FIVE OF THE BEST SHOWS TO WATCH ON NETFLIX
Netflix’s arsenal of TV shows is so vast and addictive that binge-watching has now become the norm. It is home to scores of old favourites that you’ll never tire of re-watching, shows that have found a new lease of life on the streaming platform and others that have been passed over by more traditional TV networks.
Netflix’s Original content consists of superb new shows, all available to watch in glorious Ultra HD 4K, HDR and Dolby Vision. With so much content, we’ve picked out five of our favourites that you should be watching too.
THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE
A complex, chilling psychological horror, adapted from Shirley Jackson’s 1959 novel – thought to be one of the best ghost stories of all time, The Haunting skips backwards and forwards in time, telling the tale of the Crain family living in the haunted Hill House. The house affects them into adulthood, fracturing their lives and relationships with each other.
The cinematography is elegant and atmospheric, and full of nail-biting suspense. But while the scares creep under your skin, it’s the siblings’ fraught relationships that really hook you in. A must-watch.
BETTER CALL SAUL
One of the many charms of Breaking Bad was the vivid nature of its characters, both pivotal or periphery. As such, it was crying out for a spin-off series. Better Call Saul tells the backstory of übershallow attorney Saul Goodman, who’s known as Jimmy Mcgill throughout series one and two, only becoming known as Saul (s’all good, man) after his latest brush with disbarment towards the end of series three. And, sure enough, it’s compelling.
The storytelling is fast, tight, dramatic and humorous throughout, and the picture quality – Saul is shot, scanned, mastered and edited in 4K – is lustrous and prodigiously detailed. As a demonstration of 4K, you can’t do much better.
THE GOOD PLACE
What happens after you die? For Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell) you wake up in the eponymous Good Place: a pseudo-heaven that caters to your every whim. Unfortunately for Eleanor, though, she’s arrived there by mistake.
The ‘false utopia’ trope isn’t new, but it’s rare to see it executed quite this well. Eleanor’s existence causes absurdist natural disasters – giant ladybirds, flying shrimps and snapping flowers – as Heaven tries to right itself, so she must learn how to be ‘good’ from a deceased ethics professor, Chidi Anagonye (William Jackson Harper) in order to survive.
The writing is fantastic, the characters – especially D’arcy Carden’s helpful AI, Janet – are hilarious, and there are twists galore in every episode, as what starts as a simple mistake spirals to cosmic proportions.
BLACK MIRROR
Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror can be summarised as: “What if [insert tech here], but more – and bad?”, but that’s no criticism. Each episode is a healthy mix of entertaining and emotionally distressing, showing us what would happen if our technologically infused lifestyle took one wrong turn. In the first four seasons, this has included smartphone tracking, robot dogs, storing memories, interactive RPGS, Tinder, and advanced medical research. You even get to choose your own wrong turns in an interactive ‘choose your adventure’ style episode titled ‘Bandersnatch’.
The variety between episodes, even if they’re on the same general theme, means that each one has a different tone. Some are a jolly good romp, others will make you hesitate before you next reach for your smartphone – but all have a little twist that keeps you hooked until the end.
CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA
No talking cats to be found here, but this isn’t a remake of the chirpy ’90s TV show starring Melissa Joan Hart. Based on the 2014 comics by Roberto Aguirre-sacasa, published under the Archie Horror imprint, this take on Sabrina is much darker, gorier, and more devilish. But it’s still playful and fun – think Buffy, not The Punisher.
Yes, the witches all worship the actual devil, but there are plenty of laughs in the black humour. Sabrina (Kiernan Shipka) must juggle her mortal life with her witchy side, battling evil headmasters, nightmare demons, boys, squabbling aunts and a delightfully scene-stealing Michelle Gomez.
The supporting cast is delightful, the stories are fun, and the lavish, colourful, Gothic-infused set designs and costumes are to die for.