Netflix’s top shows of 2020: Which did you watch last year?

Are you a bingewatcher? Do pine for new Netflix originals on the regular because you’re usually caught up with all the good ones? If so, welcome to the club!

Netflix is a go-to destination for original mini-series, shows, and movies. For a long time we were only able to guess at what the streaming platform’s best performing shows are, based on how much hype we could see on social media. However, 2020 ushered in the era of the top ten list. This list updates daily telling users what the top ten most watched shows (or movies) on Netflix are in their country.

Let’s see just how rabid of a bingewatcher you are – let us know in the comments below how many of the top 2020 shows you watched last year. For the sake of ease we kept our list to scripted Netflix original shows. (No, Bridgerton didn’t make the list, but that’s only because it premiered six days before the new year.)

The Queen’s Gambit

Ever since its release in October it has been nearly impossible to escape the incessant fawning of the chess-themed show (which by the way almost didn’t get made.)

The Queen’s Gambit takes place in the 1960s and follows the story of a girl who was orphaned at the age of nine. However, her genius abilities at the game of chess lead to a life of fame as a child – it’s not all fun & games anymore.

Emily in Paris

Emily in Paris was practically the opposite side of the same coin to The Queen’s Gambit. Emily in Paris was also released in October, but everyone couldn’t stop talking about how much they absolutely hated it.

The show came from the same creators as Sex and the City & Younger. It’s essentially the next basic-girl drama – (which means we know some of you weren’t actually hate-watching). A young American girl moves to Paris, France for her job and we watch her navigate messy romantic & business lives while being surrounded by the beauty of the city, expensive fashions, pretty people, French accents, and parties galore.

Lucifer

Lucifer may not be a new show, but fans flocked to the site when the newest batch of episodes dropped on Netflix and easily made it one of the top shows on the platform for 2020. It’s not entirely a Netflix original, but the new episodes fans got this year were produced by the streaming site after the show was shockingly cancelled by its original network.

The show follows the fallen angel Lucifer Morningstar who decides he’s bored of Hell and wants to try out Earth life for a bit to see humanity up close. The show chronicles the twists & turns that occur after he moves to Los Angeles.

The Umbrella Academy

A new take on the nearly over-done superhero genre, The Umbrella Academy was a smash hit in 2019 and brought fans that were just as eager to see the second season.

The show follows a family of former child heroes that are forced to reunite in order to save the world. Season 2 made things even more complicated by adding time travel – sending the characters into the 1960s.

Proving to be one of Netflix’s top shows not just for 2020, but in general, the third season is already being looked forward to by many.

Money Heist

Money Heist is the not-so-secret obsession of Film Daily. It’s the top performing show on Netflix that isn’t in English and the fourth season hit the platform in spring, but we’re still thinking about it. (This is another show Netflix scooped up after cancellation in order to give it more seasons.)

Money Heist (also called Las Casa de Papel in its native language) follows an eclectic group of thieves all trying to pull off some of the biggest heists in the world. The show takes multiple seasons to tell the story of a single heist, which means not a single detail is left out. The final season of Money Heist is expected to hit Netflix in the semi-near future and will likely hit the top of the platform’s list internationally once again.

The Crown

Everyone has heard of The Crown since 2020 brought us the fourth season of the popular British drama that fictionalized the lives of the very real royal family.

Season 4 starred Olivia Coleman (The Favourite) and Helena Bonham Carter (Harry Potter) as well as the X-Files star Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher. The latest season also takes on the story of Princess Diana.