7 Hidden Gems on Netflix Right Now

“The Assistant”

“The Assistant” is an unflinching drama from writer/director Kitty Green. The film follows Julia Garner’s Jane, a junior assistant at a film production company with a rampant culture of sexual harassment, working for an unseen, unnamed boss. It’s a thinly veiled Harvey Weinstein analog released in 2019, hot on the heels of the beginning of the #MeToo movement.

Green directs with a steady and empathetic hand, keeping a tight control on how events are depicted and how much can be seen. Garner delivers career-best work in a quiet, powerhouse role that went tragically overlooked.

“BlackBerry”

Matt Johnson’s “Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie” is one of the most delightful films of 2026, a wild evolution of the filmmaker’s decades-long collaboration with best friend Jay McCarrol. Johnson directed a few feature films before he brought Nirvanna the to the big screen, including one of the best movies of 2023.

Adapting Jacquie McNish and Sean Silcoff’s “Losing the Signal: The Untold Story Behind the Extraordinary Rise and Spectacular Fall of BlackBerry,” Johnson’s “BlackBerry” details the rise and fall of the iconic BlackBerry mobile phones. Jay Baruchel and Glenn Howerton deliver tremendous performances in leading roles, while Johnson steals the screen himself in a supporting part. This is one of the strongest films in the post-“Social Network” lineage — and a film that wrote Johnson a blank check for his next adventure.

“It’s What’s Inside”

Greg Jardin’s “It’s What’s Inside” is a fun and twisty sci-fi flick that hit Netflix in late 2024. The film follows a gathering of old college friends that partake in a party game where they use an experimental device to swap bodies with each other. Tension and betrayals soon follow. Jardin directs (and edits!) his film with flair and style, aided by rich cinematography from Kevin Fletcher. This one is underseen and undersung.

“The King”

The internet seemed to be really over Timothée Chalamet about a week ago as his Oscars campaign reached its end. But then the “Dune: Part Three” trailer came out and everyone was back on his side.

If you are in the mood for more Chalamet, you should check out David Michôd’s overlooked Netflix historical drama “The King.” Michôd and Joel Edgerton (who co-stars in the film) adapt William Shakespeare’s “Henry IV” and “Henry V” in this epic, with Chalamet in the role of Henry V. This commanding performance is a precursor to the incredible work he’d later turn in as Paul Atreides, and a good palate cleanser for anyone looking to move out of the “Marty Supreme” era.

“The Lost Daughter”

Jessie Buckley just picked up her first Academy Award, winning Best Actress for her stirring, emotional work in “Hamnet.” She’d been nominated at the Oscars once before, getting a Best Supporting Actress nod in 2022 for “The Lost Daughter.”

Maggie Gyllenhaal wrote and directed this feature, adapting Elena Ferrante’s novel of the same name. It’s a strong drama anchored by a predictably exceptional leading performance by Olivia Colman. Despite picking up three Oscar nominations (Best Actress for Colman and Best Adapted Screenplay for Gyllenhaal), this film, sadly, goes largely overlooked.

“Mudbound”

Autumn Durald Arkapaw made history at the Academy Awards last week for becoming both the first woman and the first Black DP to win Best Cinematography at the Oscars. Durald won for her work on “Sinners,” her second collaboration with Ryan Coogler following their team-up on “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”

She took over cinematography duties from her friend Rachel Morrison — whose work on Dee Rees’ “Mudbound” made her the first woman ever nominated for Best Cinematography. It’s a well deserved nomination for Morrison, and a painfully late milestone for the Academy to cross.

“Society of the Snow”

“Society of the Snow” is not for the faint of heart. J. A. Bayona’s gripping survival film, adapting Pablo Vierci’s book of the same name, tells the true story of the 1972 Andes flight disaster, where 45 passengers, including 19 members of the Old Christians Club rugby union, crashed in the Andes mountains. After being stranded for months, only 14 were rescued.

Bayona’s take on the story (co-written alongside Bernat Vilaplana, Jaime Marques and Nicolás Casariego) is technically precise and emotionally impactful, picking up Oscar nominations for Best International Feature Film and Best Makeup and Hairstyling.