What to watch next on Netflix?
November 9, 2024 10:42 PM Subscribe
I am looking for a series to watch on Netflix, or maybe free YouTube (absolutely no other services, etc.). Limited series is fine. Something too long and involved in not favored. Something lighter is preferred but not required. Some examples follow.
Liked:
Atypical
The Good Place
Queen’s Gambit
Queer Eye
Resident Alien
Stranger Things
Didn’t Like:
Seinfeld
Brooklyn 9-9
So-so:
Grace and Frankie
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Also:
Monk (I enjoyed this, but felt like it was a guilty pleasure; it was making fun of OCD. I’m not sure I can explain the difference between Monk and Atypical.)
Liked:
Atypical
The Good Place
Queen’s Gambit
Queer Eye
Resident Alien
Stranger Things
Didn’t Like:
Seinfeld
Brooklyn 9-9
So-so:
Grace and Frankie
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Also:
Monk (I enjoyed this, but felt like it was a guilty pleasure; it was making fun of OCD. I’m not sure I can explain the difference between Monk and Atypical.)
Hilda
posted by nickggully at 10:50 PM on November 9 [2 favorites]
posted by nickggully at 10:50 PM on November 9 [2 favorites]
Schitts Creek is very good
posted by EarnestDeer at 11:14 PM on November 9 [15 favorites]
posted by EarnestDeer at 11:14 PM on November 9 [15 favorites]
Heartstopper
posted by kokaku at 11:45 PM on November 9 [5 favorites]
posted by kokaku at 11:45 PM on November 9 [5 favorites]
KAOS
posted by Omnomnom at 12:07 AM on November 10 [7 favorites]
posted by Omnomnom at 12:07 AM on November 10 [7 favorites]
Both these are available on Canadian Netflix so I’ll assume they are on American Netflix too:
Sex Education. Gillian Anderson is sublime and although there are some emotional bits and it explores topics like homophobia and sexual harassment/assault, there is also a LOT of humour and love and diverse representation. I would not call the show heavy.
Heartbreak High (the recent one). Terrific Australian show. I found it quite similar to Sex Education in terms of themes.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:47 AM on November 10 [4 favorites]
Sex Education. Gillian Anderson is sublime and although there are some emotional bits and it explores topics like homophobia and sexual harassment/assault, there is also a LOT of humour and love and diverse representation. I would not call the show heavy.
Heartbreak High (the recent one). Terrific Australian show. I found it quite similar to Sex Education in terms of themes.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:47 AM on November 10 [4 favorites]
If Derry Girls is still on Netflix, it's my top recommendation for you. I loved it so much.
Based on your list I would recommend Nobody Wants This, Sex Education, Bridgerton, and The Great British Baking Show. Here's a recent NYT article that recommends 30 best shows on Netflix.
I personally prefer thrillers which may be too heavy/complex for what you're looking for, but some I enjoyed include The Night Agent, Dark Winds, The Gentlemen, and The Diplomat.
posted by emd3737 at 12:53 AM on November 10 [7 favorites]
Based on your list I would recommend Nobody Wants This, Sex Education, Bridgerton, and The Great British Baking Show. Here's a recent NYT article that recommends 30 best shows on Netflix.
I personally prefer thrillers which may be too heavy/complex for what you're looking for, but some I enjoyed include The Night Agent, Dark Winds, The Gentlemen, and The Diplomat.
posted by emd3737 at 12:53 AM on November 10 [7 favorites]
Seconding Heartstopper.
Also:
Miss Night and Day
(Korean drama about a young woman desperate to get a job, who mysteriously turns 50 years old by day, and reverts to her real age by night)
Geek Girl
(Young woman who doesn't realise she's autistic accidentally becomes a supermodel)
The Perfect Couple
(murder mystery set on Nantucket, young woman is invited to a extremely wealthy woman's house for a wedding and Things Go Wrong)
posted by Zumbador at 2:26 AM on November 10
Also:
Miss Night and Day
(Korean drama about a young woman desperate to get a job, who mysteriously turns 50 years old by day, and reverts to her real age by night)
Geek Girl
(Young woman who doesn't realise she's autistic accidentally becomes a supermodel)
The Perfect Couple
(murder mystery set on Nantucket, young woman is invited to a extremely wealthy woman's house for a wedding and Things Go Wrong)
posted by Zumbador at 2:26 AM on November 10
I've just finished the second of the six seasons of Brassic (6-8 eps per season) and it's really good. I recommend starting with season 1 if your local Netflix offers it. There's lots of careful character establishment in the early eps.
