Netflix Top 10 Movies and Shows: New and Popular Today, July 20

Welcome to TV Guide's new and improved guide to Netflix's daily Top 10 lists! We've combined the movies list and the TV shows list into a single article to help you get a complete view of what's popular on Netflix at the moment. We've also added a guide to what's new on Netflix today so you can find out what will be on the Top 10 list tomorrow. It looks a little different, but it's still all about helping you find something good to watch on Netflix right now. 

On Wednesday, July 20, Stranger Things has retaken the top spot on Netflix's Top 10 Most Popular TV Shows list from Resident Evil. This is probably more a result of Resident Evil losing viewers than Stranger Things gaining a lot, though. Netflix released its weekly Global Top 10 list yesterday, and it doesn't look like Stranger Things is going to be able to overtake Squid Game as the most popular Netflix show ever. It is by far the most popular English language show, though. Squid Game and Stranger Things are the only Netflix shows to cross a billion hours watched in their first four weeks of release. Nothing else has even cracked 800 million. The most popular movie on Netflix today is Persuasion, a revisionist take on Jane Austen starring Dakota Johnson.  

But the fact that people watch something doesn't always mean it's good. We break down Netflix's daily Top 10 TV Shows and Top 10 Movies lists in order to help you figure out what's actually good and what's not. We also have recommendations for the best movies on Netflix and the best TV shows on Netflix.

And if you're looking for what's new, today's new releases on Netflix are a new season of very popular romance drama Virgin River and an imported Polish animated comedy for grown-ups called Bad Exorcist.

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Based on Netflix's Top 10 Movies and TV Shows lists and new releases for Wednesday, July 20

Top 10 Movies

1. Persuasion

For fans of: The Fleabag-ification of Jane Austen | Is it good?: Unfortunately not

Dakota Johnson stars as Anne Elliot in this adaptation of Jane Austen's final novel, in which she reconnects with the man to whom she was once betrothed years after calling off their engagement. You really want this to be better, but it mangles most of Austen's nuanced storytelling. (Yesterday's rank: 1)

2. The Sea Beast

For fans of: Sea creatures, accidental father figures | Is it good?: It is!

Most Netflix original kids movies are just re-dubs of second-tier CGI films from foreign studios, but The Sea Beast, from Moana and Big Hero 6 director Chris Williams, looks like a legitimate contender for best family film of the year. A young girl stows away on her idol's ship to help him hunt gigantic sea creatures, leading to seafaring adventure and action. It's getting great reviews, and features three TV Guide favorites as voice actors: The Boys' Karl Urban, Legion's Dan Stevens, and Chernobyl's Jared Harris. (Yesterday's rank: 2)

3. Sing 2

For fans of: Singing animals, famous voices, popular music | Is it good?: For kids, sure

If I know anything about the kids' movies of today, it's that they all seem to be built around covers of popular songs. That trend continues in Sing 2, an animated jukebox musical about a bunch of singing animals — voiced by incredibly famous people like Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, and Pharrell Williams — who have to convince a rock star (voiced by Bono) to join their musical extravaganza. (Yesterday's rank: 3)

4. CHIPS

For fans of: Buddy cops | Is it good?: Absolutely not

Dax Shepard directs, writes, and stars in this movie adaptation of the classic TV series, which follows two cops who join the California Highway Patrol and form, wait for it, an unlikely partnership to investigate a heist. (Yesterday's rank: 4)

5. 12 Strong

For fans of: The U.S. military | Is it good?: If you like U.S. military propaganda

Based on a true story and set in the aftermath of 9/11, a U.S. Special Forces unit learns to fight on horseback while on a mission in Afghanistan. (Yesterday's rank: 5)

6. Pan

For fans of: Hugh Jackman, refusing to grow up | Is it good?: Nope

This film dares to ask, "What if Peter Pan and Captain Hook were friends?" I don't know if anyone really cared about the answer to that, but here Pan is anyway, following Peter (Levi Miller) and Hook's (Garrett Hedlund) fight against Blackbeard (Hugh Jackman). The most notable detail of this movie is the backlash it got for the misguided decision to cast Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily. (Yesterday's rank: 7)

7. Girl in the Picture

For fans of: The Netflix true crime machine | Is it good?: It's a wild story

This documentary opens up new questions about the case of a young mother who was killed in 1990 and the subsequent kidnapping of her toddler son by the man thought to be his father. (Yesterday's rank: 6)

8. The Man From Toronto

For fans of: Throwback buddy comedy dynamics | Is it good?: It's pretty dumb

Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson form an unlikely friendship when Hart's bumbling character, Teddy, gets mistaken for Harrelson's notorious assassin, known only as the Man From Toronto. (Yesterday's rank: 8)

