Action Series on Netflix: Netflix is home to some of the most thrilling action television ever made. Whether it is espionage, crime, war, martial arts, or supernatural battles — the platform delivers heart-pounding entertainment at every turn.
Action Series on Netflix
These are the twenty best action series on Netflix right now.
20. Prison Break — 2005–2017
Prison Break is one of the most purely addictive action-thriller series ever made. A structural engineer deliberately gets himself imprisoned to break his wrongly convicted brother off death row. The first two seasons are among the finest runs of television in the genre.
The ingenuity of the escape plan and the relentless tension of each episode make it almost impossible to watch just one at a time. It is a timeless binge-watch and Netflix is the perfect place to experience it for the first time.
19. FUBAR — 2023–
Arnold Schwarzenegger returns to action television with FUBAR — a spy comedy drama where a CIA operative on the verge of retirement discovers his own daughter is secretly working for the same agency. It is not the most serious show on this list but it is one of the most entertaining.
The action is big, the laughs are genuine, and Schwarzenegger proves he still brings an irresistible screen presence to everything he does. It is exactly the kind of fun, easy-to-watch action series Netflix does brilliantly.
18. The Recruit — 2022–
The Recruit follows a young CIA lawyer immediately thrown into a world of international espionage and life-threatening danger. A former asset uses classified information as leverage and his quiet office job becomes a very dangerous problem very quickly.
It moves at an absolute sprint from the very first episode. Noah Centineo is surprisingly effective in the lead role and the show balances action with dry humour in a way that makes it very easy to binge in a single sitting.
17. Fauda — 2015–
Fauda is an Israeli action thriller following an undercover military unit operating in the Palestinian territories. It is one of the most intense, morally complicated, and authentically produced action series on the platform.
It does not take easy sides or present simple answers. It shows the human cost of conflict from multiple perspectives with a rawness that most Western action shows would never attempt. The action sequences are among the most realistic on Netflix.
16. Vikings: Valhalla — 2022–2024
Vikings: Valhalla is the sequel to the original Vikings and tells the story of famous Norse legends — Leif Eriksson, FreydÃs EirÃksdóttir, and Harald Hardrada — as they journey to England and beyond in a world of epic battles and political betrayal.
The battle scenes are spectacular and the scope of the storytelling is genuinely cinematic. It runs for three full seasons and maintains the action-heavy, historically inspired energy of its beloved predecessor throughout.
15. One Piece — 2023–
The live-action adaptation of One Piece is the best manga adaptation Netflix has ever produced. It follows Monkey D. Luffy — a young man with rubber-like powers — as he gathers a crew and sets out to become King of the Pirates.
It is joyful, visually inventive, and packed with brilliant action sequences that do full justice to the beloved source material. Its massive success on the platform proves that the right creative team can turn any story into extraordinary television.
14. The Night Agent — 2023–
The Night Agent arrives with little fanfare and immediately becomes one of the most watched series in Netflix history. A low-level FBI agent manning a secret emergency phone line receives a call one night that drops him straight into the middle of a White House conspiracy.
It moves fast and never slows down. The action sequences are well-crafted and the chemistry between the two leads carries the story even when the plot stretches credibility slightly. It is exactly what a Netflix action thriller should be.
13. Squid Game — 2021–
Squid Game is the most watched Netflix series of all time. Hundreds of people drowning in debt compete in deadly children’s games for a life-changing prize. The action is brutal and relentless, the stakes are absolutely maximum, and the social commentary underneath it all is razor sharp.
Season 2 arrives in 2024 and delivers exactly what fans are hoping for — more games, more tension, and more devastating consequences for every character the audience cares about.
12. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners — 2022
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is a ten-episode animated masterpiece set in the brutal, neon-lit world of Night City. A street kid becomes a mercenary outlaw and burns so brightly that his own destruction becomes inevitable.
Studio Trigger delivers breathtaking action sequences that are faster and more fluid than almost anything in live-action television. It is only ten episodes long but it hits harder than most full-length series. It is a genuine masterpiece of animated action.
11. Ozark — 2017–2022
Ozark is as much a taut, nerve-shredding action thriller as it is a drama. Marty Byrde — a financial advisor turned cartel money launderer — is in permanent, life-threatening danger from the moment the first episode begins.
Jason Bateman is outstanding in a role that redefines his career and Julia Garner’s Ruth Langmore is one of the great supporting characters in recent television history. The tension builds relentlessly across four seasons and the finale delivers a deeply satisfying conclusion.
10. Blue Eye Samurai — 2023–
Blue Eye Samurai is the best animated action series Netflix has produced since Arcane. Set in 17th century Japan, it follows a mixed-race samurai on a brutal quest for revenge in a world that has rejected her from birth.
