Best dramas on Netflix

If this list was a rundown of the most talked-about dramas of 2024, Baby Reindeer would undoubtedly take top position. When barman and up-and-coming comedian Donny (Richard Gadd) offers a cup of tea to an upset woman (played by Jessica Gunning), this small gesture is the catalyst for a tumultuous, toxic and troubling tale. Billed as a true story, the series has now been watched by more than 50 million viewers and has made worldwide stars of its two leads. FRANCES TAYLOR

This comedy-drama series comes from film producing powerhouse A24, whose reputation speaks for itself, meaning you know you're in a safe hands. It stars Steven Yeun and Ali Wong and focuses on the aftermath of a road rage incident as two people, Danny and Amy, enter a feud which threatens to destroy their entire lives. The series balances its tones perfectly, with whip-sharp comic dialogue punctuating the darkness of the story. It is at its heart a deeply existential thought-piece about why we need to open up more and talk about our feelings, rather than letting them consume us – and with two terrific central performances, it sells every aspect of that message. In case you don't believe us, Beef emerged from victorious from the recent Golden Globes 2024 ceremony, with Yeun and Wong winning awards for their performance as the show was named best limited series. JAMES HIBBS

In the world of drama, there's little bad that Stephen Graham can do – whether it be in Boiling Point, This Is England, The Virtues or The Walk-In, to name just a few of the British actor's TV successes. So you just know that starring as a mysterious, slick authoritarian group leader in Bodies is something that Graham was bound to tackle with ease. But here, he's joined in a cast that also includes Shira Haas (Unorthodox), Amaka Okafor (The Responder) and Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (The Queen's Gambit). The series is twisted in all the right places and is refreshingly genre-defying in the way it blends dystopian, drama and mystery elements effortlessly. MORGAN CORMACK

Netflix’s hit period drama doesn’t need gimmicks to keep its fanbase interested, but nevertheless it has a way of refreshing itself whenever it returns, with each new season focussing on a different Bridgerton family sibling. In the third run it’s Colin (Luke Newton), whose vaguely lycanthropic good looks surely don’t make him a match for thoughtful wallflower Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan). But as the two friends embark together on her quest to find a husband, perhaps her romantic destiny is staring her in the face...

As always, the cheeky dialogue and sharp styling feel like they’re turning an age-old storyline into something fresh. JACK SEALE

In 1980s New York, Vincent Anderson (Benedict Cumberbatch) is the co-creator of popular children’s show Good Day Sunshine. But when it comes to his own nine-year-old son, he’s not the most attentive parent. One day, young Edgar walks to school — but doesn’t come home. To try to reach him, Vincent decides he’s going to create the puppet that Edgar has been drawing — a big, blue furry monster called Eric (also voiced by Cumberbatch) — and get it on TV.

The Split’s Abi Morgan has penned a script with deft character arcs, brought to life superbly by a fine supporting cast. Challenging our perceptions of “good” and “bad”, it’s an unpredictable ride that meaningfully navigates themes from homophobia to homelessness and institutional racism. Original and touching. LAURA RUTKOWSKI

Is a series like One Day going to divide viewers? Most definitely. But if you're in the mood to watch something romantic, poetic and sure to pull at your heartstrings then the new drama is one you'll not only want to tuck into, but will quickly be lapped up in. 14 episodes may seem like a long stretch of time to dedicate to a series but it's necessary in a show that spans two decades and two separate lives in the form of Emma (Ambika Mod) and Dexter (Leo Woodall).

While their onscreen chemistry may wane at times, One Day pulls you in with that old chestnut of the 'right person, wrong time' trope. From meeting at their graduation ball to being the most important person in each other's lives, you'll want to keep a tissue on hand for the final episodes and Woodall's impressive (and very emotional) performance. MORGAN CORMACK

Andrew Scott is a vessel of distilled venom and rage in this handsome new dramatisation of Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr Ripley. The feeling that the anti-hero, Tom Ripley, is a rootless demon with nothing to lose comes through strongly when we meet him, trying and failing to earn a living as a mail fraudster in a 1960s Manhattan made to look lonely, quiet and cold.

When he is unexpectedly hired to track down a rich man’s errant son (Johnny Flynn) in coastal Italy, a new life begins for Tom as a murderous conman. Scott is superb but the star is writer/director Steven Zaillian (The Night Of), who shoots in black and white and keeps finding unexpected camera angles to ensure that we never feel safe. JACK SEALE

Top Boy meets Marvel would be a crude way of describing a drama by YouTube creator Rapman, but it gives you the basic idea. Five residents of modern-day south London go about their lives, which are almost but not quite intertwined — they're about to become well acquainted, however, once they realise that they all have superpowers and someone is out to destroy them. The strength of the show is its characters, who are variously funny, relatable or, in the case of the gang leaders who dominate life in that part of the capital, terrifying — without a huge effects budget, the series has to be able to stand up as a straight drama, and this it does. The last episode sets up season two nicely. JACK SEALE

The best political drama on TV doesn’t let up for a second in season two, charging on into the middle of the scandal involving the US ambassador to the UK, Kate Wyler (Keri Russell). With Rory Kinnear as a mercurial British PM and David Gyasi as a dishy, principled foreign secretary, the show's mix of government intrigue and character-driven relationship drama means that every scene is a delicately balanced battle, with affairs of state and of the heart entwined tightly by a wonderfully intelligent script. JACK SEALE