posted by flabdablet at 2:42 AM on November 10
posted by flabdablet at 2:42 AM on November 10
I recently watched School Spirits and really liked it! It’s definitely not light but has plenty of humor and since you’ve got Stranger Things on your list you can handle the subject matter of death and ghosts and nuanced relationships and motivations. It’s currently one short season, with a second that’s I think being made? There’s some really great acting from the leads and a clever mystery solving conceit that makes each episode feel like its own thing while connecting the plot, and a really smart cinemagraphic choice in aspect ratio changes that tickles my old photographer brain.
My favorite goofy competition show on Netflix is the Big Flower Flight, it’s surreal and beautiful and really features the art being made. The competitors are all wacky and kind. I think it’s just one season, sadly.
If you want to dip your toes into anime, Delicious in Dungeon is a delight. I’m an old subs over dubs snob but I watched the dub recently and honestly it’s as good if not better. Great characters, clever world building, extremely funny, engaging action, everyone has different nuanced motivations and challenges. And it’s about eating made up monster food and big conflicting magical systems and how those things interact on a very humanistic scale.
(Monk is an amazing show that is extremely dated, it aged in a very interesting way. It is shockingly ableist but made a huge amount of impact in terms of mental health awareness. Oh, and it’s horribly fatphobic too, and good god the copaganda of it all. But anyway, yeah, I’m just saying, I see you, I get it.)
posted by Mizu at 2:54 AM on November 10 [4 favorites]
My favorite goofy competition show on Netflix is the Big Flower Flight, it’s surreal and beautiful and really features the art being made. The competitors are all wacky and kind. I think it’s just one season, sadly.
If you want to dip your toes into anime, Delicious in Dungeon is a delight. I’m an old subs over dubs snob but I watched the dub recently and honestly it’s as good if not better. Great characters, clever world building, extremely funny, engaging action, everyone has different nuanced motivations and challenges. And it’s about eating made up monster food and big conflicting magical systems and how those things interact on a very humanistic scale.
(Monk is an amazing show that is extremely dated, it aged in a very interesting way. It is shockingly ableist but made a huge amount of impact in terms of mental health awareness. Oh, and it’s horribly fatphobic too, and good god the copaganda of it all. But anyway, yeah, I’m just saying, I see you, I get it.)
posted by Mizu at 2:54 AM on November 10 [4 favorites]
Extraordinary Attorney Woo! I am always recommending this one.
posted by eirias at 3:40 AM on November 10 [11 favorites]
posted by eirias at 3:40 AM on November 10 [11 favorites]
Loving nobody wants this (just released)
posted by treetop89 at 6:28 AM on November 10 [2 favorites]
posted by treetop89 at 6:28 AM on November 10 [2 favorites]
The Diplomat (on Netflix)
posted by kbanas at 6:40 AM on November 10 [3 favorites]
posted by kbanas at 6:40 AM on November 10 [3 favorites]
I just finished Nobody Wants This on Netflix and loved it. Kristen Bell and Adam Brody are ridiculously (and believably) charming as the romantic leads, each episode is half an hour, and the series as a whole was like a breath of fresh air. Ten episodes.
posted by stellaluna at 7:41 AM on November 10 [2 favorites]
posted by stellaluna at 7:41 AM on November 10 [2 favorites]
The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House is a one-season series. A sweet, character-driven story.
posted by BibiRose at 7:58 AM on November 10 [2 favorites]
posted by BibiRose at 7:58 AM on November 10 [2 favorites]
Delicious in Dungeon ("Eat or be eaten.")
Disenchantment (Shoppe sign: "Little Seizures: Poison! Poison!")
Inside Job ("You were right! The real reason they hired me is that my face is so generic, it cannot be tracked by satellites!")
