The #4 Show on Netflix Is a Twist-Filled Spy Drama You Can’t Miss

Your next weekend binge has arrived

Unfamiliar
Courtesy of Netflix

With the next James Bond movie still years away, many of us are craving a smart, twisty spy thriller and Netflix might have just delivered. While it’s not James Bond, it’s definitely in that same world of espionage tension, and it’s already making waves on the streaming charts, currently sitting at number four on the streamer's Top 10 chart. That show is the German series Unfamiliar.

Unfamiliar dropped on Netflix on February 5, and across six episodes, it follows former intelligence agents Meret and Simon Schäfer. What begins as a quiet night celebrating their daughter Nina’s 16th birthday quickly goes off the rails when an injured, mysterious man appears at their Berlin safe house.

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Sasha Ostrov / Netflix

Meret and Simon, seasoned agents, quickly realize that the man’s arrival is tied to a 16-year-old mission in Belarus and to the dangerous Russian operative Josef Koleev. Suddenly, the family is forced to confront long-buried secrets that could put them all at risk.

Viewers are already hooked, and its place in Netflix’s Top 10 proves it. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb are praising the series for its suspense, drama, and unexpected twists.

“Expectations are challenged by exceptional and unexpected outcomes,” one reviewer wrote. “Not your usual drama action piece.”

Another added, “This is the best suspense series on Netflix in the past few months.” A third chimed in, “What a fantastic spy thriller! Interesting plot.”

In a crowded field of twisty thrillers (think His & Hers, The Woman in Cabin 10, Dept. Q, and The Secrets We Keep), Unfamiliar had big shoes to fill, and it seems to be doing just that. Between the clever plotting, tense performances, and family secrets unraveling in real time, it’s exactly the kind of bingeable spy drama audiences have been waiting for.

Unfamiliar is streaming on Netflix now.

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