The Best Action Shows To Stream on Netflix Right Now

Some sources say we first saw action on screens in 1903, generally featuring brave men saving damsels in distress. However, a lot has changed since then. More nuanced, long-form shows carry on the intense stunts we’ve come to expect with amazing storylines. Gone are the days of simple rescues. The demand for realistic depictions of epic historical events, hilarious karate fighting, intricate spy operations, and everything in between, has taken the forefront in the action genre.

Luckily, there is a one-stop shop for exhilarating high-octane shows on Netflix. Before you pick any at random, take the time to check out our sizable list that the streaming service has on offer. Then get the snacks ready, and binge the next heart-racing series, but remember, please don’t try any of these stunts at home. Here are the best action shows to watch on Netflix right now.

‘The Night Agent’ (2023)

Creator: Shawn Ryan

Cast: Gabriel Basso, Luciane Buchanan, Fola Evans-Akingbola, Sarah Desjardins, Eve Harlow

After a heroic act lands FBI Agent Peter Sutherland (Gabriel Basso) a new role in The Night Agent an unexpected call throws him into a deadly conspiracy. He is tasked with protecting Rose Larkin (Luciane Buchanan) a former CEO whose family was killed by assassins and more importantly, saving the country.

Watch on Netflix

‘The Recruit’ (2022)

Creator: Alexi Hawley

Cast: Noah Centineo, Aarti Mann, Colton Dunn, Fivel Stewart, Daniel Quincy Annoh

In The Recruit, a 24-year-old CIA lawyer, Owen Hendricks (Noah Centineo), is asked to go through every threat of extortion against the organization in the mail. When he happens upon one from an Eastern European woman in prison, he discovers a landmine of information and mistakenly becomes a target. He must escape the clutches of his new enemies and settle the case once and for all.

Watch on Netflix

‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ (2024)

Creator: Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko

Cast: Zach Tyler Eisen, Mae Whitman, Jack De Sena, Dante Basco, Jessie Flower

A live-action remake of the animated original, which is also available on Netflix, Avatar: The Last Airbender is set in a world where people in various cultures have the power to bend water, earth, fire, or air. However, there is one character, Avatar Aang, voiced by Gordon Cormier, the last living Airbender, who possesses the ability to harness the power of all four elements. His mission is to end all wars between the communities, bringing peace and harmony to the world.

Watch on Netflix

‘The Brothers Sun’ (2024)

Creator: Brad Falchuk, Byron Wu

Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Justin Chien, Sam Song Li, Joon Lee, Highdee Kuan

Eileen “Mama” Sun (Michelle Yeoh) and her son Bruce (Sam Song Li) try to live a humble life in California, but when his older brother Charles (Justin Chien) moves to LA from Taipei, Taiwan, he brings a gang of trouble with him. It turns out that, unbeknownst to Bruce, their estranged family back in Taiwan are leaders in organized crime, but after an attempted assassination of their father, Charles has to flee the country. Now reunited, the brothers must fight for their lives in The Brothers Sun.

Watch on Netflix

‘Narcos’ (2015)

Creator: Chris Brancato, Carlo Bernard, Doug Miro

Cast: Wagner Moura, Boyd Holbrook, Pedro Pascal, Joanna Christie, Maurice Compte

Many stories have been told about the infamous Colombian drug lord, Pablo Escobar, but none are quite as exciting and detailed as Narcos. Wagner Moura plays the cocaine king while DEA agents, Steve Murphy (Boyd Holbrook) and Javier Peña (Pedro Pascal) attempt to end his reign in Medellín. From his early days of producing and trafficking drugs to building his almost untouchable empire and army, Escobar’s life is a story that is almost too wild to be true.

Watch on Netflix

‘Narcos: Mexico’ (2018)

Creator: Chris Brancato, Carlo Bernard, Doug Miro

Cast: Diego Luna, Michael Peña, Tenoch Huerta, Joaquín Cosío, Teresa Ruiz

What was first set up to be a continuation of the original Narcos series, Narcos: Mexico follows the cocaine distribution to the Guadalajara Cartel. After the torture and murder of a DEA agent, the US government shifts its focus to finding and punishing the leaders for their crimes.

Watch on Netflix

‘Squid Game’ (2021)

Creator: Hwang Dong-hyuk

Cast: Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo, Wi Ha-jun, Jung Ho-yeon, O Yeong-su

If you haven’t seen Squid Game, now is your chance to catch up on the global phenomenon. The series depicts an underground reality of sorts where the losers of the competition are terminated, quite literally. However, the high stakes are not without reward, as each contestant is executed, more money is added to the final cash prize. The games are beyond suspenseful and the politics between the group living together become hostile.

Watch on Netflix

‘The Witcher’ (2019)

Creator: Lauren Schmidt Hissrich

Cast: Henry Cavill, Anya Chalotra, Freya Allan, Joey Batey, MyAnna Buring

Based on a book series by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher is a series about three main characters in a magical world who come together in their timelines to seek their destinies.

Watch on Netflix

‘The Umbrella Academy’ (2019)

Creator: Steve Blackman

Cast: Elliot Page, Tom Hopper, David Castañeda, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan

The Umbrella Academy is based on the comic book series of the same name, which follows a group of adopted superheroes who come together to avenge their father’s death and stop a global apocalypse.

