phenomena they experienced while there. Shudder.
Thrillers
Baby Reindeer
Richard Gadd’s magnum opus, and one that caused an internet storm when it was released in April. Drawn from his own life experiences in dealing with a stalker, Gadd’s tale of frenzied obsession and mental illness is fascinating – and Jessica Gunning, the woman who plays the disturbed stalker Martha, is mesmerising.
The Night Agent
A bit more Jack Reacher-ey stuff for fans of bone-crunching action. This time our hero is FBI agent Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso), another hench spy who discovers a conspiracy at the heart of government – and must search for the traitor before it’s too late.
The Diplomat
The Diplomat casts Keri Russell as Kate Wyler, the brand-new American ambassador to the UK. She has a gorgeous house, a massive staff… and, as it turns out, an international conspiracy to defuse.
Fool Me Once
Harlan Coben’s domination of Netflix continues. Before his series Missing You comes out on New Year’s Day, watch the 2024 version – in which Michelle Keegan plays an ex-army officer who believes her husband died years ago… only to catch him on camera in the room of their infant daughter.
The Gentlemen
Guy Ritchie never fails to deliver all-guns-blazing, geezerish energy, and so it proves here. In this raucous, filthy series, Theo James plays an aristocrat who inherits the family estate only to discover that his late father had been renting out space to a weed farm. What follows is pure Ritchie: guns, mayhem, drugs and diamond geezers.
Beef
Beef swept the awards boards last year and for good reason: the show manages to be absolutely insane and weirdly touching at the same time. Ali Wong and Steven Yu play two people whose beef rapidly escalates from a prang to all-out arson. It’s pitch black, but riveting.
Black Doves
Currently the hottest show on Netflix – and maybe that’s something to do with the electric pairing of Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw. They play a pair of spies who find themselves up to their necks in trouble after a series of assassinations. What follows combines genuinely excellent action sequences with the blackest of black humour.
You
The OG creepy stalker thriller. Penn Badgley is Joe, a bookish professor by day and stalker by night. Over four series, he leaves a trail of carnage and bodies behind him – it’s absolutely ridiculous stuff, but that’s what makes it so watchable.
Historical drama
The Crown
The historical drama to end all historical dramas. Netflix’s decades-long exploration of the life of Queen Elizabeth II lost steam towards the end, but the earlier series made a splash for a reason. Lavish, scandalous and historically liberal, it’s the perfect material for a festive binge-watch.
Peaky Blinders
Steven Knight’s tale of warring gangsters is still riveting. Cillian Murphy is Tommy Shelby, the leader of the brutal Peaky Blinders gang in post-First World War Birmingham. Watch them scheme, fight and broker their way to country-wide dominance.
Romance
Bridgerton
Another lockdown smash-hit. Based on the romance books by Julia Quinn and set in a version of Regency England, Bridgerton made headlines for its pretty graphic sex scenes – but come along for the gorgeous quasi-historical costumes, lavish balls and slow-burn relationships.
Heartstopper
This wholesome series never fails to warm the heart. Based on the graphic novels by Alice Oseman, this is the story of Nick and Charlie (Joe Locke and Kit Connor), two teens who meet and fall in love at high school – as well as that of their found family.
Nobody Wants This
Not watched it yet? You should: Kristen Bell is reliably great as a secular podcaster who falls in love with a rabbi (Adam Brody).
One Day
The book broke the heart of many of its legion or readers back in the early Noughties; now the long-awaited TV series does the same. Ambika Mod, so good in This is Going to Hurt, is magnetic as Emma Morley, while Leo Woodall is equally good as her star-crossed lover Dexter.
Animation
BoJack Horseman
Simply devastating – more devastating than might be expected from a cartoon. But there’s no denying BoJack’s genius. Via deceptively simple graphics and flashes of humour, we meet washed up sitcom star BoJack (Will Arnett) and the chaos he causes in the life of those around him.
Blue Eye Samurai
Brutal, dark and unforgiving, there’s a lot more to Blue Eye Samurai than meets the eye – especially its antihero Mizu. When Mizu’s mother is killed, the samura goes on a quest to find the perpetrators, and settle some old scores.
Arcane
The most expensive Netflix show ever made, clocking in at around $250m. But every penny of that is visible on screen. It’s based on Riot’s game League of Legends, but don’t let that put you off: this is a gorgeously animated story of two warring sisters in a steampunk flavoured world.
Fantasy/ sci fi
Wednesday
Jenna Ortega scowls her way through the entirety of Wednesday, but that makes sense: she’s playing Wednesday Addams, the creepy young daughter of the Addams family. Now grown up, she’s off to school, which ends up being a kind of Hallowe’eny Hogwarts – and of course, spooky shenanigans ensue.
Supacell
A superhero show set in London? Yessir – and not just in London, but Peckham. Created by Rapman, this is the story of a group of black Londoners who discover they have superpowers, and that there are nefarious forces out to get them.
Ones to binge
Queer Eye
The brain equivalent of a soothing hot bath. A reboot of the original 2003 show, Queer Eye sees five flamboyant gay men fix up the lives of Americans in need of a little help: styling, hair, attitude and (for some reason) food.
Breaking Bad
Why mess with perfection? Bryan Cranston is never anything less than commanding as Walter White, the chemistry teacher who becomes a drug kingpin. Part of the show’s joy lies in watching his slow descend into corruption – and part of it is in the simply phenomenal writing.
Ozark
Another oldie, but a goodie. When his money laundering scheme for a Mexican drug cartel goes south, Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman) attempts to make amends by setting up an even bigger one in the sleepy Lake of the Ozarks region of Missouri. Naturally, the local criminals aren’t too happy about this interloper appearing on their doorstep; what follows is a lot of murder.
The Queen’s Gambit
The show that catapulted Anya Taylor-Joy into superstardom. She plays Beth, a chess prodigy who slowly fights her way to chess world domination, all while struggling with her drug and alcohol dependency.
Better Call Saul
The spinoff of Breaking Bad is just as good (if not, whisper it, slightly better) than its heavyweight predecessor. Another story of moral corruption, but this time focusing on Saul Goodman, Walter’s ethically dubious lawyer. Another grimy masterpiece.
Top Boy
Another story about warring gangsters, but this time set in London. Featuring killer performances from Kano and Ashley Walters as best-mates-turned-enemies Sully and Dushane, Top Boy is a wonderfully intimate portrait of relationships, violence and the damage that drug dealing does to communities.
Foreign language
Lupin
Step aside James Bond: there’s another king of suave action in town. The excellent French thriller Lupin is basically a modern-day retelling of Robin Hood. But set in Paris. Omar Sy is Assane Diop, a gentleman thief who models himself after the fictional thief Lupin. And he’s out for revenge against Hubert Pellegrini, who framed and imprisoned his father for the theft of a diamond necklace.
Money Heist
Otherwise known as La Casa de Papel, and not one for the faint of heart. This Spanish-language TV show follows a group of elite thieves who are on a mission to crack the Royal Mint of Spain. The only issue: things go wrong fast, and they’re soon trapped with hostages on the inside, and armed police on the outside.
Call My Agent!
Fantastically funny and acerbic, this was such a hit that it was swifty made over for British audiences – but there’s no denying that the original is best. Set in a Parisian talent agency office, the show guides us through various PR and personal disasters in the life of the staff. Plus, watch out for the cameo appearances from French movie stars.
