Whether it’s a limited series that never overstayed its welcome, or a sprawling comedy drama that has a gripping hold on throughout its entire run, these Netflix shows have done the seemingly impossible: produce an entire series in which every episode is a masterpiece. You don’t believe us? That’s OK, as once you reach the end of this story, you’ll come to the same conclusion that we did: these Netflix shows represent the pinnacle of the streaming service’s storytelling.
‘The Haunting of Hill House’ (2018)
In 2018, Netflix viewers were invited into a creepy manor with all sorts of supernatural unease. The Haunting of Hill House, created by Mike Flanagan, kickstarted the service’s Haunting anthology, and it started on a very strong note. The miniseries takes place over two timelines, one from 1992 and another in the present day, with the central figure being Hill House, a large, eerie mansion that haunts the Crain family.
While the series certainly has its terrifying moments, The Haunting of Hill House is a lot more than a regular show about a haunted house. Flanagan takes the trope and goes deeper with it, making it more of a character-driven family drama with some truly emotional moments. It uses Hill House to expose the emotional trauma that the Crain family struggles to cope with. The ghosts in the series aren’t just to make the viewer jump out of their seats, but they’re used as metaphors for grief, regret and mental illness. With complex characters and production that is as close to perfect as one could get, each episode of The Haunting of Hill House builds to a finale that lands the story perfectly. While every series in Flanagan’s Haunting anthology was top-notch, The Haunting of Hill House is, by all intentions of the word, a masterclass in how to tell a haunted house story.
‘The Queen’s Gambit’ (2020)
On the surface, The Queen’s Gambit is a miniseries that never should have worked. Besides, the main premise of the show revolves around a chess player, and who would want to watch a show based on someone playing one of the most boring games on Earth? Well, if you think this way, you’re missing out on one of the best Netflix miniseries ever created. The coming-of-age period drama created by Scott Frank and Allan Scott follows the life of Beth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy), a chess prodigy who becomes one of the best players in the world. But, beneath the surface, Harmon struggles with alcohol and drug addiction, and she has to battle these demons while preparing for a major chess tournament in Moscow.
Every episode of The Queen’s Gambit was terrific, and this was due to the impeccable pacing and structure of the series. Watching it all the way, you’ll get the feeling that you’re watching a seven-hour movie with a very clear, resonant ending. Because the creators and writers knew where to go with the story, and how to end it, there were essentially no filler episodes within the series, which makes the entire show such a satisfying watch. Add in the mesmerizing performance of Taylor-Joy, and you have a miniseries that should not be slept on.
‘When They See Us’ (2019)
In 1989, five Black and Latino teens were falsely accused of assaulting a white woman in Central Park. Known as the Central Park Five, their conviction was vacated in 2002, and they were awarded a settlement from the city of New York in 2014 after suing the city for wrongful conviction. The plight of the Central Park Five ignited tough conversations around racial bias, media sensationalism, and the criminalization of people of color, especially after the release of the 2019 miniseries When They See Us.
Created by Ava DuVernay, the miniseries tells the story of the Central Park Five and their wrongful conviction through the experiences of the victims, which forced the viewers to look at the wrongfully accused not as a group of kids, but as individuals who were worthy of justice and empathy from viewers. Each episode will take viewers through a range of emotions, from anger to sadness, and, in the end, tempered redemption for the five kids who were essentially railroaded by the judicial system. When They See Us was a significant achievement on television, daring to question how racial bias and the media also play a part in painting the narrative that people of color are criminals, along with a justice system all-to-eager to accept that narrative. When They See Us is more than the perfect Netflix show, it is basically essential viewing.
‘Maid’ (2021)
One of the best attributes about Netflix original series is its ability to tell serious stories in an unfiltered and honest way. We saw this in 2019 with the brilliant When They See Us, and again two years later, with Netflix premiering Maid, created by Molly Smith Metzler and inspired by the 2019 novel of the same name written by Stephanie Land. The miniseries followers Alexandra “Alex” Russell (Margaret Qualley), a young mom who leaves her abusive boyfriend and takes a job working as a maid.
