100 Best TV-MA TV Shows on Netflix Right Now

In the land of 2 jobs or 2 houses, it’s hard to buy these obnoxious kids as the poor kids, the neglected who do whatever they want. There’s just a little too much confidence and social capital in there to exude neglected. The show trudges and sludges through our heroes’ thrilling adventures, which helps sell the island’s secluded atmosphere, and in a roundabout way helps us root for the Pogues for actually making things happen here. A lot of the engagement for this story, however, starts largely linear and basic—the poor good guys vs the boring, rich, corrupt bad guys—but the intricacies reveal themselves, though they take some time to start simmering.

The family dynamics at the heart of this show are given plenty of room to breathe, with many tender moments baked into the frequent little conflicts. Then, it’s terribly heartbreaking when it needs to be, ripping apart what you latch onto. Pablo Derqui is incredible in his nuance between his public face and his private face, embodying all the strands of a torn up heart. The mysterious woman he later meets is dodgy in a way that bleeds through her kind eyes and mannerisms. This series has strong performances all around in scenes that get time to shine, and a pace that answers enough questions that lead to new ones, leaving you wanting a bit more.

Our cold open sees a classic patient on the loose scene, then quickly followed by the multifaceted drama and gang warfare that sits at the heart of the story — a multi-pronged attack that doesn’t always merge so smoothly. High tension happens within the sci-fi elements that the viewer is always learning to process, which can be an efficient way to pick up on many aspects of the story, but it can also feel like a juggling act. There’s a little bit of everything here mood-wise: a little romance, family drama, superpowers, and unintentional comedy. When it all gels, it’s pretty straightforward, but never truly feels like a silky smooth ride.

Perhaps the best thing to be said about this series is that isn’t dripping with sensationalism. Then again, most works in the genre don’t get the survivors’ side of the story, as it pulls off in an excellent first episode. Sadly, that’s not the case for all episodes, but all the same it still feels a lot safer than most true crime. It gets to the heart of the matter quickly with intimate and honest interviews, and its barebones approach to its elements is another fantastic green flag. Of course, it’s still true crime though. If you don’t like that, you won’t suddenly like this series.

It takes some time for the action to pick up, with the off-putting atmosphere and various character dynamics being opted to be slow-cooked. The choice certainly pays off with an ecosystem of concerning little stories slowly crashing into each other like dominoes, and creating drama that you have to pursue in the next episode. There’s an uneasiness about the whole story largely carried by the settings alone—the rain, the houses, the nearby establishments, etc. It can be a little difficult to pick up on the intricate details at first, and the prodding pace certainly isn’t for a lot people, but for those who stay, there is an intriguing story that awaits.

If you’ve seen one too many true crime documentaries, you might shake your head at the things sixteen-year-old Penelope does upon running away from her high school camp. You might (rightly) ask, why is she camping in the middle of nowhere all alone? Why is she trusting all these different strangers who, for all she knows, could be a serial killer or a trafficker? And why approach that bear? Why sleep in that clearing? But the sooner you let go of those worries and accept that Penelope is more of a fable about growing up and finding yourself than it is a literal survival tale, the better. Which isn’t to say it fails as the latter—Penelope is surprisingly watchable as she learns the ways of the wilderness. In fact, one near-silent episode is dedicated to just Penelope learning the ropes, literally, and it’s one of the season’s best. As long as you don’t get stuck in the details of Penelope’s journey and take aside your cynicism for just a while, you’ll find something touching and humanizing in this short but sweet series.

Partially due to the surviving Norse myths, as well as certain modernized cinematic depictions, most people think of the Norse gods as fairly benevolent, if a bit violent, entities. With Zack Synder at the helm, it’s unsurprising that he would take an edgier approach to the Twilight of the Gods, but this time, it works well, transforming these arbitrarily powerful beings as the villains they would actually be, at least in the perspective of the humans trampled by their thoughtlessness. It’s beautifully depicted, with lovely character designs and great voice performances, and it’s an interesting depiction of a mythology not often depicted.

With the fresh-faced cast and the sleek camerawork, Black Warrant, at first, didn’t seem to be the gritty adaptation of the exposé outlining the systemic corruption of the Tihar Jail in the 1980s. But, aesthetic aside, that’s precisely what Black Warrant is. Opening to Zahan Kapoor as Sunil Gupta being interviewed for the job as jailer, the show takes him and the audience to the tour of the notorious prison, and it’s a gripping one not because of the usual prisoner shenanigans, but because of the way the officers themselves happen to be in on the drugs and alcohol trade inside– and they’re ready to pin it all on Gupta if things go down. Showrunner Vikramaditya Motwane pulls it all together with excellent performances from the cast, an eerie score, and the real life headlines of some of India’s notorious prisoners.

Hitmen are just cool. But rather than bring us the same fists and bullets that we usually see with these killers, Sakamoto of Sakamoto Days does his best to keep to his normal humdrum life, rather than jump back into the bloodshed. It’s an interesting twist to the gangster thriller. Rather than try to surpass any choreographed fights, or bring up the angst by killing everyone dear, the series humorously contrasts the over-the-top drama these assassins have over the straightforward ordinary life, which, as Shin realizes, is actually great. Sakamoto Days celebrates ordinary life as something worth protecting, and it’s pretty fun to see the crew do so.

In many ways, the NBA is the face of basketball. They don’t just develop athletes, they create superstars—idols that people turn to for hope and inspiration. But even though the NBA is technically American, it’s never been more populated with international players than today. When it comes to the Olympics, that means fierce and exciting global competition. It’s hard to capture the enormity of all that, but Court of Gold succeeds with flying colors. The show strays from run-of-the-mill narration and generic footage. Instead, it gives us what we want: inside access into what goes down behind the scenes. We follow the top four teams in the games—USA, France, Serbia, and Canada—and hear from the athletes themselves. Kevin Durant, Victor Wembanyama, Nikola Jokić, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are some of the representatives who stand out the most. Some of these interviews and fly-on-the-wall moments prove to be even just as (if not more) exciting than the showdown on the court. But the latter is undeniably thrilling. It doesn’t matter that you know who takes the gold, or even that you care enough about the game. Court of Gold is a well-made example of showmanship and athleticism, as well as a wonderful attempt at humanizing larger-than-life stars.