(Credit: Netflix)

Not every Netflix binge needs to come with a genre label. Sometimes, the best viewing experiences come from mixing things up. A dark comedy followed by a psychological spiral. A stylish teen drama that sits right next to a grounded legal series. What makes a show worth your time is not the category it falls into, it is how it makes you feel.

This weekend, we are not staying in one mood. We are moving from one island to another. Each of these Netflix series brings something entirely its own. One is eccentric and surreal. Another is painfully real. Some will make you laugh when you least expect it; others will sting a little more than they should.

They may not belong on the same shelf, but they sit together just fine on your watchlist. Because sometimes, the best way to spend a weekend is to wander through stories that challenge, comfort, and confuse you, all in different ways.

So here it is. Five series. Five wildly different energies. All worth your time.

Five series to binge on Netflix this weekend

Maniac (Cary Joji Fukunaga, 2018)

Maniac is not an easy show to explain. It is set in a future that looks retro, in a world that feels broken but oddly familiar. Emma Stone and Jonah Hill play two strangers who sign up for a mysterious drug trial that promises to fix their minds. What follows is a visually wild, genre-bending journey through memories, emotions, and alternate selves.

But beneath the science fiction and surrealism is something tender. A show about two people who are deeply lonely and desperate for connection. It looks strange, it feels unpredictable, and yet the emotional core is heartbreakingly simple. This is not a series you watch for comfort. It is one you watch to feel something weirdly real.

The Split (Multiple directors, 2018-2022)

Jump from mind experiments to messy divorces, and you land on The Split. This British drama pulls you into the world of high-end divorce lawyers, but it never stays purely procedural. The series revolves around the Defoe sisters, each navigating fractured relationships and complicated family dynamics.

What makes The Split shine is how grounded it feels. The characters are flawed but familiar, and the writing balances emotional weight with elegance. It is not just about who gets what but about what love costs when it unravels. Quiet, sharp, and often more emotional than expected.

Baby (Multiple directors, 2018-2020)

Next stop: Rome. And secrets. Baby is an Italian teen drama that follows two privileged high school girls as they descend into a double life filled with lies, late nights, and things they are not ready for. Inspired by true events, the show never tries to shock for the sake of it. It lets the tension simmer.

It is sleek and a little bit dangerous. And while it starts as a coming-of-age story, it slowly becomes a study of control, power, and freedom. Baby does not ask for your approval. It just wants you to keep watching, and you probably will.

After Life (Ricky Gervais, 2019)

From polished drama to raw honesty. After Life is Ricky Gervais at his most vulnerable. He plays Tony, a man trying to survive the days after losing his wife. He is bitter, angry, and barely hanging on. The series follows him through grief, sarcasm, and the small moments that still offer meaning.

What makes After Life hit so hard is its ability to move between brutal and beautiful in a single scene. It does not try to fix anything. It just sits with the pain, lets it breathe, and occasionally makes you laugh through it. It is quiet, kind, and deeply human.

Dead to Me (Multiple directors, 2019-2022)

End the weekend with something sharp. Dead to Me starts with grief and quickly turns into chaos. Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini play two women who meet in a grief support group and become fast friends. However, friendship in this show is complicated by lies, tension, and one significant secret.

It’s amusing when it shouldn’t be. It is tense when you least expect it. And through all the twists, it stays grounded in how complicated it is to simply live after loss. Fast-paced, wildly written, and emotionally loaded, Dead to Me is a rare show that makes a mess feel magnetic.