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

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.

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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."

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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.