Best Netflix TV Shows for character development

character development Decision Dashboard

Best for character development

Kylie, Season 1

4.8 feature score

Highest scored product for this feature based on supporting review evidence.

Safest pick

Rafa, Season 1

4.0 feature score

Balances feature score, supporting reviews, and overall product strength.

Best overall product

The Witness, Season 1

4.1 overall score

Strongest overall product among items with scored evidence for this feature.

See ranked products
Narrow by brand

Showing Netflix only. Switch back to all brands anytime.

#1 Kylie, Season 1
4.8

Reviewers see a satisfying arc from manufactured pop figure to self-directed artist, with key relationships helping her grow in confidence and creative control.

Pros: episode pacing, season finale quality

Cons: episode structure, season pacing

#2 The Witness, Season 1
4.1

Alex and André’s relationship gives the season its clearest arc, moving through grief, resentment, rebellion, and eventual understanding. The main pair are well developed, though one critic felt the secondary...

Pros: screenplay quality, critic appeal

Cons: plot twists, season pacing

#3 The American Experiment, Season 1
4.0

The documentary makes founders feel like flawed people rather than marble monuments. Personal stories about figures like Washington and Adams help humanize the history.

Pros: production design, bingeability

Cons: modern political framing, plot originality

#4 Worst Neighbor Ever, Season 1
4.0

The show can sketch relationships and family dynamics clearly enough to make the stakes matter. Decider especially credited the first episode with building a good picture of Shawna and David's...

Pros: finale satisfaction, season finale quality

Cons: violence level, writing quality

#5 Rafa, Season 1
4.0

Rafa gives a layered picture of Nadal as disciplined, anxious, resilient, and physically depleted. Some critics still wanted more access to his deepest motivations, but the strongest responses felt the...

Pros: genre satisfaction, soundtrack quality

Cons: writing quality, plot clarity

#6 The Boroughs, Season 1
3.9

Character development was one of the show’s strongest selling points when reviewers focused on Sam, Wally, Judy, Art, and Renee. The dissenting view is that some arcs and backstories are...

Pros: main cast performance, acting quality

Cons: cancellation satisfaction, plot clarity

#7 Human Vapor, Season 1
3.6

Character work is a real strength in the positive reviews, especially once stock-seeming roles gain history and emotional weight. The sharpest negative review saw the detective and reporter as familiar...

Pros: plot originality, emotional impact

Cons: humor, writing quality

#8 Berlin and the Lady with an Ermine, Chapter 2
3.3

Berlin and several emotional arcs gain meaningful texture, but critics disagree on whether the supporting characters truly grow or remain thin romantic functions.

Pros: main cast performance, bingeability

Cons: realism, season length

#9 I Will Find You
2.8

Character development is a major dividing line. A few reviewers found the ensemble layered and compelling, but many felt characters were thinly sketched, underexplored, or just vehicles for plot movement.

Pros: cinematography, drama quality

Cons: writing quality, plot clarity

#10 Mating Season, Season 1
2.8

Character work is the main divider. Supporters like Penelope, Fawn, and the friend group as messy but lovable; critics say Josh, Ray, and some arcs stay underdeveloped or reset too...

Pros: realism, cultural representation

Cons: age appropriateness, violence level

#11 Calabasas Confidential, Season 1
2.2

Jemma and a few cast members get some trajectory, but the broader ensemble often feels underdeveloped, interchangeable, or short on charisma.

Pros: world-building, costume design

Cons: family friendliness, age appropriateness