Best Netflix TV Shows for originality

originality Decision Dashboard

Safest pick

Human Vapor, Season 1

4.7 attribute score

Balances the attribute score, supporting reviews, and overall product strength.

Most evidence

Below

25 supporting reviews

Has the broadest review evidence for this attribute.

Best overall product

Kylie, Season 1

4.5 overall score

Strongest overall product among items with scored evidence for this attribute.

#1 Avatar: The Last Airbender, Season 2
5.0

Original additions are praised when they deepen character motivations and expand familiar material instead of simply recreating it.

Pros: character development, action quality

Cons: faithfulness to source material, season pacing

#2 Human Vapor, Season 1
4.7

The remake earns credit for not replaying the 1960 plot beat for beat. Critics liked that it turns the premise into a new serialized conspiracy, though one reviewer still found...

Pros: special effects quality, story quality

Cons: season pacing, drama quality

#3 Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story
4.5

The cross-era, female-killer framing struck several reviewers as fresh and unusual, with one calling the project unique on television.

Pros: acting quality, entertainment value

Cons: faithfulness to source material, violence level

#4 The Witness, Season 1
4.5

The show’s freshest move is shifting the center away from police procedure and toward the father-son relationship. That angle makes a familiar real case feel more distinct and emotionally specific.

Pros: story quality, emotional impact

Cons: season pacing

#5 Rafa, Season 1
4.5

Several viewers felt Rafa finds fresh angles on a heavily documented athlete, especially by showing new sides of Nadal the man. Its originality comes less from surprise events than from...

Pros: theme depth, interview and source material quality

Cons: episode pacing, season length

#6 Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, Season 1
4.3

Familiar wedding and in-law horror ingredients are rearranged with confidence and surprising perspective shifts, though a minority sees the homage as derivative.

Pros: suspense, theme depth

Cons: season pacing, story quality

#7 The Witcher, Season 4
4.0

One reviewer enjoyed the whimsy and creativity of the season’s more unusual storytelling choices.

Pros: action quality, villain quality

Cons: entertainment value, faithfulness to source material

#8 Worst Neighbor Ever, Season 1
4.0

The neighbor-from-hell angle gives the season a distinct hook: danger comes from the person next door rather than a distant stranger. That premise helped the show feel immediately relatable and...

Pros: suspense, entertainment value

Cons: theme depth

#9 Kylie, Season 1
3.8

Opinions are mixed: the celebrity-doc template feels familiar, but the format, archives, and access make it fresher than expected for some viewers.

Pros: emotional impact, interview and source material quality

#10 The Gentlemen, Season 2
3.7

The season earns praise for reinventing itself into something darker and more focused, though one harsh review sees it as too derivative of Ritchie’s familiar formula.

Pros: story quality, renewal interest

Cons: season pacing, plot clarity

#11 Squid Game: The Challenge, Season 2
3.5

The game mix divides opinion. Creative twists, reversals, and new formats impressed several critics, but others found original challenges dull, recycled, or badly conceived.

Pros: emotional impact, plot originality

Cons: entertainment value, character likability

#12 How to Get to Heaven from Belfast, Season 1
3.5

Opinion splits sharply here. One critic saw familiar shows being reworked and rehashed, while another argued that McGee turns the genre mash-up into an exception through meta storytelling and a...

Pros: humor, story quality

Cons: plot clarity, season length

#13 Below
3.4

The specific Newfoundland community and ecological direction can freshen familiar aquatic horror. Obvious Jaws echoes and stock villains keep others from finding it especially original.

Pros: entertainment value, main cast performance

Cons: writing quality, season pacing

#14 DAHMER – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
3.4

Some reviewers find genuinely fresh value in the victim-centered episodes and unusual structural choices. Others see another familiar Dahmer retelling that adds too little to stories already told many times.

Pros: acting quality, cultural representation

Cons: ethical sensitivity, character balance

#15 The Boroughs, Season 1
3.4

The senior-led spin on familiar sci-fi gave the show freshness for many reviewers. Several still felt the series leaned too hard on Stranger Things, Spielberg, and other genre templates, making...

Pros: entertainment value, acting quality

Cons: episode pacing, plot originality

#16 Berlin and the Lady with an Ermine, Chapter 2
3.3

The season adds a double-cross, emotional tragedy, and new setting, but familiar franchise rhythms still create déjà vu for some critics.

Pros: audience appeal, drama quality

Cons: story quality, character development

#17 The American Experiment, Season 1
3.2

Much of the material will feel familiar beside other American Revolution documentaries, but the series gains freshness through personal details and modern civic questions. Viewers already steeped in the era...

Pros: interview and source material quality, theme depth

Cons: modern political framing, season pacing

#18 Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, Season 2
3.0

The new paranormal threat is praised as a fresher direction by some, while others think the season still lacks the daring originality associated with peak Stranger Things.

Pros: animation quality, acting quality

Cons: story quality, character development

#19 Virgin River, Season 7
2.9

Predictability is often part of the show’s appeal, but recycled romance gestures and a Clay storyline compared with another Netflix series make parts of the season feel unoriginal.

