Even when the outcome has been less than enjoyable, there’s something consistently beguiling about how Netflix goes about its programming business. The quality is, on the whole, much better than most cable networks, even when the formula allows for the production of something so profoundly false and rigid as, say,The Ranch. That being said, it’s not completely unique in this regard: FX has a similarly superb programming department, which has allowed new classics likeArcher,The Americans, andLouieto flourish. There’s also, of course, HBO, with the invaluableLast Week Tonight,Silicon Valley,Insecure,Big Little Lies,Girls, and, for better or worse,Game of Thrones.
Still, there’s something just a bit brasher about Netflix.House of Cardsis a grand, theatrical political melodrama draped in the icy imagery ofDavid Fincher, the visionary that set the visual and narrative tone for the series in his opening act. He also directed the series’ first two episodes with his customary tinted, gorgeous view of Washington’s power elite as homicidal lunatics and profoundly corrupted representatives. (For what it’s worth HBO has bungled two attempts to give Fincher the reins as of late).Orange is the New Black, as well – for all its flaws – is at once the world’s biggest no-brainerandrequiring of boldness and faith to get that initial green light. The same could be said of such minor miracles of programming asMaster of None,BoJack Horseman, and Netflix’s mightiest Marvel programs,DaredevilandJessica Jones.
Mind you, not everything works so well. The bloatedMarco Polo, the innocuousClub de Cuervos,the timidSanta Clarita Diet, and the overly convolutedSense8are all thorough disappointments, strewn with more overt creative ambitions than actual clever execution and imaginative visuals. Still, it’s not every channel or even every streaming service that would give the Wachowskis the chance to push their politically tinged action-melodramas into the serial format, and not hamper them with unending compromises, even if such things might very well be for the best in this case.
With the recent debut of one of their fourth Marvel property,Iron Fist, and the upcoming bow of13 Reasons Why, we thought we’d get a definitive listing of where all the Netflix originals rank, from worst to best. We decided to leave kids programming out of this, so as good asA Series of Unfortunate Events,Voltron: Legendary DefenderandTrollhuntersare, you won’t see it here. Nor will you see worthwhile acquisition titles likeHappy Valley,Peaky Blinders, orRiver; we’re just thinking about original comedies and dramas that Netflix has produced. Check back for updates when new shows premiere, including anticipated series on the horizon, such asFive Came Backand Fincher’sMindhunter. On the evidence of these decisions, made by the same powers that be that put money into anotherBong Joon-homovie, it’s not exactly hard to have faith that the streaming service will continue to air on the side of being a bit more outlandish and daring in their work. -Chris Cabin
30. ‘The Ranch’
I’ll make this brief. This rather blatant attempt to rip-off the structure ofChuck Lorre’s reprehensibleTwo and a Half Menattempts to splice the formula with a more middle-America vibe. It comes off as half-measured, unthinking, and occasionally simply abhorrent, and starsDanny MastersonandAshton Kutchershow minimal interest in the characters they are playing or the lines they are saying, as if they were asking for change from the bank.Sam ElliotandDebra Wingersimilarly feel at quite a distance from the story and action of the series, and it’s incredibly hard not to empathize with that level of disinterest, even if it is, ya know,their job. -Chris Cabin
29. ‘Fuller House’
Who knew nostalgia could go so wrong? The revival of beloved late-80s, early-90s syrupy family comedyFull Houseattempted to recapture the style and sensibility of another time, without any of the original charm or sweetness. Inverting the genders might have worked as a fresh way to bring the series back to life, but its execution was brought down by aggressively lazy and offensively boring writing. Though there was some meta humor to be found in the pilot episode that contained most of the original cast, the ill-conceived series quickly settled into a retro sitcom pattern peppered with raunchy jokes, creating a modern rebrand that misses the point entirely. A funny cast and a decent conceit wasted.— Allison Keene
28. ‘The Characters’
It’s natural that Netflix would want to dip its toe into the sketch game in a more longterm format than something likeW/ Bob and David, which only offered four episodes. Their answer isThe Characters, a showcase of a variety of comedic minds which features one main entertainer per week who creates their own episode full of comedy sketches. It’s a great concept that, as one might expect, yields an incredibly mixed bag of comedic work. The dig at reality television that opens the series is a particular low point, an easy, toothless criticism of the lowest of hanging fruit, but there are a handful of high points, including appearances of at least one veteran ofBroad City.Still, the highs are incredibly few in count in comparison to the amount of mediocrities, strained awkwardness, and outright duds. If anything,The Charactersends up being an inadvertent reminder of the importance of television as a collaborative process to help mold a vision. -Chris Cabin
27. ‘Club de Cuervos’
There’s more than a little ambition to this Mexican comedic melodrama, which details the changing of hands for the titular football team in Nuevo Toledo from a family’s late paterfamilias to his children. There’s clearly a bit of traditionalism in the concept, but this is essentially a daytime soap for the home-at-midnight crowd. There’s an exorbitant amount of nudity for no reason other than to keep you watching for the next instance, and most of the characters are only envisioned as types - the greedy one, the smart one, the violent one. Even worse, the show only gives a vague sense of interest in the sport it depicts, and the administrative types and trained professionals that make football work so well and remain so lucrative. In other words,Club de Cuervosis like a Mexican version of the latter seasons ofEntourage, with football replacing moviemaking. That is not meant as an endorsement, though it might very well seem like one for others. -Chris Cabin