Watch on Netflix

‘Outer Banks’ (2020)

Creator: Josh Pate, Jonas Pate, Shannon Burke

Cast: Chase Stokes, Madelyn Cline, Madison Bailey, Jonathan Daviss, Rudy Pankow

On the North Carolina coast, a crew of teenagers known as the Pogues in the Outer Banks discover a clue that could lead to a treasure worth $400 billion. On their adventure, they have run-ins with the local rich kids, known as Kooks, as they unravel more and more of the mystery.

Watch on Netflix

‘Blue Eye Samurai’ (2023)

Creator: Michael Green, Amber Noizumi

Cast: Maya Erskine, George Takei, Masi Oka, Randall Park, Brenda Song

Set in 17th-century Edo-period Japan, Blue Eye Samurai is a tale about Mizu (Maya Erskine), a mixed-race master of the sword who sets out to kill four men who treated her as less than human growing up. As a blue-eyed woman, she must hide her identity in her quest for revenge.

Watch on Netflix

‘One Piece’ (2023)

Creator: Eiichiro Oda

Cast: Iñaki Godoy, Emily Rudd, Mackenyu, Jacob Romero Gibson, Taz Skylar

The live-action version of Eiichiro Oda’s manga, One Piece follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy), a pirate searching for treasure and fame with his diverse and loyal crew.

Watch on Netflix

‘Cobra Kai’ (2018)

Creator: Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg

Cast: Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Xolo Maridueña, Tanner Buchanan, Mary Mouser

If you re-watch The Karate Kid from the perspective of the antagonist, you will surely understand this next series, Cobra Kai. Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) was a decent kid, misled by his sensei but his life was ruined when Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) came and stole his girlfriend and then beat him up. Now, 34 years later, Lawrence decides to finally get out of his rut and re-open the Cobra Kai dojo and train people, including a bullied kid, with honor.

Watch on Netflix

‘Warrior’ (2019)

Creator: Jonathan Tropper

Cast: Andrew Koji, Olivia Cheng, Jason Tobin, Dianne Doan, Kieran Bew

Warrior is a crime series set in 1870s San Francisco’s Chinatown where violent gangs fought in what was known as the Tong Wars. The main character, Ah Sahm (Andrew Koji) is a martial arts expert who moves from China and becomes an enforcer for a powerful tong known as the Hop Wei.

Watch on Netflix

‘Fubar’ (2023)

Creator: Nick Santora

Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Monica Barbaro, Milan Carter, Gabriel Luna, Fortune Feimster

In the action-comedy, Fubar, Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Terminator) plays Luke Brunner a CIA operative whose daughter Emma (Monica Barbaro) is also secretly in the CIA. When Luke discovers his daughter’s real occupation he abandons his future retirement plans to face one more world-saving mission with her.

Watch on Netflix

‘Lupin’ (2021)

Creator: George Kay, François Uzan

Cast: Omar Sy, Ludivine Sagnier, Clotilde Hesme, Nicole Garcia, Hervé Pierre

Lupin is a French series that follows a gentlemanly thief who is a master of burglary. Scorn by his father’s wrongful accusation of a crime, he sets off on a vengeance mission to get back at the wealthy family who framed him.

Watch on Netflix

‘Money Heist’ (2017)

Creator: Álex Pina

Cast: Úrsula Corberó, Álvaro Morte, Itziar Ituño, Pedro Alonso, Alba Flores

Money Heist, originally called La Casa de Papel in Spanish, is about a group of criminals led by a man known as The Professor (Álvaro Morte), who plan to enter the Royal Mint of Spain and print and steal billions of dollars.

Watch on Netflix

‘Vikings: Valhalla’ (2022)

Creator: Jeb Stuart

Cast: Sam Corlett, Frida Gustavsson, Leo Suter, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Laura Berlin

The sequel to Vikings, Vikings: Valhalla chronicles the adventures of some of the most famous Vikings in history. As the Vikings expanded from Norway to the west, they sparked a violent war against the English.

Watch on Netflix

‘Obliterated’ (2023)

Creator: Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, Josh Heald

Cast: Shelley Hennig, Nick Zano, Terrence Terrell, Paola Lázaro, C. Thomas Howell

In Obliterated, a group of unlikely special operatives from branches of the military come together to save the world from a nuclear bomb. They work hard and play hard, fumbling their way through missions and somehow emerging victorious.

Watch on Netflix

‘Kingdom’ (2019)

Creator: Kim Eun-hee

Cast: Ju Ji-hoon, Ryu Seung-ryong, Bae Doona, Kim Sung-kyu, Kim Hye-jun

Kingdom is a South Korean series that mixes historical political drama with a zombie apocalypse set during the medieval period. As the hordes of zombies attack the kingdom, the monarchy must also fight to preserve its power against political adversaries.

Watch on Netflix

‘The Last Kingdom’ (2015)

Creator: Stephen Butchard

Cast: Alexander Dreymon, David Dawson, Emily Cox, Ian Hart, Tobias Santelmann

Set in England, during Viking invasions, The Last Kingdom unfolds through the eyes of Uhtred of Bebbanburg (​​Alexander Dreymon) a Noble Saxon-born Viking who fights to save the kingdom of Wessex, hoping to reclaim his birthright and save his home.

Watch on Netflix