The Best Netflix Moments of 2019

I knew going into Always Be My Maybe, Ali Wong and Randall Park’s excellent romantic comedy, that there was going to be a Keanu Reeves cameo. But I was not at all prepared for just how very good that cameo (or really, supporting role) was. In a frankly inspired directing choice from Nahnatchka Khan, Keanu makes his entrance in slow-motion, accompanied by AWOLNATION’s “Sail.”

It only gets better from there: Turns out, this Keanu — who is playing a version of himself that Wong’s character, Sasha, dates — is both a manic-aggressive macho dude who smashes vases on his head and a sensitive soul who cries while listening to the sounds of the animal he is currently eating. Truly, those back-to-back scenes were a gift to the world of cinema. — Anna Menta

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When Maya Hawke was first cast as new girl Robin, Stranger Things fans immediately assumed she was being set up to be Steve’s new love interest. The show even went so far as to lean into that, consistently suggesting that the two were falling for each other. While it’s true that Maya Hawke and Steve Keery have crackling comedic chemistry together, their love story was not meant to be. That’s because Robin was a lesbian.

Robin reveals this secret to Steve in the men’s room at the mall movie theater, after they’ve been tortured by Russian agents and gotten high off truth serum. Steve opens up and hints that he’s fallen hard for the alternative Scoops Ahoy girl. Sadly, Robin admits that she spent high school crushing on Tammy Thompson, a girl who in turn was madly in love with Steve. There’s an awkward beat where you don’t know if the teenaged boy is going to accept this news. After all, the ’80s were a fraught, hateful time for the LGBTQ+ community — and Robin had just rejected him romantically. Instead, Steve accepts Robin, fully, teasing her about Tammy and getting her to laugh. It was a beautiful moment of kindness, and one of the most spectacular sequences in all of Stranger Things Season 3. — Meghan O’Keefe

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Rick James is a national treasure. Sometimes we do need to be reminded of this though, and that’s where Living with Yourself succeeded this year (and in a bunch of other ways too). The dance that Miles (Paul Rudd) and Kate (Aisling Bea) perform in the season’s last episode, the one that reminds them and the viewers that they’ve still got it, is just so much fun. It’s a confirmation to the two characters of why they love each other, and why they work together. And it’s the visible, physical proof to viewers of why we’re rooting for this couple to make it.

The moves are funky, the song is catchy, and we demand another whole season of this show that’s just about these two dancing. — Lea Palmieri

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Though there are many — many — stand out moments in the first and only season of Netflix’s unfairly canceled Tuca & Bertie, none made me cry laugh as hard as Speckle (voiced by Steven Yeun) eating his own grandmother in the season’s first episode, “The Sugar Bowl.”

After his “Gamby” has her ashes accidentally baked into a cake, the surreal series brings the cake to life, Gamby’s face outlined in the icing. And then she explains to Speckle that her soul is trapped between the hereafter and the real world, and in order to move on he needs to eat the whole cake, himself. As Speckle sobs and eats his grandmother, she asks him questions about how his career is going, until he’s done and she’s shouting for gin from inside his stomach.

Dark, bizarre, comic, and strangely emotional at the same time, this moment sealed the deal as far as I was concerned, making it clear from the get-go that Tuca & Bertie is a modern animated classic, regardless of what Netflix might think. — Alex Zalben

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I love dramatic declarations of love. Lloyd Dobler and his boombox of heartache, Tommy Cruise reminding Kelly McGillis that she misplaced her lovin’ feeling, Seth Cohen’s “acknowledge me now or lose me forever” coffee cart plea, these swoon-worthy scenes are iconic pop culture moments. Grand gestures of love are nothing new in the emotionally chaotic teen-dramedy genre, but Sex Education delivered one of the most memorable moments in recent memory with Kedar Williams-Stirling’s adorable performance of Billy Ocean’s “Love Really Hurts Without You.”