The animation is strikingly cinematic, the action sequences are viscerally thrilling, and the storytelling is mature and emotionally complex. It receives near-universal critical acclaim and is one of the most visually spectacular action series on the entire platform.
9. Kingdom — 2019–2020
Kingdom is a South Korean historical zombie thriller set during the Joseon dynasty. A crown prince investigates a mysterious plague turning the dead back to life while corrupt nobles fight for the throne. That description alone should make it irresistible.
It is one of the most perfectly paced action thrillers on Netflix. Every episode ends at exactly the right moment, the action is relentless, and the production design is absolutely stunning. It is one of the finest Korean dramas Netflix has ever produced.
8. Daredevil — 2015–2018, 2024–
Daredevil is the gold standard of superhero action television. The fight choreography — particularly the iconic one-take hallway sequence in Season 1 — is some of the finest ever committed to any screen. Matt Murdock fights through Hell’s Kitchen with ferocity and vulnerability that makes him one of the most compelling action heroes anywhere.
Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk is equally extraordinary. The show balances brutal action with genuine emotional depth and remains the undisputed high point of Netflix’s entire Marvel universe.
7. Cobra Kai — 2018–2025
Nobody predicts that a Karate Kid sequel series becomes one of the most beloved action shows on Netflix. Cobra Kai picks up 34 years after the original tournament and gives both Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence a proper chance to tell their full stories.
The martial arts sequences are genuinely impressive and the writing is far sharper and more emotionally intelligent than anyone expects. It runs for five full seasons and delivers an enormously satisfying conclusion that honours every character it builds across the entire run.
6. Narcos — 2015–2017
Narcos tells the true story of Pablo Escobar and the rise of the MedellÃn cocaine cartel in Colombia. It is gripping, violent, and completely impossible to stop watching. Wagner Moura’s portrayal of Escobar is one of the most mesmerising villain performances in television history.
The show uses real archival footage alongside dramatic recreations to give it a sense of authenticity that most crime dramas never achieve. Three seasons of relentless tension and extraordinary storytelling make it absolutely essential viewing.
5. The Witcher — 2019–2023
The Witcher follows Geralt of Rivia — a solitary monster hunter with supernatural abilities — navigating a brutal and morally complex fantasy world. Henry Cavill is perfect in the role. His physicality and quiet intensity make Geralt one of the most compelling action heroes on the platform.
The fight choreography is some of the best Netflix has ever produced. Geralt moves through every battle with a fluid, almost balletic precision that is genuinely thrilling to watch. The world-building is rich and the mythology runs deep throughout every season.
4. Stranger Things — 2016–2025
Stranger Things combines supernatural horror with genuinely thrilling action in a way no other show manages. A group of kids in 1980s Indiana battle government conspiracies, terrifying monsters, and a parallel dimension called the Upside Down — while never losing the warmth that makes every character so easy to love.
The action grows in scale and ambition with every season. By the final season it delivers some of the most cinematic set pieces Netflix has ever produced. It is one of the defining shows of its entire generation.
3. The Last Kingdom — 2015–2022
The Last Kingdom is set in 9th century England and follows Uhtred of Bebbanburg — a Saxon nobleman raised by Vikings — as he fights to reclaim his homeland and help shape the birth of England itself. It is one of the finest historical action dramas Netflix has ever hosted.
The battle sequences are brutal and brilliantly choreographed. The political intrigue is just as gripping as the combat. Alexander Dreymon delivers one of the most consistently entertaining lead performances in action television, and the show gets progressively better with every passing season.
2. Peaky Blinders — 2013–2022
Peaky Blinders follows the Shelby crime family — led by the magnetic Thomas Shelby — as they build a criminal empire in post-World War I Birmingham. It is one of the most stylish, ferociously acted, and beautifully crafted crime dramas ever produced on any platform.
Cillian Murphy owns every single scene he appears in. The show has a completely unique visual identity, an extraordinary soundtrack, and some of the most brilliant writing in action television history. Six seasons and not one weak episode across the entire run.
1. Money Heist (La Casa de Papel) — 2017–2021
Money Heist is the greatest action series Netflix has ever produced. A mysterious criminal mastermind called The Professor recruits a group of thieves to carry out the most ambitious robbery in history — locking themselves inside the Royal Mint of Spain with hostages and printing money from the inside.
It starts as a small Spanish-language show and becomes the most watched non-English language series in Netflix history. The tension never lets up for a single moment. The characters are brilliantly written, the twists keep coming until the very last scene, and the emotional investment it builds across five seasons is extraordinary. It is one of the greatest action television experiences ever made.
