Best Netflix show from every year: 2012-2021

Best Netflix show from every year

Netflix was founded in the late ’90s as a mail-order DVD service. Customers could rent or buy DVDs that would be delivered directly to their homes. In 2007, Netflix launched its streaming service, which was originally a limited selection of movies that could be viewed online.

A few years later, Netflix’s streaming library had grown exponentially while the DVD-by-mail rentals had almost ceased. Eventually, Netflix would separate its DVD rental business from its streaming platform, rebranding the DVD arm of the company as DVD.com (many don’t know this, but DVD.com still exists and will deliver DVDs straight to your door). This gave Netflix more time to focus on its growing streaming business.

In 2012, the platform launched its first exclusive program, and now, almost a decade later, Netflix has become the premier destination for original movies and TV series.

Here are the best Netflix shows of every year, from 2012 to 2021, starting with the best Netflix show of 2012.

Best Netflix show of 2012: Lilyhammer

Many people don’t know this, but Lilyhammer was actually the first Netflix original show in the streaming service’s history. The series follows a New York mobster who gets put into the witness protection program and winds up in a small Norwegian town.

The best way to sum up the show would be to call it part The Sopranos and part Schitt’s Creek. Lilyhammer’s lead actor is none other than Steven Van Zandt, famous for playing Silvio Dante in The Sopranos, which also helped instantly give the series some credibility in the mobster genre.

The series aired in both America and Norway and lasted for three seasons, creating 24 episodes in total. These days, the show is remembered as a cult hit, being watched mainly by The Sopranos fans, and it has since fallen into obscurity. However, it holds an 88% audience score on review-aggregate Rotten Tomatoes, meaning it’s a quality show for anyone looking for something new to binge on Netflix.