If you’re looking for a quick, satisfying Netflix binge that you can get into this weekend, or even into next week, I’ve got three picks that are fast, tense, and practically beg you not to hit “Next Episode.”
The first is a dark European spy thriller about a spy family whose cover is compromised. Another is a slick L.A. legal ride led by a defense lawyer who famously works out of his car. The last is a stylish London espionage tale about a spy who’s pulled back into a life she thought she left behind.
3
Unfamiliar
I’m a sucker for spy and espionage shows, especially the darker, grittier ones like The Americans and Black Doves, the latter of which is also on this list. What they, and my first pick for this weekend’s binge, Unfamiliar, have in common is that they center around characters that not only pull off some pretty twisted spy stuff, but will also stop at nothing to keep their normal family lives and relationships secret and safe.
Unfamiliar is a new addition to Netflix, which recently hit the streaming giant’s Top 10. It’s a chilling six-part German-language action drama that follows former BND (Federal Intelligence Service) husband and wife agents Meret (Susanne Wolff) and Simon Shafer (Felix Kramer), who live a seemingly normal life with their teenage daughter Nina (Maja Bons) while running a Berlin safe house. But Meret and Simon have been hiding something since a mission went sour in Belarus 16 years ago—someone wants them dead, and the past has come back, threatening to disrupt theirs and Nina’s lives.
As a huge fan of the German series Dark, I’m always game for the gripping series the country delivers. Unfamiliar even features the familiar talents of Dark’s Andreas Pietschmann, who played the sci-fi thriller’s mysterious Stranger.
Unfamiliar
Release Date
February 5, 2026
Network
Netflix
Writers
Paul Coates
2
The Lincoln Lawyer
This hot law procedural on Netflix currently sits at No. 2 on the Netflix global Top 10 and has an overall 90% ranking on Rotten Tomatoes, likely due to its fourth season recently arriving. But if you’re new to the series, you won’t be disappointed by The Lincoln Lawyer‘s first three bingeworthy seasons, based on Michael Connelly’s bestselling Lincoln Lawyer novels and created by L.A. Law creator David E. Kelley.
The legal drama follows L.A. defense attorney Mickey Haller (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Jurassic World: Rebirth), who earned his nickname from working cases out of the back of his blue convertible 1963 Lincoln Continental, with its fitting “NTGUILTY” plates (in the later seasons he graduates to the back of a Lincoln Navigator). Haller is a straight shooter with a conscience, who’s now taking on bigger, high-stakes murder cases. A few side-cases notwithstanding, each season of The Lincoln Lawyer focuses on one big headline case throughout, as his team—his powerhouse aide Lorna (Becki Newton), driver Izzy (Jazz Raycole), and investigator Cisco (Angus Sampson)—help out.
The show also balances court action with Haller’s personal life, most notably his relationship with his ex-wife, prosecutor Maggie McPherson (Neve Campbell), and daughter Hayley. With some pretty slick plot twists and a laundry list of celebrity cameos and guest spots, The Lincoln Lawyer is a well-developed law procedural worth a binge.
1
Black Doves
Circling back to shows I love that feature shadow-dwelling, double-life-living deadly spies, Black Doves sits high on my list of favorites. An easy weekend binge, the six-episode spy thriller stars the perfectly cast Kiera Knightley (Love Actually, Pride & Prejudice) as Helen Webb, who’s living a well-to-do life with British Defense Secretary Wallace Webb (Andrew Buchan, Broadchurch) and their two adorable children. Unbeknownst to everyone, though, Helen is a woman with a very particular set of skills—an elite mercenary for the private espionage organization Black Doves, who dig up intel for the highest bidder.
Out of the game for some time, all of Helen’s sophistication is ripped away, as she’s dragged back into the life after a steamy affair she had with James (Andrew Koji) ends in his murder. But what’s more deadly for Helen are the secrets she told James and the danger they may have put her family in. Luckily, Helen’s got some help in the form of Sam Young (the excellent Ben Whishaw, Daniel Craig’s Q), who keeps Helen alive while she figures the whole mess out.
Knightley and Whishaw are magic together, and the series features some impressive stunts and fight sequences that add a new dimension to the range of its stars. Black Doves is a 92%-rated series on Rotten Tomatoes that has been renewed for a second season, coming this year.
Black Doves
Release Date
December 5, 2024
Network
Netflix
Directors
Lisa Gunning
Three terrific Netflix shows are here for taking this weekend (or next week, should you prefer), all you have to do is choose.
Subscription with ads
Yes, $8/month
Simultaneous streams
Two or four
Stream licensed and original programming with a monthly Netflix subscription.
