Whoever handles the TV acquisitions at Netflix sure seems to have an affinity for crime thrillers that debuted on network television.
Two of this month’s biggest hits on Netflix originally ran on Fox during the 2010s.
Both of those dramas made it on to Watch With Us‘ roundup of the three underrated Netflix shows you need to watch in January 2026.
Our remaining selection debuted a decade ago as a Hulu original series, and it’s found a new audience on Netflix that seems to have embraced it.
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‘Prodigal Son’ (2019 – 2021)
Almost everyone has a parent who embarrasses them in some way. But that goes much deeper for profiler Malcolm Bright (Tom Payne) in Prodigal Son. His father, Martin Whitly (Michael Sheen), was the serial killer known as “The Surgeon.” That’s a legacy that Malcolm has spent years running away from out of fear that he’ll turn out to be just as malevolent as his dad was.
In the present, Malcolm’s surrogate father, Gil Arroyo (Lou Diamond Phillips), hires him to work as a police consultant. But on his first case back, Malcolm is forced to go to his father to help uncover the killer’s identity. Once Martin has a way back into his son’s life, he doesn’t plan on letting him go again. And Martin remains dangerous, even when trapped in an asylum. Because if Martin truly wants to leave, he could almost certainly escape at any time.
Prodigal Son is streaming on Netflix.
‘The Following’ (2013 – 2015)
Kevin Bacon gave Fox’s thriller The Following some major star power when it debuted in 2013. Bacon led the show as Ryan Hardy, a burned-out FBI agent who walked away from his career after he put a serial killer, Joe Carroll (James Purefoy), behind bars. Hardy also invited the appearance of scandal by having a short-lived affair with Joe’s ex-wife, Claire Matthews (Natalie Zea).
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When Joe breaks out of his asylum, Hardy is reluctantly drawn back to the FBI to hunt him down. But the game has changed since Hardy last saw Joe. During his time away, Joe has secretly assembled a cult of like-minded killers who follow his philosophy. The cult is everywhere, even among the people close to Ryan and Claire. They live and die by Joe’s command, and they’re willing to kill for him as well.
The Following is streaming on Netflix.
‘11.22.63’ (2016)
It’s really bizarre to see one of Hulu’s first big-budget original series, 11.22.63, find a new streaming home on Netflix, where it’s been received as an even bigger hit than it was in 2016. This adaptation of Stephen King‘s novel of the same name features James Franco as Jake Epping, an ordinary man who is given an extraordinary opportunity to change history for the better by saving President John F. Kennedy from being assassinated.
Unfortunately for Jake, changing the past isn’t easy, especially when time itself appears to rebel against the alterations he’s made. The portal to the past also dumps Jake in 1960, which means he has to wait three years just to get his chance to stop Lee Harvey Oswald (Daniel Webber). And there’s no guarantee that Jake will be able to have a happy ending for himself, even if he does manage to pull off the impossible.
11.22.63 is streaming on Netflix.
