There are times when all you need is an engrossing drama, and Netflix provides it. Netflix offers an unparalleled selection of dramas that viewers can’t get enough of. Other than this location, where else can you view Breaking Bad, Peaky Blinders, The Lincoln Lawyer, and the just-released all at once? Just those series would elevate Netflix to a top drama destination.
But as 2024 begins, two more shows have been added to this list: Showtime’s long-running Shameless and Netflix’s excellent original crime series Ozark. The greatest drama series available on Netflix right now are only getting started. Read on for the whole lineup of the best drama series to watch on Netflix.
The Lincoln Lawyer
https://www.netflix.com/title/81303831
Description
Based on the novels by Michael Connelly, The Lincoln Lawyer is a drama on television that stars Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as Mickey Haller, a former heroin addict who now practises defence law and is famed for operating out of a Lincoln Navigator. Alongside his two ex-wives, Lorna and Maggie, for whom Mickey still harbours love and with whom he shares custody of his teenage daughter, Hayley, he manages his demanding professional life.
Following the death of Jerry Vincent, the practice’s original owner, Mickey inherits not only the business but also Jerry’s cases, including a well-publicised murder trial, and maybe even Jerry’s killer, who now has Mickey as a target. Viewers are left cheering for Mickey to be successful outside of the legal field by the episode.
- Genre – Drama
- Director – David E. Kelley
- Actors – Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Angus Sampson, Christopher Gorham, Becki Newton, Jazz Raycole
- Age Restriction – U/A16+
Rating
IMDB: 7.7/10 (62K+ Votes)
Rotten tomato: 85% (46 Votes)
Everything Now
https://www.netflix.com/title/81437049
Description
Everything Now is about Sophie Wilde’s character Mia, who has recently been released from the hospital after a fight with anorexia nervosa and must navigate the challenging world of British adolescence. The show Everything Now skillfully blends sad drama with smart British comedy to bring visibility to the under-discussed problem of anorexia nervosa. Although Sam Reuben, Stephen Fry, and Vivienne Acheampong are among the ensemble members of the series, it’s Wilde’s leading performance that shines.
- Genre – Comedy, Drama
- Director – Dionne Edwards, Charlie Manton
- Actors – Sophie Wilde, Noah Thomas, Lauryn Ajufo, Harry Cadby
- Age Restriction – A
Rating
IMDB: 6.8/10 (2K+ Votes)
Rotten tomato: 82% (11 Votes)
The Diplomat
https://www.netflix.com/title/81288983
Description
In this political thriller, Keri Russell plays a US diplomat who finds herself in over her head trying to diffuse a global crisis while also juggling her husband’s need to always be in the spotlight as a former ambassador. Russell is the ideal motivator to keep this show moving forward, deftly striking a balance between the suspenseful drama of a possible global conflict and the challenges of attempting to maintain a marriage that hinders her professional goals. In addition, the show is set in London and stars a plethora of well-known British actors, including Pearl Mackie, David Gyasi, and Rory Kin.
- Genre – Drama
- Director – Debora Cahn
- Actors – Keri Russell, David Gyasi, Rory Kin, Rufus Sewell
- Age Restriction – U/A16+
Rating
IMDB: 8/10 (56K+ Votes)
Rotten tomato: 53% (53 Votes)
Grey’s Anatomy
https://www.netflix.com/title/70140391
Description
This gripping medical drama centres on a group of physicians at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital who must make judgments that might mean the difference between life and death every day. They look to one another for support and perhaps for more than just camaraderie. Together, they learn that there are no black-and-white answers in either relationships or medicine.
- Genre – Medical drama
- Director – Shonda Rhimes
- Actors – Ellen Pompeo, Kevin McKidd, Caterina Scorsone, Chandra Wilson, James Pickens Jr.
