The Best Shows On Netflix With Only 1 Season (January 2023)

Unlike other superhero series, I Am Not Okay With This feels grounded and intimate. Without the weight of the outside world or a connected universe, we get to focus solely on Sydney’s journey and her relationships in this small town. The series is a refreshing take on the superhero origin story and has an explosive ending that won’t be easy to forget.

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Gypsy (2017)

Created by: Lisa Rubin

Cast: Naomi Watts, Billy Crudup, Sophie Cookson, Lucy Boynton

Lisa Rubin‘s Gypsy is a wild, twisted ride. The show follows Naomi Watts as Jean Holloway, a New York City psychologist who oversteps professional (and personal) boundaries as she infiltrates the lives of her clients by getting close to people in their circle. To do this, she uses an alias named Diane Hart.

Things get even more complicated when she meets Sidney (Sophie Cookson), the ex-girlfriend of one of her patients. The two have an undeniable chemistry that threatens to unravel both their lives. Though the plot can get silly at times, Gypsy is sexy, soapy fun.

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The Society (2019)

Created by: Christopher Keyser

Cast: Kathryn Newton, Gideon Adlon, Sean Berdy, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Jacques Colimon

We’re still mourning the loss of this one. While it was originally renewed for a second season, COVID ultimately took it from us way too soon. The series was a bright spot in a sea of lesser teen mystery shows and followed a group of teens who have to figure out how to survive after the rest of their town disappears.

Though all of them come from vastly different backgrounds, they must work together to build their own community and, for the first time, play by their own rules. If you’re a fan of shows like The Wilds and Yellowjackets, you’re sure to love Christopher Keyser‘s The Society, too.

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Spinning Out (2020)

Created by: Samantha Stratton

Cast: Kaya Scodelario, Willow Shields, Evan Roderick, David James Elliott

Competitive ice skating media is a subgenre all its own, from I, Tonya to Ice Princess to The Cutting Edge. Spinning Out from creator Samantha Stratton is a nice addition to the genre, following Kat (Kaya Scodelario), an elite skater on the verge of quitting after a nasty injury. However, she gets a second chance at her dream – with a catch. She will have to compete as a pair with bad-boy Justin (Evan Roderick).

Spinning Out has everything you want from a young adult sports show, from romantic tension to the lesson to never give up on your dreams. The show also explores important and underrepresented themes of mental health and self-harm with the storylines between Kat and her sister (Willow Shields) and mother (January Jones).

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Grand Army (2020)

Created by: Katie Cappiello

Cast: Odessa A’zion, Odley Jean, Amir Bageria, Maliq Johnson, Amalia Yoo

Let’s face it: there are a lot of high school shows out there right now. Katie Cappiello‘s Grand Army is one of the best, offering a refreshing look at real issues many teens face, from racism to rape culture. The series starts with our students in lockdown after a terrorist bombing nearby, not pulling any punches from the very first episode.

The young cast is incredible, giving raw and relatable performances across the board. If you’re looking for gritty shows like Euphoria or Genera+ion (another gone-too-soon gem), you’ll get exactly what you’re looking for with Grand Army.

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Japan Sinks (2020)

Based on the book by: Sakyo Komatsu​​​​​​​

Cast: Shun Oguri, Kenichi Matsuyama, Anne Watanabe, Toru Nakamura

Japan Sinks is another animated series, but this one takes a much more serious note. In this series, Japan has suffered a catastrophic earthquake which has then caused other disasters of larger intensity, and soon the cast finds out that the entirety of Japan is sinking.

This series follows track runner Ayumu as she navigates through the disaster alongside her family. It’s a show that relies on emotional tension as conflicts arise between friends, family, and strangers, all while everyone is fighting for survival. Despite having one season, the show does well at bringing individual characters to life and making the audience care about their lives.

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All of Us Are Dead (2022)

Based on the book by: Joo Dong-geun​​​​​​​

Cast: Yoon Chan-young, Park Ji-hu, Cho Yi-hyun, Lomon, Yoo In-soo

All of Us Are Dead is a Korean drama about a zombie outbreak that occurs in school. A science professor has developed an infectious virus that isolates the gene that makes the host grow not only immensely stronger but also mindless.

