10 Most Underrated Netflix Shows Of All Time, Ranked

Netflix has been home to some of the most successful shows of the streaming era, like "Stranger Things," as well as top documentaries such as "Tiger King" and "Wild Wild Country." However, there are plenty of great shows that never quite get the mainstream attention or acclaim they deserve and end up lost in the near-infinite library of Netflix properties. Among Netflix's many strengths is its breadth of genres, from star-launching sitcoms to pulpy science fiction. Nevertheless, in the streaming age, there's no strict formula for what makes a series a hit or a miss. There are dozens of Netflix series that are leagues better than "Stranger Things," but sadly, they never received more than one season. For other Netflix series, their failure to capture mainstream attention is glaringly obvious, while other premature cancellations remain baffling. These ten Netflix series deserved much more love than they got from both audiences and the streaming service. When it comes to sci-fi anthology series on Netflix, it's hard to compete with a show as popular as "Black Mirror." However, few seasons of "Black Mirror" are as consistently well-written or as visually stunning as the best episodes of "Love, Death & Robots," a show that not only blends genres across its standalone episodes but also blends mediums. The animation style varies from episode to episode, with some episodes, like "Ice Age," standing out for incorporating live-action performances. Most TV shows like "The Twilight Zone" lean heavily into the horror or thriller aspects of the anthology genre, but "Love, Death & Robots" draws more tonally from the 1981 film "Heavy Metal," featuring gratuitous violence and sex that's often jarring in its animation. However, subsequent seasons of the Netflix series take the inspiration further than just spectacle, with highlights including the David Fincher-directed "Bad Travelling" or the miniature zombie story of "Night of the Mini Dead." Not every episode of "Love, Death & Robots" succeeds in capturing the darkly comedic aspects of the sci-fi and fantasy genre. However, it's a show that's been extremely innovative and visually beautiful in the shadows, with the most recent fourth season only just released in 2025. Maybe there's still hope for audiences to catch on if a fifth season ever gets greenlit. Betty Gilpin is one of the best TV character actors of all time, but it seems as if her guest spot in Apple TV's "Widow's Bay" is finally getting her some long-overdue flowers. However, Netflix subscribers have been spoiled with Gilpin's appearances in shows like "GLOW" and "Death By Lightning," so much so that they may have missed one of her best performances in the miniseries "American Primeval," the six-episode western set during the Mormon Rebellion in 1857. The series stars Gilpin as Sara Holloway, a woman who's become a fugitive after murdering her husband and trying to safely escape with her son Devin (Preston Mota) to the fictional town of Crooks Springs. She finds a guide through the wilderness in troubled explorer Isaac Reed (Taylor Kitsch), who agrees to help the mother-son duo navigate a war-torn American West. As you can imagine, the journey is long and arduous, making for one of the most thrilling and action-packed limited series on Netflix. Examining an oft-forgotten era of American history, "American Primeval" is a gritty, violent, and shocking show that might be too much for some viewers. At the same time, it's grounded by an intensely emotional story about a woman fighting to survive for her own betterment in an unforgiving world, with Gilpin's nuanced portrayal of Sara keeping it from feeling like your average Taylor Sheridan show. Based on its premise alone, "Love" may not seem all that fresh. Produced by Judd Apatow, the Netflix series follows the slow-burn romance between the socially awkward Gus (Paul Rust) and the sex-addicted Mickey (Gillian Jacobs). Though their many personal issues make them seem like nightmarish romantic partners, the relationship that forms between the two is actually quite heartwarming, making this one of the most underrated Netflix comfort watches you can find. Though Rust and Jacobs get most of the screen time as series leads, "Love" also boasts a strong supporting cast. Claudia O'Doherty plays Mickey's pushover roommate, Bertie, with Mike Mitchell as Randy, Gus's wayward best friend who becomes Bertie's on-again, off-again boyfriend, both providing much-needed comedic relief at the show's most emotionally fraught moments. "Love" often veers into cringe comedy territory, giving you plenty of opportunities to scream at your TV. However, like true love, it just as easily makes you forget those flaws because of the characters' sheer likability, courtesy of outstanding performances from