Netflix suddenly lands new no.1 series – but viewers are divided

The Madness tops Netflix's chart in the first week of December

The Madness on Netflix
(Image credit: Netflix)

As the year approaches its close – I know, right, can you believe it's December? – a new Netflix no.1 series suddenly tops the best streaming service's chart. It's a crime-drama-thriller – called The Madness – and the exact kind of show I've been waiting for.

That's because the majority of Netflix's no.1 movies of late have been all festive and Christmas/holiday-themed – which is all cutesy and lovely and whatnot, but I actually just want some hard-hitting whodunnit drama. Sure, more Lindsay Lohan at Christmas has its place, but The Madness is where it's at right now.

The Madness | Official Trailer | Netflix - YouTube The Madness | Official Trailer | Netflix - YouTube
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The show stars the brilliant Colman Domingo – who I loved in Euphoria as Rue's sponsor, but who you may better know from Fear The Walking Dead as Victor Strand – as media pundit, Muncie Daniels, who stumbles upon a murder, for which he is framed. You can see the madness that unfurls as a result in the action-packed trailer embedded above.

However, the reviews have been very mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes The Madness has a 70% critics score, but just 49% audience rating – the latter not being great. That said, many users on Google reviews have said "don't listen to the bad reviews".

One reviewer says: "[The Madness] is pretty much like Harrison Ford, who gets framed for murdering his wife in The Fugitive, but with a black guy. People just feel uneasy when they see that white supremacists and anarchists are still active and alive today."

Which gives you a strong summary of the themes to expect in The Madness. Racial tension, political policing – there are obligatory FBI shots in the gallery above – and, well, getting away with murder. Strong ingredients for a Christmas antithesis, but I'm sure Santa won't mind.

All eight episodes of The Madness are available on Netflix right now, so you can binge-watch your way through the whole show in one go. Indeed, it probably should have made an entry in our 5 Netflix Shows & Movies To Watch In December feature. But that just goes to show the sheer volume of top-notch watches at the moment – irrelevant of reviews.

Mike Lowe
Tech Editor

Mike is T3's Tech Editor. He's been writing about consumer technology for 15 years and his beat covers phones – of which he's seen hundreds of handsets over the years – laptops, gaming, TV & audio, and more. There's little consumer tech he's not had a hand at trying, and with extensive commissioning and editing experience, he knows the industry inside out. As the former Reviews Editor at Pocket-lint for 10 years where he furthered his knowledge and expertise, whilst writing about literally thousands of products, he's also provided work for publications such as Wired, The Guardian, Metro, and more.