The streaming age has led to a saturation of content — you have to wade through even more bad shows to get to the good shows these days — but some streaming shows are perfect from start to finish. Netflix has led the charge with shows like Adolescence, Baby Reindeer, Mindhunter, and BoJack Horseman.
But all the other streaming services have flawless gems of their own. Disney+ has Andor, Hulu has Reservation Dogs, and Prime Video has I’m a Virgo.
Mythic Quest
Apple TV
Rob McElhenney and Megan Ganz’s follow-up to It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia was a complete tonal 180. Mythic Quest replaced the cynicism, pitch-black comedy, and terrible people of Always Sunny with optimism, lighthearted humor, and kind, lovable, good-natured characters. It’s an interesting peek behind the curtain at the video game industry, and it’s also just a solid workplace sitcom.
Peacemaker
HBO Max
It initially seemed unnecessary to spin off John Cena’s Suicide Squad character into his own series, but Peacemaker ended up being the key to getting DC back on track. It solidified James Gunn’s ability to humanize these comic book characters, and tell human stories in the context of this heightened superhero-infested universe. Peacemaker is funny, moving, and a great showcase for Cena’s range.
GLOW
Netflix
GLOW is a love letter to the campness of professional wrestling, a nostalgic look back at the brightly colored flash of the 1980s, and above all, an ode to artistic expression. A wrestling show was not any of these characters’ first choice for a creative outlet, but after being thrown together and tasked with creating a wrestling show, they turned it into something beautiful.
Paper Girls
Prime Video
Amazon sent its adaptation of Brian K. Vaughan’s comic book Paper Girls out to die. It barely advertised the series, and wasted no time canceling it after the first season dropped. And it’s a shame, because it was a really great little show. It follows a lovable ragtag group of kids on a time-traveling adventure that brings them face-to-face with their future selves.
The Boys Presents: Diabolical
Prime Video
The Boys and its other spinoff, Gen V, started out really strong, but they’ve both stumbled at different points throughout their run. The animated anthology, The Boys Presents: Diabolical, might’ve been considered a throwaway addition to the franchise, but it’s also the only series in this universe that doesn’t have a single bad episode. The writers and animators let their imagination run wild.
Dark
Netflix
Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese’s confounding sci-fi thriller Dark is the closest thing I’ve seen to a modern-day Twin Peaks. Much like Twin Peaks, it’s a perfect marriage of small-town soap opera and chilling supernatural mystery. The writers paid close attention to detail, even as they had several timelines to keep track of, and created a rewarding, twist-filled viewing experience.
WandaVision
Disney+
Most of the Disney+ shows spun off from the Marvel Cinematic Universe have either been forgettable, like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, or outright disastrous, like Secret Invasion. But they got off to a great start with WandaVision. WandaVision is both a love letter to the history of the sitcom genre and a touching exploration of grief. It’s the furthest thing from typical Marvel spectacle.
Our Flag Means Death
HBO Max
Set during the Golden Age of Piracy, Our Flag Means Death tells the unbelievable true story of a gentleman-turned-pirate as he sets out to make a name for himself. Rhys Darby is one of the funniest people on Earth, so he’s always a joy to watch, and the show itself is a delightfully subversive take on the well-worn swashbuckler genre.
The Queen’s Gambit
Netflix
The Queen’s Gambit took the world by storm during the pandemic. Anya Taylor-Joy gives a star-making turn as a troubled chess prodigy struggling with addiction and trying to save face in the public eye. Writer-director Scott Frank did the impossible with The Queen’s Gambit: he made chess riveting. This is filmmaking at its best.
One Day
Netflix
Unlike the previous film adaptation, Netflix’s 14-episode version of One Day had the time to really bask in David Nicholls’ sprawling love story. The series chronicles two decades in the lives of on-and-off lovers Emma and Dexter. Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall share incredible on-screen chemistry that really sells this touching romance, and the writing flits seamlessly between heartwarming and heartbreaking.
