The year is half over, but there\u2019s already enough great content out there to justify a \u201cbest of\u201d list.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s especially true for Netflix<\/a>, which continues its reign as the most popular streaming service in the world thanks to past hits like Stranger Things<\/em><\/a> and Squid Game<\/em><\/a>, as well as current successful series like Outer Banks<\/em><\/a> and The Gentlemen<\/em>.<\/p>\n Watch With Us<\/a> looks back at the last seven months and ranks the 5 best Netflix shows of 2026 so far.<\/p>\n From a thriller about a religious cult to a dramatization of a terrorist attack, these shows stood out from the pack and represent the best Netflix has to offer.\n<\/p>\n Nothing\u2019s perfect in the \u201cFellowship of the Divine,\u201d a cult-like religious sect at the heart of the series Unchosen<\/em>, but it\u2019s better than the \u201cunchosen\u201d modern world all of their members shun. That\u2019s what Rosie tells herself, even as she endures an abusive marriage to Adam (Asa Butterfield<\/strong>). But when handsome stranger Sam (Fra Free<\/strong>) seeks refuge in their community, Rosie\u2019s life takes a turn for the better \u2014 at least for a little while. But Sam\u2019s true nature begins to emerge, and it could break the Fellowship apart for good.<\/p>\n Unchosen<\/em> is a terrific thriller<\/a> that\u2019s rooted in fact. There really are religious communities like the Fellowship in England, and they\u2019re almost as strict and intimidating. The key to Unfollow<\/em>\u2019s success is that most of its characters aren\u2019t completely good or bad \u2014 they all exist in moral shades of grey, which makes it complicated to really root for or dislike any of them.<\/p>\n On December 21, 1988, the unthinkable happened \u2014 a Pan Am 103 commercial jet exploded over the small town of Lockerbie, Scotland. 207 lives were lost, and the chaos and confusion afterward sparked an investigation that\u2019s still talked about today.<\/p>\n What makes The Bombing of Pan Am 103<\/em> such a compelling TV show is how undramatic it is. Whereas most shows would dial up the melodrama, this series simply presents the events as they happened \u2013 and the painstaking investigation that was launched to determine the cause of the explosion and who, if anyone, was responsible. Sex Education<\/em><\/a>\u2019s Connor Swindells<\/strong> and Suits<\/em>\u2019 Patrick J. Adams<\/strong> lead a stellar international cast, but this is the kind of show where the actors fade into the background. The story is the star, and it\u2019s what makes The Bombing of Pan Am 103<\/em> one of the best Netflix shows of 2026.<\/p>\n Sam (Alfred Molina<\/strong>) doesn\u2019t want to live in the Boroughs, an exclusive retirement community in New Mexico, but he doesn\u2019t really have a choice. Recently widowed, he has nowhere else to go; besides, the down payment is non-refundable. While he befriends his neighbors like the bohemian Renee (Geena Davis<\/strong><\/a>) and the hippie Judy (Alfre Woodard<\/strong>), he still feels a little out of place \u2014 and kinda creeped out. There\u2019s a good reason why Sam is unsettled \u2014 strange creatures are stalking the neighborhood, and some neighbors are leaving in coffins. Can Sam get to the bottom of the mystery before he becomes the next victim?<\/p>\n Despite The Boroughs<\/em> debuting to good critical reviews and relatively strong ratings, Netflix canceled the series<\/a> before it had a chance to really catch on with the public. That\u2019s a shame, as the show, which was executive-produced by the Duffer Brothers<\/strong>, is a reminder of what made Stranger Things<\/em> such a pop culture phenomenon in the first place. It blends the paranormal with ordinary tales of older people getting on in life, with a fantastic cast of vets that includes Bill Pullman<\/strong><\/a>, Denis O\u2019Hare<\/strong>, Mary McDonnell <\/strong>and Jane Kaczmarek<\/strong>. The Boroughs<\/em> also weaves an intriguing sci-fi mystery that is truly binge-worthy \u2014 it\u2019s hard to stop watching and makes you wish there\u2019s more of it to consume.