The 12 best series to watch on Netflix

 Each month, Netflix adds content and produces new ones, but also removes others. Difficult then to find oneself in the labyrinth of the proposals of the platform with the red acronym.

To help you see clearly, we guide you quietly, via this thematic selection of the 12 best Netflix programs.

Best Historical Series: The Crown

Have the turpitudes of the crown always fascinated you? It’s normal, you and we are perfect commoners, so the stakes of queens and other princesses in distress can only arouse our curiosity.

The Crown is therefore the ideal serial object to vibrate to the rhythm of royal dramas.

Be careful however, if the Netflix series is based on the life of Elizabeth II, who still reigns over England from the height of her 95 years, the elements of the program are to be taken with a grain of salt, because The Crown evolves elegantly between fiction and reality.

 In the latest, the plot obviously took place at Buckingham Palace. The 1970s are over, hello the 1980s with the introduction of characters who have marked history and people’s minds.

Thus, Elizabeth faces Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, while Prince Charles experiences a tumultuous marriage with Lady Diana Spencer.

A program that is devoured like good bread, and that we advise you to see if it has not already been done. Especially since beyond the program, it’s the whole backdrop that fascinates, because between the series and Buckingham, it’s drama at all levels.

It must be said that the crown, which fears the arrival of season 5 a little because it plans to tackle the drama Lady Diana and its repercussions on the popularity of the Queen, has requested legal advice to attack the series.

Drama to perfection, we told you!

The best costume soap opera: Downton Abbey

Downton Abbey is a British series that originally aired on ITV and was a big hit in its home country.

It did not take long, thereafter, to arouse an unexpected enthusiasm in the United States, as well as in the rest of the world.

Which is not surprising because this soap opera which starts in 1912, the day after the sinking of the Titanic and takes place over 14 years, has everything from the great historical and romantic fresco which we dream of having supper during the too long evenings of winter.

 If you’ve never watched Downton Abbey , here’s a quick reminder: the Crawley family lives in Downton, an inordinately large family home where their servants also live.

Thus, the plot is divided between the nobles upstairs and the servants downstairs, and poses the big question: will the scones be ready at 4 p.m.?

You can’t decently live without knowing the answer. So go to Netflix to learn all about the great suspense in the life of the Crawleys.

Best Teen Educational Series: Sex Education

Otis is a dynamic but somewhat shy young man who never separates from his best friend Eric, with whom he spends most of his time in high school.

If Otis is a virgin, he’s no stranger to the mysteries of sex. Indeed, his mother is a sexologist, and does not hesitate to talk about ass openly (not to say intrusively) to her son.

His passion is such that their house is full of more than suggestive trinkets such as large statues of wooden cocks, paintings with the positions of the kamasutra and other things.

Otis therefore grew up being encouraged by his mother to  communicate freely on these subjects and on all the others for that matter. 

Which doesn’t fail to bother him, of course.

In short, Otis knows his stuff and it doesn’t take long to attract the attention of Maeve, a high school student portrayed as “rebellious” who offers him to set up a clandestine sex therapy practice within the school itself.

The concept is simple: sometimes students in couples who find themselves in difficulty in bed ask him for advice. Advice that he currency of course, and of which he shares the earnings with Maeve.

Sex Education , far from the capilotracted Riverdale and other Elite , is a really educational program, which does not forget to be really funny and superbly staged.

This is THE real program for teens intended both for the main concerned and for adults, of which 3 seasons are currently available on the platform and of which a fourth should arrive soon!

Best Social Miniseries: Unorthodox

Based on the memoir of Deborah Feldman, one of the series creator’s friends,  Unorthodox  depicts the Orthodox Jewish community of New York.

Thus, beyond a superb portrait of a young woman on a pilgrimage to freedom, this 4-part Netflix creation introduces viewers to this very closed environment, and teaches her some of its customs, with pedagogy.

The creator of the series, Anna Winger, looks at this community without any contempt and without ever being judgmental.

