Even though Netflix released more original content than we knew what to do with this year, it’s been an amazing year for new Netflix shows. Between comedies, dramas, mysteries, and romances, the streaming service kept us entertained and on the edge of our seats from beginning to end.
Still, sometimes you can’t always count on new Netflix shows to be as good as you were hoping… or as good as everyone said they were. But not these shows. There were so many good shows this year, but these five Netflix shows were delightful surprises we couldn’t stop binge-watching!
Ransom Canyon
Before Ransom Canyon even premiered, we knew exactly what kind of show we were getting. Based on the book series by Jodi Thomas, the Western romantic drama was always one that would fit right in with Netflix’s hit comfort soaps Virgin River and Sweet Magnolias. A show that’s easy viewing, full of romance, and plot twists that you could only find in the pages of a novel.
These types of shows can often be cringey, drippy, and overwrought with unflattering amounts of drama. But Ransom Canyon actually wasn’t weighed down by the limitations of its genre. Thanks to its leading stars Josh Duhamel and Minka Kelly, the series easily became the next essential guilty pleasure on Netflix, one you don’t have to feel all that guilty about enjoying.
Ransom Canyon will be back for a second season in 2026 and returns to the sweeping ranches in Texas to continue following the fight for power between the dueling families. Beyond the questions surrounding ownership of the land, which earned the show thematic comparisons to Yellowstone, we’re really showing up to see what’s next for the relationships, let’s be honest!
Leanne
We have been in desperate need of a sitcom revolution, and Leanne Morgan is helping lead the charge with Netflix. Sure, there are plenty of comedy series that are still killing it on streaming services and on linear networks, but the multi-cam comedy has fallen out of fashion. Streaming has struggled to make a multi-cam comeback, but Leanne has ushered in a new era.
The Ranch and The Upshaws have each been long-running multi-cam sitcom hits for Netflix, and Leanne continues to carry to torch for them. Hopefully, it’s the start of a diverse group of voices leading more sitcoms on Netflix. It’s lucky that Leanne’s not just the face of a comedy movement, but it’s also a solid show that provides hearty laughs when we really need them.
Before single-camera comedies became increasingly popular in the 2000s and 2010s, we lived in a golden age of multi-cams. They hold so much nostalgic, and Leanne was able to tap into that cozy comfort that sitcoms gave us. It’s the return to form we’ve been waiting for. While some might have assumed the show would have been bad for whatever reason, it’s an excellent sitcom.
Untamed
One of the most popular Netflix shows of the year was without question Untamed. No one saw the mystery drama series coming! In many ways, it was the biggest surprise of the year, and not only from the perspective that it was good. The series was intended to be a limited series, but because the ratings were so huge, Netflix quickly changed course and ordered a second season.
It shouldn’t be novel to admit that Untamed was probably underestimated before its release. A mystery series about a National Parks agent investigating a death and delving into personal trauma? The bare-bones set up sounds like nearly every limited series we have watched in the past 10 odd years, but Untamed brought a unique point of view we hadn’t recently seen.
Additionally, it’s the rare show that was able to hit its audience with genuine surprise. Maybe you were able to figure out the identity of the killer, and good for you, but the mystery in Untamed’s first season was truly successful in making sure the plot twists were surprising (but not to a ridiculous extent). Who would have thought at the beginning of the year we’d be excited for Untamed season 2?
Boots
A coming-of-age series about gay men in the military was one of the best Netflix shows of the year. That’s a pretty important feat. Boots was more than likely seen as a show that would be critically panned and wouldn’t make much of a viewership. While it’s no Squid Game, the little show that could was scrappy and put up a fight in the face of criticism from the government.
Thanks to positive word of mouth started by a passionate fandom and actually quality, personal storytelling, Boots defied expectations. It’s not easy for these kinds of shows to be seen outside of smaller communities, but its performance on the top 10 proved that these boots were definitely made for walking, or rather running, right onto our best of the year lists.
Like the majority of the shows featured on this list, Boots was another lesson in not judging a book by its cover or comparing a show to those of a similar genre and trajectory. You never know what can happen when you keep an open mind and give something a chance. You might just find the next show that’s surprisingly good and worth watching.
The Beast in Me
You’re probably wondering how a show from one of the creators of Homeland and starring two Emmy Award winners can be “surprisingly” good, but when it comes to Netflix thriller limited series, you should understand why we were initially apprehensive. The Beast in Me could have been a disaster that was bashed by critics and hated by audiences, but we were all pleasantly surprised.
Obviously, we could count on Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys to deliver gripping performances as always, but sometimes great actors are saddled with middling writing. Even the best actors can’t mold bad writing into gold. The Beast in Me thankfully gave Danes and Rhys incredible material to work with, and gave Brittany Snow the chance to turn in a career-best performance, too.
While your mileage may vary, The Beast in Me was the rare murder mystery miniseries about rich people and dark trauma that was worth the watch. The ending might have gone exactly where you thought it would, but at least the series didn’t send us on a wild goose chase that didn’t add up to anything. Avoiding the pitfalls of many limited series is why it’s surprisingly good.