This is a zombie thriller that takes place primarily in a high school, showing the perspectives of the last surviving students, and survival is uncertain. While it focuses on students, it also shows the stories of different characters, such as a detective, a rescue and search employee, among others. Most zombie ideas work best as movies, but All of Us Are Dead has enough content and interesting characters to keep the audience engaged.

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The Woman in the House Across the Street From the Girl in the Window (2022)

Created by: Rachel Ramras, Hugh Davidson, Larry Dorf​​​​​​​

Cast: Kristen Bell, Michael Ealy, Tom Riley, Mary Holland

If it wasn’t obvious from the title, this series is about a woman who witnesses a murder across the street through the window. Emma is a neighbor to Neil and Anna who have moved in across the street, and immediately, she is taken by both of them. However, one night, she witnessed a murder in their home, and she is confident that the victim was Neil’s girlfriend.

In this parody of popular murder mysteries, there is twist after twist as Emma dreams up potential suspects to the murder. The plot relies heavily on common tropes and clichés, such as Emma being an alcoholic and there being a murderer named Massacre Mike, but this is done well.

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Archive 81 (2022)

Created by: Rebecca Sonnenshine​​​​​​​

Cast: Mamoudou Athie, Dina Shihabi, Evan Jonigkeit, Julia Chan

Archive 81is a horror series that follows an archivist—Dan—as he examines a filmmaker’s damaged footage. Archive 81 is based on a popular podcast of the same name. Isolated in a building, he watches the damaged tapes in hopes of recovering the footage, but as he delves deep into the madness of the films, he begins to grow made himself.

Archive 81 brings found footage to a unique level, as what happens in the past can be affected by present actions. Dan does his best to make things right and save the filmmaker’s life. However, as this is the horror genre, not everything can end happily. The ending unveils a twist that is somewhat satisfying to end on, as it really emphasizes the horror of it all.

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Sweet Home (2020)

Created by: Studio Dragon

Cast: Song Kang, Lee Jin-wook, Lee Si-young, Lee Do-hyun

Sweet Home is a Korean drama based on a popular webtoon. It follows the main character Hyun-Soo who moved into an affordable apartment after losing his family. After he moves into the apartment, a disaster strikes Korea—and the rest of the world—where humanity is turning into deformed monstrous creatures.

Those in the apartment complex come together to survive as the turning monsters lurk the halls and attack those they come across. The monsters are all relatively unique, and oftentimes they emphasize the desires that caused the characters to turn.

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Clickbait (2021)

Created by: Tony Ayres, Christian White​​​​​​​

Cast: Zoe Kazan, Betty Gabriel, Phoenix Raei, Abraham Lim

Clickbait follows a woman by the name of Pia. After a fight with her brother at her mother’s birthday party, she is consequently kicked out of the house. She then proceeds to go out and party. The following morning at work, she discovers a video of a man in a hostage situation. It is revealed that when the video gains five-million views, he will be killed. This man is her brother.

Pia and her brother’s wife go to the police to report the video. As Pia and the police work to find her missing brother before the video hits five-million views, they begin to make new discoveries about her brother’s kidnapping. This show is filled with plenty of twists that keep the audience’s interest.

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Safe (2018)

Created by: Harlan Coben

Cast: Michael C. Hall, Amanda Abbington, Marc Warren, Audrey Fleurot

Harlan Coben‘sSafe is about a father who searches desperately for his missing daughter. As he investigates the town, he begins to uncover hints relating to his daughter’s disappearance. As it turns out, many of his neighbors and fellow townsfolk are lying to cover up their own mistakes.

Safe carries an uncanny atmosphere throughout the show, as many of the characters act suspiciously. The audience’s suspicions arise even more as some characters are shown to be liars. Safe is a well-done crime series that explores the anxieties of a parent whose child never returns home after a late night out. It encapsulates the helplessness when a parent can do nothing but wait.

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