Shadow and Bone
Netflix has enjoyed plenty of success with its fantasy TV offerings in recent times. Shadow and Bone, then, had plenty to live up to in a genre that also contains The Witcher, but it more than holds its own with an adventurous and twisting plot, investable characters and lots of drama.
It can take a couple of episodes to get into Shadow and Bone, and there could have been a bit more in the way of action. Once you're invested in its story and characters, though, Shadow and Bone is a world you can easily get lost in – and one you'll want to. Fingers crossed Netflix makes a Shadow and Bone season 2.
Details: 1 season, 8 episodes per season, 45-54 minutes per episode
The Witcher
Grand in scale and epic in scope, Netflix's The Witcher series may very well end up being the Game of Thrones-sized hit the service has been looking for all these years. Though The Witcher is a property that's well-known in the gaming world, Netflix's series actually hews closer to the original book series by Polish fantasy author Andrzej Sapkowski. Lending significant muscle and star-power to the series is Henry Cavill, who's clearly having the time of his life as the titular Witcher, Geralt of Rivia. But it isn't just Geralt's adventure, here – throughout the first season of the season, he'll also cross paths with Ciri (Freya Allan), a princess who's lost her parents and kingdom, and Yennefer, a sorceress whose journey has forced her to overcome many obstacles, including her own deformity. While The Witcher is initially slow out of the gate, the show rewards the viewer with a great amount of depth and fantastic action sequences. Not only that, but Netflix's The Witcher has already improved greatly with its second season, and we imagine it's only going to get better from here.
Details: 2 seasons, 8 episodes per season, 60 minutes per episode
Cowboy Bebop
Based on the Japanese anime of the same name, Netflix's live-action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop follows the adventures of a ragtag group of bounty hunters as they chase down criminals across the galaxy.
Spike Speigel (John Cho), Jet Black (Mustafa Shakir), Faye Valentine (Daniella Pineda), Vicious (Alex Hassell) and Ein (dog actors Charlie and Harry) are all back for Netflix's take on Hajime Yatate's anime program. Original composer Yoko Kanno is also back to deliver those jazz-infused earworms to audiences once more.
Critical reception to the show has been mixed so far, with some praising its cast and how closely it sticks to the original narrative. However, criticism has been levelled at how soulless it feels, while others have hit out at the new material that's been incorporated. Still, if you're interested in seeing how it compares to the anime, it's worth a look.
Details: 1 season, 10 episodes per season, 37-60 minutes per episode
Midnight Mass
The Haunting of Hill House creator Mike Flanagan returns with a new show, this time about a young man (Zach Gilford) who returns to his secluded island home of Crockett to serve a parole sentence. At the same time, a new priest (Hamish Linklater) arrives just as miraculous events start occurring across the island – leading the whole community to embrace religion in an unprecedented fashion. Something dark, however, lurks beneath the surface of this place. While it takes a little too long to get scary (three episodes, in fact), Midnight Mass eventually ramps up its Wicker Man-esque folk horror in a way that will make you binge through this seven-episode limited series rather quickly.
Details: 1 season, 7 episodes per season, 60-70 minutes per episode
Lost in Space
Based on the classic 1960s television series (and rather forgettable 1990s film) of the same name, Lost in Space is the latest show to get its own Netflix makeover. The space colonist family Robinson has found itself stranded on a mysterious planet once again, and it's up to them to find a way off that rock and back on course to its actual destination. Darker and more serious in tone than the original series, the new Lost in Space still offers the same sense of wonder, albeit with a new emphasis on survival in a harsh new realm. Now, Lost in Space is back for its third and final season, and we expect a stunning conclusion for this visually spectacular sci-fi gem.
Details: 3 seasons, 10 episodes per season, 40-54 minutes per episode
The Irregulars
If you're expecting a classic Sherlock Holmes retelling from this Netflix series: don't. For one, the iconic British detective (Henry Lloyd-Hughes) and his faithful companion Dr. Watson (Royce Pierreson) are supporting characters to the titular gang, and it's a lot more fantastical and occult-based than previous Sherlock movie or TV adaptations.
That said, it has an interesting premise. Set in Victorian London, The Irregulars follows a gang of street kids led by the matriarchal Bea (Thaddea Graham) who are hired by Watson at Holmes' supposed behest. Tasked with solving crimes with a supernatural twist on them, the group become embroiled in a plot that threatens the very existence of their world.
The cast are excellent and it's certainly intriguing to see a Sherlock TV show that dabbles in the mystical arts. If you're after a new fantasy series to binge, this should be your go-to choice.
Details: 1 season, 8 episodes per season, 49-58 minutes per episode
The Haunting of Bly Manor
The follow-up to The Haunting of Hill House – and listed separately on Netflix – The Haunting of Bly Manor is the latest horror series worth adding to your watch list. 'The Haunting' series is now an anthology, with many members of the same cast popping up again in this new '80s-set season, including Victoria Pedretti, Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Henry Thomas. This goes down more of a romantic route – an au pair (Pedretti), looking after two orphaned children, begins to uncover ghostly happenings in Bly Manor that reveal the location's history. The first season is well worth checking out, too, if you missed it in 2018.
Details: 1 season, 9 episodes per season, 45-66 minutes per episode
Altered Carbon
Based on the science fiction book series of the same name by Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon explores a futuristic world where death has become an inconvenience rather than a permanent state. A human's entire life can be backed up onto a chip in their neck, so when they die, they can move onto to a different body and continue on in another form. In the show's first season, Takeshi Kovacs (Joel Kinnaman) is brought out of digital prison after 250 years to solve a rich man's attempted (permanent) murder. Kovacs is the last remaining Envoy, a super soldier who is now tasked with working for the very people he fought a war against. Following the conclusion of that mystery, Kovacs is back 30 years later in a new sleeve (Anthony Mackie) for season 2, and his goal is to track down the long lost love of his life, Quellcrist Falconer (Renée Elise Goldsberry). With an epic scope and a visual style influenced by the cyberpunk classic Blade Runner, Altered Carbon is one of the most epic shows that Netflix has produced to date.
