The 25 Best Shows on Netflix to Watch in September

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 decision-making and help you figure out exactly which titles you want to sample next. (And if you’re in the mood for movies on Netflix instead, we’ve got a list of those waiting right here.)

A.P. Bio (2018–2021)

Jack (Glenn Howerton) derived most of his identity and self-worth from escaping his hometown of Toledo, Ohio, for a job as a philosophy professor at Harvard. But when he lost out on being named department chair—and the job went to Miles (Tom Bennett), a toxically positive colleague, instead—Jack had a breakdown that cost him his teaching position and sent him back to the only place available: his late mother’s Toledo town house. It’s fortunate for Jack that the starstruck local principal, Ralph (Patton Oswalt), is willing to help him earn an income by hiring him to teach AP biology. It’s less fortunate for his grade-grubbing students that Jack has no intention of teaching them the subject, and instead uses their superior intellects to help carry out revenge schemes aimed at taking Miles down. If you’re not going back to school right now, this will remind you to be grateful about it.

Arrested Development (2003–2019)

With HBO’s Succession all wrapped up, perhaps you need a new show about a family business in which the family is made up entirely of unlikable jerks…but one that doesn’t leave you with existential despair. Enter the Bluths, Southern California real estate developers whose company hits the skids when patriarch George (Jeffrey Tambor) commits some “light treason” and ends up incarcerated. Ron Howard—currently a first-time acting Emmy nominee for his performance in the freshman season of The Studio—serves as the dry, omniscient narrator.

Beef (2023)

Amy (Ali Wong) is an entrepreneur in the middle of a protracted negotiation to sell her independent store to a huge home-improvement chain. Danny (Steven Yeun) is a contractor and handyman desperately trying to scrape together enough money to buy a plot of land on which he can build a house for his parents, who lost their motel and moved back to their native Korea. There’s no reason Danny and Amy should ever know each other, never mind end up as one another’s sworn enemies. But after the two have an unfortunate parking lot run-in, they both become obsessed with avenging themselves on each other in this pitch-black, Emmy-winning comedy.

Call the Midwife (2012–)

Life can be rough in late-’50s Poplar, a disadvantaged neighborhood in London’s East End. But while struggling residents must endure deprivations of all kinds—unethical landlords, insecure employment, open racism for new immigrants of color—one boon they can count on is top-notch medical care. Working with the UK’s National Health Service, an order of Anglican nuns, assisted by several secular nurse-midwives, provide pre- and post-natal care to Poplar families. As the series has progressed through more than 10 seasons (and counting!), it’s also moved forward in time to show characters dealing with limb differences caused by thalidomide; an outbreak of diphtheria; and the introduction of the pill. No less an eminence than Vanessa Redgrave narrates. The attention to detail, the understated performances, and the thoughtful portrayal of complex issues make this one of the best TV shows on Netflix. The 14th season—the show’s latest, with more to come in the future—arrives September 15. (Warning for anyone suffering from American health insurance—or suffering in America without it: The care depicted on this show may cause intense jealousy.)

Chicken Nugget (2024)

Choi Min-ah (Kim Yoo-jung) is waiting for her inventor father, Choi Seon-man (Ryu Seung-ryong), at his office, making small talk with intern Go Baek-joong (Ahn Jae-hong), when she notices a mysterious machine unobtrusively pushed up against the wall. Though Baek-joong doesn’t know what it is or where it came from, Min-ah assumes it’s a device intended to perk up the fatigued and decides to hop in. Seconds later, when Baek-joong flings the door back open, Min-ah has been transformed into a chicken nugget. Thus kicks off a mission to figure out what the machine actually is—and how to change Min-ah back. Chicken Nugget is probably unlike any other live-action sitcom you’ve seen before—funnier, weirder, and sweeter than any synopsis could possibly convey.

