By checking critical review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, we’ve come up with a list of Netflix must-sees that premiered on the platform this year, all granted a Fresh rating from at least 90% of critics.
Have you missed any of these juicy, critically-acclaimed shows?
Baby Reindeer
Certainly the year’s most buzzed-about Netflix release so far, this UK drama would be addictively disturbing and insightful even if it weren’t based on a true story. And yet, here Richard Gadd is, dealing with the fallout of his fictionalised stalking trauma as viewers try to unmask the unhinged real-life characters Baby Reindeer depicts. Disarmingly funny and shocking, the show nabbed a 98% from critics and 82% from audiences.
Blood of Zeus: Season 2
With a staggering 100% perfect score from critics, this animated fantasy series coats Ancient Greek mythology with a fresh, streamable sheen. Season two dropped in May, and has been heralded as Netflix’s “best American anime yet”, compared to live-action series such as Game of Thrones and Vikings. The stirring musical score is probably also responsible for some of the show’s ripe 93% audience rating; Annie Award-winning compositions urging us on to hit “play next episode”.
Chicken Nugget
Audiences were a little baffled by this Korean series, awarding it just 63% on Rotten Tomatoes—hey, a show about a young woman turning into a delicious chicken nugget won’t be for everyone. Critics, however, gave it a tasty 100% score. Ready Steady Cut described a rollercoaster experience with the series, perhaps encouraging would-be viewers to stick with it: “I do not recall ever hating a show as much as I hated the first few episodes of Chicken Nugget, only to then discover it’s a work of sneaky genius.”
Dead Boy Detectives
Clarisse Loughrey featured this supernatural series in her Show of the Week column, claiming it could attract the same “level of committed fandom” as shows like Buffy and Charmed. With 94% of critics and 89% of audiences on board, it might be worth jumping in early to ensure that Netflix brings these dead boys back to life for another season. “Shows like this need time and faith”, Clarisse explains, “so that audiences can build loyalty to their characters and universes.”
Girls5Eva
When you’re done marathoning 30 Rock for the umpteenth time, this songful and hilarious sitcom is the perfect alternative, with Tina Fey onboard as a producer. The pop music parody was rescued by Netflix for its new third season after being dumped by NBC platform Peacock, and the latest batch of episodes ended on a worryingly conclusive note to this long-time fan. 97% of critics want it to hang around 5Eva, and 84% of audiences agree.
Love on the Spectrum (US)
Onya, Australia: we gave the world its first taste of this uplifting dating show for Autistic people, and now the US version has a gleaming 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Season two premiered in January, and has been eliciting happy tears from 88% of audiences ever since—perhaps because of its greater inclusivity, featuring the show’s first lesbian couple, and some joyous reunions with season one couples who are going strong.
One Day
Another pick from Clarisse’s Show of the Week column, this time-hopping romance fared far better with critics than the 2011 Anne Hathaway adaptation of the same novel. Rising from that film’s squelchy 36%, Netflix’s second attempt earned a 91% from reviews, and 85% from viewers. Clarisse says: “Netflix, thankfully, has traded Hollywood sentimentality for something still glitzy, but more recognisable.”
Parasyte: The Grey
Critics were 100% spooked by this Korean manga adaptation, and 81% of audiences felt the eerie infection too. It’s about the invasion of alien parasites that turn their fleshy hosts into killing machines, erupting into unforgettably gory creature designs and fight scenes. Frequent Flicks critic Craig Mathieson wrote in The Age that “it works best as a horror tale, with the possessed humans transforming into monstrous form and back again as authorities try to stamp out the infiltration.”
The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping
Netflix is absolutely lousy with true crime titles, and yet 100% of critics felt this investigation into the troubled teen industry stands out above the throng. Series director Katherine Kubler is a survivor of the infuriating abuse depicted across the episodes, giving her interviews a personal urgency. 90% of audience reviews agreed that it’s a concerning must-watch.
The Vince Staples Show
An offbeat alt-comedy built around the real persona and trials of its rapper star, this short and sweet series got a good rap (appropriately enough) from 94% of critics and 91% of audiences. Former Odd Future member Staples’ story is packed with comic interpretations of true events—a surreal stint in jail, for instance—and laid-back reflections on fame, race, and sitcom tropes. NYT critic James Poniewozik highlighted its zesty tone and also its brevity, calling the comedy “mordantly funny and visually arresting, although at five brief episodes, it’s more of an EP than a magnum opus.”