- Age Restriction – U/A16+
Rating
IMDB:7.6/10 (336K+ Votes)
Rotten tomato: 84% (205 Votes)
Peaky Blinders
https://www.netflix.com/title/80002479
Description
Britain in 1919, following the Great War, is a land somewhere between hedonism and misery. In a country shaken by economic turmoil, criminal gangs, recently minted revolutionaries, and returning warriors are battling for survival. Thomas Shelby, a returning war hero, and his family led the Peaky Blinders, one of the most potent gangs of the day. However, Thomas’s goals go beyond simply controlling the streets. He sees a chance to rise in the world when a shipment of firearms disappears because, while crime may pay, legal commerce is more lucrative. Inspector Chester Campbell travels from Belfast to purge Britain of its criminality.
- Genre – Historical Drama
- Director – Otto Bathurst, Colm McCarthy
- Actors – Cillian Murphy, Sophie Rundle, Finn Cole, Natasha O’Keeffe, Paul Anderson
- Age Restriction – A
Rating
IMDB: 8.810 (633K+ Votes)
Rotten tomato: 93% (113 Votes)
Bridgerton
https://www.netflix.com/title/80232398
Description
Bridgerton follows Daphne Bridgerton, the oldest child of the wealthy Bridgerton family, as she enters the cutthroat marriage market in Regency London. At first, Daphne’s chances of finding a partner motivated by real love appear to be unmatched as she hopes to follow in her parent’s footsteps. But when her elder brother starts to eliminate her possible suitors, Daphne is tarnished by the high society gossip sheet penned by the enigmatic Lady Whistledown.
Let me introduce you to the incredibly attractive and rebellious Duke of Hastings, a devoted bachelor who is the talk of the season for the mothers of debutantes. Even though they each profess not to be interested in the other, they can’t help but be attracted to one another, and as their wits get more and more sharp, sparks fly.
- Genre – Drama
- Director – Chris Van Dusen
- Actors – Nicola Coughlan, Luke Thompson, Golda Rosheuvel, Luke Newton, Claudia Jessie
- Age Restriction – A
Rating
IMDB: 7.4/10 (163K+ Votes)
Rotten tomato: 82% (192 Votes)
Squid Game
https://www.netflix.com/title/81040344
Description
The gripping South Korean survival thriller Squid Game is one of Netflix’s best successes of 2021. Seong Gi-hun has financial difficulties. Thus, Seong Gi-Hun seizes the opportunity to play kid’s games in exchange for a substantial sum of money. However, after accepting the invitation, he is brought to an unidentified place and made to play with 455 other individuals who are similarly heavily in debt. It soon becomes evident that they would perish if they lost a game, and the only way to live is to outwit the other participants and the enigmatic game administrators. A gripping, violent, and completely captivating tale, it is broken up into nine segments.
- Genre – Drama
- Director – Hwang Dong-hyuk
- Actors – Lee Jung-Jae, Wi Ha-joon, Jung Ho-Yeon, Park Hae-soo, Oh Yeong-su
- Age Restriction – A
Rating
IMDB: 8/10 (527K+ Votes)
Rotten tomato: 95% (76 Votes)
Money Heist
https://www.netflix.com/title/80192098
Description
A skilled thief known only as “The Professor” intends to print billions of euros at the Royal Mint of Spain in order to carry off the largest theft in history. He enlists the aid of eight individuals who possess certain skills and have nothing to lose in order to carry out the audacious plan. In order to facilitate their discussions with the police, the group of thieves kidnaps hostages. The authorities then plot to find a means to apprehend The Professor. The thieves are getting ready for a confrontation with the cops as more time passes.