An evocative combination of stealthy humor and heart, Jackson’s courageous musical declaration of love helps him capture the heart of enigmatic outcast Maeve Wiley. It’s easily one of the most charming scenes of 2019.

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If you’re looking for a little Christmas magic, look no further than the moment a group of precocious children are faced with a magical box that will create anything they want from their Christmas list. Not only are their reactions perfect, but it turns out, so are their hearts. When faced with the decision to either gift their parents with a present or keep one for themselves, almost all of the kids make the right decision, which will have you half sobbing, half smiling, and then also wondering WTF is a Hatchimals? — Lea Palmieri

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Queer Eye is a show we love for the moments — moments wherein the unlikely heroes exceed their own expectations for themselves and shine brighter than ever before. And then there’s a moment like in the Season 4 episode “Stoner Skates By” which drops one of the Fab Five (Jonathan Van Ness) into the giddy-beyond-comprehension role.

The moment? When Olympic medalist Michelle Kwan skates out onto the ice to give a figure skating lesson to 10-year-old Lucy. Van Ness cannot contain his excitement, and neither can Lucy or her father John. In a show full of feel good moments, this is by far the feel good-iest of the year. — Brett White

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For years Breaking Bad fans have been haunted by the fate of Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul). Did he actually escape his White Nationalist prison? Did he get the do-over we all so desperately wanted for him? And in the final moments of El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie we learned that the answer to both of those questions was a resounding “Yes.”

Jesse fleeing to Alaska to start over was more than just closure for a beloved character. It was catharsis. The most heartbreaking moments of Vince Gilligan’s masterful show always had to do with Jesse, the stupid kid with a good heart and a knack for getting into trouble. But thanks to Netflix and AMC, we can finally rest easy. It was a bumpy and bloody road filled with many painful goodbyes, but Jesse finally got his happy ending after all. — Kayla Cobb

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Over three season of Netflix’s wrestling comedy, we’ve watched Sheila (Gayle Rankin) get others to embrace her nature as a she-wolf, both inside and outside the ring. Yet the powerful realization she comes to in Season 3 of the series underscores that maybe she isn’t a wolf, but on her way to becoming something else. Thanks to Vegas-based drag performer Bobby Barnes (Kevin Cahoon), Gayle is able to grow into something new — and in the middle of the already cathartic role-switching episode “Freaky Tuesday,” she bursts into the show within a show dressed to the nines as Liza Minelli.

It’s the stunning, wonderful cherry on top of an already insane episode, and Rankin chews the scenery as Sheila/Liza, shaking everywhere with martini in hand. It’s a turning point for her character, and the series — and a delightful moment well worth revisiting. — Alex Zalben

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The first season of Styling Hollywood, Netflix’s reality series about power couple stylist Jason Bolden and interior designer Adair Curtis, was the balm 2019 needed. Among the many memorable moments, one stands out: Jason dressing Taraji P. Henson for the 2018 Emmys.

The JSN Studio team are scrambling at the last minute to find a gown when Giambattista Valli comes through with a gorgeous floral embroidered number. As Taraji tries on the dress, she keeps the conversation light and hilarious, absolutely charming viewers by playing directly to the camera. The real highlight is when her make-up team puts Vaseline on her legs and feet, prompting her to remark, “I found out there’s a whole page of pictures of my feet!” Watch yourself, foot fetishists! Taraji is on to you. — Karen Kemmerle

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There’s a lot to love about Russian Doll — Natasha Lyonne’s unique pronunciation of the word cockroach, Charlie Barnett’s portrayal of Alan, the pitch-perfect use of Harry Nilsson’s “Gotta Get Up” all come to mind — but the three words that instantly pop into my head are “sweet birthday baby!”

The idea of using “sweet birthday baby” as a de facto reset was brilliant, and Greta Lee’s various line reads were truly hilarious. These three little words helped make an already fantastic show just a little bit better.

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