Netflix: 8 exclusive shows you should binge-watch now
January 19, 2016 by admin
Filed under Lingerie Events
Piper Chapman is still in prison, Frank Underwood is still tightening his grip on the White House and Kimmy Schmidt remains unbroken. All is as it should be.
Netflix recently laid out the schedule for the streaming service’s 2016 season, including the unsurprising return of popular shows like Orange is the New Black, House of Cards and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. There’s also a whack of new shows on the way, ranging from Fuller House (minus the Olsen Twins, who figured managing their multimillion-dollar empire was more important than a Full House revival) to Luke Cage, the next series built around one of Marvel’s street-level heroes.
From the real-world court drama of Making a Murderer to the insightful modern romance of Master of None to gritty dramas like Bloodline and Narcos, Netflix’s big series get a lot of attention. But outside of that glaring spotlight are a ton of other bingeworthy shows, some of which don’t always get the love they deserve.
As we await the return of Piper, Frank, Kimmy and pals, here are eight other Netflix-exclusive shows that deserve your attention.
Comedian Bill Burr’s new animated series about a suburban family surviving the ’70s hasn’t grabbed the same amount of buzz as Bojack Horseman, but it’s a funny and relatable mix of Simpsons family values with South Park profanity, featuring characters who feel surprisingly grounded in their retro reality.
Making a Murderer is certainly Netflix’s documentary darling du jour, but this glorious six-episode food porn series goes behind the scenes at world-famous restaurants and introduces us to the passionate, unforgettable chefs who run them. Even if your own culinary skills don’t go much beyond making toast, it’s a fascinating show to devour.
While the History series Vikings has rightly been called Game of Thrones with Norse warriors, the Viking-focused BBC series The Last Kingdom, shown exclusively on Netflix in Canada, sacrifices a bit of sizzle for something a little more historically accurate. It’s no less exciting, though, and it does share one thing with George R. R. Martin’s fantasy universe: you don’t want to get too attached to any of these characters.
A lot of Japanese sci-fi anime is a bit over the top, but this series tries something a bit different, with a spacefaring tale that’s grounded in the laws of physics and societal realities. It’s not for everyone – and the show’s seriousness might be a bit of a turn-off to some – but it’s well worth a look as an antidote to typical shows about mechas and monsters.
Another BBC series shown in Canada exclusively on Netflix, this is one of those crime dramas that the British are so damn good at. Sarah Lancashire stars as a police sergeant in Northern England who gets mixed up in a kidnapping plot connected to the suicide of her daughter. It’s dark and occasionally violent drama, one of the best – yet least visible – shows on the streaming service.
Atelier
Netflix’s first (and so far, only) Japanese-language original series revolves around a lingerie design firm in Tokyo, and the fish-out-of-water drama that happens when a naive fabric geek (yes, there are such things in Japan) lands a job in the high-stress, cutthroat fashion industry in Tokyo’s Ginza district. It’s not likely to be everyone’s cup of green tea, but it’s definitely a cool glimpse into unfamiliar world.
The Battered Bastards of Baseball
This documentary about the Portland Mavericks baseball team would never work as a movie, because it seems just too crazy to be plausible. But back in the ’70s, actor Bing Russell – father of Kurt, who is featured in the doc – created a truly independent team made up of colourful has-beens, washouts and everyday guys who just wanted to live the dream of playing professional ball.
It might have the most unfortunate and off-putting name of any Netflix series, but this British comedy about a man who must track down his previous sexual partners to inform them he has chlamydia is actually clever, charming and bittersweet, with a romantic cliff-hanger ending that begs for a second season.
Twitter: @stevetilley
steve.tilley@sunmedia.ca
