Which Netflix television shows emerge as the best of 2020? The pandemic has undoubtedly ushered in an online streaming boom, leading to increased viewership among divergent demographics. While most TV networks and services have struggled due to a dearth of newer programs, Netflix has managed to outshine them by a considerable degree.
Netflix released a plethora of new movies, television shows, and documentaries even amid the pandemic, while adding 28 million paid Netflix hips over the span of nine months. This, in part, can be attributed to people having more time on their hands while at home due to social distancing, spurring an acceleration in binge-watching and streaming subscription trends.
While 2020 was an uneven year for the big screen, it saw a wide variety of TV shows that boasted of a promising premise, immersive worldbuilding, and relatable characters. Here are our picks of the best Netflix TV shows of the year.
15. Dash & Lily
Based on the YA novel Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, Dash & Lily's first season is a lighthearted rom-com with flawed yet deeply likable characters.
14. Outer Banks
An action-adventure teen drama set in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Outer Banks follows a group of teenagers, Pogues, who are determined to unravel the cause behind the disappearance of ring leader John B’s (Chase Stokes) father. Halfway through the investigation, they stumble upon a treasure that is connected to the case, while being chased by the law and Kooks, who are deemed superior. The reason why Outer Banks emerged as appealing to audiences can be attributed to the melee of relatable characters, who are fun to watch despite a severe case of mediocre writing. Granted, Outer Banks does rely too much upon the Pogues vs. Kooks divide to trigger narrative conflicts, but the show provides a slow, meandering escape to the picturesque.
13. Ratched
Ryan Murphy’s psychological thriller, Nurse Mildred, who manipulates her way through the ranks with the aid of lies and blackmail, while working in a psychiatric hospital that conducts unsettling experiments on its patients. Murphy manages to create a world that appears both lavish and heinous at the same time, making use of sickly-green color palettes and carefully-crafted costume choices. However, the first season of Ratched does make for an anticipatory watch, as Mildred is currently miles away from being the literary villain people both loathe and love.
12. The Stranger
This eight-part British mystery thriller is based on the eponymous 2015 Harlan Coben novel, and stars Richard Armitage, Siobhan Finneran, and Hannah John-Kamen. The Stranger chronicles a mysterious phenomenon in which a stranger tells secrets to various characters throughout the series, which seems to have a disastrous impact on the receivers' personal lives. One such character is Adam Price (Armitage), who learns about the story of a faked pregnancy concerning his wife, Corinne, which turns out to be true. Soon after, Connie disappears mysteriously, which is essentially treated as the central mystery of the series. Managing to keep audiences at the edge of their seats, The Stranger paces its narrative at an effectively taut clip, making it a commendable adaptation of the original book.
11. The Baby-Sitters Club
Based on the children’s novel series of the same name, Baby-Sitters Club book series, which is refreshing to behold.
10. Feel Good
Mae Martin’s Feel Good is a six-part program with the international release handled by Netflix. Feel Good follows the endearing romance of George and Mae, who happen to meet at the comedy club where Mae performs. After dating for a while, George learns that Mae is a former drug addict, and she urges Mae to attend Narcotics Anonymous meetings. George, having never dated a woman before, finds it difficult to introduce Mae to her friends, which understandably frustrates the latter. Martin’s immaculate writing and delivery imbues Feel Good with startling depth and authenticity, while the show manages to maintain its funny bone right until the end. The series is paced in a taut manner, without appearing too frenzied or heavy-hitting, while helming a story that is deeply and intrinsically humane.
9. The Haunting of Bly Manor
Based on Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw, Mike Flanagan’s sequel to the wildly popular Henry Thomas) for a significant part of the series. Literal ghosts make several appearances too, haunting every scene, while either being tucked amid the shadows or gliding past the corner of one’s eye. The end result is moving and phantasmagoric, in which love emerges as something to truly root for.
8. Big Mouth
2020 witnessed the fourth season of Family Guy writer Andrew Goldberg. The newest season of Big Mouth centers upon the shattering of friendships and emotions, only for the characters to come together stronger than ever before. The season premiere, “The New Me” opens with Nick (Nick Croll), Andrew (John Mulaney), and Jessi (Jessi Klein) being set to sleepaway camp, while Lola and Jay cavort around Bridgetown with no holds barred. Despite being at a fault often due to character oversimplification, Big Mouth eventually is an empathetic approach to the toils and tribulations of adolescence, despite continuing its thread of cringe comedy. It is also important to note that season 4 works well due to its refreshing change of pace, while expertly mapping the inevitable transition of the characters into emotional maturity, which is almost endearing to watch.
7. Blood of Zeus
Seraphim (Elias Toufexis), a powerful half-demon with mysterious origins and motivations. Blood of Zeus can undoubtedly be deemed as the most compelling American anime on Netflix, owing to its well-plotted storyline, impressive visuals, and grand, sweeping score. The fight scenes, in particular, are beautifully rendered, especially the one in which Heron takes on Cerberus in a chance encounter, along with the final, extremely bloody showdown.
6. Unorthodox
The German-American drama miniseries was the first Netflix series to be primarily in Yiddish, and it is inspired by Deborah Feldman's 2012 autobiography, Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots. Unorthodox zeroes in on Esty (Shira Haas), a 19-year old Jewish woman trapped in an unhappy arranged marriage among an ultra-orthodox Brooklyn community. Suffocated by her surroundings, Esty absconds to Berlin with the hopes of exploring a more free, secular existence. Unorthodox received widespread critical acclaim due to the masterful adaptation of its source material and Haas’ extraordinary performance. Unorthodox reaches artistic heights in the scene in which Esty sees a villa where the Nazis made the decision to exterminate Jews in concentration camps - something which visibly rattles her. As a response, Esty walks into the water, taking off her clothes layer by layer, embracing her freedom without shame or hesitation.
