Netflix may rule the roost with its selections of rom-coms and romantic drama movies, but its selection of romance TV shows isn’t quite as extensive. Fortunately, the best romance shows on Netflix is an international affair, as the streamer pulls in original series from around the world to help fill that gap.
Without that international flavor, we wouldn’t have this month’s vampire romantic comedy, Tooth Pari: When Love Bites, which comes from India. Then there’s the Australian surfing romance Surviving Summer. Glamorous, on the other hand, could have come from any country, as long as it stars an original cast member from Sex and the City.
There are always new series coming to Netflix, but it’s a real challenge to find the next great romance show. Even with the international shows, you really have to search before you find what you’re looking for. Fortunately, reading our list of the best romance shows on Netflix is a lot easier than looking for these series on your own. You may even find your next favorite show.
-
-
Surviving Summer2022
-
Glamorous2023
Tooth Pari: When Love Bites (2023) new
Although it arrived on Netflix earlier this year, Tooth Pari: When Love Bites is very appropriate for Halloween. This Indian love story follows Dr. Bikram Roy (Shantanu Maheshwari), a dentist who treats Rumi (Tanya Maniktala) after she breaks a tooth. Romantic sparks fly between them — even though Rumi is a vampire.
Rumi’s kind are kept hidden by their ally, Adi Deb (Adil Hussain), to protect them from their enemies, who are led by Luna Lika (Revathi). But having made a connection with Birkram, Rumi risks everything to pursue a romance — even though she can’t tell him who or what she really is.
Surviving Summer (2022) new
You may get Fresh Prince of Bel-Air flashbacks from the way that Summer Torres (Sky Katz) is shipped off to Australia in the teen romance series Surviving Summer. Summer gets in a lot of trouble in the U.S., so her mother, Margot (Kate Beahan), needs someone to look after her while she’s on an international assignment. Margot turns to her friend, Abbie (Adrienne Pickering), whom she hasn’t seen since Abbie moved to Australia 10 years earlier.
Although Summer wants to ditch Australia right away, she makes an instant connection with Margot’s son, Ari Gibson (Kai Lewins), and his circle of friends starts to become hers as well. This trip was only supposed to be for the summer, but Summer may have found where she belongs.
Glamorous (2023) new
Wondering what Kim Cattrall is up to when she isn’t making 30-second cameos on And Just Like That? Cattrall has her own Netflix comedy series, Glamorous, in which she plays an aging fashion mogul, Madolyn Addison, who still rules the industry with her company, Glamorous.
Cattrall may get top billing, but the focus of the show is more on her new assistant, Marco Mejia (Miss Benny), a makeup enthusiast who is deeply fascinated by the world of fashion. Marco is also experiencing some questions of sexual identity, which are only magnified in this new environment.
A Perfect Story (2023)
A Perfect Story is a Spanish romance series that follows an heiress, Margot (Anna Castillo), and a working-class guy, David (Álvaro Mel). Margot’s hard work isn’t taken seriously by her family and she feels trapped by her engagement to Filippo (Mario Ermito). As for David, he’s got three jobs just to make his ends meet.
When Margot flees her own wedding, she ends up in a bar where David is working as a bartender. From there, a friendship begins to bloom, but can they find love and move on together?
Heartstopper (2022)
Heartstopper season 1 was a slow-burn romance between gay teenager Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) and his best friend in school, Nick Nelson (Kit Connor). In season 2, Charlie and Nick are in a real romantic relationship, but Nick is having some real trouble finding a way to come out to his friends and teammates on the rugby team.
While Charlie and Nick are on solid ground with each other, there are still obstacles ahead that are getting in the way of their happiness, especially Charlie’s ex-boyfriend, Ben Hope (Sebastian Croft).
If Only (2022)
Time-travel stories are often built around regret and an attempt to change something that went wrong. In If Only, everything went wrong for Emma (Megan Montaner), and it’s not just one thing she would change. It’s everything, but especially her failing marriage with Nando (Miquel Fernández).
Inexplicably, Emma finds herself reliving the past decade of her life. And this time she doesn’t have to commit to a dead-end relationship with Nando. She can find someone new to love. But just because Emma has lived through her life one time doesn’t mean that she’ll get everything right the second time.
Grey's Anatomy (2005)
Most shows aren’t built to run for nearly two decades, but Grey’s Anatomy is a rare breed. And Ellen Pompeo’s Dr. Meredith Grey has been there since the beginning. This month, Netflix is adding Grey’s Anatomy season 19, which finds Meredith finally ready to move on from Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital while sorting out her romantic relationship with Dr. Nick Marsh (Scott Speedman).