Crashing (2016)

Though American audiences may know her best from Fleabag, Phoebe Waller-Bridge had, by then, already created and starred in another TV series: Crashing, a hit on Britain’s Channel 4. Here, she plays Lulu, one of several 20-somethings whose precarious finances have led them to precarious accommodations: living cheaply as property guardians in a former hospital. Waller-Bridge’s castmates include Susan Wokoma (from Netflix’s Enola Holmes) and Jonathan Bailey (from the recent Jurassic World: Rebirth).

Fisk (2021–)

Helen Tudor-Fisk (Kitty Flanagan, who cocreated the series with Vincent Sheehan) was a successful lawyer in Sydney before her marriage fell apart. Seeking comfort, she moves back to her hometown of Melbourne—nearer her dad Anthony (John Gaden), a retired judge, and his new-ish husband Viktor (Glenn Butcher). Largely on the strength of her connections through Anthony, Helen is hired at Gruber & Gruber, a small sibling-run firm specializing in probate law. Working on wills and trusts doesn’t come naturally to the prickly Fisk, and seeing how she figures out how to relate to clients in times of heightened sensitivity is part of what makes this one of the most unexpectedly winning sitcoms on Netflix. Season three arrived August 20.

Girls5eva (2021–)

In the late ’90s and early ’00s, pop groups were routinely assembled not through organic connections and shared musical influences, but because the members wanted to be famous and managers wanted to make money off them. So it was with the Girls5eva, who had an entire rise and fall in a matter of months. Decades later, a chance sample by a new artist brings Dawn (Sara Bareilles), Wickie (Renée Elise Goldsberry), Summer (Busy Philipps), and Gloria (Paula Pell) back together, and they decide to try for a comeback. While this comedy’s first two seasons aired on Peacock, Netflix now has the entire run—including the third season, which premiered last year. You will need all your faculties to make sure you see and hear every gag in this extremely joke-dense show—hands down one of the funniest sitcoms on Netflix.

Godless (2017)

Logan co-screenwriter Scott Frank wrote and directed this series in 2017, the same year that dark X-Men spinoff debuted. It also happens to be one of Netflix’s best crime shows. Frank re-teamed with executive producer Steven Soderbergh (who had directed Frank’s screenplay for Out of Sight nearly 20 years earlier) on the seven-episode miniseries set in La Belle, a New Mexico town mostly peopled by women following a catastrophic mining accident that killed most of La Belle’s male residents. Further crisis ensues when an outlaw on the run is pursued to La Belle. When you finish this one, check out Frank’s newest show, the crime drama Dept. Q.

I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson (2019–)

Saturday Night Live star/writer. Detroiters star/cocreator. The Characters star/writer. All of Tim Robinson’s truly superlative work in comedy led to this: one of the most confidently unhinged sketch shows in recent memory, and among the best comedy shows on Netflix. Each episode is well under a half hour, so it will take you no time at all to learn the origin of such memes as “We’re all trying to find the guy who did this” and “I don’t even want to be around anymore.”

Interview With The Vampire (2022–)

In present-day Dubai, Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson) has decided the time is right to reach out to an old journalist acquaintance, Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian), to tell his personal life story. There’s a lot of story to tell, although how much of it counts as “life” is up for debate: Louis has been a vampire since the 1910s. Back then, he was a “sporting house” owner in New Orleans trying to repress his queer desires. Everything changed when he met Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid), a new arrival with his own secrets, primarily that he was born in the 18th century and was turned into a vampire at, not to be superficial, the absolute hottest moment of his youth. The tale of Louis and Lestat’s love and hate affair is adapted from Anne Rice’s book series, but goes much further into the source material’s queer subtext and gory violence than the 1994 movie did, or probably could. Season two lands on the platform September 30, just in time for spooky season.