all involved. TV shows like "Community" may have made you unconsciously say "Oh, Britta's in this?" every time Jacobs shows up on your screen, but by the time you finish all three seasons of "Love," you'll likely be saying, "Oh, Mickey's in this!" instead. Kyle Mooney might go down in history as one of the most underrated cast members on "Saturday Night Live," but thankfully, one streaming service gave him a whole series to flex his unique comedic style. "Saturday Morning All Star Hits!" is an animated Netflix series parodying Saturday morning cartoons, which Mooney hosts in dual roles as live-action twins Skip and Treybor, who introduce recurring, oddly dark animated segments like the coming-of-age dinosaur show "Randy," "Care Bears"-inspired "Create-A-Crittles," and the action-packed fan-favorite "Strongimals." Along with Mooney, the voice cast is stacked with great comedic talent, ranging from "SNL" alums like Fred Armisen and Beck Bennett to movie stars like Emma Stone and Paul Rudd. Star power aside, "Saturday Morning All Star Hits!" feels like the rare sketch comedy show built on inside jokes, with each episode developing a through-line narrative and, at times, diverging entirely from the Saturday morning cartoon format in lieu of world-building. Ultimately, if you're a fan of the stilted performances and nostalgic aesthetic of Mooney's '90s-inspired "SNL" sketches, then "Saturday Morning All Star Hits!" is the hidden gem you've been waiting for. It blends so many tonal styles into one cohesive show while remaining edgy and laugh-out-loud funny, even amid all those shifts. Mike Flanagan has been behind some of the best horror in recent years, including the hit Netflix series "The Haunting of Hill House." However, as part of that deal with Netflix to adapt Shirley Jackson's novel, Flanagan also developed his own original horror miniseries, "Midnight Mass," following a small Catholic community facing an existential threat after the arrival of a mysterious new priest, Father Paul (Hamish Linklater), after the disappearance of the former monsignor. Despite glowing reviews that praised Flanagan's original story as Stephen King-esque as well as performances by Linklater, Zach Gilford, and Kate Siegel, the series hasn't gotten nearly as much love as Flanagan's other work on Netflix. According to Flanagan, "Midnight Mass" couldn't be made today due to the changing politics of streaming services, making it an outlier in the director's filmography, which has mostly adapted the works of iconic horror authors. Particularly in the wake of mainstream successes like "Sinners" and "Interview with the Vampire" that have completely reinvigorated interest in vampire horror, maybe the right audience for "Midnight Mass" just has yet to discover the mere seven-episode Netflix series. Hopefully, if Flanagan's work in DC's upcoming "Clayface" is acclaimed, that will lead more audiences to his past work, including this deeply underrated 2021 show. Lana and Lilly Wachowski are responsible for completely changing action cinema as we know it thanks to "The Matrix," so it's a mystery why Netflix didn't have more faith in them to keep "Sense8" alive for longer. The sci-fi series premiered on Netflix in 2016, following eight strangers scattered across the globe who discover they're all linked by a psychic bond, allowing them to access each other's abilities and memories. As one of the most underrated sci-fi shows of all time, "Sense8" slowly drips out a beautifully complex narrative over the course of its two seasons. That methodical, impressive storytelling is only further aided by the eclectic ensemble cast, with stand-outs including Doona Bae as kickboxer Sun Bak, Jamie Clayton as hacker Nomi Marks, and Tuppence Middleton as DJ Riley Blue. It's the rare case where a show fires on all cylinders: powerful performances, captivating visuals, and a wholly original premise that's executed flawlessly. Sadly, despite praise for LGBTQ+ inclusivity and the Wachowskis' directing, Netflix abruptly canceled "Sense8" shortly after the release of Season 2. Not to be dissatisfied with the cliffhanger ending of Season 2, fans successfully campaigned for Netflix to revive "Sense8" for an extended finale special, which aired in 2018. "Sense8" deserved way more love from Netflix, as it had the potential to be one of the streaming service's benchmark series. The inherent flaw of a show like "American Vandal" is that it came out in an era when television was already saturated with mockumentary shows like "Abbott Elementary" and "The Office." However, it's a deeply original series that parodies true crime docuseries like "Making a Murderer," following a duo of high school-aged filmmakers (played by Tyler Alvarez and Griffin Gluck) as they investigate local pranks gone wrong. The first season concerns the wrongful