The 19 best shows to watch on Netflix in 2019

You’ve got your personal Netflix list, full of shows you keep saying you’ll watch, most of which have been on there since you first signed up. And, of course, Netflix attempts to cure you of your choice paralysis with its own suggestions of Top Picks and a look at what’s Trending Now. Netflix thinks it knows you like an old friend but, really, you lost your faith when it suggested Boss Baby and The Princess Switch.

And then you’ve got your friends and colleagues telling you you simply must watch Bird Box/Maniac/The Haunting Of Hill House already. You promise you will, you sigh, you add it to the list that’s expanded faster than your post-Christmas waistline.

Ultimately, what do all of these things have in common? That you ignore them all completely, in favour of gobbling up every food documentary going and re-watching your comedy favourites.

Give your list a spring clean by getting these shows on your radar for a new year of nights in…

Release date: 18th January, Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) is back to punish some more in the ultra-violent Daredevil spin-off. After setting out on the bloody warparth to well and truly earn his moniker in season one, this next run will see him embrace his alter ego further still, as Ben Barnes’ Billy Russo/Jigsaw returns with a vendetta against our vigilante.

Release date: 15th March, Idris Elba executive produces and stars in this new eight-part, half-hour (God bless the half-hour show) series about a down-on-his-luck DJ who becomes a “manny” (that’s a male nanny, for the uninitiated) to his famous friend’s problem child.

Release date: 5th April, Sir David Attenborough and the award-winning team behind Planet Earth and Blue Planet have joined forces with Netflix for a brand new, eight-part series. Four years in the making, with over 50 countries explored, Attenborough and co. will no doubt continue to surprise and delight us with stunning, never-before-seen footage – while also reminding us about the importance of protecting our planet.

Release date: 4th July, The gateway to the Upside Down is closed, Hawkins Lab is gone, let’s all breathe a sigh of relief. But wait… what’s that sinister Mind Flayer lurking overhead? What could possibly happen next to poor Will and the town of Hawkins, Indiana? Stranger, stranger things…

Release date: TBC, David Fincher’s excellent crime drama series, which delves into the birth of criminal profiling via the cases and terrifying minds of real-life serial killers, can’t come back soon enough, quite frankly…

Release date: TBC, Interactive one-off Black Mirror: Bandersnatch interrupted our cosy Christmas like a cold shower. Now, Charlie Brooker is coming at us with an entire fifth wave of essential, sci-fi satire.

Release date: TBC, In his first series since securing a five-year, $300million deal with Netflix, Ryan Murphy presents an upcoming comedy starring Benjamin Platt (Pitch Perfect) as, you guessed it, our titular Santa Barbara politician. Not much is known about the plot at this stage, but we know each series will focus on a different political race for Platt’s character, and this first series will also include Gwyneth Paltrow and January Jones amongst Murphy regulars.

Release date: TBC, Fans of the Breaking Bad spin-off (particularly the ones who would argue it’s better than Breaking Bad) will no doubt be anxious for the return of the award-winning series after season 4’s devastating conclusion. Hopefully there won’t be long to wait, with Bob Odenkirk and co expected to return in the summer, but could this be the final series?

Release date: TBC, Marty (Jason Bateman) and Wendy (Laura Linney) and the rest of the Byrde family with face their riskiest operation yet in this yes-you-really-really-must-watch-this crime drama. Season 2 ended with the opening of their casino boat, which will be used to launder millions of dollars for the Mexican cartel. This will no doubt be the focus of season 3 and, if you thought last series got a bit bloody, our money says you ain’t seen nothing yet…

Release date: TBC, In his first TV series since the award-winning Derek, Ricky Gervais decides he’s going to start saying and doing whatever the hell he wants. No, it isn’t a documentary. Gervais plays a grieving widower, and is joined by an excellent cast including Penelope Wilton (Downton Abbey), David Bradley (Game Of Thrones), Ashley Jensen (Extras) and David Brent: Life On The Road’s Tom Basden and Diane Morgan.

Release date: TBC, If you saw Sarah Paulson’s outstanding turn as lead prosecutor Marcia Clarke in Ryan Murphy’s American Crime Story: The People v O.J. Simpson, you’ll be over the cuckoo’s nest to hear that the actress and showrunner are teaming up again (What? Murphy couldn’t just have one major series out…) Paulson plays Nurse Ratched – if you missed the gag, she’s the evil nurse from One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s nest – in this unmissable origin story that will send feathers flying.

Release date: TBC, It’s a royal wave goodbye to the outstanding Claire Foy and Vanessa Kirby as Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret. National treasures Olivia Colman and Helena Bonham Carter take the thrones as Peter Morgan’s sumptuous series continues into the 1970s, with Outlander’s Tobias Menzies (above) playing Prince Philip and one-to-watch Josh O’Connor (God’s Own Country) as a young Prince Charles.

Release date: TBC, The first series of this psychological crime drama, focusing on the chase of a serial killer in 19th century New York City, impressed us all with its gripping story, complex characters and strong lead performances. Gentleman’s Journal cover star Daniel Brühl, Luke Evans and Dakota Fanning all return for a second run, and we’ll be waiting for what further wickedness this way comes…

Release date: TBC, In 1989, five Harlem teenagers were wrongly convicted of raping a woman in Central Park. In 2014, they were dramatically exonerated. Written and directed by Selma’s Ava DuVernay, and executive produced by Oprah Winfrey, this miniseries chronicles the controversial case, with a cast including Vera Farmiga, Michael K Williams, Felicity Huffman and Joshua Jackson.

Release date: TBC, Henry Cavill stars in Netflix’s epic adaptation of Andrzej Sapowski’s hugely popular fantasy series, about a monster hunter-for-hire named Geralt (Cavill) who struggles to find his place in a big, bad medieval world. Fresh from giving us festive chills in BBC’s The ABC Murders, Eamon Farren’s star continues to rise as he takes a villainous lead role as knight Cahir.

Release date: TBC, We devoured the first rather trippy series of this in a single weekend, to the extent that it all remains a bit of a blur. We do recall Jason Isaacs being in equal parts evil and excellent, and the story of a young, blind woman who disappears and then reappears seven years later with her sight restored. Not much is known about what’s to come in series 2, so we might give this first series a rewatch to check all the dancing in glass boxes actually happened.

Release date: TBC, Yes, the rumours are true. Ten brand new episodes of the gritty East London crime series about street gangs and drug dealers are on their way to Netflix and, yes, hip-hop star Drake has been given further Godlike status for being the one to executive produce them. The first and second series are available to watch right now so, while we wait on an actual release date, now’s the perfect time to get up to speed on this acclaimed show.

Release date: TBC, You needn’t be a Game Of Thrones fan to be excited about this futuristic series, based on George R.R. Martin’s novella of the same name. Set aboard the spaceship “Nightflyer,” the most advanced in the galaxy, we follow a group of scientists and explorers as they journey through space on the eve of Earth’s destruction.

Release date: TBC, Renee Zellweger leads the first season of this new anthology series described as a “social thriller.” The concept of the whole show is to explore different morality tales and “the ripple effects of what happens when acceptable people start doing unacceptable things.” The first series will focus on a cash-strapped pair of newlyweds who receive a mysterious proposition.

Want to know what else you should be watching this year? Here are our picks of the best films to watch in 2019…

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