Five months of quarantine have given us ample time to watch all the staples of Netflix – Money Heist, Breaking Bad, Sex Education and the likes. However, Netflix has a diverse collection and it caters to a range of palates. It’s the perfect time to catch up on some unnoticed gems that could use your viewership.
Here are our picks of unsung heroes streaming on Netflix.
1. The Sinner
If you’ve enjoyed Mindhunter, this crime drama will keep you rapt. The first season of this three-part series gives us a promising start with one of Jessica Biel’s finest performances. The Sinner revolves around a familiar scenario of dedicated detectives getting invested in convicts, but Detective Harry Ambrose, played by Bill Pullman, likes to see things from the perspective of the sinner. The show dabbles in criminal psychology, while also allowing us to investigate the lives of the characters. Produced by screenwriter Derek Simonds and Jessica Biel, The Sinner could be the best crime drama Netflix has aired, which is saying a lot.
The second season of The Sinner is a study of a child criminal and has an empathetic take on cult culture, and the third season is a star-studded dark thriller with Matt Bomer living up to his full potential.
2. Medici
The Witcher may be great, but as far as period dramas go, ‘Medici’ is right up there with GoT. Apart from the gripping chemistry of Richard Madden and Dustin Hoffman in the first season, the tale of the House of Medici, which began to gain prominence under Cosimo de Medici (Richard Madden) in the 15th century, is told with the realism of mythology. The screen presence is unparalleled and the plot manages to be addictive without shock factors. If you like political shows, you will thoroughly enjoy Medici.
3. Caliphate (Kalifat)
A Swedish series about the recruitment of teenagers into the ISIS, this thriller is ingenuous. It is electrical in the way it reels you into the psychology the marginalized communities in the West, no matter how progressive. The performance is strong, and instead of tried to feed you with pro-government sermons, this show gives breathing space to study the complexity of the characters and their actions.
4. Dear White People
Based on the 2014 film of the same name, Dear White People explores various kinds of activism in the fictional elite Winchester University, where Samantha White, played by Logan Browning, runs a radio podcast educating her mostly white peers about the intricacies of identity politics. An ensemble act, Dear White People tells the story of a group of mostly black university students trying to assert themselves in a political spectrum. The series is a detailed and meticulous depiction of what it means to have an opinion in a 21st Century America, or the world for that matter.
5. Wild Wild Country
This docuseries tells the story of controversial guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, popularly known as Osho, building a utopian city in the Oregon desert. Produced by Mark and Jay Duplass, it portrays the conflict that ensues in the American consciousness when it comes to the question of separation of church and state. Feeding the sinister speculations that have surrounded cults for decades, this documentary is articulately told through the former cult “victims” and the perpetrators alike.
6. Alias Grace
Margaret Atwood’s production of this miniseries has given form to the rarely explored idea of the female murderer. While being a beautiful production that allows us to penetrate the Irish workers’ community in a feudal age, ‘Alias Grace’ transcends into the unconscious through the plot of psychoanalysis – Grace Marks is a “celebrity murderer” who becomes a subject of research by young Dr. Jordan.
While these series have flown completely under the radar, they make for absorbing, binge-worthy intervals to the obligation to keep up with the Top 10 rundowns. Maybe it’s time to break the wheel and spend your time training to become an actual Netflix expert this season.
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