Faith Roswell is a Senior Writer on Screen Rant’s Classic TV team. Since earning her degree in Creative Writing over a decade ago, Faith has written articles on film and TV from a variety of different angles. Faith now combines her knowledge of psychology with her love of monster movies to give more insight into what makes the best ones.
You may have read her Screen Rant lists and features covering horror, sci-fi, and fantasy, or read her Amazon Top 10 book, “Movie Monsters of the Deep.”
Faith has had an extensive career as a writer, appearing on BBC live radio, researching true crime for Rotten Mango podcast, and writing for publications including Mental Floss, Atlas Obscura, and The Daily Jaws before beginning here at Screen Rant.
While Netflix has been known for canceling shows early without allowing them the chance to reach their potential or find an audience, the streaming platform has occasionally been extremely ambitious. Some of Netflix’s best original TV shows have become culturally significant, starting franchises and even defining an era, despite taking risks with a bizarre plot or enormous budget.
The early TV shows that defined Netflix’s rise were all standouts in their own way, but the unprecedented success of in-depth dramas like Orange is the New Black proved that streaming and binge-watching could be the way forward. Netflix continues to blaze trails, and while some high-budget shows fail to deliver, others prove that ambition is not always linked to an enormous budget.
Arcane
Adapting a video game with extensive lore and popular characters for an audience who may not be familiar with it would already be an ambitious project. However, Arcane also had to stand out against several other video game adaptations, not all of which are great. These risked alienating fans of the game and new audiences, but Arcane became the gold standard for video game adaptations.
Arcane’s highly ambitious story and $200 million budget really showed, and the short series has won multiple awards for its animation and soundtrack. Rather than rely on video game references and spectacle, Arcane made the quieter moments just as important as the action scenes, placing the story of two estranged sisters amid a growing war at the heart of the show.
243 9.3/10 9/10 Arcane 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-14 Animation Drama Action Fantasy Release Date 2021 – 2024 Network Netflix Showrunner Christian Linke Directors Barth Maunoury, Marietta Ren, Christelle Abgrall Writers Amanda Overton, Nick Luddington, Mollie Bickley St. John, Ben St. John, Giovanna Sarquis, Henry G.M. Jones Cast See All Hailee Steinfeld Vi Ella Purnell Jinx Powered by Expand Collapse Mindhunter
While Mindhunter’s high budget was an obstacle that led to its cancellation, the show is one of Netflix’s most ambitious for another reason. Most TV crime dramas can feel formulaic at times, especially when there is a procedural aspect. However, Mindhunter’s focus on the science behind criminal psychology was a new approach that was based on a true story.
Mindhunter’s serial killer interviews have been a central point in movies like The Silence of the Lambs, but these have often contained regular action scenes and gore. On the other hand, Mindhunter was more ambitious in its approach to the horror of hunting murderers, using crime scene photos, suspense, and excellent acting to keep viewers in a state of unease.
Mindhunter TV-MA Drama Crime Thriller 10/10 134 9.5/10 Release Date 2017 – 2019
Powered by Expand Collapse Marco Polo
The fantasy epic Game of Thrones became a cultural phenomenon before its rushed ending let it down. Understandably, many fantasy shows have tried to emulate Game of Thrones’ success, but few have succeeded in capturing their audience in the same way. Netflix’s Marco Polo aimed to become a contender for the next great fantasy show, but failed to appeal to critics despite its ambition.
Marco Polo is set in the court of the Mongolian Empire, and has some similarities with Game of Thrones. Both shows had a political theme and plenty of adventure, but Marco Polo had a smaller budget. That said, while critics panned the first season, audiences loved it, and season 2’s drastic improvements brought the critics on board with a 100% positive Rotten Tomatoes score.
Marco Polo
Powered by Expand Collapse The Witcher
Netflix’s The Witcher tried to fill the void left by Game of Thrones, and it got off to a very promising start by casting Henry Cavill, who was a fan of the source material. However, the show went downhill after Cavill left The Witcher and Liam Hemsworth replaced him as Geralt of Rivia. The show had several extremely ambitious tasks ahead, including a non-linear timeline.
The Witcher follows three different timelines, and while attempting to ensure the plot does not grow too complex to follow, the makers also needed to maintain the dark and cinematic style. The Witcher had perfect costuming and special effects, but its later departure from the source material was not popular, with season 4 getting a 59% positive Rotten Tomatoes score.