We’re going to be honest here. Maid can be a hard watch at times, especially the way it honestly portrays domestic abuse, which isn’t always physical, and it answers the long-complex question of why victims struggle to leave their abusers. Not only that, but Maid also highlights “invisible” poverty, the people who struggle to stay afloat, and how just one minor setback can cause someone to lose everything. To tell its gut-wrenching story, Maid uses innovative storytelling to describe Alex’s plight, which lets us see things from her inner perspective. While Maid is a tough watch at times, it’s also a show that is a masterpiece at telling complex, difficult stories.
‘Beef’ (2023–Present)
We all see comedy as a pressure relief from the arduous daily task of life, and it was used brilliantly in the 2023 anthology series Beef. Created by Lee Sung Jin, Beef follows two people who begin to feud after a road rage incident. While this is a simple black comedy on the surface, it’s what lies beneath the comedy that makes Beef a gold-standard when it comes to the perfect Netflix show.
The best aspect to Beef is its tight storytelling, with each of the series’ 10 episodes packed with character arcs that have a significant impact on the overall storyline. Even the minor characters in each episode play a part in the overall feud between Danny Cho (Steven Yeun) and Amy Lau (Ali Wong), with each episode escalating the feud and showing how it quickly spirals out of control.
The writers use the feud between Danny and Amy to masterfully showcase the Asian-American experience, exploring issues such as class status, immigration, and family expectations, and they did this without casting a monolithic net over the race. This makes the audience understand the pressures Amy and Danny are going through, and also helps to understand why a simple road rage incident spiraled downhill so quickly. It’s a show that tackles existential emptiness when compounded with the pressures of material success, and how it contributes to the overwhelming rage that we feel in society today. They do all of this without sacrificing the comedy, a chef’s kiss to a brilliant series.
‘Dark’ (2017–2020)
A great story arc commands you to pay attention to each element in each episode. Each show that we’ve discussed so far in this piece has been a miniseries, where it can be easy to accomplish in just a 10-episode run. But, here’s a show that manages to not have a single filler episode over a three-season span. We’re talking, of course, about Dark, one of the best series not just in Netflix history, but in TV history as a whole, and we’re very serious about this claim.
Created by Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese, Dark follows four families as they search for what happened to a kid who disappeared from a small German town, only to discover something truly sinister has been happening in the town over generations. To be honest, the storyline of Dark could have easily been condensed into a single miniseries, but by fleshing the story out over three seasons, it allowed it to be expanded and avoid the plotholes that could have befallen it if it was made as just a miniseries. The story of Dark is very complex, but the writers flawlessly executed the story. They knew how the story would be told and how it would end, and they didn’t deviate from this plan, and the end result is a masterpiece of epic proportions. The moody atmosphere, the exceptional acting, and a complex story that keeps you guessing and on the edge of your seat throughout its run? What more could you ask for?
‘Arcane’ (2021–2024)
When discussing the best Netflix shows in which every episode is absolutely perfect, you can’t have that conversation and leave Arcane off the list. Created by Christian Linke and Alex Yee, the animated steampunk sci-fi is, arguably, one of the most jaw-dropping achievements in modern animation. Much like Dark, the story of Arcane is more complex than what the synopsis says it’s about. On the surface, it’s a story about two sisters who get tangled in a conflict between the poor underbelly of Zaun and the more prosperous city of Piltover. If you go off of the synopsis of the series, you’ll think Arcane is a straight-forward show, but it’s much, much deeper than that, and that’s what makes it such a compelling show.
The main reason why Arcane is such a perfect show is the way it tells its story. Rather than “telling” the story through its characters, it shows you how everything unfolds, using stunning camera work, lighting, and an innovative pace to fully immerse the viewers into the world Arcane has created. Of course, this wouldn’t be possible without an animation style that is distinct and truly revolutionary, making each episode of Arcane feel more like a cinematic event than a typical Netflix show. That’s the beauty of the show as a whole, as it doesn’t feel like you’re watching a TV show; you’re basically watching a movie broken up into 18 episodes. Every episode in Arcane was simply perfection, and it would be a tough sell for another animated show to come close to what this series created.
Arcane
- Release Date
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2021 – 2024
- Network
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Netflix
- Showrunner
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Christian Linke
- Directors
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Barth Maunoury, Marietta Ren, Christelle Abgrall