<\/p>\n Some shows should never be remade, and there are others that can\u2019t be redone for a modern audience. Then there\u2019s Little House on the Prairie<\/em>, which falls into both categories. Or at least so I thought until I streamed Netflix\u2019s surprisingly lively and topical reimagining, which somehow preserves the innocence of Laura Ingalls Wilder<\/strong>\u2019s original 1930s novels while adding a modern touch to a very American story.<\/p>\n Part sweet family drama, part sweeping origin story of the American heartland, Little House<\/em> chronicles the Ingalls family \u2014 sisters Laura (Alice Halsey<\/strong>) and Mary (Skywalker Hughes<\/strong>), mother Caroline (Crosby Fitzgerald<\/strong>) and beloved patriarch Pa (Luke Bracey<\/strong><\/a>) \u2014 as they try to make a new home in Kansas in 19th-century America. Facing harsh weather conditions and an Osage community that doesn\u2019t like people stealing their land, the Ingalls family\u2019s prairie life is far from ideal, but what makes it all worth it is the loving bond they all share. The series does a good job of reimagining what American frontier life must have looked and felt like, while also telling simple yet absorbing stories of survival and overcoming impossible odds.<\/p>\n You have successfully subscribed.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n Netflix\u2019s best show of 2026 so far is a radical reimagining of a novel a lot of other people don\u2019t know exists. Published in 1901, My Brilliant Career<\/em> was written by an Australian teenager who wanted to show her feminist ideas way before that term was even widely known. That youthful energy and chafing against a rigid society take center stage in the Netflix adaptation, which is faithful to the novel\u2019s time period but also manages to feel vital and current.<\/p>\n Sybylla (Philippa Northeast<\/strong>) is young enough to still dream about the life she wants to lead \u2014 as a free-thinking writer \u2014 but old enough for her family to begin pressuring her to marry the right fellow before it\u2019s too late. That\u2019s partly why she\u2019s sent to her rich grandmother\u2019s estate, where she\u2019s taught to be the right kind of lady to appeal to an upper-class suitor. Sybylla wants to focus on her writing, but she can\u2019t help but notice the swoon-worthy Harry Beecham (Christopher Chung<\/strong><\/a>) and the brooding Englishman Frank Hawden (Jake Dunn<\/strong>). In a time when electricity and indoor plumbing are radical new inventions, can the forward-thinking Sybylla break conventions and have it all?<\/p>\n5. \u2018Unchosen\u2019<\/h2>\n
\n Molly Windsor and Fra Fee in Unchosen.<\/span> Netflix<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n4. \u2018The Bombing of Pan Am 103\u2019<\/h2>\n
![\"Patrick](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/bombing-of-pan-am-103.jpg?w=1000&quality=86&strip=all\")
<\/div>
\n Patrick J. Adams as Dick Marquise, Connor Swindells as DSC Ed McCusker in The Bombing of Pan Am 103.<\/span> Netflix \/ Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n3. \u2018The Boroughs\u2019<\/h2>\n
![\"Denis](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/the-boroughs-1.jpg?w=1000&quality=86&strip=all\")
<\/div>
\n Denis O\u2019Hare, Alfre Woodard and Alfred Molina in The Boroughs.<\/span> Netflix<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n2. \u2018Little House on the Prairie\u2019<\/h2>\n
![\"Luke-Bracey-and-LHOTP-Cast_108_Unit_01166RC\"](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Luke-Bracey-and-LHOTP-Cast_108_Unit_01166RC.jpg?w=1000&quality=86&strip=all\")
<\/div>
\n Crosby Fitzgerald as Caroline Ingalls, Alice Halsey as Laura Ingalls, Skywalker Hughes as Mary Ingalls, Luke Bracey as Charles Ingalls and Warren Christie as John Edwards.<\/span> Eric Zachanowich\/Netflix<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/themes\/us-weekly\/assets\/img\/newsletter-bg-narrow.jpg\")
\n\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/themes\/us-weekly\/assets\/img\/newsletter-bg-wide.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThank You!<\/h3>\n
1. \u2018My Brilliant Career\u2019<\/h2>\n
![\"Philippa](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/my-brilliant-career-3.jpg?w=1000&quality=86&strip=all\")
<\/div>
\n Philippa Northeast in My Brilliant Express.<\/span> Ian Routledge \/ \u00a9Netflix \/ Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n