Netflix is kicking things up with its range of TV shows. Although several new releases this year have made an impression, fan favorites from previous years continue to hold up in 2026. With viewers tuning in forhundreds of thousands of hours to catch their favorite shows, the numbers don’t lie.
Whether it’s returning hits or breakout sensations, Netflix continues to dominate the streaming conversation, proving that audiences still have plenty of reasons to come back for more. From a larger-than-life cult favorite to a recent heist thriller, these are the most-watched Netflix shows of 2026 so far, ranked by hours watched.
10
‘Nemesis’ (2026–Present)
Matthew Law as Isiah and Y’Lan Noel as Coltrane in Nemesis.Image via Netflix
These two rivals risk their reputation, families, and lives in Nemesis. Detective Isiah Stiles (Matthew Law) is a decorated cop obsessed with exposing a four-man heist crew he believes killed his trainee. Meanwhile, mastermind thief Coltrane Wilder (Y’lan Noel) returns to crime after losing his job. When their paths finally cross, the two are bound by a 48-hour manhunt to keep their loved ones safe.
Early episodes of Nemesis have a hard time juggling pace, ideas, and genres, but the show is essentially a nonstop-action juggernaut. Whether it’s a home invasion or a jewelry store robbery, the show finds a way to reinvent these familiar action sequences as flashy yet violent showcases that are hard to look away from, topped off by Law and Noel’s “will they, won’t they” intensity between the two characters.
9
‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ (2022–Present)
Mickey in court looking back and smiling in The Lincoln Lawyer.Image via Netflix
Based on Michael Connelly‘s bestselling novels, The Lincoln Lawyer follows defense attorney Mickey Haller (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), a charismatic courtroom ace rebuilding his career after a painkiller addiction forced him away from law for 18 months. Working from his Lincoln Navigator, Haller juggles high-profile cases with the help of a tight-knit team of people he could literally trust with his life.
From the same author who created the Boschnovels, The Lincoln Lawyer is intense and heavily inspired by neo-noir. Only instead of detective work, much of the fighting happens between experienced lawyers. But when a few folks think they’re above the law and can twist the truth to suit their needs, Haller puts his integrity first, even if it costs him a few bullets along the way.
8
‘The Night Agent’ (2023–Present)
Gabriel Basso as Peter Sutherland looking serious while standing outside in The Night Agent Season 3Image via Netflix
In The Night Agent, FBI agent Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time when his train is attacked by a terrorist bomb. Although he manages to save most of the passengers, public suspicion follows him. Now stuck in the White House basement monitoring a phone line that never rings, Peter’s life changes when it finally does.
The Night Agent never fails to escalate the situation. What initially begins as an assassination attempt against a few people soon escalates into a much larger conspiracy involving a potential mole within the government. Worse still, higher-ups in the White House may be pulling the strings behind the charade, keeping audiences hooked as they try to figure out who’s guilty and who’s innocent.
7
‘Ms. Rachel’ (2025–Present)
A promotional image of Ms. RachelImage via Netflix
The famous YouTube children’s educator Rachel Griffin Accurso, better known asMs. Rachel, brings her interactive preschool show to Netflix. Designed for toddlers and young children, the series teaches everything from basic preschool concepts like the ABCs to nursery rhymes, songs, and playful skits, creating an engaging learning experience for little ones.
Creating content for young learners is no easy feat, and the idea of a YouTube creator doing it may sound skeptical. But Ms. Rachel is not without her credentials. With over two decades of teaching and working directly with children, a Master of Arts in Music Education, and a master’s degree in Early Childhood Development, her work is rooted in research and designed to help children reach important developmental milestones.
Collider Exclusive · Action Hero Quiz Which Action Hero Would Be Your Perfect Partner? Rambo · James Bond · Indiana Jones · John McClane · Ethan Hunt
Five legends. Five completely different ways of getting out alive — with style, with muscle, with charm, with luck, or with a plan so intricate it probably shouldn’t work. Ten questions will reveal which action hero was built to have your back.
🎖️Rambo
🍸James Bond
🏺Indiana Jones
🔧John McClane
🎭Ethan Hunt
01
You’re dropped into a dangerous situation with no warning. What do you need most from a partner? The first few seconds tell you everything about who belongs beside you.
02
You have to get somewhere dangerous, fast. How do you travel? How you get there is half the mission.