In short, this whole story is told with great delicacy and kindness.

Moving between past and present via a lot of flashbacks,  Unorthodox  is hypnotic and moving.

Unorthodox is the story of an escape.

That of Esther – embodied by the extraordinary Israeli actress Shira Haas , the real revelation of the program – a young woman of 19 who only with a passport, a little money and a photo leaves a New York where she is from and from which she has never left. 

She leaves nothing behind her, not a message to her husband whom she married a year earlier, not a word to her family, nothing.

Once in Berlin, she meets a young man, studying at a music school. Esther attends one of the classes at the establishment, hidden at the back of the auditorium, and cries bitterly. After the lesson, she congratulates her new friend, for  “the most beautiful concert she has ever seen” .

After some formalities, she asks him if she can follow him in his afternoon activity, which consists of going swimming in the lake. She then meets the young man’s friends, and realizes that everything here is very different from what she knows.

Because Esther did not grow up like any New Yorker. 

No, Esther was born into an ultra-Orthodox Jewish family from the Hasidic community of Satmar. Very strict community, governed by many rules. Thus, she learned music in secret, and lived according to the rules dictated by her environment, until fleeing because “God had too big expectations for her. »

But her husband and his cousin learn that Esther is in Berlin, and are determined to find her…

The best testosterone series: Bodyguard

Bodyguard  recorded, in just a few weeks after its release, a considerable number of views to become the most watched British series of recent years.

First broadcast on BBC One, the program landed in 2018 on Netflix where it also enjoyed record audiences.

One of the reasons for this success is probably the cast, led by Richard Madden, who you know for having lent his features to Robb Stark for a few seasons of  Game of Thrones . He plays here David Budd, a veteran of the Afghan war who now works in London, in  the close protection of Julia Montague, the Minister of the Interior. 

But between the two, there could quickly be water in the gas.

David Budd is indeed constantly torn between his personal convictions and his functions, and could become  the enemy of his own client. 

Because it was fiercely opposed to the conflict for which he fought, while he was at war. A political thriller full of twists and turns that plays on the tension, the suspense and above all the biceps of its hero, the number one reason to jump on the series.

Best crime series: Mindhunter

Mindhunter  follows the adventures of two FBI agents  (Jonathan Groff and Holt McCallany) tasked with solving thorny investigations. To better stop the criminals, they will have to understand them, put themselves in their place, in order to anticipate their reactions and their actions.

They are  profilers , what!

Together, they imagine an investigation using revolutionary methods and embark on a veritable odyssey to obtain answers.

Unfortunately stopped after only 2 seasons, Joe Penhall’s series produced by David Fincher, is a little gem for those who like to explore the brains of the worst criminals of our modern world.

Best Dramatic Mini-Series: The Queen’s Game

Released on October 23, 2020 on Netflix,  Le Jeu de la dame , from its French title, won over the crowds in less time than it takes to finish a game of chess.

Worn by Anya Taylor-Joy, Pablo Scola and Vlad Chiriac, and created by Allan and Franck Scott, this seven-episode program establishes its plot in the midst of the Cold War.

Beth Harmon, a 9-year-old girl, goes to an orphanage where she leads a life without games or too many friendships. With the exception of a near-immediate deal with a young orphan girl “too black to be adopted,” Beth hardly sees any other children.

Beth finds her happiness neither in the embrace of a doll nor in the films shown at night, but in the cellar of the institute, where an old janitor plays chess alone.

Intrigued by this strange black and white set, the young girl abandons her lessons to take refuge in learning tactics with Mr. Shaibel, for whom she quickly develops a deep and unprecedented tenderness.

Beth quickly becomes the greatest chess player in the world.

A resolutely addictive and fascinating program which remains, despite the legend, perfectly fictitious.

Best series inspired by real events: In their gaze

Adapted from a true story,  In their gaze , from its French title, tells the story of five black and Hispanic teenagers accused of the rape of a young woman in Central Park. 

