The sun is out but so is a deadly virus keeping us all in quarantine. What are you doing at home right now? Probably sitting and having a Corona in your hand or just to the side of you. A great pairing with that drink would be some Netflix shows to watch for hours on end. You aren’t able to go anywhere for vacation. Here are 5 binge worthy shows on Netflix.
5. Orange is the New Black
Orange is the New Black debuted in 2013 and ended in 2019. The drama series takes place in a prison as the protagonist is captured after selling narcotics over 10 years. The show was focused on the voices of the most out-casted community: black and Latino women, queer and trans women, drug addicts, rape survivors, and the mentally ill—and its debut helped start a new era for its home platform, as well as TV.
Cindy Holland, Netflix’s VP of Original Content thought that the show was a big risk due to viewers not being able to connect with the diverse cast and she wasn’t sure if viewers would obtain all 13 hours of the first season. Little did they know the show would turn to a huge success and was actually binge worthy. Netflix estimated that in 2019, one hundred and five million users would have watched at least 1 episode. Many users say they have been glued to their seats waiting for what other complication would arise in the prison.
4. Ozark
Ozark debuted in 2017 and is still live on Netflix. The crime drama series takes place in Missouri and presents what happens when the “American Dream” goes dark. The show stars Jason Bateman as Marty Byrde, a financial advisor. Laura Linney plays his smarter-than-you-think wife Wendy, and Esai Morales as a drug kingpin and shrewd businessman you don’t want to mess with. The show portrays its characters and story-lines in a deep blue, similar to you taking a subterranean tour of the underbelly of the country, where crime abounds and sharks feed.
There are many factors in the show that make it binge-worthy. One factor is the role that women play in the show. When the show starts, you think you’re looking at a plain guy getting caught up in going bad. Eventually, you discover it’s a bit more complicated than that. Whether it’s the wife of a guy in a tie or the wife of a guy in the drug scene, females play a bigger part in the hustle than you’re led to believe at first. Another thing about Ozark is that even though the protagonist seems quite vanilla as a financial advisor, the challenges that he goes through in the show keeps viewers watching for what happens next.
3. 13 Reasons Why
On Netflix there are currently 3 seasons available to watch with the fourth coming soon. The teen drama/mystery series talks about a young woman by the name of Hannah who unfortunately takes her own life. Two weeks after her death, her classmate Clay finds a box on his porch which contains recordings of Hannah in which she explains the 13 reasons as to why she committed suicide.
The reason that 13 Reasons Why is so binge worthy is because of its target audience and the users of Netflix, the majority of them being in their teens. The show treats an important subject and raises awareness about harassment, bullying, and suicide. The theme of suicide, harassment, and bullying is consistently present in the series. Suicide is always a delicate subject matter. Others have argued like it’s too stereotyped. Others have complained that the series treats suicide as a banality. But overall, the show has brought attention to this issue and encouraged many people who are struggling to reach out for help. The suspense makes you want to watch the whole season in a day. Each of the tapes is about one character and how that specific character gave Hannah a reason to kill herself. So as Clay obtains the tapes, and starts listening, the suspense is at its peak. You will want to know who else got the tapes, what happened to Hannah, and how Clay fits into the story.
2. Stranger Things
Stranger Things debuted on July 15, 2016 and currently has three seasons running on Netflix. The show follows a charter by the name of Joyce who resides in a small town in Indiana in 1983. Her 12 year old son, Will, goes missing and Joyce immediately opens a frightening investigation into his disappearance with the local authorities. As they search for answers, they unravel a series of extraordinary mysteries which involve top-secret government experiments, unnerving supernatural forces, and a very unusual little girl.
Without revealing too much of content, the show provides closure to its most significant plot line but it leaves enough unanswered questions to then keep the audience wanting more. As we’ve seen with so many shows clamoring for binge-worthy status these days, striking this balance requires an extra touch from keeping it from being cheesy or cheap.
1. Money Heist
La Casa de Papel (The House of Paper) or also known as Money Heist is a Spanish based TV show on Netflix that started on May 2, 2017. Currently there are two seasons available on Netflix (4 parts). The show follows a criminal mastermind character who goes by the alias “The Professor”. He has a plan to pull off the biggest heist in recorded history — to print billions of euros in the Royal Mint of Spain. To help him, he recruits eight people with special talents and who have nothing to lose. The thieves take hostages to aid in their negotiations with the police, who strategize to come up with a way to capture The Professor. As more time elapses, the robbers prepare for a showdown with the police.
The show is savvy in its use of magnificent characters and plot. As with all heist thrillers, every individual story slowly unravels; whether they’re letting go of a long-kept secret, losing trust or getting captured by the police due to abandoning a plan, no one is safe from themselves or from the authorities just sitting, waiting to pounce. Even if the stakes are high, the story is also full of surprises, making it feel all the more imperative that viewers know exactly what’s going to happen next. Like a criminal who has trapped themselves within a situation in which there’s no simple escape, Money Heist is a riveting, inescapable show with a narrative jackpot at the end of it.
Although there’s not much to do during the world wide pandemic, these shows will keep you entertained for days on end. Enjoy binge-watching!
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