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The Netflix Top 10 list won’t tell you how many people are watching a show, but it will tell you which shows people are watching the most. The Top 10 list for Wednesday, Dec. 16 finds the Netflix holiday movie A California Christmas still at No. 1, while Manhunt: Deadly Games ranks at No. 2. The Jessica Chastain-led thriller Ava and Virgin River Season 2 also remain in the top 5, and the only new addition to the ranking is the ballet school drama Tiny Pretty Things, which comes in at No. 3 today.
But of the Netflix Top 10, which of these shows and movies are actually worth watching? We break down the entire Netflix Top 10 list and guide you through what to binge and what to skip.
The Best TV Shows and Movies on Netflix in November 2020
Based on Netflix’s Top 10 from Wednesday, Dec. 16
1. A California Christmas
For fans of: Corny holiday movies, lying | Is it good?: Does it have to be?
‘Tis the season for lovably ridiculous rom-coms! A wealthy businessman poses as a ranch hand in the hopes of convincing a hardworking farmer to sell away her family’s property before Christmas. You can probably guess where this is going. (Yesterday’s rank: 1)
2. Manhunt: Deadly Games
For fans of: True stories, crime shows | Is it good?: It drags in some places, but it’s worth a watch
Cameron Britton stars as Richard Jewell, the security guard turned FBI suspect in the investigation of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing. Over 10 episodes, this series tells Jewell’s story, as well as the stories of the real bomber Eric Rudolph (Jack Huston), journalist Kathy Scruggs (Carla Gugino), and Jewell’s mother, Bobi (Judith Light). (Yesterday’s rank: 2)
3. Tiny Pretty Things
For fans of: Ballet, high school melodrama, soap operas | Is it good?: Not really, but the dancing sequences are well done
After the star student at an elite ballet academy suffers an accident, her replacement is thrown into a cutthroat world where almost all the students seem to be in vicious competition with each other. It’s pretty over the top in its soapiness. (Yesterday’s rank: n/a)
4. Ava
For fans of: Prestige actors, morally gray assassins | Is it good?: Not particularly
Three very talented actors — Jessica Chastain, Colin Farrell, and John Malkovich — are all pretty under-utilized in this generic thriller about an assassin (Chastain) who is targeted by her own black ops after a hit goes wrong. (Yesterday’s rank: 3)
5. Virgin River
For fans of: Hallmarkian romance, heartwarming tearjerkers | Is it good?: It’s a fun time for any hopeless romantic out there
Adapted from the Virgin River novels by author Robyn Carr, the romantic drama stars Alexandra Breckenridge as Melinda “Mel” Monroe, a midwife and nurse practitioner from Los Angeles who moves to a beautiful but remote Northern California town following a series of traumatic heartbreaks. It all has a very Hallmark vibe to it, but in a good way! (Yesterday’s rank: 5)
6. Big Mouth
For fans of: Puberty, Hormone Monsters | Is it good?: It keeps getting better with every season
Do you remember how awful puberty was? If you don’t, Big Mouth wants to make sure you can’t walk away from an episode without doing so. Now in its fourth season, the Netflix animated series tackles a host of new issues, including race, growing up as a young transgender person, and summer camp. (Yesterday’s rank: 4)
7. How the Grinch Stole Christmas
For fans of: Jim Carrey, Baby Grinch | Is it good?: People certainly love it
Jim Carrey’s 2000 adaptation of the Dr. Seuss book has become a holiday classic for plenty of people. If you’re a fan, you’ve probably already made a plan to revisit it for the holidays. (Yesterday’s rank: 7)
8. Cocomelon
For fans of: Mashed vegetables, pacifiers | Is it good?: For babies, sure
Colorful objects, preschool songs, and big-headed babies make this catnip for toddlers and younger kids who get screentime. (Yesterday’s rank: 8)
9. The Queen’s Gambit
For fans of: Chess, drugs, and character drama | Is it good?: It’s one of the best shows of the year
Budding superstar Anya Taylor-Joy (she’s been cast as young Furiosa in the next Mad Max movie) stars in this literary adaptation as Beth Harmon, a brilliant but troubled chess champion in 1950s Kentucky. She was an orphan who, in her youth, developed an incredible skill for the game but also a debilitating addiction to pills, which quiet her obsessive mind. It’s a detailed character study of brilliance and madness that’s usually reserved for male characters. It comes from one of Netflix’s go-to limited series producers, Godless‘ Scott Frank. (Yesterday’s rank: 9)
10. The Prom
For fans of: Broadway musicals, proms | Is it good?: It’s big, flashy, and filled with celebrities, if that’s your kind of thing
Ryan Murphy does his Ryan Murphy thing — casts very famous actors and goes larger than large with the material — in this adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name about washed up theater actors who shake up a small town when they advocate for a teen who wants to go to prom with her girlfriend. You know everyone in it, from Meryl Streep to Nicole Kidman to James Corden, and it’s pretty faithful to the original material. At the very least, it’s definitely going to make you miss live performances. (Yesterday’s rank: 6)
The Best Netflix Originals of 2020 So Far
Lucifer, The Baby-Sitters Club, Love Is Blind” width=”2070″ height=”1380″ title=”Lucifer, The Baby-Sitters Club, Love Is Blind” data-amp-src=”https://tvguide1.cbsistatic.com/i/r/2020/09/17/505dd032-3cbb-41bc-b9c7-b25aa75a8297/watermark/706d004f9a37fe96bd7085c7f19efb3c/netflix-2020-reg.jpg”>Lucifer, The Baby-Sitters Club, Love Is Blind