Following the dominance of Ryan Murphy‘s Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, Netflix found its latest all-conquering hit courtesy of the historical drama genre. An adaptation of John Steinbeck‘s celebrated 1952 family saga, East of Eden has shot straight to the top of the Netflix streaming charts following its acclaimed debut, with plenty of praise going to Florence Pugh. She is joined in a stellar cast by the likes of Mike Faist, Poor Things‘Christopher Abbott, and Warrior‘s Hoon Lee. But East of Eden isn’t the only series worth watching this week. To help you discover more, here’s a look at three shows you should binge on Netflix this week.
Disclaimer: These titles are available on US Netflix.
1
‘Wednesday’ (2022–Present)
Rotten Tomatoes: 80% | IMDb: 8.0/10
Last week, we learned that production on the third season of one of Netflix’s most exciting shows had officially come to an end. The show in question was Wednesday, and in anticipation of the third season, as well as marking the perfect way to celebrate the start of spooky season, now is the best time to binge-watch all episodes in the first two seasons of Jenna Ortega‘s career-defining series.
Everyone’s favorite nihilistic teen with psychic powers, Wednesday Addams’ move to Nevermore Academy after an incident with her brother sets the wheels in motion for a murder mystery, small-town paranoia, and an unlikely friendship with her happy-go-lucky roommate, Enid (Emma Myers). With Season 1 boasting a superb ensemble and gripping narrative, and Season 2 introducing the one-and-only Lady Gaga to the cast, Wednesday is not to be missed this October.
Collider Exclusive · 8 Questions · 2 Minutes Which Netflix Character Would Be Your Best Friend? Dustin · Emily · Wednesday · Gi-hun
Some friends drag you out of the house. Some sit with you on the worst night of your life. Netflix has written both, plus the one who tells you the truth you have been avoiding all week. Answer eight quick questions about how you actually do friendship, and find out which of them was always going to end up in your corner.
🧢Dustin(Stranger Things)
🗼Emily(Emily in Paris)
🕷️Wednesday(Wednesday)
🟢Gi-hun(Squid Game)
01
How do you usually end up making a new friend? The origin story says a lot about the friendship that follows it.
02
What is a perfect Saturday with your best friend? Friendship is mostly built out of very ordinary hours.
03
You call them at two in the morning. What happens? This is the real test of a friendship, and everybody knows it.
04
What do you want from them when you are clearly wrong? The best friendships are the ones that survive being corrected.
05
What do your friends actually value about you? The friend you attract says something about the friend you are.
06
You have a falling out. How does it go? How a friendship repairs itself matters more than how it breaks.
07
What do you actually need a best friend for? Everybody is missing something. The right friend fills that gap.
08
Ten years from now, what keeps the two of you close? Eight questions in, this is the one that decides who you get.
The Group Chat Has Spoken Your Best Friend Is…
Four Netflix characters, four completely different ways of showing up
for somebody. This is the one who fits how you actually do friendship, and what having them in your
life would be like.
Stranger Things · Netflix · Since 2016
Dustin Henderson
You do not do friendship at half volume, and neither does he.
What you want is somebody who says yes to the plan before you have finished describing the
plan.
Dustin is the friend the entire show runs on: loyal past the point of sense,
enthusiastic about everything, and incapable of leaving anybody behind.
You have the same instinct. Your friendships are loud, specific and slightly ridiculous,
and they last for decades because of it.
He is also the one person who would take your strangest interest completely seriously,
which is far rarer than it sounds.
You would have a group chat. It would never once be quiet.
Emily in Paris · Netflix · Since 2020
Emily Cooper
You are the friend who makes things happen, and so is she.
Together you would be mildly exhausting to everyone around you and completely delighted with
yourselves.
Emily treats an ordinary Tuesday as something that could be turned into an occasion,
which is either the best or the worst quality in a friend depending on your energy
levels.
You share her refusal to sit still. Neither of you has ever accepted a night in when
something was happening somewhere else.
She is far more loyal than people give her credit for. She defends her friends loudly,
publicly, and occasionally before checking the facts.
She would post the photo without asking. You would forgive her, because it is a very
good photo.
Wednesday · Netflix · Since 2022
Wednesday Addams
You have no patience for pleasant lies, and she has no ability to
tell them. What looks like coldness from the outside is the most reliable friendship on this
list.
Wednesday never says a kind thing she does not mean, which makes the rare ones count for
an enormous amount.
You would rather be told the truth than be made comfortable. She is constitutionally
incapable of offering you anything else.
Underneath all of it she is ferociously protective. She simply refuses to make a
performance out of caring.
Do not expect a birthday message. Do expect her to ruin anyone who wrongs you.
Squid Game · Netflix · 2021–2025
Seong Gi-hun
You look after whoever is having the worst day. So does he. It is
the least strategic way to move through the world and the best possible quality in a friend.
Gi-hun is not the strongest player in Squid Game, or the cleverest. He is the one who
keeps choosing to protect somebody else, over and over, at genuine cost to himself.
You have the same instinct. You notice who is struggling and you stay with them, long
after anybody would blame you for leaving.
He is a flawed friend, and that is part of why it lands. He lets people down, then comes
back and tries again, which is more than most manage.
He would give you his last chance and never once mention that he had done it.
2
‘Murder in a Small Town’ (2024–Present)
Rotten Tomatoes: 70% | IMDb: 6.8/10
For a murder mystery aimed at a more mature audience this week, look no further than the utterly gripping Canadian series Murder in a Small Town. Based on a series of crime novels by L.R. Wright, this two-part whodunnit follows the new police chief in a coastal community, Karl Alberg (Rossif Sutherland), as tragedy uncovers a string of terrifying secrets.
Two seasons of Murder in a Small Town have aired, and earlier this year, a third season was officially given the green light. With Season 3 expected to premiere next year, there is no better time to tuck into this indulgent, twisting mystery series that also stars the likes of Stana Katic (Castle), Devon Sawa (Final Destination), and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol‘s Paula Patton.
3
‘A Different World’ (2026)
Rotten Tomatoes: 82% | IMDb: 6.8/10
With so much content always being released on the biggest platforms, it’s easy for stuff to fall under the radar. One such recent series that you should binge this week is A Different World, based on the NBC sitcom of the same name that ran between September 1987 and July 1993. This return follows the youngest daughter of Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison) and Whitley Gilbert (Jasmine Guy), Deborah Wayne (Maleah Joi Moon), as she begins her freshman year at Hillman College.
Brought back by showrunner Felicia Pride, this long-awaited return to A Different World has been a success in the eyes of both fans and critics. By adding a heartfelt, Gen-Z twist to the original formula, this new series excellently balances paying doting homage to what came before and refreshing the series for a modern audience. Ten episodes of A Different World await, with a Season 2 on the way.
Release Date
2026 – 2026-00-00
Network
Netflix
Directors
Tiffany Johnson, Angela Barnes, Nefertite Nguvu, Bille Woodruff, Debbie Allen
Writers
Des Moran, Felicia Pride, Howard Jordan Jr., Lisa McQuillan
