Game shows are among the more enduring television programs since the medium's inception, providing the thrill of competition as contestants (typically strangers) face off to win prizes. While game shows rarely diverge from their set formula, there's a certain comfort in their predictability, with bold personalities from hosts and participants alike providing enough variety to keep them from becoming stale.
Netflix is home to numerous game shows, from light-hearted cooking contests likeThe Great British Baking ShowandNailed It!to strategy-based competitions likeThe Devil's PlanandThe Mole. The game show genre is vast and versatile, with a little something for every kind of viewer.
Ahead, we've narrowed down Netflix's offering of game shows to the nine best, each of them highly bingeable.
Blown Away(2019–2024)
It’s easy to scoff at how little reality is left in reality TV. That's not the case withBlown Away, though; the game show pits 10 glassblowers against each other for industry-specific prizes like an artist residency at the Corning Museum of Glass, and each contestant brings some major skills to the table. That emphasis on craft adds a captivating element to the competition because even if you dislike the personalities involved, it's impossible not to marvel at their amazing creations.—Chris Snellgrove
Where to watchBlown Away: Netflix
The Devil's Plan(2023–present)
The Devil's Planhas a little bit of everything. This South Korean series alternates between competitive and collaborative contests, and challenges run the gamut from board games and card games to memory tests and social deduction. There can only be one winner, though, and there's plenty of drama stemming from how players spend their "pieces" (in-game currency) and even break ties to determine who among them gets sent to a virtual jail. Of course, the couch may become your own self-imposed prison once you begin properly binge-watching.—C.S.
Where to watchThe Devil's Plan: Netflix
Floor Is Lava(2020–2022)
Most children have playfully leaped between furniture to avoid touching the ground (and, in their minds, escape certain death).Floor Is Lavabrings that imagined fantasy to life by making contestants navigate difficult obstacle courses overflowing (literally) with red goo that simulates lava. The show adds some of its own rules (like the need to snag an exit pass to complete the course), but for the most part, it's a perfectly gonzo recreation of the original game, and the whimsical design leads to some surprisingly intense competitions.—C.S.
Where to watchFloor Is Lava: Netflix
The Great British Baking Show(2010–present)
The Great British Baking Showmight be the most relaxing contest ever televised. Eschewing the bitter fighting and melodrama typical of other reality programs, this friendly competition instead features lighthearted hosts and hopefulcontestants who only fight for glory(and a coveted cake stand). There are no misleading edits or false countdowns here, just good bakers trying to do their best. Such an approach naturally elicits warm fuzzies, making for a sublime streaming pleasure.—C.S.
Where to watchThe Great British Baking Show: Netflix
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Is It Cake?(2022–present)
Is It Cake?may be the game show manifestation of a meme, but that doesn't keep it from being seriously entertaining. As the name implies, the series is all about chefs baking desserts that look like ordinary objects. Their goal is simple: to fool celebrity judges who must determine which of the objects placed in front of them is, in fact, cake. Even after watching them get made, it often feels downright impossible to believe some of these items are secretly sweet treats.—C.S.
Where to watchIs It Cake?: Netflix
The Molerevival (2022–present)
For reality TV scholars,The Molewas one of the gold standards of the reality competition boom of the early-2000s. Each season featured contestants participating in missions to acquire money for the Prize Fund, which was awarded to the winner at the game's end. The twist? The producers hired one of the contestants to act as a mole, sabotaging the missions, and the contestant who knew the least about their identity at the end of each episode was sent home. Netflix revived the beloved series in 2022 with new host Alex Wagner, with two seasons available to stream on the platform. —Kevin Jacobsen
Where to watchThe Mole: Netflix
Nailed It!(2018–2022)
Nailed It!became a viral sensation because its producers realized therealappeal of cooking competitions: watching people fail spectacularly. On this Netflix game show, (extremely) amateur chefs do their best to recreate Pinterest-worthy sweets, and the varied results inspire more belly laughs than belly rumbles. Fortunately, hostsNicole Byerand Jacques Torres keep things nice and light, and it always feels like they are laughingwiththe contestants rather than at them.—C.S.
Where to watchNailed It!: Netflix
Squid Game: The Challenge(2023–present)
The originalSquid Gamepainted an appropriately bleak portrait of capitalism by showing financially struggling contestants competing for cash, even though all but one of them will die. Eyebrows initially furled at the thought of turning the dystopian premise into a real game show, butSquid Game: The Challengeworks surprisingly well within its limitations. The game's stakes aren’t life and death like in the fictional series, butas EW's critic put it, "Producers intensify the psychological pressure...Selflessness usually isn't rewarded, nor does selfishness guarantee safety, and it’s fascinating to watch the unexpected ways these opposing sentiments come into play."—C.S.
Where to watchSquid Game: The Challenge: Netflix
EW grade:B+
Ultimate Beastmaster(2017–2018)
We were admittedly a little sad to discover thatUltimate Beastmasterhad nothing to do with the wildBeastmasterfilms from the '80s and '90s. Still, this game show has its own animalistic appeal as we watch contestants compete against one another on "the Beast," an ever-changing obstacle course meant to challenge their physical prowess. The stark aesthetic appeal of the Beast is one of the main draws, and fans ofAmerican Ninja Warriorwill likely enjoy the different tweaks this show has made to a proven reality TV formula.—C.S.
Where to watchUltimate Beastmaster: Netflix
Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly