Netflix’s ‘Merciless’ Four-Season Crime Drama Is Still Being Called One Of The Best Shows Ever — And Its Third Season Scored A Near-Perfect 98%

Years after its final episode, one of Netflix’s most acclaimed crime dramas continues to attract viewers — with some fans arguing that it belongs alongside, or even above, Breaking Bad among the genre’s modern greats.

Ozark ran for four seasons between 2017 and 2022, following an ordinary-looking family whose involvement with a Mexican drug cartel gradually pulls them into an increasingly dangerous criminal world.

Led by Jason Bateman and Laura Linney, the series earned widespread critical acclaim, accumulated 45 Primetime Emmy nominations and produced a breakout performance from Julia Garner that brought her three Emmy wins.

And for anyone who missed it during its original run, the entire story can still be watched on Netflix.

One Financial Scheme Changes The Byrde Family Forever

At the center of Ozark is financial adviser Marty Byrde, played by Bateman, and his wife Wendy, played by Linney.

After becoming caught up in a money-laundering operation involving a Mexican cartel, Marty is forced to relocate his family to Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks.

The move is supposed to provide an opportunity to keep the cartel satisfied by establishing a much larger laundering operation.

Instead, the Byrdes discover that their new surroundings come with criminal complications of their own.

Local criminals, the Kansas City mafia and powerful figures within the cartel all become part of the family’s increasingly precarious existence.

With every attempt to survive, Marty and Wendy become more deeply entangled in the world they initially hoped merely to navigate.

The Series Became More Acclaimed As It Continued

Ozark premiered in 2017 and ultimately ran for four seasons, with its concluding season divided into two parts before the story ended in 2022.

While its opening season was generally well received, the show’s critical reputation grew considerably as its story developed.

Season 3 became its highest-rated chapter on Rotten Tomatoes, earning an impressive 98% score.

By that stage, the Byrdes’ situation had grown considerably more complicated, and the series had developed the bleak atmosphere, escalating tension and morally compromised characters that became its trademarks.

Even its final season maintained a strong reception, finishing with an 85% Rotten Tomatoes score.

One critic described the conclusion as being delivered with “merciless efficiency.”

Julia Garner’s Ruth Langmore Became A Standout

Bateman and Linney received considerable praise for their performances, but Julia Garner’s Ruth Langmore became one of Ozark‘s defining characters.

Ruth’s complicated relationship with the Byrdes placed her at the center of many of the show’s most intense storylines.

Garner’s performance was repeatedly recognized by the Television Academy.

She won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series three times for playing Ruth.

Those victories were part of a much larger awards haul for the series.

Across its run, Ozark collected 45 Primetime Emmy nominations, including three nominations for Outstanding Drama Series.

Bateman also won an Emmy for directing.

Some Fans Believe It Surpassed Breaking Bad

Years after the finale, viewers continue discovering the series and comparing it with some of television’s most celebrated crime dramas.

One viewer argued that Ozark becomes increasingly impressive as it progresses.

“This is a show which starts off as good, but keeps getting better and better as it goes on,” the fan wrote.

They went even further with the comparison, adding: “By the end, it’s not only equalled Breaking Bad; it’s surpassed it.”

The same viewer singled out Bateman and Linney for delivering “spectacular performances” throughout the complicated crime story.

That is naturally one viewer’s assessment rather than a universal verdict, but the comparison reflects the level of enthusiasm Ozark continues to generate.

‘Nothing Else On Netflix Compares’

Other viewers have similarly praised the show’s characters and storytelling.

“Everything from characters to storyline to believability – just unbeatable,” one fan wrote, also highlighting Ruth and the Byrde family as central to the show’s appeal.

The viewer added: “Nothing else on Netflix compares after you’ve gotten yourself involved with Ruth and the Byrdes.”

Another called the series “absolutely outstanding in every way,” praising its acting and story while describing it as “compulsively binge worthy.”

Its soundtrack has also attracted praise from fans.

Much of that enthusiasm comes from how relentlessly the series complicates its characters’ situation.

Survival rarely provides a clean escape. Instead, solving one problem frequently creates another, forcing the Byrdes into decisions that make it increasingly difficult to separate the family trying to survive from the criminal operation they have helped build.

Four Seasons Tell The Complete Story

For viewers discovering Ozark now, there is another advantage: there is no wait for another season and no unresolved cancellation to worry about.

The entire four-season story has already been completed.

That makes the series a substantial binge for anyone drawn to dark crime dramas built around morally complicated characters, family tension and criminal power struggles.

It also offers the opportunity to watch Garner’s transformation of Ruth Langmore from the beginning, alongside Marty and Wendy’s increasingly dangerous journey through the criminal world surrounding the Ozarks.

Nearly a decade after its 2017 debut and several years after its finale, Ozark has developed the kind of reputation that keeps bringing new audiences to an already completed series.

With four seasons, 45 Emmy nominations, three acting victories for Garner and a third season sitting at 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, its place among Netflix’s most acclaimed original crime dramas is difficult to dispute.

All four seasons of Ozark are available to stream on Netflix.