Because of Meredith’s reduced role this season, five young doctors were added to the mix: Dr. Simone Griffith (Alexis Floyd), Dr. Benson “Blue” Kwan (Harry Shum Jr.), Dr. Jules Millin (Adelaide Kane), Dr. Mika Yasuda (Midori Francis), and Dr. Lucas Adams (Niko Terho). Their intersecting career ambitions and romantic pursuits breathe new life into the show. And who’s to say how many more seasons it can run?
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (2023)
On Bridgerton, Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) is so self-assured and in control that it’s a little disconcerting to see the young Queen Charlotte (India Amarteifio) decades earlier in the prequel series, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. Early in this show, young Charlotte becomes the queen when she marries King George III (Corey Mylchreest).
Unfortunately for Charlotte, love and marriage isn’t as easy as marrying into the royal family. George’s penchant for secrecy and his growing mental illness threaten his reign even as he and Charlotte struggle to make their marriage into a true union.
XO, Kitty (2023)
Spinoffs are always tricky because it’s hard to make a supporting character into a lead. XO, Kitty largely avoids that problem by taking Anna Cathcart’s Kitty Song Covey out of the familiar confines of the To All the Boys trilogy. Kitty thinks she knows everything she needs to know about love, but she’s in for a rude awakening.
Much to the surprise of Kitty’s long-distance boyfriend, Dae (Choi Min-young), Kitty uproots her life and moves to South Korea just in the hope of finally finding the true love that has eluded her. Kitty has a lot to learn, and she might get her heart broken along the way.
Valeria (2020)
Do you think that Sex and the City is racy? Then you haven’t seen Valeria, the Spanish romantic comedy/drama series that is ending its three-season run on Netflix. Much like HBO’s iconic series, Valeria follows four female friends, Valeria (Diana Gómez), Carmen (Paula Malia), Lola (Silma López), and Nerea (Teresa Riott). Together, they navigate their late ‘20s as they search for love and fulfillment in their lives.
Season 3 picks up with Carmen heading to the altar while Valeria’s romance with Victor (Maxi Iglesias) hits the skids. Fortunately, it’s not long before Valeria sparks a new love connection with Bruno (Federico Aguado), a writer who shares many of her passions. But Valeria and her friends will have to face some serious questions before they can find the happiness they are looking for.
Sex/Life (2021)
Sometimes, romance means intense passion, and that’s just what Billie (Sarah Shahi) realizes she was missing in Sex/Life. While suffering a midlife crisis, the former psychology Ph.D. candidate, mother, and housewife can’t seem to stop thinking about her ex-boyfriend Brad (Adam Demos).
He lives a fast-paced, exciting life that’s very different from Billie’s life with her strait-laced investment banker husband. While her husband Cooper (Mike Vogel) tries to make her feel as sexually satisfied as she once did with Brad, their twisted, emotional states create a messy situation. Sex/Life isn’t your traditional romance, but it’s provocative, steamy, and erotic.
Love Is Blind (2020)
It’s difficult to believe that Netflix’s cheesy, weird, trashy social experiment is already on its fourth season. Thirty singles from a different state in America join each season to “meet” other singles, talking to them from separate enclosed pods without ever seeing one another. After courting multiple people, they decide who they made connections with and talk more.
If they ultimately decide this person is “the one” and want to propose marriage (and it’s accepted), the two finally get to meet in person. From there, they go on vacation together, live together, meet one another’s families, and discover if it is truly meant to be, all while planning their weddings. The concept is completely backward, but there are enough raw, romantic moments intertwined with the juicy drama to keep you hooked the entire way through.
Little Things (2016)
Emily in Paris (2020)
The Empress (2022)
Jane the Virgin (2014)
Love on the Spectrum U.S. (2022)
Outlander (2014)
Love (2016)
Grace and Frankie (2015)
Gilmore Girls (2000)
Bridgerton (2020)
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2015)
Lucifer (2016)
Sex Education (2019)
Virgin River (2019)
Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life (2016)
Easy (2016)
Love Alarm (2019)
Editors' Recommendations
- The 18 best sitcoms on Netflix right now (December 2023)
- The best movies on Peacock right now (December 2023)
- The best movies on Max right now
- The 10 most popular movies on Netflix right now
- The best shows on Max (formerly HBO Max) right now