Netflix's Most Controversial Movies And TV Shows

Netflix has rapidly become a ubiquitous part of nearly all of our lives, with its incredibly deep, constantly shifting streaming catalog of movies and television series. Usually, the phrase "there's something for everyone" is mere hyperbole — but not in the case of Netflix, which quite literally has something for you whether you're a fan of extreme horror, an actual toddler, or anything in between.

Of course, with such an extensive selection, there's bound to be some content that's a bit problematic. Whether it's the material itself, the situation surrounding its production, or moments that could be seen as inappropriate, Netflix has put up a surprising amount of material that's drawn controversy for one reason or another. From arthouse films to mainstream theatrical releases to the company's own rapidly expanding library of original movies and series, here's a look at some of the most controversial viewing experiences Netflix has to offer. 

Netflix has generally fared quite well with its original animated offerings, with titles like BoJack Horseman and F is for Family soaking up critical claim despite (or perhaps because of) their adult themes and humor. But with Big Mouth, they took a considerable risk. An examination of puberty and teen sex, the show leans heavily on vulgarity and gross-out humor — and while some critics have found it to be sharp, funny and engaging, others have deemed its utter commitment to nastiness a bridge too far.

The criticism ranges from supposed confusion over whether the show is aimed at children (it's obviously not, which creator Nick Kroll has spelled out more than once) to its alleged "liberal agenda" and sideways references to homosexuality and pedophilia. The series has also managed to draw fire from the other end of the political spectrum for one addition to its stellar voice ensemble: Jenny Slate, a white actress cast as the voice of a black character. But despite all of the brouhaha, the first season was a significant hit with viewers — which means, of course, that it was renewed for season 2.

The 2013 French drama Blue Is the Warmest Color, based on the graphic novel of the same name, is an acclaimed film. It won the Palme d'Or at that year's Cannes Film Festival, despite drawing early controversy for its shockingly graphic, seven-minute long lesbian sex scene, and the performances of lead actresses Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux have been widely praised. But the comments of the actresses themselves concerning the film's production, and director Abdellatif Kechiche's reaction to them, have added to the controversy.

In a Daily Beast interview, Exarchopoulos and Seydoux were unanimous in praising Kechiche as a genius while calling the experience of making the film "horrible" and insisting that neither of them would work with him again. "You can see that we were really suffering," said Exarchopoulos. "With the fight scene, it was horrible. She was hitting me so many times, and [Kechiche] was screaming, 'Hit her! Hit her again!'" To which Seydoux responded, "In America, we'd all be in jail." At a Los Angeles press event four days later, Kechiche took his stars to task for their comments, leaving Seydoux in tears, and later threatened to take them to court. The film is undeniably brilliant, but it's tough not to see its more demanding scenes in a new light. 

Professional provocateur Lars Von Trier's Nymphomaniac arrived in two feature-length volumes, both of which are available for streaming. The story of a woman (Charlotte Gainsbourg and, as a teen, Stacy Martin) who recounts her extremely damaging sexual history to a seemingly sympathetic older man (Stellan Skarsgard) after a brutal beating, Nymphomaniac is not so much titillating as it is psychologically uncomfortable to watch.

Of course, it's the sex scenes that stirred up the most controversy, causing the film to banned in Turkey, Romania (a ban which was eventually reversed), and parts of the Middle East. But if it's eroticism you're looking for, you won't find it here; the films constitute a brutal portrait of how its main character's compulsions inevitably ruin her life and the lives of nearly everyone she comes into contact with, and there's no redemption to be found in its jaw-dropping ending. Despite the controversy, the first volume also gained a great deal of attention for an absolutely soul-shattering performance by Uma Thurman as a betrayed wife and mother of three children, an extended cameo which must be seen to be believed.

Building a wacky sitcom around a main character with high-functioning autism is nothing if not tricky, and the Netflix original series Atypical manages to have its heart in the right place while seemingly hitting every stumbling block along the way. It can be forgiven for failing to put together a complete and accurate picture of the condition, as there are far too many variations along the spectrum for one character to embody them all — but some have taken the show to task for attempting to play up the condition for laughs, while failing to be insightful...or funny.

The comedy focuses on teenager Sam Gardner (Keir Gilchrist, It Follows) and his family, and many reviewers — including several on the autism spectrum themselves — have slapped the show with labels ranging from "stereotypical" to "offensive." Even a game supporting cast including veteran actors Jennifer Jason Leigh and Michael Rapaport as Sam's put-upon parents can't paper over what has been seen as troublesome writing, which has drawn all the more attention for the fact that creator Robia Rashid and her team failed to consult any actual autistic people in bringing their endeavor to the screen. But the series seems to have found its fans among viewers, as Netflix has announced that it will return for a second season; perhaps with a little course-correction, it can become the shining example of mainstream representation that the autism community was hoping for.

Dear White People has been a solid hit for Netflix, and the streaming giant's acquisition of Step Sisters — a topical exploration of race on college campuses from that series' writer Chuck Hayward along with Master of None scribe Lena Waithe — seemed like a no-brainer. But the movie's central premise (a black college senior is tasked with teaching a bunch of disgraced white sorority sisters to step) sparked controversy before it even debuted, and it hasn't abated. 

The film's creators (who, notably, are both black) have taken issue with its being pigeonholed as a "cultural appropriation comedy," with Waithe pointing out that it has a high degree of self-awareness and that "culture is meant to be appreciated and explored by everyone." Of course, many critics have also panned the film for the more conventional crimes of awkward plotting, recycled tropes and dull dialogue, alongside the misdemeanors of "eye-rolling tone deafness" and "performative wokeness." But at a time when race relations are among the hottest of topics in the United States, it seems unlikely that anyone involved in the production could have failed to foresee the flap that it would cause; even before its pickup by Netflix, star Megalyn Echikunwoke admitted to CBS News that "it's definitely meant to be provocative. It might be offensive to some people."