8 Netflix Shows That Are Way Better Than You Remember

Image via Netflix Published Aug 7, 2026, 6:44 PM EDT Jiminna Shillingford is an avid reader and a passionate storyteller. She is obsessed with all things TV, from anime and romantic fantasy to action-packed series. With that deep affection, Jiminna longs to share her excitement with all her readers through the Collider platform as a TV author. Through her writing she has created stories and blog posts of amazing book recommendations, showcasing her love of writing. Jiminna's goal is to inspire others to discover and embrace their love of stories in all of its forms. Sign in to your Collider account Many in Netflix's library become quite easy to underestimate over time, especially when big hits tend to overshadow them with their larger scale and flashier story. A series can definitely remain much funnier, smarter, stranger, sadder, or even more emotionally layered than its reputation may suggest, and revisiting it often reveals the show's hidden strengths that are sometimes missed during the initial viewing experience. Several Netflix gems prove that memory does not always give brilliant TV its deserved credit. Compiled on this list are Netflix shows that somehow become even stronger when viewers rediscover and look upon them with new, more appreciative eyes. 8 'Ragnarok' (2020–2023) Image via Netflix Ragnarok may look like an ordinary teen drama on the surface, but in reality it’s a fantastical watch with a solid mixture of environmental anxiety, small town tension, a wholesome coming-of-age tale, and Norse mythology. The show follows seemingly ordinary teen Magne Seier (David Stakston), who discovers he has the powers of Thor as an age-old battle between giants and gods begins once more. Ragnarok is a true hidden Netflix gem that, once found, tends to pleasantly surprise audiences with its genuinely captivating story. Its “better than remembered” status comes from just how easily it was underestimated upon its release, rewarding those that take a chance on it with a far more compelling modern fantasy than they initially expected. Ragnarok is an underdog for certain, but it remains a definite good time during most viewers' first watch, and an even better experience once revisited. 7 'Everything Sucks!' (2018) Image via Netflix This teen drama is a perfect example of a Netflix watch that deserved a much longer run time and far more credit. Set in 1996 Boring, Oregon, the series Everything Sucks! centers around Luke O’Neil (Jahi Di’Allo Winston) as he begins developing feelings for Kate Messner (Peyton Kennedy), while the drama and AV club produce the kind of adolescent collisions that really only feel trivial to adults. Everything Sucks! is a Netflix beauty that defiantly went away far too soon. In fact, it is often brought up in conversations by its small but incredibly devoted group of fans as they mourn its abrupt cancellation. Most find themselves revisiting the series and noting that its warmth, sincerity, and nostalgic coming-of-age story are even better than their first memory of it. Everything Sucks! hype window may have well and truly passed, but it stands as a fantastic example of a Netflix show that is so much greater than its short reputation. 6 'Never Have I Ever' (2020–2023) Never Have I Ever may seem like a simple teen comedy on the outside, but once watched, viewers tend to realize rather quickly how much emotional depth awaits them. The series focuses on the young Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) as she tries to rebuild her life after the death of her father while dealing with school, romance, friendships, and family expectations. Never Have I Ever is honestly one of Netflix’s greatest underrated comedy-dramas. The show may sadly be mostly forgotten by subscribers of the streaming platform—if ever truly known—but once rediscovered, it’s a true gem that’s genuinely hilarious while also extremely raw as it explores growing up and dealing with grief. Never Have I Ever is the perfect binge for any rewatch party, as it thrusts its viewers back into Devi’s extraordinarily messy life, turning out to be much more entertaining the second time around. 5 'Love, Death & Robots' (2019–Present) Image via Netflix This epic Netflix animated series is one of the most uneven shows by design on the streaming platform. Love, Death & Robots is a brilliant anthology series that features volumes that tell different stories. Audiences are introduced to aliens, killers, monsters, human ruins, and so much more. On most viewers’ second watch of Love, Death & Robots, many are completely stunned as they begin to recognize the series as a creative platform rather than a perfectly even watch. Fans have dubbed the show the ultimate anthology binge due to its willingness to experiment in not only different animation styles, but also genres, tones, and ideas each episode. Love, Death & Robots is genuinely one of those rare Netflix series that is far more captivating than many remember once revisited. Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you'd actually make it out of alive. 