9. Mean Girls

For fans of: Modern classics, Regina George | Is it good?: It's so fetch

Despite years of being over-quoted online, this 2000s comedy about a girl (Lindsay Lohan) who infiltrates her high school's most popular clique, only to find herself becoming what she hates, still rules. (Yesterday's rank: 9)

10. Barefoot

For fans of: Bad rom-coms | Is it good?: No, but we love and support Scott Speedman

This 2014 romantic comedy stars Scott Speedman as a guy who convinces a patient (Evan Rachel Wood) at the psychiatric hospital he works at to pose as his girlfriend to show his family he's settling down. We don't have time to unpack all that's wrong with this premise. (Yesterday's rank: 10)

Top 10 TV Shows

1. Stranger Things

For fans of: Stranger Things | Is it good?: It's so fun 

Now that the kids are older, Season 4 of Netflix's '80s-style sci-fi megahit embraces full-on horror in a way it hasn't done before (the biggest influence on this season is A Nightmare on Elm Street). It also goes supersized with the episode runtimes, which leads to some bloat. It's not the best season of the show, but it's still one of the most entertaining shows on TV. (Yesterday's rank: 2) 

2. Resident Evil

For fans of: Saying "maybe this time it'll be good" and being disappointed | Is it good?: Not even Lance Reddick can save it

Resident Evil is a beloved video game franchise that has been adapted for movies and TV numerous times but never well. This is Netflix's second Resident Evil series (the first one, an anime called Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness, came out last year). Maybe it's time to let it die, because this show doesn't do much to justify its existence. (Yesterday's rank: 1)

3. All American: Homecoming

For fans of: All American | Is it good?: Yes

This spin-off of All American follows Simone Hicks (Geffri Maya) as she embarks on life at an HBCU. It's everything you love about All American, but at college now. (Yesterday's rank: 3)

4. Alone

For fans of: Not dying, man vs. squirrel | Is it good?: Yeah, it's great for survival enthusiasts

History Channel's reality competition, in which competitors are dropped in the wilderness and must survive with just their wits and a few tools, is a favorite among the tough set. Season 8 just arrived on Netflix. (Yesterday's rank: 4)

5. Alba

For fans of: Unbelievable | Is it good?: It's certainly upsetting

This Spanish drama series begins with a woman waking up on a beach, having been sexually assaulted by her boyfriend's friends the night before. She must fight to get justice when people don't believe her, and one of her assailants comes from a rich family about to close a business deal and will do anything to keep her quiet. [Trailer] (Yesterday's rank: 5)

6. D.B. Cooper: Where Are You? 

For fans of: True crime mysteries | Is it good?: It's pretty interesting

This slick docuseries reopens the mystery of D.B. Cooper, the never identified, never found airplane hijacker whose story has captured America's imagination for the past 50 years. Online sleuths have come closer than anyone has before to cracking the case, and this doc explores how they're doing it. (Yesterday's rank: 6)

7. The Umbrella Academy

For fans of: Young people with superpowers, Gerard Way | Is it good?: It's a good time

Season 2 of The Umbrella Academy left off on a major cliffhanger when the gang time-traveled from the '60s back to an alternate version of 2019 in which Hargreeves (Colm Feore) had trained seven different superpowered babies into becoming the Sparrow Academy. In Season 3, the series is picking up right where it left off, and the Umbrellas will have to deal with the apocalyptic event potentially caused by their timeline jumping. (Yesterday's rank: 8)

8. Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight

For fans of: Animated adventure, Jack Black | Is it good?: Sure! 

Jack Black returns as the voice of Po for this new series based on the movie franchise (previously Black had only lent his voice to the movies and didn't participate in shows). Po, faced with losing his title of Dragon Master, teams up with a British knight called Wandering Blade (Rita Ora) to save China from some obnoxious weasels. It's strictly for kids. (Yesterday's rank: 7)

9. Married at First Sight

For fans of: Crazy people, weddings | Is it good?: It's actually pretty great

This reality series throws together two total strangers who agree to get married on the same day they meet for the first time. The show keeps up with them in the aftermath as they actually get to know each other, and after a few weeks, they decide whether or not to stay together. Much like other shows of this nature, it's impossible to look away from once you start watching. (Yesterday's rank: 9)

10. All American

For fans of: Sports, high school, the city of Los Angeles | Is it good?: It's a solid teen drama adults can enjoy too

The very popular CW high school sports drama, which was inspired by former NFL player Spencer Paysinger's life, follows Spencer James (Daniel Ezra), an aspiring football star balancing ambition and everyday teenage drama as he moves from his neighborhood to become MVP at a new school in Beverly Hills. Its fourth season was recently added to Netflix. (Yesterday's rank: n/a)

New on Netflix Today

• Virgin River Season 4: Very popular Hallmark-style small-town romance drama. [Trailer]
• Bad Exorcist Season 1-2: Crude, South Park-influenced Polish adult animated comedy. [Trailer]

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