Adults can choose from a wide variety of adult-focused Netflix original shows, including criminal dramas, psychological thrillers, and dark comedies. These series offer an excellent retreat into engrossing storytelling by submerging viewers in compelling stories, nuanced characters, and sophisticated issues. Because streaming allows users to consume their favorite shows at their own leisure, Netflix is the ideal place for solitary enjoyment.
1. Obsession
Based on Josephine Hart’s 1991 novel Damage, Obsession is a British sexual thriller television miniseries co-written by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm and Benji Walters. The series, which stars Charlie Murphy, Richard Armitage, Indira Varma, and Sonera Angel, debuted on Netflix on April 13, 2023. William, a surgeon, starts having an affair with Anna, the fiancée of his son Jay. William’s life and career are in danger as he quickly develops an obsession with Anna.
2. Sex/Life
American drama TV show Sex/Life was developed by Stacy Rukeyser for Netflix. The show debuted on June 25, 2021, and was inspired on BB Easton’s novel 44 Chapters About 4 Men. The show received a second season renewal in September 2021, and it debuted on March 2, 2023. The show was canceled in April 2023, following two seasons. “A suburban mother of two takes a fantasy-charged trip down memory lane that sets her very married present on a collision course with her wild-child past,” was how the show was presented in promotional materials.
3. Dark Desire
Argos Comunicación is the producer of the Mexican thriller drama television series Dark Desire (Spanish: Oscuro deseo), which is available on Netflix. Starring in the series are Maite Perroni, Erik Hayser, Alejandro Speitzer, Regina Pavón, Jorge Poza, and María Fernanda Yepes. The production was officially set to begin on May 6, 2019, and it made its debut on July 15, 2020. The show was renewed on August 19, 2020, for a second and final season, which debuted on February 2, 2022. Additionally, it was revealed that Dark Desire’s first season has accrued 35 million viewers in just 28 days, or 213.79 million hours, making it the most watched non-English title on Netflix.
4. Elite
Carlos Montero and Darío Madrona created the Spanish-language teen drama series Elite (Spanish: Élite) for Netflix. The fictional Las Encinas exclusive high school in Spain, which serves affluent and privileged youth, serves as the setting for the television program. Élite centers on the social and romantic relationships that three working-class pupils have with multiple Las Encinas students after they are accepted into the school thanks to a scholarship program. Rotten Tomatoes gives the show a 93% approval rating as of April 2024.
5. Sky Rojo
Álex Pina and Esther Martínez Lobato are the creators of the Spanish black comedic action drama television series Sky Rojo, which translates to “Red Leatherette.” Three prostitutes who escape their pimp are followed throughout the series. The show depicts “the impunity, ambiguity and brutal reality of prostitution, and the psychological portraits of those on both sides of the scale,” according to its makers. According to Pina and Martínez Lobato, the series is classified as “Latin pulp.”
The Netflix-distributed series, produced by Vancouver Media, made its debut on March 19, 2021. There were two announced seasons, each with eight 25-minute episodes. On July 23, the second season of the show debuted. On January 13, 2023, the third and final season was made available.
6. Devotion
Based on Marco Missiroli’s novel Fedeltà, Devotion, a Story of Love and Desire (sometimes referred to as Fidelity; Italian: Fedeltà) is a romantic drama television miniseries produced in Italy. Netflix started streaming it on February 14, 2022. When both partners give in to outside temptations, their happy marriage is put to the test.
7. Hollywood
A group of actors, including David Corenswet, Darren Criss, Laura Harrier, Joe Mantello, Dylan McDermott, Jake Picking, Jeremy Pope, Holland Taylor, Samara Weaving, Jim Parsons, and Patti LuPone, starred in the American drama television miniseries Hollywood. It was created by Ian Brennan and Ryan Murphy and debuted on Netflix on May 1, 2020.
In the Hollywood Golden Age following World War II, a group of aspirant performers and filmmakers tries to fulfill their goals in the miniseries. Critics gave the series mixed reviews, praising the performances and production qualities but criticizing the tone, the writing, and the artistic license used. At the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards, the show was nominated for twelve times, including twice for acting, including for Pope, Taylor, McDermott, and Parsons.
8. Sexify
The main characters of the Polish sex comedy television series Sexify (stylized as Sex!fy) are Sandra Drzymalska, Aleksandra Skraba, and Maria Sobocińska. The show is directed by Kalina Alabrudzińska and Piotr Domalewski. The eight-episode first season of the show debuted on Netflix on April 29, 2021. On January 11, 2023, the show’s second season was made available. The show centers on computer science student Natalia Dumaka, who teams up with pals Paulina and Monika to create an algorithm for the female orgasm. Natalia aspires to triumph in her university’s competition for the best start-up.
9. Tidelands
The television series Tidelands is an Australian supernatural drama. Hoodlum Entertainment produces the eight-part series, which was written and conceived by Stephen M. Irwin and Leigh McGrath. Netflix began streaming it on December 14, 2018. There were some unanswered questions from Series 1, but as of 2021, there were no plans to film a second series.
10. Ginny & Georgia
Netflix launched Ginny & Georgia, an American comedy-drama television series, on February 24, 2021. The show was created by Sarah Lampert. The show received a second season renewal in April 2021, and it debuted on January 5, 2023. The show was given a third and fourth season renewal in May 2023.