We’ve all been overwhelmed by streaming TV choices, only to give up and watch something we’ve already seen. But this curated list of the best shows on Netflix is here to narrow down your choices and help you figure out exactly which titles you want to sample next.
The titular BoJack (voiced by Will Arnett, now a host of the wildly successful podcast Smartless) was, back in the ’90s, the star of a wildly successful family sitcom called Horsin’ Around. In the 2010s, he’s a has-been barely hanging on to his acting career. As part of a comeback attempt, he hires Diane Nguyen (Alison Brie, whose new limited series, Apples Never Fall, recently premiered on Peacock) to ghostwrite his memoir, drawing her into his world of substance use and depression. It really is a comedy! Paul F. Tompkins deserves special note for his work as BoJack’s onetime sitcom rival turned frenemy, a Labrador retriever named Mr. Peanutbutter.
Many stories that speculate about the end of days revolve around characters who decide not to go out without attempting experiences that have always scared them. In Carol & the End of the World, from Rick and Morty producer Dan Guterman, the titular Carol (voiced by Martha Kelly) would actually prefer to act as though her life won’t really be changing at all—despite the upcoming apocalypse. The voice talent in this quietly beautiful dramedy includes Beth Grant as Carol’s mother, Bridget Everett as Carol’s sister, and Michael Chernus as a potential love interest. If Prime Video’s Fallout is too intense for you, try this much gentler vision.
Before Bob Odenkirk was the mopey chair of a university English department in AMC’s Lucky Hank, Sandra Oh—whose latest show, The Sympathizer, recently wrapped on HBO—was the put-upon chair of a much better university’s English department in Netflix’s original limited series The Chair. Ji-Yoon (Oh), the first woman to run the department, takes over just in time for her recently widowed friend, Bill (Jay Duplass), to succumb to an in-class meltdown, causing a scandal Ji-Yoon has to deal with instead of enacting change the department actually needs. Excellent performances make this one of the best comedies and best dramas on Netflix.