Some shows manage to be big and bold without losing their soul. They’re smart, emotionally honest, sometimes beautifully strange—and they stick with you long after the credits roll.
Whether it’s an A-list ensemble quietly falling apart at a lake house or a surreal spiral that starts with a road rage incident, these are the kinds of stories that feel personal, even when they’re doing something totally unexpected. They’re stylish without being hollow, heartfelt without being cheesy, and just unpredictable enough to keep you thinking.
If you’re looking for something to binge this weekend that’s as thoughtful as it is entertaining, here are 10 shows on Netflix worth your time.
1. Nobody Wants This
One season, 8 episodes
Kristen Bell and Adam Brody star in this warm, sharp dramedy about an unexpected romance between Joanne, an L.A. podcaster, and Noah, a newly single rabbi in training. As they navigate wildly different cultural and religious backgrounds, the show leans into both the comedy and the complexity of building a relationship that asks you to rethink who you are. It’s witty, sincere and quietly one of the most original love stories Netflix has put out in years.
2. Maid
Limited series, 10 episodes
Margaret Qualley delivers a gut-punch of a performance as a single mom escaping domestic abuse and hustling through dead-end jobs to provide for her daughter. Based on the memoir by Stephanie Land, the series picked up three Emmy nominations and quietly became one of Netflix’s most acclaimed dramas. It’s heavy, yes—but also deeply hopeful and quietly revolutionary.
3. The Chair
One season, 6 episodes
Sandra Oh leads this wickedly smart academic dramedy as Dr. Ji-Yoon Kim, the first woman of color to chair a crumbling English department at a fictional Ivy-adjacent university. With supporting performances from Jay Duplass and Holland Taylor, it skewers campus politics, cancel culture and aging institutions—all in under three hours.
4. Beef
One season, 10 episodes
Ali Wong and Steven Yeun go nuclear in this dark, chaotic meditation on rage, class and repressed trauma. It won three Emmys—including acting wins for both stars—and feels like nothing else on TV. It starts with a petty road rage incident. It ends… somewhere far deeper.
5. Running Point
One season, 10 episodes
Kate Hudson plays a party-girl-turned-girlboss who has the chance of a lifetime running her family’s pro basketball team in this dry, surprisingly moving sports-adjacent dramedy. Think less Winning Time, more Fleabag meets front office. Bonus points for supporting performances from Scott MacArthur and Brenda Song.
6. Somebody Feed Phil
Seven seasons, 35+ episodes
Created by Everybody Loves Raymond writer Phil Rosenthal, this travel-meets-food series has quietly become Netflix’s most joy-inducing show. Phil’s earnest curiosity, dad jokes and refusal to act cool make this the rare comfort watch that doesn’t feel hollow. Come for the noodles. Stay for the serotonin.
7. The Four Seasons
One season, 8 episodes
An ensemble dramedy stacked with talent—Tina Fey, Steve Carell, Will Forte and Colman Domingo—The Four Seasons follows a group of longtime friends as they navigate aging, ambition and unexpected life pivots through four seasonal getaways. It’s funny, melancholic and surprisingly reflective, like a bottle of wine shared over group therapy.
8. Russian Doll
Two seasons, 15 episodes total
Natasha Lyonne stars as a chain-smoking, time-looped New Yorker in this brilliantly existential comedy. Season 1 is a near-perfect blend of humor, trauma and metaphysics. Season 2 gets even weirder (and somehow even deeper). This series has been nominated for 13 Emmys and basically invented the phrase “What is time?”
9. Dead to Me
Three seasons, 30 episodes
Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini are pure chaos and chemistry in this dark comedy about grief, friendship and truly terrible decisions. It starts with a hit-and-run and spirals into one of the most twist-filled, emotionally layered dramedies Netflix has ever produced. The writing is razor-sharp, the performances earned Emmy nods, and somehow, between the murder and betrayal, it becomes a show about healing.
10. The Kominsky Method
Three seasons, 22 episodes
Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin play aging Hollywood has-beens navigating grief, fatherhood and mortality—without ever getting too sentimental. The writing is sharp. The acting is better. And it won two Golden Globes, just in case you care about that kind of thing.
If you’re burned out on plot twists and prestige fatigue, these shows offer something better: stories that feel human. Slightly broken, a little hopeful and (mostly) bingeable in a weekend.