💊The Matrix 🔥Mad Max 🌧️Blade Runner 🏜️Dune 🚀Star Wars TEST YOUR SURVIVAL → 01 You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one. APull on every thread until I understand the system — then figure out how to break it. BStop asking questions and start stockpiling — food, fuel, weapons. Questions don't keep you alive. CKeep my head down, observe carefully, and trust no one until I know who's pulling the strings. DStudy the patterns. Every system has a rhythm — learn it, and you learn how to survive it. EFind the people fighting back and join them. You can't fix a broken galaxy alone. NEXT QUESTION → 02 In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires. AKnowledge. If you understand the system, you don't need resources — you can generate them. BFuel. Everything else — movement, power, escape — runs on it. CTrust. In a world of fakes and informants, a truly reliable ally is rarer than any commodity. DWater. And after water, information — the two things empires are truly built on. EShips and credits. The galaxy is big — you survive it by being able to move through it freely. NEXT QUESTION → 03 What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you're honest about what you're actually afraid of. AThat reality itself is a lie — that everything I experience has been constructed to keep me compliant. BA raid. No warning, no mercy — just the roar of engines and then nothing left. CBeing identified. Once someone with power decides you're a problem, you're already out of time. DBeing outmanoeuvred — losing a political game I didn't even know I was playing. EThe Empire tightening its grip until there's nowhere left to run. NEXT QUESTION → 04 How do you deal with authority you don't trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything. ASubvert it from the inside — learn its rules well enough to weaponise them against it. BIgnore it and stay out of its reach. The further from any power structure, the better. CAppear to comply while doing exactly what I need to do. Visibility is the enemy. DManoeuvre within it carefully. You can't beat a system you refuse to understand. EResist openly when I have to. Some things are worth the risk of being seen. NEXT QUESTION → 05 Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn't just tactical — it's physical, psychological, and very much about where you are. AUnderground bunkers and server rooms — cramped, artificial, but with access to everything that matters. BOpen wasteland — brutal sun, no shelter, constant movement. At least the threat is honest. CA dense, rain-soaked city where you can disappear into the crowd and nobody asks questions. DMerciless desert — extreme heat, no water, and something enormous living beneath the sand. EThe fringe — backwater planets and busy spaceports where the Empire's attention rarely reaches. NEXT QUESTION → 06 Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are. AA tight crew of believers who've seen behind the curtain and have nothing left to lose. BOne or two people I'd trust with my life. Any more than that and someone talks. CNobody, ideally. Alliances are liabilities. I work alone unless I have no choice. DA community bound by shared hardship and mutual survival — people who need each other to last. EA ragtag team with wildly different skills and total commitment when it counts. NEXT QUESTION → 07 Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they're actually made of. AI won't harm the innocent — even the ones who'd report me without hesitation. BI do what I have to to protect the people I've chosen. Everything else is negotiable. CThe line shifts depending on who's asking and what's at stake. DI draw a long-term line — nothing that compromises my people's future, even if it'd help now. ESome lines, once crossed, can't be uncrossed. I know which ones they are. NEXT QUESTION → 08 What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another. AWaking others up — dismantling the illusion so no one else has to live inside it. BFinding somewhere — or someone — worth protecting. A reason to keep moving. CAnswers. Understanding what I am, what any of this means, before time runs out. DLegacy — shaping the future in a way that outlasts me by generations. EFreedom — for myself, for others, for every world still living under someone else's boot. REVEAL MY WORLD → Your Fate Has Been Calculated You'd Survive In…Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for. The MatrixYou took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You're a systems thinker who can't help but notice the seams in things. You're drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it. You'd find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines' worst nightmare. You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it. The Matrix built an airtight prison. You'd be the one probing the walls for the door. Mad MaxThe wasteland doesn't reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That's you. You don't need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon. You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you're good at all three. You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider. In the wasteland, that distinction is everything. Blade RunnerYou'd survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely. You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer. In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional. You're not a hero. But you're not lost, either. In Blade Runner's world, that distinction is everything. DuneArrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards. Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they're survival tools. You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory. Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You'd learn its logic and earn its respect. In time, you wouldn't just survive Arrakis — you'd begin to reshape it. Star WarsThe galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn't have it any other way. You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion. You'd gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire's grip can be broken. You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn't something you're capable of. In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ 4 'Master of None' (2015–2021) Image via Netflix Master of None is a truly unique comedy that ranges from formally adventurous installments about immigrant parents, race, and queer identity to intimate dating-comedy episodes. The series follows Dev Shah (Aziz Ansari) as he moves through New York trying to understand family, romance, work, and adulthood. At its peak, Master of None stood strong as one of Netflix’s greatest comedy series about adulthood. Once viewers rediscover the series and take the time to indulge in a proper binge, they find themselves immediately locked into the hilarity, romance, awkwardness, and quiet moments of reflection centered within the show. What may have initially seemed like a simple comedy masterfully reveals itself to be a series that truly showcases its understanding of adulthood and its raw moments, making it a top-tier Netflix original that feels all the more rewarding upon rewatch. 3 'Santa Clarita Diet' (2017–2019) Image via Netflix This brilliant but woefully underrated Netflix comedy is one that makes for a much stronger revisit than quite a great many fans remember. Santa Clarita Diet centers around Joel Hammond (Timothy Olyphant) and his wife Sheila Hammond (Drew Barrymore), suburban realtors whose lives implode after Sheila becomes undead and develops an almost unquenchable taste for human flesh. Sure, during the first watch of Santa Clarita Diet, it is quite easy to reduce the comedy series to just a gory spectacle, but upon a second viewing, the show makes it clear that it is so much more. Revisiting the series’ combination of genuine warmth and gross-out humor reveals just how well the show balances absurdity with marriage, family, and loyalty. Beneath all the chaos and blood is a surprisingly wholesome comedy that thrives on its strong emotional core and lovable characters, making Santa Clarita Diet far sweeter, smarter, and more rewarding than most fans remember. 2 'Sense8' (2015–2018) Image via Netflix Sense8 is one of Netflix’s most brilliant sci-fi originals, and finding it much more entertaining upon revisiting is far from unusual for devoted fans. The series follows eight strangers across the world who discover an epic connection to one another, allowing them to share their life experiences. Sense8 is insanely rewatchable, not just for its ambitious story, but for its deeply emotional exploration of love, connection, identity and shared humanity. Most viewers of the masterful series have insisted that no Netflix original can ever match the show’s emotional openness or international scale. It may be a bit melodramatic at times, but that is what makes it so addictively entertaining. Sense8 sheds its skin as an overwhelming watch upon a second viewing, revealing itself to be a heartfelt, bold, and surprisingly intimate series that is far better than anyone remembers. 1 'Julie and the Phantoms' (2020) Image via Netflix This music-centered series may not have had a long run, but at its peak it stood tall as one of the most addictive and genuinely wholesome dramas that grows even more entertaining with multiple viewings. Julie and the Phantoms centers around the young Julie Molina (Madison Reyes), who loses both her mother and her interest in music until three dead musicians make their way into her life and reignite her love for song. Julie and the Phantoms is one of Netflix’s most unfortunate cancelations. Fans made their rage known online as they mourned almost immediately after its abrupt end, and with good reason. Returning to the series today makes its beloved status even clearer. From its heartfelt story about grief, healing, friendship, and finding courage to move forward, to its infectious original songs and charming performances, Julie and the Phantoms stands as the ultimate good time that is definitely considered to be better than most viewers remember.