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(Photo by Kirsty Griffin/Netflix)

Netflix’s Top 20 Shows and Movies of 2021

As of December 31, 2021

What’s trending on Netflix? How about for all of 2021?

The most popular shows and movies on Netflix based on subscriber viewing habits are found on the service’s navigation menu, but that’s only part of the story. Fans also spend time reading up on their favorite Netflix series and movies and their critical standing here at Rotten Tomatoes. We’ve made a list of the top 20 movies and shows on Netflix U.S. that our visitors read about here during 2021. The list

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Korean drama Squid Game led the list of the most popular Netflix titles on Rotten Tomatoes in 2021, beating out the streaming giant’s top film titles, like star-driven Red Notice, which saw Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot, and Ryan Reynolds teaming up for heist story.

Recent 2021 releases like season 2 of fantasy series The Witcher, political satire Don’t Look Up with Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence, and Benedict Cumberbatch–starring drama The Power of the Dog had a lot of ground to cover to catch up with the year’s earlier releases and make it into the top 10. Their ascent has been impressive to watch, and we’ve updated the list ranking as of December 31 to account for their continued growth at the end of 2021. Don’t Look Up finished in the No. 2 spot (previously No. 4), The Witcher at No. 4 (previously 5), and Power of the Dog at No. 7 (previously 9).

While traffic to most TV titles’ main pages propelled the titles onto the list, some titles like The Sinner — the four-season USA Network series has three seasons streaming on Netflix — and two-season French drama Lupin made it onto the list with traffic to their first season pages, again proving that Netflix is a place to discover titles that have been around for a while.

Looking for more great TV and streaming recommendations? Order our book, The Ultimate Binge Guide, which is now on sale.

Is your favorite Netflix show or series on the Netflix Top 20 list? Let us know in the comments what you watched on Netflix in 2021.

#20

The Dig (2021)

87%

Critics Consensus: Featuring beautifully matched performances from Ralph Fiennes and Carey Mulligan set against gorgeously filmed English countryside, The Dig yields period drama treasures.

Synopsis: An excavator and his team discover a wooden ship from the Dark Ages while digging up a burial ground on a woman's estate.

Starring: Carey Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes, Lily James, Johnny Flynn

Directed By: Simon Stone

#19

The White Tiger (2021)

91%

Critics Consensus: Well-acted and beautifully made, The White Tiger distills the strengths of its source material into a grimly compelling drama.

Synopsis: Balram Halwai (Adarsh Gourav) narrates his epic and darkly humorous rise from poor villager to successful entrepreneur in modern India. Cunning and ambitious, our young... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Adarsh Gourav, Rajkummar Rao, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Vedant Sinha

Directed By: Ramin Bahrani

#18

The Harder They Fall (2021)

88%

Critics Consensus: It isn't as bold and fearless as its characters, but The Harder They Fall fills its well-worn template with style, energy, and a fantastic cast.

Synopsis: When outlaw Nat Love (Jonathan Majors) discovers that his enemy Rufus Buck (Idris Elba) is being released from prison he rounds up his gang to... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jonathan Majors, Zazie Beetz, Delroy Lindo, LaKeith Stanfield

Directed By: Jeymes Samuel

#17

The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021)

97%

Critics Consensus: Eye-catching and energetic, The Mitchells vs. the Machines delivers a funny, feel-good story that the whole family can enjoy.

Synopsis: Young Katie Mitchell embarks on a road trip with her proud parents, younger brother and beloved dog to start her first year at film school.... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Michael Rianda

Directed By: Michael Rianda

#14

Cowboy Bebop

45%

60%

Synopsis: A ragtag crew of bounty hunters chases down the galaxy's most dangerous criminals; they'll save the world for the right price.

Starring: John Cho, Mustafa Shakir, Daniella Pineda, Alex Hassell

#13

Money Heist

94%

81%

Synopsis: A criminal mastermind who goes by "The Professor" has a plan to pull off the biggest heist in recorded history -- to print billions of... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Álvaro Morte, Úrsula Corberó, Jaime Lorente, Miguel Herrán

#12

The Guilty (2021)

73%

Critics Consensus: The Guilty is another Americanized remake overshadowed by the original, but its premise is still sturdy enough to support a tense, well-acted thriller.

Synopsis: The film takes place over the course of a single morning in a 911 dispatch call center. Call operator Joe Baylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) tries to... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Ethan Hawke, Riley Keough, Paul Dano

Directed By: Antoine Fuqua

#11

The Woman in the Window (2021)

25%

Critics Consensus: A milquetoast and muddled thriller that drowns in its frenzied homages, The Woman in the Window will have audiences closing their curtains.

Synopsis: Anna Fox (Amy Adams) is an agoraphobic child psychologist who finds herself keeping tabs on the picture perfect family across the street through the windows... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Amy Adams, Gary Oldman, Anthony Mackie, Fred Hechinger

Directed By: Joe Wright

#10

You

89%

70%

Synopsis: What would you do for love? For a brilliant male bookstore manager who crosses paths with an aspiring female writer, this question is put to... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Penn Badgley, Tati Gabrielle, Charlotte Ritchie, Lukas Gage

Midnight Mass

87%

79%

Synopsis: The arrival of a charismatic priest brings miracles, mysteries and renewed religious fervor to a dying town.

Starring: Zach Gilford, Kate Siegel, Hamish Linklater, Annabeth Gish

I Care a Lot (2020)

79%

Critics Consensus: A searing swipe at late-stage capitalism, I Care A Lot is an exhilarating pitch black comedy with a wicked performance from Rosamund Pike.

Synopsis: Poised with sharklike self-assurance, Marla Grayson (Academy Award nominee Rosamund Pike) is a professional, court-appointed guardian for dozens of elderly wards whose assets she seizes... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage, Eiza González, Dianne Wiest

Directed By: J Blakeson

The Power of the Dog (2021)

94%

Critics Consensus: Brought to life by a stellar ensemble led by Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog reaffirms writer-director Jane Campion as one of her generation's finest filmmakers.

Synopsis: Severe, pale-eyed, handsome, Phil Burbank is brutally beguiling. All of Phil's romance, power and fragility is trapped in the past and in the land: He... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Kodi Smit-McPhee

Directed By: Jane Campion

Red Notice (2021)

37%

Critics Consensus: Red Notice's big budget and A-list cast add up to a slickly competent action comedy whose gaudy ingredients only make the middling results more disappointing.

Synopsis: In the world of international crime, an Interpol agent attempts to hunt down and capture the world's most wanted art thief.

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot, Ritu Arya

Directed By: Rawson Marshall Thurber

Army Of The Dead (2021)

68%

Critics Consensus: An ambitious, over-the-top zombie heist mashup, Army of the Dead brings Zack Snyder back to his genre roots with a suitably gory splash.

Synopsis: From filmmaker Zack Snyder (300, Zack Snyder's Justice League), ARMY OF THE DEAD takes place following a zombie outbreak that has left Las Vegas in... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera

Directed By: Zack Snyder

The Witcher

75%

46%

Synopsis: The Witcher Geralt, a mutated monster hunter, struggles to find his place in a world in which people often prove more wicked than beasts.

Starring: Liam Hemsworth, Anya Chalotra, Freya Allan, Joey Batey

Don't Look Up (2021)

56%

Critics Consensus: Don't Look Up aims too high for its scattershot barbs to consistently land, but Adam McKay's star-studded satire hits its target of collective denial square on.

Synopsis: Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence), an astronomy grad student, and her professor Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio) make an astounding discovery of a comet orbiting within... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Rob Morgan

Directed By: Adam McKay