Netflix Originals That Still Hit Hard, 5+ Years On

Netflix releases so much new programming that even well-regarded series can disappear from the conversation quickly: there were 597 new Netflix originals in 2025, up from 589 in 2024 and 568 in 2023. This roundup focuses on true Netflix originals that viewers still rewatch and recommend years later, and it excludes shows that originally aired on local television before being acquired for international release.

A Series of Unfortunate Events adapts Lemony Snicket’s books, following the Baudelaire orphans and their scheming guardian Count Olaf (Neil Patrick Harris) with a tone that is bleak, self-aware, and heavy on wordplay and meta humor. Mindhunter, directed by David Fincher, follows two late-1970s FBI agents as they interview serial killers like Ed Kemper (Cameron Britton) to develop profiling techniques; the series was canceled after Season 2 and later gained a sizeable cult following.

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