Long Story Short (2025–)

After bringing Netflix subscribers six critically acclaimed seasons of BoJack Horseman, creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg reteams with producer Lisa Hanawalt for Long Story Short. The Schwooper family is made up of parents Elliot Cooper (voice of Paul Reiser) and Naomi Schwartz (Lisa Edelstein), who combined their surnames for their kids: Avi (Ben Feldman), Shira (Abbi Jacobson), and Yoshi (Max Greenfield). As the series jumps around in time, traveling from the late 1950s to the early 2020s, we follow the family through bad times, including an intervention, a wildlife infestation at a middle school, and multiple funerals. But there are good times too: a bar mitzvah, a JCC tribute dinner, and a meet-cute in a supermarket express lane. The sharply observed stories pair with charming hand-drawn animation to make one of the most touching family dramedies on Netflix.

Love Life (2020–2021)

Rarely does someone meet their forever partner on the first try—which doesn’t mean the failed attempts aren’t worth exploring. In creator Sam Boyd’s anthology series, each season revolves around the romantic experiences of a single character. Season one features Anna Kendrick as Darby, who spends time with partners including a much older divorcé, a fun chef, and a journalist. (The first episode ends with a shot of her being pregnant…but by whom?!) Season two changes focus to Marcus (William Jackson Harper), the ladies he spends time with, and the one he just can’t get out of his mind. Guest stars across both seasons include Jessica Williams (Shrinking), Scoot McNairy (Nightbitch), Leslie Bibb (The White Lotus), Arian Moayed (Succession), and John Gallagher Jr. (Spring Awakening). HBO Max yanked the show off its platform after canceling it in 2022; don’t miss your chance to watch it on Netflix.

Magic for Humans (2018–)

Those of us raised on Doug Henning specials may, rightly, be suspicious of the camera tricks that could be employed in translating magic illusions to the screen. But even if your rational mind knows that magic isn’t real, Justin Willman can make you believe! In addition to his skills as a prestidigitator, Willman is a legitimately talented comic—and you don’t have to take my word for it. Alt-comedy legends Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim (a.k.a. Tim and Eric) are among the show’s executive producers. Once you’ve caught up, move on to Willman’s next series, The Magic Prank Show. He also launched his first special, Justin Willman: Magic Lover, on Netflix in June.

Maid (2021)

Stephanie Land’s memoir Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive provided the source material for this limited series. Alex (Margaret Qualley, who stars in Honey Don’t!, currently in theaters) is a young mother whose decision to leave her abusive boyfriend, Sean (Nick Robinson), is fraught with peril: severely limited finances, a Kafkaesque bureaucracy, and insufficient support from the people closest to her. Alex’s determination to create a safe and happy life for her daughter, Maddy (Rylea Nevaeh Whittet), and to become a writer keep her pushing through extremely challenging obstacles.

A Man on the Inside (2024–)

Charles (Ted Danson) is a retired engineering professor in the Bay Area, uneasily trying to hew to a new routine since the death of his beloved wife. His daughter Emily (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) encourages him to mix things up by finding a hobby he can be excited about. Right on cue, he finds a classified ad in the newspaper seeking a man, 75–85, who has his own phone. Before long, he’s been hired as a subcontractor by Julie (Lilah Richcreek Estrada) and installed as a mole at a local retirement home to investigate the theft of a necklace from Julie’s client’s elderly mother. The show, which is adapted from the Chilean documentary The Mole Agent, reunites Danson with Michael Schur for the first time since their celebrated collaboration on The Good Place, and is perfect to fill the hole left in your TV schedule between seasons of Only Murders in the Building.

Mom (2013–2021)

Christy (Anna Faris) had an unstable childhood with her single mother, Bonnie (Allison Janney), a petty criminal with substance use issues. Bonnie’s childhood was actually worse: She never knew her parents and grew up in the foster care system. As a 30-something single mother of two herself, Christy is also a recovering addict. But wait, it’s a comedy! Just as Christy is trying to plan the next phase of her life, two crises arise. Bonnie comes back into Christy’s life, announcing that she wants to get sober too; pretty soon, she also needs a place to live. And Christy’s daughter Violet (Sadie Calvano), a high school senior, tells Christy she’s pregnant. If you’re annoyed by Christy’s children, you’re apparently not alone; they eventually get phased out, making more room for the stalwarts at Christy and Bonnie’s regular AA meeting: wealthy divorcée Jill (Jaime Pressly), meek nurse Wendy (Beth Hall), and elder stateswoman Marjorie (Mimi Kennedy), Christy’s sponsor. The addition of the formerly incarcerated Tammy (Kristen Johnston), Bonnie’s former foster sister, is a casting masterstroke. I know cocreator Chuck Lorre is very prolific, but Mom is far and away his best show.

