Summary:
- Shows like Stranger Things and Adolescence are the Netflix highlights of 2025.
- However, there are underrated gems that I watched and absolutely loved in 2025 on Netflix.
- Here are nine underrated Netflix shows of 2025 that you should binge-watch.
Netflix releases a whole barrage of TV shows every year, and 2025 was no different. While FX and Apple TV might take the cake for the best TV shows of 2025, Netflix had a stacked lineup as well. I watched some excellent shows this year, from Adolescence and House of Guinness to Netflix’s crown jewel, Stranger Things, which is set to air its finale on New Year’s Eve.
However, like every year, there were a bunch of Netflix TV shows that flew under the radar. Mindhunter is one such show that was a critical darling, but no one watched it, which led to its eventual cancellation. I have made a list of some similar underrated Netflix shows that you might have missed in 2025.
Table of Contents
1. Dept. Q
- Genre: Animated Comedy, Drama
- Number of episodes: 8 episodes
- IMDb Rating: 8.1/10
- Showrunner: Scott Frank (The Queen’s Gambit, Logan), Chandni Lakhani
What better way to begin this list than a show with a Mindhunter-esque style? Dept. Q is a crime drama series based on a popular Scandinavian novel series of the same name by Jussi Adler-Olsen. The story follows Carl Morck being assigned to Department Q, a neglected unit meant to reopen unsolved cases. If you’re a fan of YouTube deep dives into unsolved murders and crime mysteries, Dept. Q will be right up your alley. It’s a slow-burning investigative crime drama.
2. Long Story Short
- Genre: Animated Comedy, Drama
- Number of episodes: 10
- IMDb Rating: 7.6/10
- Showrunner: Raphael Bob-Waksberg (BoJack Horseman)
It’s baffling to think that a show made by the creator of Bojack Horseman has gone under the radar. Long Story Short is a 2D animated Netflix series, similar to Bojack. Unlike BoJack Horseman, the animation here is intentionally rough, almost like something pulled from a child’s sketchbook, complete with visible lines and imperfectly drawn hands. The series smartly mirrors its imperfect animation with the imperfect story of the Schwooper family, a middle-class Jewish family, as they transition through different stages of their lives.
3. Death By Lightning
- Genre: Historical Drama, Political Thriller
- Number of episodes: Limited series (episode count: 4)
- IMDb Rating: 7.7/10
- Creators / Showrunners: Mike Makowsky (Bad Education)
If you’re not in the mood to commit to a long-running series, Death By Lightning is a four-episode limited series that you can finish in a few hours. The story follows the “stranger-than-fiction” true story of James Garfield, who served as the 20th U.S. President. The series revolves around the relationship between Garfield and Charles J. Guiteau, a delusional man obsessed with the president. An obsession that drives him to commit something truly heinous. Death By Lightning also has a stacked cast, featuring actors like Michael Shannon, Nick Offerman, and Bradley Whitford.
4. A Man on the Inside
- Genre: Comedy, Crime
- Number of episodes: 16 (across 2 seasons)
- IMDb Rating: 7.6/10
- Creator/ Showrunner: Michael Schur (The Good Place, Parks and Recreation)
Well, A Man on the Inside isn’t exactly overrated, but it hasn’t received its due claim. That said, season 2 of the series, which was released in November 2025, was extremely well written but did not get the recognition it deserved. The story follows Charles Nieuwendyk (Ted Danson), a retired professor who answers an ad to become a private investigator. He ends up going undercover at a San Francisco retirement community to investigate a stolen family heirloom. He rediscovers a sense of meaning and joy in his life. If you’re a fan of The Good Place and Parks & Rec, this series has the perfect balance of Michael Schur’s signature warmth and heart, with the right amount of comedy.
5. Boots
- Genre: Military, Comedy-Drama
- Number of episodes: 8 (Season 1)
- IMDb Rating: 7.9/10
- Creator / Showrunner: Andy Parker
It’s really rare to come across comedies that don’t employ your run-of-the-mill tropes. So, if you’re looking for something different to watch, Boots should be your pick. Boots is a coming-of-age military comedy drama set against the gritty backdrop of U.S. Marine Corps boot camp in 1990. The story follows Cameron Cope, a closeted teen from Louisiana who impulsively enlists with his best friend Ray. We follow the two coming to terms with their identity, finding purpose, and Cameron trying to survive in the 90s, a time when being gay in the military was still illegal.
6. The Beast in Me
- Genre: Psychological Thriller, Crime Drama
- Number of episodes: 8 (limited series)
- IMDb Rating: 7.5/10
- Creator / Showrunner: Gabe Rotter
The Beast in Me is a slow-burning psychological thriller of a cat-and-mouse chase. However, the real mystery doesn’t lie in what’s discovered but in what the characters end up becoming during the search. The story follows Aggie Wiggs (Claire Danes), who is a renowned author. However, she has withdrawn from public life and has stopped writing ever since the tragic death of her young son and the fall of her marriage. Aggie’s quiet life is disrupted when a new neighbor, Nile, played by Matthew Rhys, arrives next door. Aggie becomes obsessed with Nile and proposes to write a book about him. This leads to a psychological cat‑and‑mouse game between Nile and Aggie as they uncover secrets about each other.
7. Last Samurai Standing
- Genre: Action, Historical Drama, Thriller
- Number of episodes: 6 (Season 1)
- IMDb Rating: 7.6/10
- Creator/ Showrunner: Jun’ichi Okada
If you watched Hulu’s Shogun in 2025 and want more of that samurai action, Last Samurai Standing is the best show for you. This Japanese action‑drama series is set in the late 19th-century Meiji period (1878). The samurai class has lost its status, and swords have been banned under modernization reforms. The story follows 292 samurai struggling with poverty, which forces them to participate in a contest called Kodoku. Participants carry different wooden tags, and to continue forward, each must steal the other’s tags or die trying. Think of this as a combination of Squid Game and Shogun, and yes, the show is getting a second season.
8. Godless
- Genre: Western, Drama, Action
- Number of episodes: 7 (limited series)
- IMDb Rating: 8.2/10
- Creator / Showrunner: Scott Frank (also writer & director)
Scott Frank (Dept. Q) is on a roll with these Netflix shows. Frank has previously written scripts for Queen’s Gambit, Logan, and Minority Report. He brings that expertise to a Western story. Godless follows the story of Roy Goode (Jack O’Connell), protege of the legendary outlaw Frank Griffin. Roy escapes from his mentor and ends up in a town populated and defended by women. This is because most of the men died in a mining incident. Godless is Netflix’s take on a Western story with a feminist twist on it.
9. Task
- Genre: Crime Drama, Thriller
- Number of episodes: 7 episodes (Season 1)
- IMDb Rating: 8.0/10
- Creator / Showrunner: Brad Ingelsby (Mare of Easttown)
Task is a crime-drama series starring Mark Ruffalo as Tom Brandis. Brandis is an FBI agent heading a special task force investigating a string of violent robberies and home invasions. From the trailers, you might think of Task as a simple crime-drama series but it is much more complex than that. The story uncovers the moral complexities of crime and law enforcement. We get to see the raw side of why crimes are committed and how justice is not always black-and-white. Despite being a stellar series, owing to its shoddy marketing, Task ended up becoming one of the most underrated Netflix series of 2025.
So, which are your favorite but underrated Netflix shows of 2025?
