Adolescence
Officially the biggest UK drama on Netflix, Adolescence has broken records and made a vast cultural impact since its release in March 2025.
The four-part crime drama, created and co-written by Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne, tells the story of a teenage boy accused of killing a girl in his school – to the devastation of all those around him.
Ben Blackall/Netflix//Netflix
Toxic Town
Another hit from writer Jack Thorne, Toxic Town is set in the late ’80s and ’90s in Corby, where a group of women had children born with limb differences and health issues.
The four-part drama boasts an impressive cast that includes Aimee Lou Wood, Claudia Jessie and Jodie Whittaker – and we described this as being her best show since Broadchurch.
Clerkenwell Films//Netflix
Baby Reindeer
When it dropped on Netflix in the first half of 2024, Baby Reindeer (which Richard Gadd both created and starred in) became the show that everyone was talking about. The drama was one of the streaming platform’s most successful British shows, dominating the Emmy Awards and many, many “best of” lists.
In this psychological drama, a man’s experience with a stalker pushes him to face up to his own traumas. The show isn’t an easy watch but, if you are able to engage with its themes, this limited series is a phenomenal and commendable piece of television.
Netflix
Supacell
South London is such a presence in this Netflix smash that the location is almost a character in its own right. Set against that vibrant backdrop, Supacell plays with the idea of what would happen if a group of normal people suddenly found themselves with superpowers.
There’s not a cape or shine of spandex in sight, and all that seems to connect the gifted group is that they are all Black. It’s a unique take on the genre, and one that’s so good it earned itself a quick season-two renewal.
Netflix
Black Doves
From Joe Barton (Giri/Haji and The Lazarus Project) and the same production company that was responsible for HBO’s critically acclaimed Chernobyl, we always thought that Black Doves would be worth a watch – but it surpassed even those expectations.
The spy show – starring Keira Knightley, Ben Whishaw and Sarah Lancashire – is an exciting and fresh spin on the genre, and we named it “unmissable” in our four-star review.
Netflix
One Day
Emma and Dexter meet at university and, after spending the night together, they embark on a decades-spanning relationship of will they/won’t they?
Netflix’s recent adaptation of David Nicholls’ best-selling novel became a cultural moment after it was released – but let’s just not talk about the final episode. Ever again.
Netflix
Top Boy
Another show with London at its beating heart, Top Boy had been on air since 2011 and went on to have a fixed address on the popular streaming platform.
Through its central characters of Dushane (Ashley Walters) and Sully (Kane ‘Kano’ Robinson), the crime drama tells a riveting story that’s full of heart, humour and action.
VISHAL SHARMA//Netflix
Fool Me Once
Harlan Coben’s screen adaptations have become a TV event all of their own, and there are a number of them to choose from on Netflix right now – the most recent being Missing You.
Fool Me Once is the only one to crack the streamer’s most-watched top 10 though, so that’s why we picked it for this list. Come for Michelle Keegan, whose no-nonsense Maya Stern is trying to get to the bottom of what happened to her husband, stay for Joanna Lumley’s mother-in-law from hell.
Kevin Baker/Netflix
The Gentlemen
We branded it “the best thing Guy Ritchie’s done in years” in our review, and it seems that a lot of people agreed. The hit show was such a success, it stuck around in Netflix’s Top 10 for weeks and was finally renewed for a much-anticipated second season – which is now well on the way.
This eight-part TV spin-off singled out one plot thread from the divisive 2019 movie of the same name, and that involved a weed empire. Compared to that original, the Netflix show is better in virtually every conceivable way.
Netflix
Criminal UK
A crime procedural anthology drama, Netflix’s Criminal is mostly set within the confines of an interrogation room, where the investigators lay out their evidence to a suspect to try and piece together a story.
Its impressive all-star cast includes David Tennant, Kunal Nayyar, Hayley Atwell, Sharon Horgan, Kit Harington and Sophie Okonedo.
Channel 4
Suspect
This 2022 Channel 4 drama was added to Netflix in August, and is an adaptation of a popular Danish noir series by Christoffer Boe called Forhøret (Face to Face).
It stars James Nesbitt as veteran detective Danny Frater, who is trying to get to the bottom of his estranged daughter’s death, and the rest of the cast includes Death in Paradise‘s Ben Miller, Doctor Who‘s Sacha Dhawan and Anne-Marie Duff.
BBC
You Don’t Know Me
This four-part British drama, which first aired on the BBC in 2021, is based on the 2017 crime novel by Imran Mahmood.
When a young Black man from South London is accused of murder, the evidence and odds stacked against him. He decides to fire his lawyer and tell his own story, one of innocence, in his own words.
BBC
The Fall
Jamie Dornan’s Paul Spector walked so that Joe Goldberg could run, with the BBC’s Belfast-set stalker/murder series becoming something of a cult classic.
In our humble opinion, however, Gillian Anderson’s Stella Gibson is the star of the show as she investigates the string of dead women found in Spector’s path.
ITV
Unforgotten
The show may look a little different now, with a new lead, but Nicola Walker’s Detective Cassie Stuart and Sanjeev Bhaskar’s Sunil ‘Sunny’ Khan’s chemistry breathed new life into the police procedural.
To put another fresh spin on the genre, Unforgotten‘s focus was on a series of cold cases – across historic murders and missing-person cases.
BBC/Hartswood/Paul Stephenson
Inside Man
Not to be confused with 2006’s Denzel Washington movie, the BBC’s Inside Man brought together the acting prowess of David Tennant, Stanley Tucci, Dolly Wells and Lydia West.
From Steven Moffat (Doctor Who), the four-episode series brought together a US prisoner on death row and a woman trapped in the cellar of an English vicarage – it’s as bizarre as it sounds.