Pros: story quality, emotional impact

Cons: drama quality, writing quality

#20 A Different World
2.9

The sequel can feel fresh within its inherited setting, but several critics see familiar college-drama templates, love triangles and reboot conventions limiting its originality.

Pros: spin-off quality, cultural representation

Cons: romance quality, season pacing

#21 Emily in Paris season 5
2.9

Originality is contested. Rome and the stronger Emily/Sylvie material feel fresh to some reviewers, while others see the same recycled romantic loops beneath the new scenery.

Pros: character development, entertainment value

Cons: character balance, story quality

#22 Crew Girl
2.8

This is the most repeated weakness. Rowing feels fresh, but the love triangle, prep-school hierarchy, rich-versus-poor conflict, and teen-drama beats are widely described as familiar or recycled.

Pros: sports storyline quality, character development

Cons: romance quality, plot originality

#23 DANG!
2.8

The central sibling angle has some distinctive personality, but many reviewers still see familiar adult-animation and slice-of-life territory. Repeated mistakes, topical jokes, and recognizable sitcom setups can make the season...

Pros: cast chemistry, animation quality

Cons: humor, plot originality

#24 Run Away, Season 1
2.8

The series is openly familiar Coben territory. Some viewers enjoy the dependable formula, while others see the repeated playbook and adaptation patterns as a lack of freshness.

Pros: entertainment value, story quality

Cons: plot clarity, finale satisfaction

#25 Running Point, Season 2
2.7

Romance loops, recurring family power plays, and predictable conflicts make parts of the season feel repetitive. The execution often remains enjoyable even when the destination is obvious.

Pros: main cast performance, supporting cast performance

Cons: season pacing, episode structure

#26 Bridgerton, Season 4
2.5

The Cinderella structure is the season’s most repeated criticism. Even positive reviews acknowledge that the setup is familiar, predictable or deliberately traditional.

Pros: entertainment value, story quality

Cons: plot originality, writing quality

#27 Vladimir, Season 1
2.5

The accused professor’s wife provides a fresh angle on campus scandal, but critics also point to familiar academic clichés and unusually close overlap with other recent shows. Originality therefore feels...

Pros: main cast performance, theme depth

Cons: story quality, character development

#28 Wonka’s The Golden Ticket, Season 1
2.5

One viewer likes the Wonka competition concept, while another finds little new beneath the familiar reality format.

Pros: production design, visual style

Cons: entertainment value, faithfulness to source material

#29 Death of the Pastor’s Wife
2.5

One reviewer notes that seasoned true-crime viewers may find the underlying story familiar, limiting its sense of originality.

Pros: emotional impact, educational value

Cons: plot clarity

#30 Mating Season, Season 1
2.3

The animal-world dating hook gives the series a memorable angle, but many writers feel it leans too hard on familiar rom-com and adult-cartoon formulas. The most positive takes credit the...

Pros: cast chemistry, acting quality

Cons: humor, character development

#31 My Brilliant Career
2.3

The Australian setting and heroine give the series personality, but several critics think the love triangle and familiar modern-period-drama formulas blunt its originality.

Pros: main cast performance, entertainment value

Cons: plot originality, sexual content level

#32 Michael Jackson: The Verdict
2.1

Freshness is the most repeated weakness. Many responses say the series has little new to offer, though a few argue its timing and cultural counterpoint to the biopic make the...

Pros: media scrutiny portrayal, theme depth

Cons: interview and source material quality, plot originality

#33 I Will Find You
2.0

The show is rarely treated as fresh. Reviewers describe it as familiar Coben machinery, with a few enjoyable genre tweaks but little that feels genuinely new.

Pros: bingeability, suspense

Cons: plot twists, entertainment value

#34 The Beast In Me
2.0

The setup feels familiar rather than groundbreaking, drawing obvious comparisons to prestige crime thrillers and true-crime stories about wealthy suspected killers.

Pros: bingeability, main cast performance

Cons: plot twists, writing quality

#35 Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials, Season 1
2.0

The show’s effectiveness is not credited to originality; one favorable reviewer explicitly says the story itself is not what makes it work.

Pros: entertainment value, acting quality

Cons: faithfulness to source material, season length

#36 Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, Season 1
1.7

Originality is one of the weakest areas. The interquel repeatedly reuses familiar monsters, character beats, and season formulas instead of taking advantage of animation to explore a genuinely new direction.

Pros: entertainment value, animation quality

Cons: spin-off quality, acting quality

#37 The Abandons
1.6

Familiarity is a dominant criticism. Reviewers repeatedly point to Western clichés, Romeo-and-Juliet plotting, obvious influences, and predictable beats despite the female-led twist.

Pros: main cast performance, production design

Cons: character development, season pacing

#38 Calabasas Confidential, Season 1
1.5

Most reactions find little new here: high-school grudges, wealthy influencers, and reality-TV friction feel familiar rather than fresh.

Cons: audience appeal, story quality

#39 Ricky Gervais Alley Cats
1.4

Most comments on originality are negative, arguing that the offensive-cartoon premise and joke targets feel dated or recycled. One review does grant the series some originality, but that is the...

Pros: main cast performance, episode length

Cons: humor, emotional impact