- Genre – Drama, Thriller
- Director – Álex Pina
- Actors – Pedro Alonso, Itziar Ituño, Enrique Arce, Úrsula Corberó, Álvaro Morte
- Age Restriction – A
Rating
IMDB: 8.2/10 (524K+ Votes)
Rotten tomato: 94% (44 Votes)
The Queen’s Gambit
https://www.netflix.com/title/80234304
Description
The Queen’s Gambit is a drama series with a brief beginning, middle, and finale that you might like. This phenomenally popular Netflix original series is set in the 1950s and 60s and follows the tale of a young orphan who is trying to overcome her trauma and find happiness wherever she can, as well as the characters she encounters along the way. She suffers at home but overcomes them all to become a world-renowned champion at chess as a result of her adventure. The Queen’s Gambit is a multifaceted plot that combines elements of a prestige drama series, a deep examination of characters, and a sports narrative.
- Genre – Drama
- Director – Scott Frank, Allan Scott
- Actors – Anya Taylor-Joy, Moses Ingram, Harry Melling, Marielle Heller, Thomas Brodie-Sangster
- Age Restriction – U/A16+
Rating
IMDB: 8.5/10 (537K+ Votes)
Rotten tomato: 96% (105 Votes)
Breaking Bad
https://www.netflix.com/title/70143836
Description
Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, the prequel spin-off, are regarded as some of this generation’s best television shows. Watching Breaking Bad draws viewers in with the intriguing premise of a mild-mannered chemistry teacher who transforms into a ruthless drug lord. Breaking Bad’s electric energy comes from the contrast between Walter White’s previous life and his new beginnings, but the programme is also very bleak. Walt grows more at ease leaving corpses in his trail as a result of his unwavering will to live and triumph. Many personalities reach their lowest periods in life, and some abhorrent things are committed.
- Genre – Crime, Drama
- Actors – Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, RJ Mitte, Dean Norris
- Director – Vince Gilligan
- Age Restriction – A
Rating
IMDB: 9.5/10 (2M+ Votes)
Rotten Tomato: 96% (250 Reviews)
The Crown
https://www.netflix.com/title/80025678
Description
The crown tv show follows Queen Elizabeth II’s life from the 1940s to the present and is based on an award-winning play (“The Audience”) by showrunner Peter Morgan. After her father, King George VI, passed away at the age of 25, the queen took the throne, and the show opens with an inside look at her early reign. As the years went by, political rivalries, love triangles, and personal intrigues emerged that significantly influenced the events that defined the latter half of the 20th century.
- Genre – Drama
- Director – Peter Morgan
- Actors – Imelda Staunton, Dominic West, Elizabeth Debicki, Jonathan Pryce, Lesley Manville
- Age Restriction – U/A16+
Rating
IMDB: 8.6/10 (252K+ Votes)
Rotten tomato: 81% (547 Votes)
Narcos: Mexico
https://www.netflix.com/title/80997085
Description
This follow-up to “Narcos” delves further into the history of the drug war by beginning when the Mexican trafficking industry was a loose, disjointed network of individual growers and traffickers. Felix Gallardo leads the Guadalajara Cartel in the 1980s, uniting traffickers to create an empire. Kiki Camarena, a DEA agent, discovers his job is more difficult than he anticipated when he relocates from California to Guadalajara with his wife and small kid to take up a new position. As Camarena learns more about Gallardo and gets more involved in the operation, a sad series of events starts to happen.
- Genre – Crime, Drama
- Director – Carlo Bernard, Chris Brancato
- Actors – Scoot McNairy, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Alberto Guerra, Diego Luna, José María Yazpik
- Age Restriction – A
Rating
IMDB: 8.4/10 (91K+ Votes)
Rotten tomato: 90% (63 Votes)
Conclusion
A heart-wrenching movie that makes us want to cry alongside the characters might occasionally feel more therapeutic than counselling. At times, we might get the hope we need to persist by witnessing a protagonist endure terrible adversity. Netflix features some of the most brilliantly made and captivating programming of our time, ranging from Peak TV treasures (Narcos) to what are now TV classics (Breaking Bad). While we continue to add titles to this list, for now, enjoy our selection of the Netflix’s best drama series, and feel free to share your recommendations in the comments below.
