There are plenty of blockbusters coming to silver screens next month, but if you don’t want to leave your home, don’t worry. Web streaming video provider Netflix has literally hundreds of TV series available at your fingertips! We’ve picked six standout shows that you absolutely have to watch.
Stranger Things
Genre: Sci-fi/Horror
Synopsis: Set in the 1980’s, this Netflix cult phenomenon tracks the supernatural occurrences that wrack the sleepy little town of Hawkin, Indiana. From a psychokinetic teenager (played to perfection by the lovable Millie Bobby Brown) to monsters from an eerie parallel universe dubbed the Upside Down, you’ll spend every minute at the edge of your seat.
The Crown
Genre: Period drama
Synopsis: This critically acclaimed historical drama traces the life of England’s Queen Elizabeth II from her marriage to Prince Philip in 1947 through her coronation and beyond. The sharp dialogue and true-to-life accuracy of the series highlight the marital tensions, political manoeuvrings and illicit love affairs that surrounded Britain’s monarch in her early years.
Mindhunter
Genre: True crime
Synopsis: This gritty freshman Netflix series takes viewers back to the advent of criminal profiling and behavioural analysis at the FBI in the late 1970’s. Follow the agents of FBI’s Behavioural Science Unit and get a fascinating education on what makes a serial killer tick.
Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories
Genre: Japanese slice-of-life
Synopsis: Based on the Japanese manga series Shinya Shokudo, Midnight Diner introduces a bunch of oddball diners that frequent a small izakaya in Tokyo. This wonderfully minimalist series perfectly captures the everyday trials and tribulations of Japanese people from all walks of life, be they a police officer, a prostitute or a yakuza boss.
Master of None
Genre: Comedy
Synopsis: Master of None details the professional and romantic experiences of 30-year-old Dev Shah, a commercial actor living in New York City with no clear ambitions or goals for his life. Though billed as a comedy, Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang’s smartly written show is a fantastic anthropological statement on the aimlessness and ennui of a whole generation of millennials.
Alias Grace
Genre: Historical true crime drama
Synopsis: Based on Margaret Atwood’s novel of the same name, this Netflix miniseries follows conversations between incarcerated murderess Grace Marks and psychologist Dr. Jordan in 19th-century Canada. Marks claims to have no memory of the murders that led to her imprisonment, and over the course of their talks, we get a first-hand account of her harsh life and the events that led to her arrest. Although set over a century ago, this series still resonates deeply today and makes viewers question the treatment of women in a world filled with Harvey Weinsteins.
Text: Tenzing Thondup
Images: Netflix