03
You’re pinned down and outnumbered. What does your ideal partner do? This is when you find out what someone is really made of.
04
The mission is paused. You have one evening to decompress. What does your partner suggest? Who someone is when the pressure drops is who they actually are.
05
How do you prefer your partner to communicate mid-mission? Good communication is the difference between partners and a liability.
06
Your enemy is powerful, well-resourced, and has the upper hand. How should your partner approach them? The approach to the enemy defines the partnership.
07
Things go badly wrong and you’re captured. What do you trust your partner to do? Who someone is when you need them most is the only thing that matters.
08
What does your ideal partner bring to the table that you couldn’t replace? A great partner fills the gap you didn’t know you had.
09
Every partnership has a cost. Which of these can you live with? No one comes without baggage. The question is whether you can carry it together.
10
It’s the final moment. Everything is on the line. What do you need from your partner right now? The last question is the most honest one.
Your Partner Has Been Assigned Your Perfect Partner Is…
Your answers have pointed to one action hero above all others. This is the person built to have your back — for better or considerably, spectacularly worse.
Rambo
Your partner doesn’t talk much, doesn’t need to, and will have assessed every threat in your immediate environment before you’ve finished your first sentence. John Rambo is not a man of plans or politics — he is a force of nature shaped by survival, loyalty, and a capacity for endurance that goes beyond anything training can produce. He will not leave you behind. He has never left anyone behind who deserved to come home. What you get with Rambo is the most capable, most quietly ferocious partner imaginable — one who has been through things that would have broken anyone else, and who chose to keep going anyway. You’ll never need to ask if he has your back. You’ll just know.
James Bond
Your partner will arrive perfectly dressed, perfectly briefed, and with a cover story so convincing it’ll take you a moment to remember what’s actually true. James Bond is the most professionally dangerous person in any room he enters — and the most disarmingly charming, which is the point. He operates in a world of layers, where nothing is what it appears and every advantage is used without apology. You’ll never be bored. You’ll occasionally be furious. But when it matters — when the mission is genuinely on the line and the margin for error has collapsed to nothing — Bond is exactly the partner you want. He has survived things that have no business being survivable. He does it with style. That is not nothing.
Indiana Jones
Your partner will know the history, the language, the cultural context, and exactly why the thing everyone else is ignoring is actually the most important thing in the room. Indiana Jones is brilliant, reckless, and occasionally impossible — but he is also one of the most resourceful, most genuinely knowledgeable partners you could find yourself beside. He approaches every situation with a scholar’s eye and a brawler’s instinct, which is an unusual combination and a remarkably effective one. He hates snakes and gets personally attached to objects of historical significance, both of which will slow you down at least once. It doesn’t matter. What Indy brings is irreplaceable — and the adventures you’ll have together will be the kind people write books about. Assuming you survive them.
John McClane
Your partner was not supposed to be here. He does not have the right equipment, the right information, or anything approaching the right odds. He has a sarcastic remark and an absolute refusal to accept that the situation is as bad as it looks. John McClane is the greatest accidental hero in the history of action cinema — a man whose superpower is stubbornness, whose contingency plan is improvisation, and whose capacity to absorb punishment and keep moving would be alarming if it weren’t so useful. He will complain the entire time. He will make it significantly more chaotic than it needed to be. And he will absolutely, unconditionally, without question come through when it counts. Yippee-ki-yay.
Ethan Hunt
Your partner has already run seventeen scenarios by the time you’ve finished reading the briefing, and the plan he’s settled on involves at least two things that should be physically impossible. Ethan Hunt operates at the absolute edge of human capability — technically, physically, and intellectually — and he brings the same relentless precision to protecting his partners that he brings to dismantling organisations that shouldn’t exist. He is not easy to know and he will never fully tell you everything. But he will carry the weight of the mission so completely, so absolutely, that your job is simply to trust him — and the remarkable thing is that trusting him always turns out to be the right call. The mission will be impossible. He will complete it anyway.
6
‘Man on Fire’ (2026)
Yahya Abdul Mateen II in ‘Man on Fire’ seriesImage via Netflix
Fighting never stops in Man on Fire. After a mission in Mexico City leaves Special Forces mercenary John Creasy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) traumatized, he retreats from the field and struggles with PTSD, nightmares, and suicidal thoughts. But when a bombing on a Brazilian skyscraper leaves his friends’ teenage daughter, Poe (Billie Boullet), as the sole witness, Creasy has no choice but to face his demons to protect her.
