Top 20 Best Netflix Series IMDb

Best Netflix Series IMDb: Netflix has produced some of the greatest television the world has ever seen. From crime dramas to supernatural thrillers, political masterpieces to animated gems — the platform is home to stories that genuinely change what people expect from a screen. These are the twenty best Netflix series ever made, ranked by their IMDb scores.

20. Sacred Games (2018–2019) — IMDb: 8.5

Sacred Games is the show that puts Indian streaming content on the global map. It is a dark, gripping neo-noir crime thriller about a Mumbai police officer who receives a mysterious call from a gangster warning him that the city has 25 days before catastrophe strikes.

It is one of the most beautifully written and visually stunning shows Netflix has ever produced outside of the United States. It tells two stories across two timelines simultaneously, and it does it with extraordinary confidence. Anyone who has not watched it yet is genuinely missing one of the platform’s finest achievements.

19. Delhi Crime (2019–) — IMDb: 8.5

Delhi Crime is based on the real investigation that follows the brutal 2012 Delhi gang rape case — one of the most devastating crimes in modern Indian history. It follows the Delhi Police as they work around the clock to track down the perpetrators.

It wins the International Emmy Award for Best Drama Series in 2020, making it the first Indian show to ever claim that honour. It is difficult to watch at times because of how closely it follows true events. But it is also one of the most respectfully and powerfully told crime dramas on the platform.

18. Cobra Kai (2018–2025) — IMDb: 8.4

Nobody expects Cobra Kai to be as good as it turns out to be. It begins as a YouTube series before Netflix picks it up, and the moment it lands on the platform it becomes one of the most talked-about shows in the world.

It is a direct continuation of the Karate Kid films, set 34 years after the original 1984 tournament. Both original actors return and the show explores both of their perspectives with genuine depth and intelligence. It is nostalgic but never lazy, and it runs for five brilliant seasons.

17. Love, Death & Robots (2019–) — IMDb: 8.4

Love, Death & Robots is unlike anything else on the platform. It is an anthology series of short animated films — each one completely different in style, tone, and genre. Some are funny, some are terrifying, some are beautiful, and some are all three at once.

Each episode is completely standalone and most run between 5 and 20 minutes. It makes the show easy to dip in and out of, but the quality of the animation and storytelling is consistently extraordinary. It is one of the most creatively ambitious things Netflix has ever greenlit.

16. The Punisher (2017–2019) — IMDb: 8.4

Marvel’s The Punisher is the darkest and most brutal entry in Netflix’s Marvel universe. Jon Bernthal plays Frank Castle — a former Marine turned vigilante who wages a one-man war against the criminals and corrupt government figures who destroyed his family.

Bernthal’s performance is one of the finest in any superhero production ever made. He plays Castle with a raw, wounded intensity that makes the character deeply human beneath all the violence. It runs for two seasons before Netflix cancels the entire Marvel lineup, and fans never forgive them for it.

15. After Life (2019–2022) — IMDb: 8.4

Ricky Gervais writes, directs, and stars in After Life — a small, quiet, and completely devastating comedy-drama about a man who loses his wife to cancer and decides to say and do whatever he wants because life no longer matters to him.

It sounds bleak, and at times it genuinely is. But it is also one of the warmest, most human, and most unexpectedly funny shows Netflix has ever produced. Gervais balances grief and humour in a way that very few writers anywhere in the world could manage. Three seasons, all of them brilliant.

14. Daredevil (2015–2018, 2024–) — IMDb: 8.6

Daredevil is the gold standard of superhero television. It follows Matt Murdock — a blind lawyer by day and a vigilante in a black mask by night — as he fights crime in Hell’s Kitchen, New York.

The fight choreography in Season 1 is some of the finest ever put on any screen — the one-take hallway fight in Episode 2 is still talked about years later. Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk is one of the greatest villain performances in television history. Netflix cancels it in 2018. Marvel revives it in 2024 and the quality holds.

13. Mindhunter (2017–2019) — IMDb: 8.6

Mindhunter is the most chillingly intelligent crime drama Netflix has ever made. It is set in the late 1970s and follows two FBI agents who are building the criminal profiling unit — interviewing some of the most notorious serial killers in American history to understand how they think.

David Fincher directs many of the episodes and his unmistakable style fills every frame. The performances are exceptional and the writing is patient, precise, and deeply unsettling. Netflix cancels it after two seasons and the fan outrage is completely justified.

12. Squid Game (2021–) — IMDb: 8.0 (900K+ votes)

Squid Game becomes the most watched Netflix series in history within weeks of its release. It is a South Korean survival thriller about hundreds of people who are deeply in debt competing in deadly children’s games for a prize worth billions.

It is brutal, brilliant, and stuffed with commentary on capitalism, desperation, and human nature. It breaks every global streaming record Netflix has and introduces millions of people around the world to the extraordinary quality of Korean drama. Season 2 arrives in 2024 and the world stops to watch.

11. Black Mirror (2011–) — IMDb: 8.7

Black Mirror is one of the most unsettling and thought-provoking anthologies in the history of television. Each episode is completely standalone and explores how technology interacts — usually terrifyingly — with human psychology and behaviour.

Some episodes are set in the near future. Some are set in a world almost identical to today. All of them leave the viewer slightly disturbed and unable to look at their phone in quite the same way afterwards. Charlie Brooker’s writing is sharp, dark, and often horribly accurate about where the world is heading.

