One of Netflix‘s best TV shows is a supernatural series that will keep viewers on the edge of their seats for its entire duration. Netflix’s roster of shows is absolutely stacked. Be it through licensed series like The Man in the High Castle or the several Netflix Original series that have been released over the years, there is something for everyone.
2026 has been a good year for Netflix subscribers. Many popular shows have come back with new seasons, like The Night Agent and Bridgerton, with exciting new series rising on the streaming service, some of which include crime thrillers like Nemesis and Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole, sci-fi series like The Boroughs and Stranger Things: Tales from ’85, and shows from many other genres.
That said, even though Netflix’s new series have led to some of the best shows on the streamer, subscribers should not stop diving deep into Netflix’s catalog. After all, there are many hidden gems left to be found. That is the case of this old supernatural series that will make viewers’ skin crawl, and it is one of Netflix’s most engaging foreign series.
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01
Squid Game shattered records on launch in 2021, becoming Netflix’s biggest-ever series debut. Hwang Dong-hyuk’s South Korean thriller centres on a desperate gambler named Seong Gi-hun. What is his player number?
✓ Correct! Gi-hun is Player 456 — the last number drawn. Kang Sae-byeok (the North Korean defector) is 067, Cho Sang-woo (the Stanford-educated finance crook) is 218, and the mysterious elderly Oh Il-nam is 001. Squid Game became Netflix’s first show to hit #1 in every country it launched in, amassing over 1.6 billion hours watched in its first month alone.
✗ Eliminated! The answer is 456. Gi-hun’s number is the very last of the 456 players. 067 is Sae-byeok the defector, 218 is Sang-woo the Stanford grad, and 001 is the mysterious old man Oh Il-nam whose identity becomes the series’ biggest reveal. Squid Game became Netflix’s most-watched launch ever, hitting #1 in 94 countries.
02
The Tim Burton-directed Addams Family spin-off set at Nevermore Academy became Netflix’s second-biggest English-language debut in 2022 and launched a TikTok dance craze. Which young actress plays the deadpan title character?
✓ Correct! Jenna Ortega — a Disney Channel graduate and indie-horror favourite (X, Scream VI) — took the role Christina Ricci made iconic in the 1990s films and made it entirely her own. Her now-famous cello-accompanied dance scene became an overnight TikTok phenomenon, and her performance earned Wednesday two Emmy nominations despite airing mid-season.
✗ Eliminated! The answer is Jenna Ortega. Millie Bobby Brown is Eleven on Stranger Things, Sadie Sink plays Max Mayfield (also Stranger Things), and Maya Hawke plays Robin. Ortega’s deadpan Wednesday Addams — and her viral cello-dance scene — turned the show into a global phenomenon in late 2022.
03
In 2013, Netflix released a dark political thriller starring Kevin Spacey as a ruthless congressman breaking the fourth wall. It became the first major streaming original to land a Primetime Emmy nomination and effectively invented prestige streaming TV. Which show was it?
✓ Correct! House of Cards — adapted by Beau Willimon from the 1990 BBC series — became Netflix’s first prestige original and proved a streaming service could go toe-to-toe with HBO. Kevin Spacey’s Frank Underwood and his asides to camera defined early streaming TV. Orange Is the New Black followed months later in July 2013 and became Netflix’s longest-running original at the time.
✗ Eliminated! The answer is House of Cards (February 2013). Orange Is the New Black launched five months later (July 2013), Arrested Development’s Netflix revival came in May 2013, and Hemlock Grove was a horror effort the same spring. House of Cards was the flagship — the first streaming original to earn a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Drama Series.
04
Peter Morgan’s The Crown famously recast its entire ensemble every two seasons to age the royal family. After Claire Foy played Queen Elizabeth II in seasons 1-2, which Oscar-winning actress took the crown for seasons 3-4?
✓ Correct! Olivia Colman — fresh off her Best Actress Oscar for The Favourite — played the Queen across seasons 3 and 4, covering the late 1960s through the early Thatcher years. Imelda Staunton took over for seasons 5-6, Helena Bonham Carter played Princess Margaret in seasons 3-4, and Gillian Anderson stole the show as Margaret Thatcher in season 4.
✗ Eliminated! The answer is Olivia Colman. Imelda Staunton took over for the final two seasons (5-6). Helena Bonham Carter played the chain-smoking Princess Margaret during seasons 3-4 alongside Colman. Gillian Anderson delivered an Emmy-winning Margaret Thatcher in season 4. Colman anchored the show’s middle era fresh off her 2019 Oscar win.
05
The Duffer Brothers’ 1980s nostalgia juggernaut sees Eleven and the gang battle inter-dimensional horrors from a portal beneath the town’s Hawkins National Laboratory. In which fictional US town and state is the series set?
✓ Correct! Hawkins, Indiana — a fictional Midwestern small town that became one of TV’s most iconic settings. The Duffer Brothers chose Indiana for its unassuming, ordinary-America vibe, making the supernatural chaos feel more jarring. Derry is Stephen King’s It setting, Hill Valley is from Back to the Future, and Twin Peaks is David Lynch’s famous town.
✗ Eliminated! The answer is Hawkins, Indiana. Derry, Maine is the fictional town from Stephen King’s It. Hill Valley is Marty McFly’s home in Back to the Future. Twin Peaks, Washington is David Lynch’s famous fictional town. Hawkins is The Duffer Brothers’ deliberately ordinary Midwestern setting — the flat, unassuming backdrop that makes Vecna’s horrors hit harder.
