Netflix is the king of the streamers. No other service produces as much content with such consistency, for better and worse. While not all their shows are winners — and some others aren't allowed to become such — Netflix remains the primary source of entertainment in the streaming world.
Many Netflix shows stand out because of their inherent campy sensibilities. From delightful original productions to fan-favorite acquired content, these shows represent camp in all its delightful glory, thanks to their over-the-top characters, visual language, dramatic storylines, or an explosive combination of all these elements.
10 'Ratched' (2020)
Most Ryan Murphy shows are campy; even when they try to be serious, they fall down the rabbit hole, and Ratched is no exception. Emmy-winner and Murphy favorite Sarah Paulson plays a young Mildred Ratched, with the show telling her story before becoming the ruthless warden audiences meet in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
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Although it alludes to the psychological thrills expected from a Nurse Ratched origin story, Ratched also succumbs to Murphy's love for exaggeration. The show features a collection of over-the-top storylines heightened by Paulson and Judy Davis' wickedly campy performances. Ratched will probably never get a second season, but it will remain a curious campy effort in Netflix's ever-expanding library.
9 'Firefly Lane' (2021-2023)
Adapted from the eponymous novel, Firefly Lane stars television veterans Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke. The plot centers on the lifelong friendship between two women, chronicling their relationship from adolescence into adulthood.
Corny and overly dramatic, Firefly Lane tries to be Steel Magnolias and only half-succeeds. The show earns some much-needed gravitas from Heigl and Chalke's performances and on-screen chemistry, but it often falls prey to its cheesy look at life, love, and friendships. Still, who doesn't love a bit of cheese in their lives?
8 'Mighty Morphin Power Rangers' (1993-1996)
No show from '90s television is more shamelessly campy than Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. The show followed the adventures of a close group of friends who received superhuman abilities to fight against numerous alien enemies, particularly the wicked Rita Repulsa.
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Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is camp in all its glorious and over-the-top splendor. Bright, silly, colorful, and unabashedly enthusiastic, the show embraced camp in every aspect of its production, from the costumes to the acting and dialog. Featuring some of the funniest fighting sequences in '90s television and with a collection of curious villains, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is a beloved part of many people's childhoods.
7 'Riverdale' (2017-2023)
Riverdale began as a surprisingly gritty, neo-noir take on the Archie comic book strip. The show's first two seasons opted for a grounded approach, attempting to be a crime thriller mixed with a classic teen soap. However, Riverdale gave into the comic's campy sensibilities somewhere after Season 3, descending into a mess of increasing ridiculousness.
Now, in its final season, Riverdale has featured everything from witchcraft to time travel. The show is so bad it's good, taking campy to a whole new level. Riverdale indulges in its worst instincts, producing a chaotic mix of exaggerated storylines barely put together by a cast of talented performers holding on for dear life.
6 'Fate: The Winx Saga' (2021)
Based on the animated series Winx Club, Fate: The Winx Saga premiered on Netflix in 2021. The show follows a group of teen fairies attending an otherworldly magical school to learn how to control their powers. Like most other teen shows, Fate: The Winx Saga offers plenty of romance and drama.
Like the cartoon that inspired it, Fate: The Winx Saga is a campy ride. However, unlike its animated counterpart, the show feels less buoyant, as if embarrassed by its inherent campy sensibilities. Unlike Riverdale, Fate: the Winx Saga refused to embrace its wackier side, contributing to its cancelation after only one season.
5 'The House of Flowers' (2018-2021)
In many ways, Manolo Caro is like Mexico's Ryan Murphy, or at least he tries to be. Nowhere is this particular sensibility clearer than in his Netflix soap opera, The House of Flowers, starring Cecilia Suárez. The show revolves around the De la Mora clan, a wealthy family whose lives are upended when their father's mistress kills herself, bringing to light many long-kept secrets.
The House of Flowers is a satirical take on classic Mexican telenovelas, campy and unafraid to explore the limits of its ridiculousness. The show thrives on the absurd, with Suárez delivering an instantly iconic performance as the sharp Paulina de la Mora. The character is camp embodied, from her mannerisms, fashion sense, and now-iconic languorous speech pattern.
4 'The Politician' (2019-2020)
Ben Platt stars in Ryan Murphy's satirical teen political comedy The Politician. The plot revolves around Payton Hobbart, an overly-ambitious high school student running to be class president. As his campaign becomes increasingly challenged by numerous characters, Payton becomes more obsessed with securing the elusive victory.
The Politician is a lesser Election, all the way to portraying Payton as a male version of Tracy Flick. However, the show rises above mediocrity to become a surprisingly sharp portrayal of politics, especially during Season 2. The Politician is a camp jewel featuring a distinctive pastel-colored palette, fast-paced dialog, and a collection of wild performances that take it to new melodramatic levels.
3 'Insatiable' (2018-2019)
Insatiable is among the most controversial Netflix originals. Debby Ryan stars as a 17-year-old high school senior hellbent on revenge against the students who bullied her for being overweight. Alyssa Milano and Christopher Gorham also star.
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Although it offers a terrible view on weight issues and self-image, Insatiable succeeds as a wicked and near-delirious high school satire. It's far from perfect, and there's much to hate about its questionable storylines and overall message, but Insatiable is a campy guilty pleasure that offers a few laughs.
2 'Emily in Paris' (2020-)
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Few shows are as divisive as Emily in Paris. Lily Collins stars as Emily Cooper, an American marketing executive sent to Paris to work for a high-end agency. Experiencing romantic entanglements and exciting career opportunities, Emily makes the best of her time in the City of Lights.
Emily in Paris is the ultimate guilty pleasure, a campy delight that exists in a parallel, carefree universe of glamour, beauty, wealth, and fashion. Campy and self-aware, the show knows it doesn't make sense but doesn't care about it, embracing its absurdity and upping the ante with each new season. It's as easy to hate Emily in Patis as it is to love it, making it a one-of-a-kind entry in the pantheon of bad campy shows.
1 'AJ and the Queen' (2020)
RuPaul co-created and stars in the 2020 Netflix original AJ and the Queen. The Queen of Drag plays Ruby Red, a down-on-her-luck drag performer traveling across the United States accompanied by her unlikely sidekick, a recently-orphaned 10-year-old girl.
Powered by RuPaul's larger-than-life persona, AJ and the Queen is a heartwarming, heartbreaking, and deeply empathetic love letter to camp and drag. Uneven but endlessly entertaining, the show balances cringe-worthy scenes with genuinely affecting storylines to deliver a campy triumph that will go down in history as one of the best one-season Netflix shows.
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