conviction of Dylan Maxwell (Jimmy Tatro) after an ambitious vandalism of cars with explicit graffiti. Season 2, on the other hand, broadens the series' scope by investigating a school-wide laxative poisoning. The crimes might be ridiculous, profane, and low-stakes compared to your average true crime doc, but the straightforward tone of "American Vandal" mixed with the show's relatable humor will keep you on the edge of your seat, which is a rare occurrence for mockumentaries. Sadly, Netflix canceled "American Vandal" after its second season, which was a sad way for this genuinely hilarious and oftentimes heartwarming, even tear-jerking, series to go. It's still worth praising as a successful satirization of a genre that Netflix subscribers are all too familiar with, making it worth the watch if you find yourself running out of true crime docs to binge-watch. "Santa Clarita Diet" is just one of many TV shows that Netflix canceled too soon. Timothy Olyphant and Drew Barrymore star as real estate couple Joel and Sheila Hammond, whose idyllic lives are turned upside down when Sheila begins developing zombie-like symptoms, craving human flesh and forcing her husband to be complicit in aiding and abetting her secretive new life. Unlike most supernatural comedies on TV, "Santa Clarita Diet" doesn't waste the audience's time with family drama that's ignorant of Sheila's condition. By the second episode, Sheila's cannibalism is known to the entire family, including their kids Eric (Skyler Gisondo) and Abby (Liv Hewson), making the conflict a wider family project of having to cure their mother of this mysterious condition whilst also turning their neighbors and fellow townspeople into her daily meals. There's a lot to love about "Santa Clarita Diet," from getting to see Olyphant's sorely underused comedic chops to falling in love with the oddly wholesome family dynamic at the center of it all. After three seasons and consistent critical acclaim, Netflix nonetheless canceled "Santa Clarita Diet," leaving fans on a major cliffhanger and with one of the biggest examples of missed potential in the streamer's history. Margaret Qualley is far from an underrated presence in Hollywood these days, given her appearances in Oscar-nominated films like "The Substance" and "Poor Things," as well as her breakout role in one of the best TV shows of the 21st century, "The Leftovers." However, Netflix's "Maid" was a turning point for the actress, testing her dramatic gravitas in an adaptation of Stephanie Land's memoir about surviving abuse and persevering as a young mother. Qualley leads "Maid" as Alex Russell, who leaves the abusive father of her daughter, Maddy, in search of a better life for them both. Alex's problems don't end there, sadly, as she also deals with having to navigate a new job as a housemaid, struggles with the norms of single parenting in America, and grapples with her fraught relationship with her bipolar mother, Paula (played by Qualley's real-life mother, Andie MacDowell). It's far from the most stress-free watch on Netflix, but the performances will move you as easily as the wind moves a feather. Though the show was critically acclaimed and nominated for several Emmys when it first aired in 2021, Qualley's subsequent success in film has seemingly eclipsed her earlier TV work. Fans of Qualley's performances in any project she's been in since owe it to themselves to watch "Maid" as proof that her A-list status is no fluke. "I Am Not Okay With This" was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which is especially tragic given that its first and only season is among the best television Netflix has ever made. Based on a graphic novel by Charles Forman, "I Am Not Okay With This" stars "It" standout Sophia Lillis as Sydney Novak, a troubled teen who is starting to develop psychokinetic powers. There are many elements in "I Am Not Okay With This" that it shares with the most successful horror projects of the late 2010s. It has the supernatural, coming-of-age spirit of "Stranger Things" and the sci-fi horror of Andy Muschietti's "It" movies, even reuniting Lillis with her former Derry co-star, Wyatt Oleff, as Sydney's friendly neighbor, Stan. The added success, both critically and commercially, of Forman's other TV adaptation, "The End of the F***ing World," is only salt on the wound that "I Am Not Okay With This" never got a proper chance to flourish on the streamer. Although there's a lot we would've liked to see from a Season 2 of "I Am Not Okay With This," its unfortunate cancellation proves that a show's lifespan on a streaming service like Netflix is not correlated with its quality. Some of the best shows the streamer has put out, like "I Am Not Okay With This," have languished in obscurity since their release, but deserve to be rewatched again and again, all the same.