06
Netflix’s Regency romance juggernaut — based on Julia Quinn’s novels and famous for its colour-blind casting, string-quartet pop covers, and narrated gossip column — is produced by which prolific showrunner’s production banner?
✓ Correct! Shonda Rhimes — the creator of Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal — produces Bridgerton through her Shondaland banner as the first major fruit of her massive 2017 Netflix deal. Chris Van Dusen created the show, but Shondaland’s signature ensemble-romance DNA is all over it. Julian Fellowes did Downton Abbey, Ryan Murphy did Monster/Dahmer, and Jenji Kohan did Orange Is the New Black.
✗ Eliminated! The answer is Shonda Rhimes (Shondaland). Ryan Murphy produces true-crime anthologies like Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. Julian Fellowes is the Downton Abbey/Gilded Age creator — a different period drama entirely. Jenji Kohan is behind Orange Is the New Black and Weeds. Bridgerton was the first big payoff of Rhimes’ nine-figure Netflix deal.
07
La Casa de Papel (Money Heist) became a global phenomenon on Netflix after a modest Spanish TV debut — partly thanks to its gang’s instantly recognisable red jumpsuits paired with a mask of which famous figure?
✓ Correct! The Salvador Dalí mask — with its upturned moustache — became the show’s defining visual alongside the red jumpsuits, a nod to Spanish artistic rebellion and surrealist individuality. It inspired protest iconography worldwide, from Lebanon to France. The original Antena 3 version underperformed; Netflix acquired it in 2017, re-edited it, and turned it into a global sensation.
✗ Eliminated! The answer is Salvador Dalí. Guy Fawkes is the V for Vendetta mask that Anonymous adopted. Che Guevara is a common revolutionary image but not the heist crew’s mask. Picasso is a frequent wrong answer given he’s the more globally-known Spanish artist — but the Dalí mask, with its iconic moustache, is the one fused forever with Money Heist’s red jumpsuits.
08
Netflix’s 2020 limited series about a Cold War-era chess prodigy named Beth Harmon caused a global surge in chess-set sales and was one of the streamer’s most-watched shows that year. Who played Beth?
✓ Correct! Anya Taylor-Joy — already a cult favourite from The Witch and Emma — broke out globally as Beth Harmon, winning the Golden Globe for Best Actress. The Queen’s Gambit pulled 62 million households in its first 28 days and caused such a chess-boom that Chess.com and retailers ran out of sets. It also made Walter Tevis’s 1983 novel a surprise bestseller almost 40 years later.
✗ Eliminated! The answer is Anya Taylor-Joy. Florence Pugh (Midsommar, Oppenheimer), Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird), and Daisy Edgar-Jones (Normal People, Where the Crawdads Sing) are all frequent competitors in similar roles. Taylor-Joy’s Beth Harmon earned her a Golden Globe, a SAG Award, and turned Walter Tevis’s 1983 novel into a sudden bestseller.
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The show in question is Marianne, whose only season was released on Netflix back on September 13, 2019. The supernatural horror series entered a select Netflix group and, seven years after it dropped on the streaming service, Marianne remains one of the streamer’s best shows to date. This is a complex, dark, mysterious, shocking, and simply irresistible story.
Marianne Is One Of Netflix’s Most Unsettling Series
Marianne is centered on Victoire Du Bois’ Emma Larsimon, a French author who has penned a famous horror book series where the main antagonist is a witch named Marianne. The problem, as Emma comes to discover upon returning home after her friend commits suicide in front of her, is that Marianne is a very real being, and she has been targeting Emma’s friends and family. In order to make Emma continue writing her books about Marianne, which give the witch power as she becomes known and feared around the world, the supernatural being possesses Emma’s close ones.
Marianne is a grotesque, frightening, and utterly dark affair. In a year when horror movies are on the rise, with Backrooms and Obsession becoming huge box office hits, Marianne emerges as the perfect companion series on Netflix, offering another intense dose of psychological horror to genre fans. That said, expect way more jump scares and just an overwhelming sense of dread in the supernatural series. Du Bois’ Emma, Lucie Boujenah’s Camille, and Mireille Herbstmeyer’s Madame Daugeron emerge as the show’s best performers, with the latter especially being key to some of the biggest scares in Netflix’s Marianne.
How Marianne Stands In A Select Netflix Group
Marianne is easily one of Netflix’s best TV shows, being a true horror masterpiece that features scares for days. Critics and viewers alike agree with that sentiment. On Rotten Tomatoes, Marianne stands at a high 83% audience score, with the Netflix horror series at an even better critics’ score, boasting what is a rare perfect 100% critics’ score on the review aggregator based on 16 reviews. One of the show’s many positive reviews came from Polygon, with writer Toussaint Egan claiming its premise is akin to the novels written by horror master Stephen King, saying, “Marianne is a perfect recommendation for any horror fan.”
Based on its perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, Marianne stands above the vast majority of Netflix’s TV shows, sitting alongside a select group. Other Netflix shows to also boast a perfect RT rating include the animated fantasy masterpiece Arcane, the sci-fi anime Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, the intense action series Last Samurai Standing, the gritty crime thriller The Chestnut Man, and a few more. Every single one of those shows is immersive, with complex characters, and tells a high-stakes story. Marianne fits right in with them, standing as one of Netflix’s best shows.