The Witcher TV-MA Drama Action Fantasy Adventure 6/10 258 7.8/10 Release Date December 20, 2019
Powered by Expand Collapse House Of Cards
The political thriller House of Cards took some major risks. The show is a modernized adaptation of a short British TV series, and the first full in-house production by Netflix. Politics has a reputation for being difficult to follow, but House of Cards broke the fourth wall so that the main character could explain his role, while showing the corruption and violence involved.
House of Cards made politics fascinating, it gives a terrifying first look at America under the control of an egomaniac, and the show would have been a masterpiece if not for its ending. Unfortunately, after serious issues arose with Kevin Spacey, the excellent Robin Wright was left to carry the final season. However, it ended on an odd cliffhanger, leaving the show feeling unfinished.
House of Cards TV-MA Drama 7/10 8.2/10 Release Date 2013 – 2018-00-00
Powered by Expand Collapse The Crown
The Crown is a dramatization of key events in the reign of the British Queen Elizabeth II, and while it was a must-watch Netflix show for every TV fan, the concept could have been very difficult to execute well. With characters based on living people, like Prince William, and historical figures from living memory, like Princess Diana, there was potential for things to go wrong.
Some depictions in The Crown are exaggerations or added for dramatic effect, but the show is a masterpiece in character study, with career-defining performances from its cast. Claire Foy, Olivia Colman, and Imelda Staunton all play Queen Elizabeth in different stages of her life, and while Buckingham Palace never officially endorsed it, it was reported that some royals watched it.
The Crown TV-MA Biography Drama History 7/10 8.4/10 Release Date 2016 – 2023-00-00
Powered by Expand Collapse Love, Death + Robots
Even the most unmissable anthology TV series run the risk of losing their audience with polarizing episodes or being too unpredictable. However, Love, Death + Robots has consistently brought out fantastic seasons, even with great variation between the episodes. The show itself is extremely ambitious, featuring different kinds of visual effects and storytelling talent, combined to make a cyberpunk anthology.
The high-concept approach in Love, Death + Robots does not appear to make compromises, with each episode being distinctly different from the others. The disconcerting “Jibaro” is nothing like the hilarious “Automated Customer Service” or the horrifying “Bad Traveling.” However, this commitment to creativity has allowed the show to become a masterpiece, with seasons 3 and 4 getting a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Love, Death & Robots TV-MA Animation Horror Science Fiction Thriller 61 8.7/10 Release Date March 15, 2019
Powered by Expand Collapse Squid Game
Squid Game is one of the select few groundbreaking shows that have revolutionized the TV industry. Before the dystopian thriller arrived on Netflix, English-language productions formed the vast majority of the shows and movies available to stream. However, the story of a deadly game series in which desperate competitors must win money or die trying transcended the language barrier.
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Squid Game was a cultural phenomenon, with the iconic jumpsuits becoming a popular cosplay, a game show based on the childrens’ games featured in the episodes, and even an upcoming spinoff series set in the US. Ambitious TV shows do not always succeed, but the risk paid off with Squid Game, which is in Korean, with dubbing and subtitles available.
Squid Game TV-MA Action & Adventure Mystery Drama Thriller 8/10 448 8.8/10 Release Date 2021 – 2025
Powered by Expand Collapse Stranger Things
Stranger Things is reportedly the most expensive Netflix original TV show by far, with a budget of around $50 to $60 million per episode, and seasonal budgets that exceeded those of many movies. However, when the show first streamed, viewers would not know how ambitious the Duffer Brothers were going to be, as the first series was much more self-contained.
Stranger Things began as a 1980s homage and a missing person story. However, the Upside Down, its monsters, and the show’s “Big Bad,” Vecna, had been planned from early on, with the explosive ending already outlined. While Stranger Things’ season 5 plans changed radically, the story remained far-reaching, with multiple spin-offs planned in a variety of different media.
Stranger Things TV-14 Drama Mystery Horror Science Fiction 8/10 648 9.1/10 Release Date 2016 – 2025-00-00
Powered by Expand Collapse The OA
Despite only lasting two short seasons, Netflix’s sci-fi masterpiece The OA is not an easy binge. The show is one of the weirdest ever made for Netflix, with a final meta twist that left the story on a game-changing cliffhanger. The OA jumps between worlds, but just as it appeared to enter ours, with the actors using their real names, another mystery was introduced.
While The OA became a cult hit, the viewing figures were not deemed to be high enough to justify the cost of making the show, and it was canceled at the end of season 2. A dedicated fan group launched an unsuccessful campaign to save it, so it appears that The OA may never be resolved, though its creators had planned a five-season arc.
The OA TV-MA Mystery Drama Science Fiction 41 8.5/10 Release Date 2016 – 2019-00-00
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