Do you balk when a friend tells you that you just have to catch up on their favorite eight-season series? Sometimes staring down the road of a TV show with a ton of existing episodes is just too intimidating. Fortunately, there are plenty of shorter bites available on streaming services that will leave you feeling accomplished without draining too much of your time. We scoured the site to find the best Netflix shows that you can watch from start to finish in just one weekend. So get cozy, grab that remote, and polish off one of these before next week rolls around. And for more recommendations, check out The Best TV Show of 2020, According to Critics.
1 | Behind Her Eyes
Nick Wall/NetflixTalk about this 2021 psychological thriller series is probably all over your Twitter timeline already, so why not take this weekend to find out why? The series is about a young woman who finds herself in a bizarre and dangerous love triangle when she falls for her boss and befriends his wife. And it's full of twists and turns, none of which you'll see coming. For more on its lead actor, check out Bono's Daughter, Eve Hewson, Is the Latest Netflix Breakout Star.
2 | The Umbrella Academy
Christos Kalohoridis/NetflixIf you like your comic book heroes a little stranger and snarkier than the Marvel variety, try this adaptation. With two seasons in the books so far, The Umbrella Academy follows a group of adopted siblings with extraordinary abilities who were raised together as superheroes as they reunite as adults to prevent the end of the world.
3 | Altered Carbon
Diyah Pera/NetflixA whodunnit with a sci-fi twist, Altered Carbon takes place in a reality where consciousness can be removed from one body and transferred into another. The action begins when a wealthy man gives a former soldier a new body and then asks him to solve his own murder. Joel Kinnamen leads the first season, while Anthony Mackie takes over for the second (as the same character, natch). For more recommendations sent right to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.
4 | The Haunting of Hill House
Steve Dietl/NetflixLoosely based on the Shirley Jackson novel of the same name, The Haunting of Hill House tracks the Crain family through two formative times in their lives: first, when the young parents and their five children move into the (ghost-filled) fixer-upper to end all fixer-uppers, and decades later, as they continue coping with the grief and terror they experienced there. Hill House is so much more than a ghost story (though, you can gameify your binge by trying to spot the ghosts "hidden" in every episode). It's an intense family drama with stirring performances. And if you like it, next weekend, you can try on the next chapter in the anthology series: The Haunting of Bly Manor. For more of what freaks you out, check out The Best Horror Film of 2020, According to Critics.
5 | Lupin
NetflixLupin, the latest international Netflix sensation, is a mystery series that modernizes a famous thief from French literature. Omar Sy stars in the stylish heist thriller, which is an easy marathon—even with subtitles—at just five episodes.
6 | The People vs. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story
FXIf you somehow missed it the first time around, you're absolutely due to watch the first chapter of Ryan Murphy's American Crime Story. This miniseries dramatizes the O.J. Simpson trial, somehow making the well-trodden (for those of us who lived through it, at least) material feel fresh. The second installment, The Assassination of Gianni Versace, is on Netflix, too, and it's also worth your time. And for more weekend viewing ideas, check out 17 TV Shows You Can Watch From Start to Finish This Weekend.
7 | The OA
Olivia Bee/NetflixWe'll warn you right now: Because Netflix canceled this trippy series after two seasons, your binge will end with an unresolved cliffhanger. But if you're a sci-fi fan, The OA, starring co-creator Brit Marling as missing woman who turns up after seven years with some...modifications, the pain is worth it.
8 | Pose
FXLooking for a bold, theatrical show that will hold your attention? The FX series Pose, whose two existing seasons are currently on Netflix, is the marathon for you. Set in the late '80s and early '90s, the show documents underground ball culture, centering mainly on queer characters of color. The costumes are to die for, and there won't be a dry eye in the house by the end of the first episode alone. And for the small screen characters we all love to hate, check out The Most Hated TV Characters of All Time.
9 | Alias Grace
Jan Thijs/NetflixTired of waiting for the next season of The Handmaid's Tale? Alias Grace, adapted from another Margaret Atwood novel, may scratch that itch. This six-episode series is based on a real double murder that occurred in 1843 and follows the household servant accused of the crime.
10 | Teenage Bounty Hunters
NetflixTeenage Bounty Hunters has already reached cult status, thanks to what fans consider a too-early cancellation. But its one-season run makes it easy to take the whole action-comedy in over a single weekend. As for the plot, it does exactly what it says on the tin: two teenage girls take up the unlikely after-school job of bounty hunting and try to keep it from their families.
11 | V Wars
Peter H Stranks/NetfliixIn the horror-thriller V Wars, a worldwide conflict develops when an ancient biological agent unearthed by climate change turns half of the human population into vampires. Somehow, this didn't rate a second season in Netflix's opinion, but you can still enjoy the 10 terrifying episodes that they did make.
12 | Dare Me
USA NetworkIf Riverdale is just a touch too campy for you, try Dare Me on for size. Another show gone too soon, this one-season wonder heightens the already dramatic world of high school cheerleading with secrets, betrayal, and bloodshed. You'll be on the edge of your seat as the teens test the limits of who they can trust. And for TV that will bring you out of your funk, check out 7 TV Shows Scientifically Proven to Cure Your Boredom.
13 | The Get Down
NetflixNotoriously too over budget for Netflix to agree to make any more, Baz Luhrmann's The Get Down is a feast for the eyes and ears. And it's a must for music geeks, as it tracks the early days of hip-hop through its rise in the South Bronx. And if you're a soundtrack lover, check out the Movie Soundtracks Every Kid from the '90s Loved.
14 | Crashing
Channel 4Frequent Fleabag rewatchers owe it to themselves to check out its predecessor, Crashing. Also created by and starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge, this six-episode comedy follows a group of friends, crushes, and acquaintances who live in a condemned hospital as "property guardians."
15 | Dirty John
BravoBased on the podcast that was based on the true story of con artist John Meehan and his penchant for blowing up lives, Dirty John stars Eric Bana as the bad boyfriend and Connie Britton as the single mom he targets. It's a soapy yet somehow still empowering story about women looking out for each other. A second season, not yet on Netflix, dramatizes a different nightmare marriage and stars Amanda Peet.
16 | Russian Doll
NetflixLiving through a pandemic almost feels like living in a time loop, so if you haven't by now, it's high time to burn through Russian Doll. The hilarious and poignant New York-set series stars Natasha Lyonne as a woman who keeps reliving the day she "dies," making her a kind of metaphysical detective attempting to solve her own case. It's equal parts mind-bending and comforting, with some genuinely surprising twists. And for more endings we can't forget, check out The Saddest Movie Deaths of All Time.
