None of these four shows is a universal pass or fail. Squid Game is the survival-thriller pick, Faraway Downs the period saga, Fargo the dark-crime anthology, and Bodies the timeline puzzle. The right choice depends on whether you want deadly games, a sweeping romance, a reinvented crime story, or a mystery that spans eras.
At a glance: which show should you choose?
| Show | Best fit | Format and story hook | Likely deal-breaker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Squid Game | Viewers who want an escalating survival thriller | Korean-language series about cash-strapped contestants playing children’s games with deadly stakes; three seasons are listed by Rotten Tomatoes. | Graphic danger or a multi-season commitment. |
| Faraway Downs | Viewers drawn to period romance, family drama and the Australian Outback | Six-episode 2023 adventure-drama-romance centered on a cattle ranch. | Looking for a compact crime mystery or contemporary thriller. |
| Fargo | Viewers who like dark crime and season-to-season reinvention | Anthology inspired by the 1996 film, with mostly new characters and murder investigations across seasons. | Wanting one continuous cast and a single, simple plot. |
| Bodies | Viewers who enjoy linked mysteries, period settings and speculative twists | Limited series in which four detectives investigate the same body across four timelines. | Preferring a straightforward police procedural. |
These are format-based recommendations, not measured audience reactions or objective quality grades.
Squid Game: pass for high-stakes survival drama
Squid Game follows people in financial distress who enter children’s games where losing can mean death. Its central contrast—familiar playground rules against lethal consequences—makes it the clearest pick here for viewers seeking sustained tension and escalating danger. The story is in Korean.
Pass if: you want a sharp, high-concept survival thriller and are comfortable with violent stakes.
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Fail if: graphic danger is a deal-breaker, or you want a short, self-contained watch rather than a show listed across three seasons.
Faraway Downs: pass for a sweeping period saga
Hulu describes Faraway Downs as a six-episode 2023 adventure-drama-romance set around a million-acre cattle ranch in the Australian Outback. English aristocrat Lady Sarah Ashley joins a cattle drover to protect the property. The story is seen through young Nullah, whose experience is shaped by racial policy now referred to as the Stolen Generations, as well as by World War II.
Rank #2
- Bring home Netlfix's hit series.
- A great immersive game.
- A light strategy, bluff and push your luck game. Be ready for fun and intense games with your friends!
- Lead your team through six games based on Netflix's hit series. Each game has its own rules. Battle it out to save as many team member as possible through all six games.
- Through all six games, players play cards, gather tokens and defy the odds to beat each game before progressing to the next. Make your best to have as many team member as possible until the last game to optimize your chance to win.
Pass if: you want a period romance and family drama rooted in a distinctive landscape, with a finite six-episode format.
Fail if: you are choosing between these titles for a compact murder mystery or a fast contemporary thriller; this is the ranch-and-family-saga option instead.
Rank #3
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Fargo: pass for dark crime with a changing cast
Fargo is an anthology inspired by the 1996 film. Its seasons generally introduce new characters and murder investigations rather than following one unchanging ensemble. FX’s fifth-season page places that story in Minnesota and North Dakota in 2019, where Dorothy “Dot” Lyon’s past returns to her life.
Pass if: you like dark crime stories and the prospect of a fresh setting and cast as the series moves between seasons.
Rank #4
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Fail if: you want one continuous cast and one uncomplicated plot to follow across the whole show. The anthology structure is a feature for some viewers and a mismatch for others.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Bodies: pass for a mystery that crosses timelines
Netflix describes Bodies as a limited series about four detectives investigating one body in 1890, 1941, 2023 and a future timeline. Netflix Tudum identifies Paul Tomalin as its creator and Si Spencer’s graphic novel as its source. The changing eras make the investigation itself a puzzle, not just a case to solve.
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Tomalin described it as “a police-procedural show that shifts and transforms from moment to moment, so you never know what’s coming next… This is a kinetic, ambitious thrill ride — a wolf in [a] detective drama’s clothing.”
Pass if: you enjoy period settings, connected investigations and speculative storytelling that makes you piece together how the timelines fit.
Fail if: you want a conventional procedural with a stable setting and a direct, linear case.
How to make the call
- Choose Squid Game for immediate survival stakes and escalating peril.
- Choose Faraway Downs for romance, family conflict and an Outback period setting.
- Choose Fargo for dark crime that reinvents its characters and setting across seasons.
- Choose Bodies for a limited-run detective mystery built around multiple eras.
Rotten Tomatoes’ 2026 surfaced listings show Squid Game at 86% Tomatometer and 67% Popcornmeter, and Fargo at 93% and 85%, respectively. Those are changing score snapshots, and equivalent current figures were not established for all four shows, so they cannot fairly rank this set. A score also cannot tell you whether a show’s format or subject matter suits your taste.
Where to watch in the U.S.
Official pages surfaced in 2026 list Squid Game and Bodies on Netflix, and Faraway Downs and Fargo on Hulu. Streaming catalogs vary by country and can change, so check the service in your region before subscribing or planning a watch.
Quick Recap
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