Unlike traditional unstoppable heroes, Creasy physically shows that he’s incapable of moving on from his past. While the slow burn takes time to get through, it’s necessary because it adds depth to Creasy’s personal growth. It’s an emotional weight that only an actor like Mateen can genuinely carry, even as high-stakes action, from a prison break to an attempted plane hijacking, unfurls around him.
5
‘One Piece’ (2023–Present)
Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy) pointing to a destination and smiling in One Piece Season 2Image via Netflix
“I want to be King of the Pirates!” When theOne Piece anime was first announced for a live-action adaptation, diehard fans had their understandable doubts. But its first two seasons prove that the live-action adaptation does its job of paying proper homage to both the source material and condensing the story arcs just enough to make them digestible for new audiences.
Luffy D. Monkey (Iñaki Godoy) is an aspiring pirate with neither a ship nor a crew. Armed only with his limb-stretching powers, he travels the continent, assembling his Straw Hat crew one member at a time and finding a ship to boot, all while aiming to cross the treacherous Grand Line and search for the long-rumored One Piece treasure—not before getting beaten up by rival pirates along the way.
4
‘Stranger Things’ (2016–2026)
What started as a search for a missing friend in Season 1 escalated into a universe-tearing apocalypse inStranger Things. Even though the show ended in late 2025 with Season 5, the show continues to pick up steam throughout 2026. Last time, Season 5 was threatened when massive gates to the Upside Down tore through the town. Their only solution is to hunt down Vecna.
The final season bears the weight of leaving a lasting impression, and Stranger Things succeeds. Season 5 is the last chance for the characters to finally work as a unified team after spending much of the previous season split into separate storylines. The action has gotten bigger without losing sight of the characters, while the massive sequences involving the heroes and monsters draw from The Terminator-style blockbuster filmmaking.
3
‘I Will Find You’ (2026)
Sam Worthington in ‘I Will Find You’Image via Netflix
The Harlan Coben miniseries is brought to life on screen. I Will Find Youfollows David Burroughs (Sam Worthington), who has spent five years in prison for his son Matthew’s murder. The twist is that he insists that he’s innocent. When his sister-in-law shows him a photograph of a boy who looks exactly like Matthew, David escapes prison to find out the truth.
Despite its slow, drudging first half, the numbers for I Will Find You prove that the wait is worth it. In true Coben fashion, the series delivers meticulous stunt work, car chases, shootouts, and, of course, a prison break. However, all of that action is grounded by Worthington’s ability to bring humanity to his misunderstood character, giving him a paternal warmth that not many action-thriller leading men are capable of projecting.
2
‘Bridgerton’ (2020–Present)
Benedict and Sophie at the queen’s ball in ‘Bridgerton’ Season 4, Episode 8.Image via Netflix
All’s fair in love and Bridgerton. After four seasons of courting among Mayfair’s high society, audiences still can’t get enough of its spicy romances. Season 4 ventures into new territory as the Bridgerton family attempts to find a match for its most reluctant bachelor, Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson). Unfortunately, no woman seems worthy of his time—until he meets the elusive Lady in Silver.
Shockingly, the lady is Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha), a maid in the Penwood household, as well as the illegitimate daughter of the house lord himself. Unlike previous seasons, which largely focused on the privileged upper class, Season 4 explores the consequences ofmarrying outside one’s predetermined social hierarchy, arguing that true love is worth breaking the rules for rather than settling for a life of unhappiness.
1
‘His & Hers’ (2026)
Jon Bernthal as Detective Jack Harper sitting next to Tessa Thompson as Anna Andrews in His & HersImage via Netflix
The smallest towns have the biggest murders. Based on the popular book, His & Hersdominated the charts with the magnetic push-and-pull between estranged husband and wife, Detective Jack Harper (Jon Bernthal) and Atlanta reporter Anna Andrews (Tessa Thompson). When news of a murder reaches Anna’s childhood home, she is quick to arrive on the scene—and so is Jack.
People watch His & Hers for the mystery, but ultimately stay to figure out whether Jack or Anna is the actual murderer. With the victim being someone uncomfortably close to the couple, every revelation seems to move viewers further from the truth, ultimately culminating in a plot-twist finale no one could see coming from a mile away.
