Finding a good show to watch can often be overwhelming. There are about a billion and one in existence, all of them available at the click of a button. It's always good to have a considerable number of shows that you can choose from. Still, if you're being bombarded every second, it can become tiring. So, we've got your back with our top ten list, whether you're looking for some romcoms, surprising plot twists, or foreign shows.
10. Dark
This is quite a… dark mystery… We'll see ourselves out
Get this: there is a small-town mystery. Following us? Great, next clue: it is of supernatural origin. We see you nodding your head. To top it all off: it's a German show! It's always good to expose yourself to shows made by people from different cultures. You might even fall in love with the language or pick up a phrase or two.
Right from the show's first moments, we are captivated by it. The misty German landscape is perfect for a show as mysterious as this one. We are assaulted by the mysteries: why did the kid disappear, what role does the nuclear power plant play, is there time travel, or is this a magical vicious cycle? That's a lot of questions, and you can find out the answers for yourselves.
9. The Witcher
Hmmm… (redacted)
This widely popular fantasy book series and game franchise has one of the best video game based TV shows. The glaring success of this series can be attributed to many different factors. Firstly, you have an already existing dedicated fanbase. But other than that, the show does a great job of establishing that it follows its own story that, while rooted in the original Witcher books, really is its own thing.
Besides, while many shows struggle with the balance of not trying to alienate the new viewers while not dumbing things down for the older fans, "The Witcher" does a pretty good job of it. We will not claim it's perfect as Geralt's character got a significant change after all. He switched from being a not very great person to a himbo, but we are satisfied with it. After all, the age of clever a**hole is over, and we're more likely to sympathize with someone with good intentions and the ability to fight.
8. Lupin
Lovable criminals, my beloved
If you haven't paid much attention to foreign detective stories of the 20th century, you might have missed the insanely popular Arsène Lupin. He made his first appearance in a French short story in 1905, and he's been popular ever since. If you're an avid manga reader, you might recognize the name from "Lupin III," a derivative work centering around Lupin's grandson.
"Lupin'' isn't taking the BBC's "Sherlock" approach to the story, as you might've expected. Instead, it's centered around Assane Diop, played by the award-winning Omar Sy. Assane's life is deeply connected with the collection of stories of the gentleman thief, and so, in many ways, he becomes Lupin himself. Between the thrilling storyline and excellent acting, this is definitely a must-watch for everyone that loves thrillers.
7. Heartstopper
Count our hearts stopped
Only twenty years ago, we could never imagine the future of queer media. How many of us grew up in a world where queer baiting was the norm, and all of the pairings we could see were conventionally attractive gay men? That is if we grew up to see any representation at all. If someone were to tell us that we would have a show following a bunch of queer teenagers, our jobs would drop all the way to hell.
What we love most about "Heartstopper" is that it allows people to be casually queer. The gay lead doesn't struggle with coming out; we get to see his life well after his outing. It's as if we're breathing fresh air for the first time after seeing so much media where characters behave as if all of the problems disappear when they come out. And don't even get us started on Elle Argent, a trans black girl. We love her so much.
6. Shadow and Bone
In our hearts, this show takes the no. 1 spot, but we have to be oBjEcTive
Another book adaptation that left both older fans and the book lovers wanting more, more, more is "Shadow and Bone." The show is a fanfiction-esque style mashup of the "Shadow and Bone" trilogy and the "Six of Crows" duology. A good move from the production team is that they had the book's writer, Leigh Bardugo, heavily involved in the writing and casting process.
Putting the two storylines together - while bold - was an excellent move. You have your typical YA we-need-to-save-the-world and love triangle combo of the trilogy paired with the hey-let's-go-on-an-impossible-heist-and-get-rich plot of "Six of Crows." While your first instinct is that those two might clash, they perfectly blend together.
5. Queen's Gambit
Just seeing Anya Taylor-Joy in pretty clothes would be enough, but the plot is excellent as well
It doesn't really matter whether you're a chess fan or not because "Queen's Gambit" will hold your attention either way. The show has an intelligent way of telling us what is happening in chess tournaments that don't feel forced or info-dumpy. Other than that, it has plenty of other plot points to interest you and an incredible and chique costume department.
The story follows Beth Harmon, a girl orphaned at a young age. We get to see how she struggles with addiction on one side and starts becoming a chess champion on another. The show truly has everything: romance, friendship, family, and, most importantly, super cute clothes. We applaud the costume department's choice to make both intelligent and feminine, which is rare to see.
4. Bridgerton
Period dramas are just… perfection
While many wouldn't expect a period drama to capture audiences worldwide, "Bridgerton" certainly did. If you have spent five minutes of your life on Twitter, you've probably seen people talking about "Bridgerton." But between the gorgeous cast and the oh-so-dramatic plotline, it's actually no wonder that the show is doing as well as it is.
Some things about the show have left the audiences divided, though. Initially, it was praised for its color-blind casting since people of color rarely get to see themselves in period dramas that don't talk about their traumas. However, the show has since introduced some plot points that circle back to real-world racism and undo the original setup.
3. Stranger Things
A show that is well worth the wait
There aren't many shows that have such a chokehold on people as "Stranger Things" do. Even if people haven't seen it, they either know about it or have seen at least one meme. We're drawn in from the first episode, trying to solve the mystery that the main characters are surrounded by.
We try to unravel the enigma surrounding the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, which seems to have something… stranger than your run-of-the-mill small-town mystery. Between the disappearance of a young boy and the strange appearance of a girl with telekinetic powers, we know for sure that the events are supernatural.
2. Bojack Horseman
Depression hours are upon us
Are you depressed? If you're not, you'll get an order of depresso espresso when you finish watching this show. And if you already are, you will most definitely enjoy it, even though it will make you more depressed. Netflix should introduce a feature where they automatically book an appointment with a therapist as soon as you start playing the show or, God forbid, rewatch it.
Who knew that an animated show about a talking horse would delve into the depths of the human condition? The show really has no business being that profound as it borders on annoying. But we could never be annoyed at our good friend Bo, even if he gives us existential crises. Prepare some tissues, get a therapist on speed dial, and press play.
1. Squid Game
The levels of fame are kinda sussy gunshots
If you haven't heard of "Squid Game" by now, call yourself Patrick Star because you must be living under a rock. Everyone and their grandmother have been talking about this non-woke show. It went beyond a simple show everyone enjoyed watching, though. The rise and fall of the "Squid Game" is a phenomenon to be studied. While the show itself is incredibly executed, emotionally investing, and with an incredible cast, everything else around it is strange.
Because of its easy-to-recreate premise, every YouTuber and TikToker were doing their own versions of "Squid Game." The simplistic yet unique costumes made it easy to be mass-produced by the capitalistic society the show criticizes. There were mass debates and arguments centered around if the people got the message or not, and then… it just disappeared from everyone's minds.
Netflix puts out so many shows that it's hard to keep up with them all. We tried to give you as much variety of genres to choose from in our top ten, but it never feels like we put in enough shows here. We don't think it's possible to put every show we like on this list though we hope this will suffice. After all, perfection is nothing more than an illusion.
What are your favorite shows? Did we miss any good ones? Make sure to let us know in the comments!
Source: YouTube