Best 2026 Netflix TV Shows for writing quality

#1 How to Get to Heaven from Belfast, Season 1
4.8

The script draws emphatic praise for its wit, character conflict, and ability to make chaos feel natural. Even when the plot is criticized, the actual scene writing and comic construction...

Pros: humor, story quality

Cons: plot clarity, season length

#2 East of Eden
4.6

The scripts are praised for emotional weight, thematic ambition, and strong character scenes, even when some viewers think the adaptation overexplains its ideas.

Pros: main cast performance, story quality

Cons: character balance, episode pacing

#3 The Witness, Season 1
4.5

The script is viewed as one of the reasons the drama feels thoughtful rather than lurid. Strong writing and performance work combine to keep the focus on survivors.

Pros: story quality, emotional impact

Cons: season pacing

#4 My Brilliant Career
4.4

The writing is often praised as sharp, witty, polished, and thematically smart, though occasional exposition and reduced subtlety draw criticism.

Pros: main cast performance, entertainment value

Cons: plot originality, sexual content level

#5 Running Point, Season 2
4.0

The best scripts feature crackling dialogue, clear character voices, and confident comic escalation. Critics of the season point to formulaic resolutions, stale topical jokes, and subplots that disappear too quickly.

Pros: main cast performance, supporting cast performance

Cons: season pacing, episode structure

#6 A Different World
3.8

The early scripts are praised as well written, pairing clear episode problems with lessons and character growth.

Pros: spin-off quality, cultural representation

Cons: romance quality, season pacing

#7 Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, Season 1
3.7

The harshest appraisal blames a weak script for unearned choices, broken character logic, and an ending the story has not properly justified.

Pros: suspense, theme depth

Cons: season pacing, story quality

#8 The Gentlemen, Season 2
3.5

The screenplay draws the harshest criticism from negative reviewers, who call it over-written and under-revised. Positive coverage focuses more on character arcs than script polish.

Pros: story quality, renewal interest

Cons: season pacing, plot clarity

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

The screenplay can blend character and caper material effectively, but its crowded middle and repetitive formulas undermine the stronger ideas.

Pros: audience appeal, drama quality

Cons: story quality, character development

#10 The Boroughs, Season 1
3.3

The screenplay was criticized as clunky in the cited review, despite the show’s promising premise and strong performers. The issue is less the idea than the execution of scenes and...

Pros: entertainment value, acting quality

Cons: episode pacing, plot originality

#11 Crew Girl
3.3

The premiere’s writing is praised for using structure, objects, rowing roles, and cause-and-effect character choices to carry theme without over-explaining it.

Pros: sports storyline quality, character development

Cons: romance quality, plot originality

#12 Louis C.K.: Ridiculous
3.2

The writing ranges from polished, observational craft to material some critics call lazy or underdeveloped. Aging and elder-care bits get the most credit, while repeated shock turns weaken the overall...

Pros: theme depth, genre satisfaction

Cons: humor, sexual content level

#13 Virgin River, Season 7
3.2

The script is one of the shakier areas, with complaints that it has grown thin and that weak writing spills into several side plots.

Pros: story quality, emotional impact

Cons: drama quality, writing quality

#14 Bridgerton, Season 4
3.2

The writing improves markedly for some reviewers in Part 2, especially around class and emotional consequence, while others still fault contrivances and repetitive plotting.

Pros: entertainment value, story quality

Cons: plot originality, writing quality

#15 Vladimir, Season 1
3.2

The written adaptation is strongest when it leans into sharp dialogue, literary framing, and biting academic satire, which one review identifies as central to the show’s appeal.

Pros: main cast performance, theme depth

Cons: story quality, character development

#16 Human Vapor, Season 1
3.2

The pilot script is described as lively enough to carry a lot of setup. Exposition is noticeable, but at least one reviewer felt the writing keeps the first episode moving.

Pros: special effects quality, story quality

Cons: season pacing, drama quality

#17 Run Away, Season 1
3.1

The screenplay can keep a complicated mystery moving, but one critic argues it needs tighter scripting because overloaded scenes and plot turns weaken performances.

Pros: entertainment value, story quality

Cons: plot clarity, finale satisfaction

#18 DANG!
3.1

Script quality is uneven across critics: topical references and less-distinctive writing draw criticism, while another reviewer praises the quick-witted lines and laugh-out-loud moments.

Pros: cast chemistry, animation quality

Cons: humor, plot originality

#19 Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials, Season 1
2.6

The screenplay draws opposite reactions: one critic praises how clearly it motivates Bundle, while another faults it for lacking narrative discipline. The script’s character focus works better than its mystery...

Pros: entertainment value, acting quality

Cons: faithfulness to source material, season length

#20 Below
2.6

The promising premise is weakened for many viewers by thin side stories, heavy explanation and logical shortcuts. More favorable reactions appreciate the controlled early setup.

Pros: entertainment value, main cast performance

Cons: writing quality, season pacing

#21 Mating Season, Season 1
2.5

Writing quality is uneven across the response. Some praise the later-season voice and relationship dynamics, while critics complain about surface-level jokes, lazy lessons, and weak commentary.

Pros: cast chemistry, acting quality

Cons: humor, character development

#22 Worst Neighbor Ever, Season 1
2.5

The writing and overall framing are serviceable but not especially ambitious. One critic felt the familiar Worst Ever approach leaves these serious stories wanting more effort.

Pros: suspense, entertainment value

Cons: theme depth

#23 Avatar: The Last Airbender, Season 2
2.4

Writing shows clear improvement for some reviewers, especially in character conversations and later episodes, but exposition, compression, and clumsy adaptation choices remain frequent complaints.

Pros: character development, action quality

Cons: faithfulness to source material, season pacing

#24 Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, Season 1
2.3

The scripts struggle to produce enough wit or variation, leaving repeated monster beats without the sharp dialogue needed to keep them lively.

Pros: entertainment value, animation quality

Cons: spin-off quality, acting quality

#25 Calabasas Confidential, Season 1
2.3

Narrative construction is shaky. K-waves faults the cheap dialogue and superficial relationship dynamics, while Bingebaaz finds the show only moderately sharp.

Cons: audience appeal, story quality

#26 Rafa, Season 1
2.0

One critic found the storytelling too plain, arguing that the series leaves little subtext beneath its champion-and-sacrifice thesis. That makes the documentary clear, but not especially layered in its writing.

Pros: theme depth, interview and source material quality

Cons: episode pacing, season length

#27 Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story
1.8

Writing drew heavy criticism for character choices and invented material that some reviewers felt disrespected the historical story.

Pros: acting quality, entertainment value

Cons: faithfulness to source material, violence level

#28 I Will Find You
1.7

Screenplay quality trends negative. Reviewers criticize the contrivances and exposition-heavy mechanics more than the basic mystery hook.

Pros: bingeability, suspense

Cons: plot twists, entertainment value

#29 Stranger Things: Tales From ’85, Season 2
1.7

The script’s focus on monsters and action is criticized for leaving too little room for character relationships to breathe.

Pros: animation quality, acting quality

Cons: story quality, character development

#30 Ricky Gervais Alley Cats
1.5

Writing is the dominant overall concern, with many sources calling it lazy, repetitive, underdeveloped, or overly dependent on Gervais’s familiar habits. A small minority finds it clever, observant, and meaningfully...

Pros: main cast performance, episode length

Cons: humor, emotional impact

#31 Wonka’s The Golden Ticket, Season 1
1.0

An Oompa-Loompa song’s weak rhymes and lyrics disappoint one critic.

Pros: production design, visual style

Cons: entertainment value, faithfulness to source material