This case that shook America in the early 90s turned out to be a gross miscarriage of justice since the rapist denounced himself years later when the five men had served their sentences.

Co-produced by Robert De Niro and Oprah Winfrey,  When they see us sends shivers  down the spine and says a lot about the mentality of the lawyers and politicians of the time.

In the cast, you can find Asante Black, Caleel Harris, Ethan Herisse, Felicity Huffman, Joshua Jackson, Famke Janssen and Vera Farmiga among other bright talents.

I can’t reveal all the details of the case to you because I want to let you discover them yourself through this production, so really, give a chance to  In their gaze , which is undoubtedly the best legal series ever. we have seen in recent years.

Best Political Series: House of Cards

Impossible to talk about the best series available on Netflix without mentioning the first original series of the platform: House of Cards .

Released in 2013, it has 6 seasons, including 5 of 13 episodes and one of 8 episodes. The last, damaged by the charges of assault and sexual harassment which weighed on Kevin Spacey and which have since been dropped.

House of Cards is the story of Frank and Claire Underwood, a “power couple” to make the Obamas green with envy. He, an American deputy, she, at the head of a renowned NGO, they combine their respective forces to reach the highest steps of power.

The series opens with the election of Garrett Walker, Democratic candidate for President of the Republic. Frank Underwood having largely contributed to this victory, he expects, as agreed, to be appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Stupor and betrayal, it is Walker’s chief of staff (whom Frank himself has boosted to this position!) who announces to him that in fact he is dead, the President needs him in Parliament.

Zero promotion for Frank,  who still considers himself the main architect of the Democrats’ victory.

Alas, our hero swallows the bitter pill, and promises to put himself at the service of the general interest. Except that revenge is a dish best served cold…  The Underwood couple then embark on a merciless conquest of power.

A treat of perfidy!

Best Animated Series: BoJack Horseman

Created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg, BoJack Horseman is a dark humor animated sitcom released in 2014 on Netflix. It is made up of 6 seasons and ended in 2019 after a particularly funny and cynical journey into the parallel world of BoJack.

BoJack,  a humanoid horse  ex-sitcom actor in the 90s  trying to resurface by writing his biography.

Depressed BoJack is caught between his parasitic human roommate and Princess Caroline, his agent, a strong-willed Persian cat. Princess Caroline with whom he has also formed a couple, because, after all, a horse that goes out with a cat, why not.

In Los Angeles where humans and animals of all stripes live side by side, BoJack tries somehow to revive his past glory, going from disillusion to disillusion.

Along with Rick and Morty , this animated series is probably the darkest, most desperate and funny we’ve seen in recent years.

Best Comedy Series: The Good Place

To be completely honest, when you think “best comedy series”, you immediately think of The Office . Yes but now, The Office , we have had enough of it, since it is the humorous reference of 100% of the people who populate the Earth.

So we finally opted for a series a little less adored, but still delicious: The Good Place , by the inimitable Michael Schur

After being rammed and killed by a tractor-trailer, Eleanor wakes up in what appears to be the afterlife.

When Michael, the Architect of the place, tells her that she is in the “Right place” given her good deeds, she realizes that she has been mistaken for someone else. The arrival of Eleanor could well jeopardize the balance of this world where no one swears or drinks alcohol to excess.

Funny, tender, philosophical, although a bit redundant, the 4 seasons of The Good Place are good for the soul.

Best Fantasy Series: Stranger Things

If season 3 turned out to be terribly disappointing, we cannot take away from Stranger Things that it combines 80s pop culture, teenagers and dirty creatures, which cannot leave anyone indifferent.

As a reminder, the first season opens on the year 1983, during which the son of Joyce disappears in mysterious circumstances.

Investigating his disappearance, the residents of the small town of Indiana will encounter unexplained phenomena, and perhaps Will’s disappearance is part of a much more complex plan.

The head of the forces of order does not seem very optimistic. But it would seem that the disappearances are on the increase and that the government is involved.