26. ‘Flaked’
It’s great to seeWill Arnetttry to expand his range and depth as Chip, a convincing speaker in self-reinvention, on the down and out in Venice, California. There’s plenty to play up here, and the series aims largely for melodrama, ranging from addiction to love triangles to faith. It’s not all that bad, but there’s not all that much fun had either.Wally Pfister, of Transcendence fame, directs four of the first season’s episodes, and there’s a resounding feeling of the same self-importance that plagued that film’s unwieldy, pretty silly plot. Again, it’s a pretty painless affair, with thoughtful work from the likes ofPrimer’sDavid SullivanandRuth Kearney, but considering the lofty subject matter, and a pretty disappointing lack of overall visual invention beyond a few pretty sunsets, one feels a distinct deficiency in personal insight and laughs early on. Conditions do not improve from there, but it’s clear that Arnett, aided by co-creatorMark Chappell, ofTodd Margaretfame, had something introspective to say here. Still, you feel like someone’s holding back. -Chris Cabin
25. ‘Sense8’
If sheer creativity in visuals were the only measure of a good film, the Wachowskis’ stock post the firstMatrixfilm would have remained high. It’s the writing that’s always killed them: the preposterously convoluted storylines, the neverending character histories, the deeply conventional trajectories only slightly augmented to seem different. The same issue comes up withSense8, about a global group of gifted people who are linked mentally and have different powers, but the budget differences between what a movie calls for and a season of television become obvious immediately.Sense8doesn’t even sport the basic wonder that even the Wachowskis’ weakest material retains, a feeling of being transported into the realm of the impossible. As headed byLilly Wachowski,Sense8is easily the most visually bland, self-righteous, and politically inept work in the oeuvre of the sibling filmmakers, and makes a master confection likeSpeed Racerseem like something of a masterpiece in contrast. -Chris Cabin
24. ‘Marco Polo’
OhMarco Polo, you beautiful mess. A tale of action and adventure featuring Marco Polo and Kublai Khan should not be boring. And yet, this was. The ambitious, big-budget spectacle sought to be a throwback to sweeping historical storytelling, but it wastes its international cast (includingBenedict Wong,Zhu Zhu,Olivia ChangandJoan Chen) with muddled plotting and lack of a central, driving narrative. A hodgepodge of regional accents, poor pacing, and characters whose stories and motivations were hard to care about left this spectacle as largely forgettable. But Netflix doesn’t mind — it’s been renewed for Season 2.— Allison Keene
23. ‘Santa Clarita Diet’
As a critique of modern superficiality,Santa Clarita Dietis woefully late to a party that ended about 13 years ago. The familiar joke that “no one would really care if you were a killer as long as you don’t rub it in their face” is employed here, but it’s only part of a whole problem that inflicts this show about a realtor (Drew Barrymore) who suddenly turns cannibalistic. There is a constant instability in the series, as much in the narrative as in the performances. When Barrymore’s husband, Joel, played byJustified‘sTimothy Olyphant, goes down on her, Barrymore purposefully makes a face as if she’s trying to remember the exact recipe for her Aunt Mildred’s Apple Crumb Cake. The dialogue is clunky and obvious but also often bewildering in its tonal shifts and this lack of cohesiveness leaves Olyphant’s straight man looking increasingly out of place and innocuous. The same could be said of Barrymore’s audacious but ineffective comedic performance. The show makes clear, decisive moves to make sure you’ll never care about these characters, but refuses to counter that element with bigger ideas about modern living, white society, or the increasingly problematic upper-middle class. -Chris Cabin
22. ‘Iron Fist’
OhIron Fist… you had the chance to be Marvel’s boldest Netflix series to date, weaving in a mystical story and supernatural elements to really augmentThe Defendersinto something great. Yet … you didn’t. Instead,Iron Fistis a mess, not only stretching a 5-6 episode arc out for 13 episodes in almost ludicrous fashion, but by taking what is a fantastic origin story for Danny Rand (Finn Jones) and somehow making it boring. Hammy writing, inconsistent directing, and shockingly poor editing (particularly for the fight scenes) sealed the show’s fate, even if there was some good drama to be mined from the Meachums, The Hand, and a fighting female team-up between Colleen Wing (Jessica Henwick) and Claire Temple (Rosario Dawson). A gigantic missed opportunity.— Allison Keene
21. ‘Grace and Frankie’
Grace and Frankieis fluff, but it’s delightful fluff. The tale of two women thrown a curve ball late in life, the series starsJane FondaandLily Tomlinas the titular duo who form an unlikely bond after finding out their husbands aren’t just coworkers, but secret lovers…for the last 20 years. Truth be told, we should all be grateful for every dose of Lily Tomlin we get, and she is turned up to full-blast as Frankie Bergstein, the hippy-dippy yin to Grace Hanson’s (Fonda) A-type yang. As any9 to 5fan can tell you the two are a formidable on-screen force together (and yes, we’re still waiting for aDolly Partonappearance), and while their talents are occasionally underutilized in favor of maintaining a light, palatable tone, there’s an extreme pleasure in watching two venerated screen veterans have so much damn fun. It’s also a refreshing inclusion of an under-represented on-screen demographic, namely women over 50 who are allowed to be complex, self-motivated characters. It’s lean and light entertainment, but it also has an endearing compassion for all its characters and a cheery impishness befitting the moment you realize it’s never too late to start over again. –Haleigh Foutch