10. Narcos (2015–2017) — IMDb: 8.7

Narcos tells the story of Pablo Escobar and the rise of the Medellín cartel in Colombia during the 1980s. It is based on real events and real people, and the production uses authentic locations and a mixture of Spanish and English dialogue that gives it an unmatched sense of realism.

Wagner Moura’s performance as Escobar is one of the most compelling portrayals of a real criminal in television history. The show runs for three seasons across the Escobar and then the Cali cartel storylines. Every single one of them is gripping from beginning to end.

9. When They See Us (2019) — IMDb: 8.8

Ava DuVernay’s When They See Us is one of the most important and emotionally devastating miniseries ever made. It tells the true story of five Black and Latino teenagers from Harlem who are falsely accused of attacking a jogger in Central Park in 1989.

They spend years in prison for a crime they do not commit. The performances are extraordinary and the story is told with a compassion and fury that demands to be watched. It changes how many people think about the American justice system. It is not easy viewing — but it is essential viewing.

8. Dark (2017–2020) — IMDb: 8.7

Dark is the finest science fiction series Netflix has ever produced. It is a German-language time travel drama set in a small town where four interconnected families discover a wormhole beneath their town that links different periods of time across three generations.

It sounds complex, and it genuinely is. But it rewards the viewer’s patience with one of the most intricately constructed and satisfying storylines in television history. Watching all three seasons back to back and seeing how every single thread connects is one of the great viewing experiences of the modern era.

7. Ozark (2017–2022) — IMDb: 8.4

Ozark follows a financial advisor who launders money for a drug cartel and moves his family to the Missouri Ozarks to set up a larger operation after a deal goes catastrophically wrong. Jason Bateman plays the lead role in a performance that completely redefines his career.

Julia Garner as Ruth Langmore is one of the greatest supporting characters in recent television history. She wins the Emmy Award three times for the role. The show builds in intensity across four seasons and ends with one of the most satisfying final episodes of any crime drama on the platform.

6. The Crown (2016–2023) — IMDb: 8.6

The Crown tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II and the British Royal Family across six decades of the twentieth century. It is one of the most expensive productions in television history, and every penny of that budget is visible on screen.

Each season recasts the entire ensemble to reflect the ageing of the characters, and somehow the quality never dips regardless of who is playing whom. It is meticulously researched, magnificently acted, and tells the story of the most famous family in the world with a remarkable mixture of sympathy and unflinching honesty.

5. Stranger Things (2016–2025) — IMDb: 8.6

Stranger Things is the show that defines Netflix’s rise to cultural dominance. It is set in 1980s Indiana and follows a group of kids as they encounter supernatural forces, government conspiracies, and a terrifying parallel dimension called the Upside Down.

It is an extraordinary love letter to the films and music of the 1980s. The child performances are some of the finest in television history, and the show maintains its quality across five seasons. It becomes one of the most beloved series of its generation and delivers one of the most emotional finales in recent memory.

4. The Queen’s Gambit (2020) — IMDb: 8.6

The Queen’s Gambit is the most watched miniseries in Netflix history. It tells the story of Beth Harmon — a chess prodigy and orphan who battles addiction, trauma, and the male-dominated world of competitive chess on her way to becoming the best player in the world.

Anya Taylor-Joy’s performance is one of the finest lead performances in any television production of the decade. The show makes chess genuinely thrilling to watch — which is a creative achievement that should not be underestimated. It runs for seven episodes and every single one of them is perfect.

3. Arcane (2021–2024) — IMDb: 9.0

Arcane is the greatest animated series Netflix has ever produced and one of the greatest animated productions in the history of any medium. It is set in the League of Legends universe — but knowing absolutely nothing about the game does not matter.

It tells the story of two sisters — Vi and Jinx — torn apart by poverty, revolution, and the devastating effects of a powerful new technology. The animation is unlike anything that has ever been put on a screen. The storytelling is emotionally devastating. It wins nine Annie Awards and is the most critically acclaimed Netflix original series of all time.

2. Breaking Bad (2008–2013) — IMDb: 9.5

Breaking Bad is the greatest drama series ever made, according to the IMDb ratings — and very few people who have watched it all the way through argue with that.

It follows Walter White — a high school chemistry teacher dying of lung cancer — who begins manufacturing methamphetamine to secure his family’s financial future. It is, at its heart, the story of a man who chooses evil and then convinces himself he had no choice. Bryan Cranston’s performance is the finest in television history. The show runs for five seasons without a single weak episode.

1. Breaking Bad / Arcane — The Top of Netflix’s Mountain

Both Breaking Bad and Arcane sit at the very peak of what Netflix offers. Breaking Bad holds one of the highest IMDb ratings of any television series ever made. Arcane holds the highest rating of any Netflix original production ever made.

Together, they represent the two ends of Netflix’s extraordinary creative range — a live-action character study so tightly written and performed that it sets the standard for everything that follows, and an animated world so visually and emotionally complete that it changes what animation is considered capable of achieving.

Top 20 Netflix Series — IMDb

Netflix has built a library of content that no other streaming platform in the world can fully match at the top end. Whether it is the slow burn genius of Breaking Bad, the visual wonder of Arcane, or the harrowing reality of When They See Us — these twenty series represent some of the finest storytelling the medium of television has ever produced.