Thousands and thousands of titles make Netflix a complex labyrinth of offerings to navigate. So being the friends in need we are, the FIB team decided to create a map of treasures in the Netflix’ goldmine. We’ve personally selected our top must-watch Netflix picks and why, hoping we’ll help you kick-start that next TV series addiction. You’re welcome!
How to Get Away with Murder
With Viola Davis at the helm, this law-drama/mystery had me hooked from the get-go. Without giving too much away, the show follows a group of law students handpicked by the prominent defense attorney, Annalise Keating, for a criminal law class that promptly imitates real life, but you best be prepared for a briefcase of criminality, conspiracy, and cold-blooded murder.
And if the premise hasn’t reeled you in already, the series proved ahead of its time way back in 2014 – introducing an impressively diverse cast and featuring multiple LGBT relationships. The show is currently in its third season; great news for all the bingers yet to board the HTGAWM train!
– Ashleigh Douglas (FIB Sub-Editor and Social Media Queen)
Stories by Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore is not well known in the western world. However, he was instrumental in the shaping of Bengal’s national identity through his poems and works, stoking national pride and denouncing the rule of the British Raj. His strong and progressive personality was the main source of inspiration for the Bollywood director, Anurag Basu. The stories are brought to life in the same vein as Tagore, focusing on the characters and their emotional growth in response to the social rules binding them, rather than romanticising the era and the oppression of the women despite their defiant attitudes. All of which makes this tv show a must watch for any Bollywood fan.
– Paromita Haque (Writer and Bollywood Fan)
Money Heist
Spanish speaking movies and TV shows are on the rise, especially after Guillermo del Toro won the Best Film Oscar for The Shape of Water. Well, Money Heist is one of Netflix most popular TV shows right now and there are multiple reasons as to why. Hostages, money production, human relations, and a glorious game of cat and mouse between cops and robbers makes this series an intense and fast-paced TV show that doesn’t let you close your eyes. A big part of the high intensity is due to a magnificent soundtrack, and plot twists that will leave you mesmerised with the Professor’s ability to play “face to face” with the police, yet always manage to stay one step ahead of them. Season 2 has just come out and we are all biting our nails to get home and connect to Netflix. Start stealing your neighbor’s WIFI if you must, but you have to watch it, it’s too good!
– Pol Arnella (Writer and Resident Spaniard)
The Good Place
I’ll be the first to admit, The Good Place gives the initial impression of a half-baked spoof on the tired heaven/hell trope (read: mindless trash). How did I become addicted, you ask? I’ll set the scene: it was the summer holidays and I was elbow-deep in a Netflix binge when seemingly out of nowhere Netflix flicked me a notification recommending The Good Place, long story short – I was completely stuck to my sofa until I finished it (both seasons, twice). Sure, a show centred on the concept of ‘moral philosophy’ might make you think twice about spending your summer glued to the couch but The Good Place is everything you want from a binge-worthy series. It’s diverse, it’s light-hearted and it’s bloody hilarious.
– Ashleigh Douglas, and seconded by the Editor, Niyati Libotte!
B: The Beginning
Only select Animes are chosen to shine in the Netflix spotlight. B: the Beginning is definitely one of the chosen ones. The story will is hard to understand at first but that adds to the mysteriousness of this crime/fantasy TV show where the royal police are caught in a plot of schemes and mass crimes performed by a secretive organisation and the sporadic crimes of a dark knight called simply ‘B’. The royal police only keep up with the set of schemes and crimes thanks to Keith, the leading inspector of the investigation who has been obsessed with the job which has lasted over a decade. Watch this anime worthy of the greatest of it’s genre- Death Note.
– Pol Arnella
COSMOS: A Spacetime Odyssey
For the nerds or just those who love to ponder what it’s all about, this series literally blew my mind! It’s an upgrade to the original 1980’s space science doco show hosted by the legendary Astrophysicist Carl Sagan. Reimagined and with amazing visual FX and animation conceptualised by Seth McFarlane, the new Cosmos series is an incredible journey into our discovery of the stars and the stories that helped us understand the motions of the Universe. It’s also really compelling to watch, in no small part due to African American Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, who hosts the show with poetic zeal and a great respect for his mentors. This series totally reshaped my understanding of Life, the Universe and Everything. Mandatory viewing if you are a human on planet Earth, or in fact a Being anywhere in the multiverse. Cosmos is an experience that does not assume knowledge and is wonderfully aspirational. What I’m saying is you don’t need to be an astrophysicist to enjoy it and learn a heck load!
– Niyati Libotte (Ed in Chief)
Do you guys like our Netflix top picks? Have you watched any? What TV shows do you guys propose? Leave a comment below and look out for part 2 next week sooooon….