Details: 2 seasons, 8 episodes per season, 45-56 minutes per episode
I Am Not Okay With This
From the producers of Stranger Things, and the creative team behind The End of the F***ing World, comes I Am Not Okay With This – a new show about a troubled teenager named Sydney (IT's Sophia Lillis) who discovers she has super powers and must juggle these newfound abilities with her complicated home and school life. You can also expect these powers to wreak havoc on her budding sexuality. With episodes lasting roughly 20 minutes each, I Am Not Okay With This is perfect for those looking for something short and punchy to watch. Also stars Lillis' IT co-star, Wyatt Oleff.
Details: 1 season, 7 episodes per season, 19-24 minutes per episode
Locke & Key
Based on the beloved comic book series of the same name by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodríguez, Locke & Key follows three siblings who move into their ancestral home following the murder of their father. Soon after arriving, the kids discover that the house is filled with magical keys which not only grant them powers, but could also bring them closer to solving their father's murder. Of course, their discovery also awakens a mysterious demon who also wants the keys, so they'll have to keep their wits sharp to stay alive.
Details: 1 season, 10 episodes per season, 40-48 minutes per episode
Dracula
Now for a series with bite! From the makers of the fantastic Sherlock Holmes series comes a new take on Bram Stoker's classic Dracula story. Set in 1897 Transylvania, the series follows the blood-drinking Count (the magnificent Claes Bang) as he plots against London in three movie-length episodes. Admittedly, the first season's ending will likely divide audiences as it veers into ridiculousness, but hopefully the show will be able to steer back to the strength of its first episodes if it does eventually return.
Details: 1 season, 3 episodes per season, 90 minutes per episode
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance
A beloved fantasy film from the 1980s, Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal has returned as a brand new Netflix Original series! Delightfully, the original's staggeringly masterful puppetry has been retained and looks better and more elaborate than ever. Following on from the events of the original film, the new series once again takes place in the fantastical world of Thra, where the Gelfling clans are still in rebellion against the Skeksis – a reptilian bird-like race that rules over the world and causes much suffering for its people. A must-watch for '80s kids who grew up on the original film.
Details: 1 season, 10 episodes per season, 45-50 minutes per episode
Black Mirror
As far as dystopian fiction goes, Black Mirror is up there with the very best. Penned by Charlie Brooker, who before this was disassembling and decimating the news in his show NewsWipe, Black Mirror consists of a handful of caustic tales about the perils of technology, shady governments and human nature as a whole.
Not only has Netflix nabbed the original seven episodes of the show to stream, comprising two series and a Christmas special, but it also funded three additional seasons. Each standalone episode holds a mirror up to our society in extreme satire, with themes that are not too far from issues facing us all today: social media highs and embarrassing lows, technology going awry and new games that start to feel all-too real. Pitch-black comedy at its absolute darkest, Black Mirror is a must for tech-heads with a wicked sense of humour.
Now in its fifth season, Black Mirror has returned to Netflix three brand new episodes. Expect some seriously dark and dystopian tales with an undercurrent of pitch black comedy.
Details: 5 seasons (plus one interactive special), 3-6 episodes per season, 60 minutes per episode
Chambers
In the creepy Netflix Original thriller Chambers, a young woman named Sasha (Sivan Alyra Rose) receives a heart transplant from the recently deceased girl Becky (Lilliya Scarlett Reid) and immediately senses that something is not right. After meeting with Becky's mother, Nancy (Uma Thurman), Sasha begins seeing things that were witnessed by her heart's previous owner, leading her to believe that she's being haunted by Becky. To make matters worse, it quickly becomes apparent that Becky's mum and dad are up to something seriously sinister. Guaranteed to send shivers up your spine, Chambers is heart-pounding despite its deliberate pace.
Details: 1 season, 10 episodes per season, 38-50 minutes per episode
The Haunting of Hill House
Loosely based on the 1959 gothic horror novel by Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House follows seven members of the Crain family who are forever traumatised by their brief time living at an old mansion in 1992. From the show's title, you've probably surmised that the house is haunted, however, these particular ghosts will continue to haunt the Crain children well into adulthood – no matter where they live. Regularly flicking back and forth between the present and past, The Haunting of Hill House gets under your skin slowly, gradually revealing the escalation of horror that led the family to be as fractured as it is today. As chilling as The Haunting of Hill House is, it's the family drama aspect that resonates most. That said, you'll probably want to sleep with the lights on after binging this is one. If you're a fan of films like The Conjuring, It and Hereditary, you're going to love this.
Details: 1 season, 10 episodes per season, 60-70 minutes per episode
Maniac
From director Cary Fukunaga (True Detective) comes Maniac, a sci-fi dramedy that's almost impossible to describe (we'll try our best, though). Set it a retro-futuristic version of New York City (think 'Big Apple' by way of Blade Runner), Maniac follows two troubled individuals (played by Emma Stone and Jonah Hill) who sign up for a mysterious pharmaceutical trial that promises to improve their lives exponentially. Placed in a series of dream-like states, the pair somehow find themselves repeatedly drawn to each other in their shared delusion. Do the two characters share a destiny, or is this just a side-effect of the trial? Featuring beautiful visuals and incredible performances, Maniac is the kind of mind-bending miniseries that deserves your time.
Details: 1 season, 10 episodes per season, 26-47 minutes per episode
