Netflix's R-Rated Bridgerton Replacement Is One Of The Best Shows Of 2026

Published Oct 17, 2026, 4:30 PM EDT Zach Moser has been writing for ScreenRant since 2022, covering movies, classic TV, and streaming TV. His areas of expertise cover a wide range of genres with a particular interest in horror and drama, and the conversations around the TV and film industry. When he's not covering the latest film releases or chronicling the latest season of a new show, he's writing humor pieces for McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Slackjaw, and Points In Case or working on short stories and his second novel. There's a new historical drama to take Bridgerton's place on Netflix, and it's one of the streamer's best shows of 2026. 2026 has been an up-and-down year for Netflix. There have been a few successes, with old shows getting new seasons like The Night Agent, One Piece, and Bridgerton. In terms of new original shows, Netflix has not had quite as many hits. Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen premiered back in March, and the more recent Below are just about the only two standouts. There is still more to come before the year finishes out, but at least we got one more winner right at the start of October. East of Eden may be the best show on Netflix this year, and with an 87% on Rotten Tomatoes and wide audience acclaim, something particularly special is going to have to come along to knock it off its perch. The seven-episode miniseries, based on John Steinbeck's magnum opus (his words) of the same name, dropped on Netflix on October 1, 2026. The series follows the plot of the novel, though it moves the main antagonist, Cathy, into the foreground. East of Eden is the story of three generations of the Trask family, an American family whose path takes them from Connecticut to the Salinas Valley in California, as their lives shift and change. In the late 19th century, a broken young woman named Cathy (Florence Pugh) stumbles into the arms of Adam Trask (Christopher Abbott), who naively is unable to see the darkness in his new wife. After giving birth to twins, Aron (Joe Anders) and Cal (Joseph Zada), Cathy shoots her husband and flees, starting a new life as a brothel owner, and giving herself over to an evil growing in her. East Of Eden Is One Of Netflix's Best Shows Of 2026 Image courtesy of MovieStillsDb East of Eden is one of Netflix's best shows of 2026, and can be ranked among the year's greats. Pugh's performance is chief among the reasons for the miniseries' success. She is able to capture the evil at the heart of the Cathy character in startling ways, but also imbues her with enough sadness and tragedy that the show's changes to the source feel natural. Another bright spot is Hoon Lee as Lee, Adam Trask's servant, and the caretaker of Cal and Aron while their father is weighed down by grief. Lee is fantastic, code-switching through the early 20th century in California when people were crystallizing their prejudicial feelings about immigrants from Asia. The series is an epic rendition of the books, with beautiful cinematography and a grasp of the source material that shows confidence and boldness on the part of showrunner Zoe Kazan. East of Eden is not a one-to-one recreation of the book, and the show justifies the changes it makes. Netflix's East Of Eden Offers A Different Take On John Steinbeck's Novel ©Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection For the most part, East of Eden the show follows the beats of the book, but makes a handful of key changes that dramatically alter the story. Most notably, the series casts Cathy as the main character and gives her a traumatic backstory as an explanation for the evil that grows in her later in life. In Steinbeck's book, there's never an explanation of why Cathy is the way she is, and that ties into the greater themes of his story. In Steinbeck's East of Eden, it is possible to be born evil. Cathy is, and she transfers that evil to Cal, and Charles Trask (Mike Faist), Adam's brother, has it in him as well. However, it's possible to overcome this evil. People have free will, Steinbeck says, and can overcome their "programming". In the Netflix show, evil is a result of trauma, built up over the generations and passed down when it is not properly dealt with. This change gives East of Eden the show a different feel, but it's still a worthy examination of Steinbeck's themes, and Kazan manages to dig into them. East of Eden is a proper adaptation, even if it isn't wholly a faithful one. Release Date 2026 - 2026-00-00 Network Netflix Directors Garth Davis Cast Christopher Abbott Adam Trask