7 Great Netflix Shows You Can Only Watch Once
These seven Netflix shows are some of the best the streamer has to offer, but you’ll probably only ever watch them once. There’s a long history of TV shows that you would only ever want to watch once. Series that either don’t have the same power on a second watch, or perhaps have a bit too much power.
Some series are reliant on a twist that loses its “oomph” once you know it. Some are dark referendums on real history that can be painful to acknowledge. Some just don’t hold up as well the second time around. Whatever the reason, these seven shows are absolutely worth watching once, but just not twice.
BoJack Horseman (2014-2020)
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BoJack Horseman is an adult animated comedy-drama that goes from mostly comedy with a sprinkling of drama at the beginning of its six seasons, to primarily a heavy drama with some dashes of comedy. The series stars the titular BoJack, an anthropomorphic (one of many in the world of the show) horse.
A former sitcom star, BoJack’s life has been on a downward trajectory for years, exacerbated by his drinking, depression, and philandering. Now a washed-up former star, BoJack attempts to get his life back on track but keeps getting in his own way. Across six seasons, BoJack seems to break more relationships than he mends.
It’s a very funny and clever series, and extremely relatable for anyone who has found themselves regretting their past actions. BoJack Horseman only gets darker as the seasons go on, and episodes about Alzheimer’s, abuse, and self-harm become the norm. It’s a great watch, but not one you’ll quickly return to.
American Vandal (2017-2018)
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American Vandal is a highly underrated mockumentary series that parodied the popular true-crime documentaries of the era like Making a Murderer and Serial, the first of which premiered on Netflix. The two-season series is an anthology, and in each, a mundane crime or prank is handled like a notorious murder case.
In season 1, a prank leaves 27 faculty cars covered in graphic graffiti. In season 2, a cafeteria’s lemonade is contaminated with maltitol. Both seasons utilize the same dramatic filmmaking, talking heads, closed-circuit camera footage, and foreboding storytelling of the true-crime TV genre.
Back when American Vandal came out, true crime was at the height of its popularity. Eight years later, the tropes that the show is poking fun at are a little less popular and relevant. This was a great series when it came out, but like a lot of satire, it loses its bite as the rest of the culture catches up.
The Haunting Of Hill House (2018)
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Mike Flanagan’s horror TV shows are all worthy of your time, though don’t go into any of them expecting a rip-roaring horror filled with jump scares. His series are slow and thoughtful, quietly building dreadful atmospheres that make the few jump scares there are all the more impactful.
However, this does mean they can be a bit difficult to return to. Once you know what the shows are building towards, the slower parts get a bit more tedious. Even the best of Flanagan’s miniseries, The Haunting of Hill House, suffers from this issue. It’s a series dripping with atmosphere, horror, and sadness, and that makes returning to it difficult.
The miniseries is based on Shirley Jackson’s story of the same name, though it plays with the structure of the story and adds an additional timeline that the show jumps between. It’s a beautifully written plot, and Flanagan builds up some shockingly scary sequences all while keeping everything in the winding tale intelligible.
When They See Us (2019)
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When They See Us is a four-episode true crime miniseries about the Central Park Five. In 1989, in Central Park in Manhattan, five young Black and Latino males were accused of raping and assaulting a white woman who was jogging in the park that evening. Despite little evidence, the five young men were charged and sentenced to prison for anywhere between seven and 13 years.
In 2002, DNA evidence exonerated the five men, and their convictions were vacated and they were released. The series begins with the events leading up to the assault; the police investigation into Kevin Richardson (Asante Blackk), Antron McCray (Caleel Harris), Yusef Salaam (Ethan Herisse), Korey Wise (Jharrel Jerome), and Raymond Santana (Marquis Rodriguez); and goes through their imprisonments and eventual releases.
When They See Us is a harrowing, brutal examination of the failures of the U.S. justice system, and the systemic racism that will feel all too relatable even to those living in 2026. It’s a hard watch, one that forces the viewer to confront the realities about the inequalities we live with every day.
1899 (2022)
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1899 is a multilingual German series from the creators of Dark, so you can guess that this historical drama is going to go in some weird directions. The show is set in the titular year and follows the passengers of the steamship Kerberos, bound from Southampton in the UK to New York City.
On their journey, the Kerberos gets a message indicating its sister ship, Prometheus, has not sunk, as previously thought, and is stranded somewhere in the Atlantic. Upon meeting the survivors, the travelers on Kerberos begin to suspect that something very strange and very dangerous is going on.
1899 had the makings of a thrilling, mind-bending sci-fi series along the same lines as Dark, but the series was canceled after just one season. There’s now basically no reason to ever rewatch the show, considering the ending in particular, which sets up many seasons’ worth of plotting.
Archive 81 (2022)
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Archive 81 is a Lovecraftian TV show, with obvious influences from the master of cosmic horror. The series is based on a podcast of the same name, and takes place across two timelines. The first is set in 1994 and follows Melody Pendras’ (Dina Shihabi) attempts to document the story behind an apartment building fire.
The second storyline takes place in 2022 and follows archivist Dan Turner (Mamoudou Athie), who is asked to restore Melody’s videos by a mysterious organization. There are cults, creatures, secrets, and dark gods, and Archive 81 manages to weave them all together without losing the plot or the frightening atmosphere.
For most of the series, the viewers are unsure of how much of a Lovecraft show Archive 81 is, and that mystery keeps things interesting. However, towards the end of the series, all the mystery falls away. Once you know where Archive 81 is going, it loses a bit of its mystique, making rewatches less interesting.
Baby Reindeer (2024)
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Baby Reindeer is one of the best Netflix originals the streamer has ever put out. The seven-episode miniseries was created by and stars Richard Gadd, based on his one-man play, which was in turn based upon his real-life experiences. In the show, Gadd changes his character’s name to Donny Dunn.
Donny is an aspiring stand-up comedian who makes the mistake of befriending one Martha Scott (Jessica Gunning), a former lawyer with a criminal record. The lonely and unstable Martha becomes obsessed with Donny, ruining his relationships and forcing him to confront an abusive episode in his past.
It is a fantastic series, in no small part due to Gadd’s personal connection to the story. However, it can be a very difficult watch, particularly when it comes to the scenes of sexual assault, which are critical to Baby Reindeer. It’s a Netflix series everyone should watch once, and follow up with a long, deep breath.
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