Netflix is bringing the heat to close out 2024. Squid Game season 2 makes its triumphant debut one day after Christmas. Nothing screams holiday cheer more than a show about game contestants dying in the most brutal ways possible. For something with more thrills, check out Black Doves, the excellent espionage drama starring Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw.
Beyond the high-profile titles, Netflix has thousands of programs to watch, so much so that you can waste precious time scrolling instead of streaming. To save time, this guide recommends three underrated shows available to stream right now. The picks include a mystery involving a missing airplane, an invigorating thriller about a prison break, and an interesting teen soap.
We also have guides to the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.
Manifest (2018-2023)
If Manifest had originated on Netflix instead of NBC, who knows how much bigger an audience it could have reached? As soon as the show hit Netflix, Manifest instantly became one of the most popular shows on the streamer. This surge in fandom led to Netflix renewing the show for a fourth and final season.
Manifest’s excellent premise follows the passengers and crew of Montego Air Flight 828 from Jamaica to New York City. After some brief turbulence, the flight is rerouted to upstate New York. Upon arrival, those aboard the plane are shocked to learn that over five and a half years have passed during their flight. How is that remotely possible? That’s where the mystery begins in this addictive supernatural thriller.
Watch Manifest on Netflix.
Prison Break (2005-2017)
Prison Break is a show where its fans refuse to let it die. The crime drama aired from 2005 to 2009, spanning four seasons and a TV movie. The series’ audience grew on streaming, leading Fox to revive it for a nine-episode fifth season in 2017. Fast forward to this month, and Hulu picked up a pilot for a new chapter of Prison Break. This is now a sign to see what all the hype’s about.
After being wrongly convicted of killing the vice president’s brother, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) is sentenced to death. Convinced of his innocence, Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller), Lincoln’s brother, plans to use his knowledge as a structural engineer to break him out of prison. For Michael, the only way out is through. To execute the breakout, he must do the unthinkable: commit a crime and get sent to Lincoln’s prison.
Watch Prison Break on Netflix.
Riverdale (2017-2023)
By the end of its run, Riverdale fully embraced the supernatural by executing a time jump to mixed results. The series strayed too far away from the original premise of an eerie high school mystery. The first half of Riverdale is far superior to the back half, and it’s been so long that the initial seasons are somewhat forgotten.
With the show off the air, now’s the time to revisit what made it so fun. Based on the long-running Archie Comics series, Riverdale begins with the tragic death of a local teen that shakes the town to its core. High school students Archie Andrews (KJ Apa), Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes), Betty Cooper (Lili Reinhart), and Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse) try to live normal lives, but the town’s enigmatic dark secrets threaten to tear the community apart.
Watch Riverdale on Netflix.