December is already halfway over (where did the time go?!), and while that means the holidays are just around the corner, it also means it's time to reflect on the year that's about to end. 2018 was a year filled with many ups and downs (to put it mildly), but most of all it was filled with some great TV.
And thanks to Netflix churning out over 700 originals this year, everyone and their mothers found themselves guilty of a binge watch at some point over the past 12 months. Or more likely, you found yourself deep in the middle of a binge watch almost on a weekly basis – it's okay, we've all been there. It's a great time to be a TV fan!
Because this streaming company will one day rule the world (you read it here first, folks), let's look back at the year of Netflix by counting down the top 20 most-watched Netflix shows of 2018.
20. Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
The extraordinary Baudelaire orphans face trials, tribulations and the evil Count Olaf in their fateful quest to unlock long-held family secrets. Based on the internationally best-selling series of books by Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler), the third and final season premieres January 1, 2019.
19. Cable Girls
Lidia, Marga, Carlota and Ángeles pursue their dreams, seek independence and build friendships as telephone operators in 1920s Madrid in this Spanish series.
This gritty, action-packed Marvel drama follows the evolution of Luke Cage, a man with super strength and unbreakable skin caused by a sabotaged experiment, as he becomes Harlem's Hero for Hire. Unfortunately canceled by Netflix, the second season will be its last.
They're ordinary husband and wife realtors until she undergoes a dramatic change that sends them down a road of death and destruction ... but in a good way. It's like Desperate Housewives meets Dawn of the Dead.
16. Big Mouth
This half-hour edgy adult animated comedy from real-life best friends Nick Kroll (Kroll Show, The League) and Andrew Goldberg (Family Guy) is about the glorious nightmare that is teenaged puberty.
15. Altered Carbon
Set more than 300 years in the future, Altered Carbon is based on the classic cyberpunk noir novel by Richard K. Morgan where society has been transformed by new technology: consciousness can be digitized; human bodies are interchangeable; death is no longer permanent.
14. Dark
A family saga with a supernatural twist, Dark is set in a German town in present day where the disappearance of two young children exposes the double lives and fractured relationships among four families. In ten, hour-long episodes, this German series takes on a supernatural twist that ties back to the same town in 1986.
13. Sense8
Picking up where season one left off, Capheus, Kala, Lito, Nomi, Riley, Sun, Will and Wolfgang come together both physically and mentally, plunged into the middle of each other’s tragedies and triumphs. On the run from Whispers, and forced to question their very identity, it's a matter of survival as the Sensates must find a way to live with, understand and protect one another against all odds. Netflix canceled this series after two seasons but the series finale is streaming now.
12. BoJack Horseman
Will Arnett voices BoJack, the failed legendary 90's sitcom star from the (fictional) favorite family sitcom Horsin’ Around, who has been trying to find his way through a muddle of self-loathing, whisky and failed relationships. Now, in the presence of his human sidekick Todd and his feline agent and ex-paramour Princess Carolyn, BoJack is primed for his comeback ...
11. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina imagines the origin and adventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch as a dark coming-of-age story that traffics in horror, the occult and, of course, witchcraft. Tonally in the vein of Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist, this adaptation finds Sabrina wrestling to reconcile her dual nature — half-witch, half-mortal — while standing against the evil forces that threaten her, her family and the daylight world humans inhabit.
10. Insatiable
This dark, twisted revenge comedy centers on Patty, who has been bullied, ignored, and underestimated by those around her because of her weight. But now that she finds herself suddenly thin, Patty is out for payback against anyone who has ever made her feel bad about herself. Bullies beware: payback’s a bitch, revenge is sweet, and if you cross Patty, you’ll be her next treat.
9. Élite
This Spanish series is like Gossip Girl meets the murder mystery of Big Little Lies. Las Encinas, the best and most exclusive school in Spain where the elite send their children to study, is also where three working class kids have just been admitted after their academy was destroyed by an earthquake and the local council divided up the students between the different schools in the area. The clash between those who have everything and those who have nothing to lose creates the perfect storm that ultimately ends in a murder. Who is behind the crime?
Blinded as a young boy but imbued with extraordinary senses, Matt Murdock fights against injustice by day as a lawyer, and by night as the Super Hero “Daredevil” in modern day Hell's Kitchen, New York City. Netflix also canceled this Marvel series, so its third season will be its last.
7. Atypical
This coming-of-age story follows Sam, an 18-year-old on the autistic spectrum as he searches for love and independence. While Sam is on his funny and emotional journey of self-discovery, the rest of his family must grapple with change in their own lives as they all struggle with the central theme: what does it really mean to be normal?
A love letter to the ’80s classics that captivated a generation, Stranger Things is set in 1983 Indiana, where a young boy vanishes into thin air. As friends, family and local police search for answers, they are drawn into an extraordinary mystery involving top-secret government experiments, terrifying supernatural forces and one very strange little girl. The second season is set in 1984 and the citizens of Hawkins, Indiana are still reeling from the horrors of the Demogorgon and the secrets of Hawkins Lab. Will Byers has been rescued from the Upside Down but a bigger, sinister entity still threatens those who survived.
New York City private investigator Jessica Jones is beginning to put her life back together after murdering her tormenter, Kilgrave. Now known throughout the city as a super-powered killer, a new case makes her reluctantly confront who she really is while digging deeper into her past to explore the reasons why.
4. Black Mirror
This anthology series taps into our collective unease with the modern world, with each stand-alone episode a sharp, suspenseful tale exploring themes of contemporary techno-paranoia. Without questioning it, technology has transformed all aspects of our lives; in every home; on every desk; in every palm - a plasma screen; a monitor; a Smartphone – a Black Mirror reflecting our 21st Century existence back at us.
The outrageous and critically-acclaimed series from Emmy Award-winner Jenji Kohan is about a diverse group of inmates serving time in a women's prison. The upcoming seventh season will be its last.
2. Money Heist (La Casa de Papel)
Eight thieves take hostages and lock themselves in the Royal Mint of Spain as a criminal mastermind manipulates the police to carry out his plan in this Spanish series.
A high school student's suicide shocks her family, friends and peers. The second season picks up in the aftermath of Hannah's death and the start of our characters' complicated journeys toward healing and recovery. Liberty High prepares to go on trial, but someone will stop at nothing to keep the truth surrounding Hannah's death concealed. A series of ominous polaroids lead Clay and his classmates to uncover a sickening secret and a conspiracy to cover it up.