Narcos (2015–2017)

How did Pablo Escobar go from a comparatively low-level smuggler to one of the world’s most notorious drug kingpins whose (uh, spoiler?) death came at the hands of an international law enforcement task force? Steve Murphy—a since retired DEA agent who worked on the case—is portrayed here by Boyd Holbrook, who also narrates the story of the DEA’s investigation into Escobar (Wagner Moura); Murphy’s DEA colleague Javier Peña is played by future Mandalorian star Pedro Pascal. The series was followed by a companion series, Narcos: Mexico, in 2018.

Peaky Blinders (2013–2022)

During the Great War, Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) and his brothers fought in France for the Crown, even though their Irish and Romani origins mean they’re not particularly patriotic. They generally strive to tamp down or drink away their traumatic memories, which still occasionally get in the way of their main project: running their titular street gang in Birmingham, England. (The show’s title refers to their signature move: sewing razor blades on the brims of their driving caps, then using them in fights to take out their opponents’ eyes.) In the first season, Tommy is bedeviled by Inspector Chester Campbell (Sam Neill), imported from Northern Ireland, who uses his knowledge of Tommy’s activities to blackmail him into acting as a reluctant agent for the police. Guest stars passing through the show’s long run include Paddy Considine, Tom Hardy, Noah Taylor, and two-time Oscar winner Adrien Brody; a feature-length film coda started filming last fall.

Perfect Match (2023–)

Netflix has so many original reality shows—including Love Is Blind, Sexy Beasts, The Mole, The Circle, and Too Hot To Handle—that the pool of alumni from past seasons is now well into the triple digits. Sure, some of them may have failed to find love or win a cash prize on their first outing, but they’re still attractive and hungry for fame, so why not give them another shot? Perfect Match assembles a bunch of cuties to share a villa, pair up, and compete in challenges. Periodically, they get the chance to break up and pick new partners, with other reality castoffs joining and departing every couple of days. Season three premieres August 1.

Ripley (2024)

Patricia Highsmith’s book The Talented Mr. Ripley has already been adapted for the screen a few times, most notably by the late Anthony Minghella. This project, from writer-director Steven Zaillian, is the first to give Highsmith the series treatment. In his version, Tom Ripley (Andrew Scott) is running short cons in New York when a PI named Alvin McCarron (Bokeem Woodbine) approaches him with an invitation to meet shipbuilder Herbert Greenleaf (Kenneth Lonergan). Only when one of Ripley’s go-to scams goes awry does he make contact, subsequently finding out that Greenleaf wants to send him to Italy to convince his wastrel son, Dickie (Johnny Flynn), to come back to America. That might have been a solid plan—if Greenleaf had done just a little more due diligence on this freelancer. Stunning black-and-white photography makes this one of the most beautiful shows on Netflix.

Running Point (2025)

Isla Gordon (Kate Hudson) grew up around pro basketball: Her late father, Jack, owned the Los Angeles Waves, and brought all his sons into the business, leaving Isla to rebel by becoming a famous party girl. Her oldest brother, Cam (Justin Theroux), eventually brings her in to run the team’s charities, and definitely not to share her informed and insightful opinions about the team. Then one day, Cam has to name a replacement, and chooses Isla over her GM brother Ness (Scott MacArthur) and CFO half-brother Sandy (Drew Tarver). Mindy Kaling is among the creators of this sitcom, whose executive producers include Jeanie Buss, the president of the LA Lakers, who was preceded in the position by her father, Jerry. But any resemblance to people living or dead is probably coincidental. If the end of the NBA season has left you at loose ends, this may help fill the gap.

Too Much (2025)