Ever find yourself getting settled in for the evening, with your Brookstone fuzzy throw in full effect, movie theater buttered popcorn freshly popped from the microwave, the glass of Pinot poured and aerated, then wonder what in the world you're even going to watch after all this ambiance effort? Been there, done that. I've encountered this exact scene way too many times as I couldn't seem to find any attention-grabbing television dramas to start up with my friends.
The endless remote scroll down as I call it, scanning the titles, with no motivation to look at all of the trailers usually leads into the familiar "Here, you guys look for something!" exclamation. After all, if you're paying monthly for some premiere movie spectacles on Netflix, you want that instant gratification of an amazing new show to rave about. After a significant amount of binge-watching this past semester, I am proud to provide a list of show recommendations that are worth watching on Netflix that range from dramas, psychological thrillers, comedies, and some romances so everyone can find that series they've been craving.
1. 'Santa Clarita Diet.'
Netflix
Drew Barrymore (Sheila) and Timothy Olyphant (Joel) star in this offbeat, dark-humored Netflix drama of a husband and wife duo whose lives both transform after Sheila becomes a zombie. Sheila isn't just any zombie who needs to feed on human flesh but she also tries to balance her life as a high functioning real estate agent and mom. This show will keep the audience on the edge of their seats as I would classify it as a cross between Desperate Housewives suburbia and Walking Dead-like horror.
2. 'The End of the Fxxing World.'
ITV//Netflix
Alex Lawther (James) portrays a young teen that firmly believes he is a psychopath as he enjoys killing animals and fantasizes about one day killing a person. He observes his classmate, Jessica Barden (Alyssa) as someone who would make the perfect victim, however, she has her own deep-rooted emotional issues. The two both run away together as they seek refuge in one another and embark on an adventure packed endeavor across England. This series is a must-see for those into dark comedy.
3. 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.'
CW//Netflix
This quirky romance series grasped my attention as Rachel Bloom (Rebecca Bunch) leads a prominent life in New York City as a well-respected lawyer. However, she is extremely unhappy with how the pathway of her life is going and desperately seeks for the meaning of true happiness. Coincidence or not, Rebecca runs into Vincent Rodriguez III (Josh Chan), her old ex-boyfriend from summer camp, in the middle of the streets of New York. She then decides to find some sort of optimism by moving back to Josh's hometown, West Covina where a bunch of ridiculous debaucheries unfolds. I enjoyed the musical numbers that are placed within the show. The songs played by the cast reminded me of a humorous play on the television show, Glee, and added a very stimulated comedic relief for very disheartening situations.
4. 'Big Mouth.'
Netflix
Big Mouth is not just another cartoon show and can be very easily overlooked on the Netflix platform. This genius adult, coming of age story by comedian Nick Kroll depicts Nick Kroll (Nick Birch) and comedian John Mulaney (Andrew Glouberman) as middle school friends who start to discover and endure adolescence and the sexual content that reeks within it. If you're completely sick of Family Guy or Futurama and need something a little raunchier, this is the perfect show for you! I am still desperately waiting on another season.
5. 'Mad Men.'
AMC//Netflix
This is my holy grail of television masterpieces and I cannot believe I waited so long to watch this. Seriously any writing, editing, media, or communications major should watch this show as it is basically the Grey's Anatomy equivalent for our majors. Mad Men unravels the lives of the men and women behind the work of the advertising agency, Sterling Cooper. The drama is set in the late 1960's New York City which serves John Hamm (Donald Draper) extraordinary pleasures from the city that never sleeps. He is the epitome of executive masculine prominence for the show but his secrets from both his past and present threaten to overthrow his perfect, idealistic work and family life. This cast is unreal as I found the women in this show to have such important roles from a 1960's point of view of la femme, as you watch the quintessential homemaker January Jones (Betty Draper) contrast from the independent go-getting copywriter making it in a men's world, Elisabeth Moss (Peggy Olson).
6. 'Safe.'
Netflix
Safe can be classified best as both gritty and utterly suspenseful. Dexter's Michael C. Hall plays Tom Delaney, a surgeon who struggles to stabilize relationships with his family following the passing of his wife and daughters' mother. When Tom's daughter Amy James-Kelly (Jenny) goes missing, Tom consequently unweaves years of secrets both inside and outside his home while on the hunt to find his daughter alive. It was really hard to not watch numerous episodes of this series in one serving, as I loved Michael C. Hall's mysterious energy that he brings alive to all of his protagonist crime television shows.
7. 'Master of None.'
Netflix
This Netflix sitcom presents the life of Dev Shah played by Aziz Ansari. Dev is an actor in New York City and this day in the lifestyle series unfolds to show his romantic, professional, personal and cultural experiences he endures. We get to connect with Dev's interpersonal circle through the fourth wall of television and I truly felt as if I was apart of the group myself. I thoroughly enjoyed season two as Dev travels to Italy to meet Alessandra Mastronardi (Francesca), a soft-hearted but spunky girl who opens his eyes to a plethora of pasta making with nonna, eating amazing Italian food, traveling the beautiful Italian scenery, and perhaps true love.