BoJack Horseman (“It gets easier. Every day it gets a little easier. But you gotta do it every day. That's the hard part. But it does get easier.”)
posted by SPrintF at 8:32 AM on November 10 [1 favorite]
Disenchantment (Shoppe sign: "Little Seizures: Poison! Poison!")
Inside Job ("You were right! The real reason they hired me is that my face is so generic, it cannot be tracked by satellites!")
BoJack Horseman (“It gets easier. Every day it gets a little easier. But you gotta do it every day. That's the hard part. But it does get easier.”)
posted by SPrintF at 8:32 AM on November 10 [1 favorite]
Schitt’s Creek is great but not on Netflix at the moment. Seconding Derry Girls, Dark Winds (didn’t realize Netflix had it now, it was originally on AMC/Hulu).
Fisk—fun Australian series that has 2 short seasons on Netflix (3rd season won’t be out in the US for a while).
Maniac—limited series with Emma Stone/Jonah Hill, retro-futuristic psychological drama/mystery/techno-thriller.
Dark—may appeal if you liked Stranger Things and don’t mind German with subtitles.
posted by staggernation at 8:58 AM on November 10 [1 favorite]
Fisk—fun Australian series that has 2 short seasons on Netflix (3rd season won’t be out in the US for a while).
Maniac—limited series with Emma Stone/Jonah Hill, retro-futuristic psychological drama/mystery/techno-thriller.
Dark—may appeal if you liked Stranger Things and don’t mind German with subtitles.
posted by staggernation at 8:58 AM on November 10 [1 favorite]
Seconding Arrested Development, the first three seasons of which are excellent: a great blend of slapstick and deadpan dry humor. The final season is bad though.
A smart person accurately described BoJack Horseman as "the funniest show ever about clinical depression" (or something to that effect).
This doesn't jibe with your examples, but I'll add the early seasons of Call the Midwife, a good based-on-memoir historical drama. Earlier seasons stop just short of being heartwarming; later seasons get a bit too heartwarming for my bitter soul.
posted by scratch at 9:40 AM on November 10 [1 favorite]
A smart person accurately described BoJack Horseman as "the funniest show ever about clinical depression" (or something to that effect).
This doesn't jibe with your examples, but I'll add the early seasons of Call the Midwife, a good based-on-memoir historical drama. Earlier seasons stop just short of being heartwarming; later seasons get a bit too heartwarming for my bitter soul.
posted by scratch at 9:40 AM on November 10 [1 favorite]
If you liked Monk, we took up White Collar after finishing it and are enjoying the same breezy procedural elements. Bonus: there's a lot less murder!
posted by rikschell at 7:55 PM on November 10 [1 favorite]
posted by rikschell at 7:55 PM on November 10 [1 favorite]
Never Have I Ever
posted by willnot at 4:53 AM on November 11 [2 favorites]
posted by willnot at 4:53 AM on November 11 [2 favorites]
The Diplomat is the best thing Netflix has done in years.
posted by dobbs at 6:21 AM on November 11 [1 favorite]
posted by dobbs at 6:21 AM on November 11 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks. You've given me many good options.
posted by NotLost at 1:35 PM on November 11 [1 favorite]
posted by NotLost at 1:35 PM on November 11 [1 favorite]
Seconding:
The Makanai
Nobody Wants This
The Diplomat
Sex Education
Heartstopper
Adding:
Midnight Diner
Crash Landing on You (the only K-drama I’ve ever watched, it is a bit long but totally engrossing and not dark)
posted by exceptinsects at 4:20 PM on November 11 [1 favorite]
The Makanai
Nobody Wants This
The Diplomat
Sex Education
Heartstopper
Adding:
Midnight Diner
Crash Landing on You (the only K-drama I’ve ever watched, it is a bit long but totally engrossing and not dark)
posted by exceptinsects at 4:20 PM on November 11 [1 favorite]
Mrs. Ghidorah and I just finished Queen of the Villains, a five episode dramatization of one of the best professional wrestling heels of all time, Dump Matsumoto, and the incredibly popular Japanese women's wrestling organization she starred in. It's in Japanese, but has English subtitles, and it was astounding. Can't recommend it highly enough.
posted by Ghidorah at 7:43 PM on November 11
posted by Ghidorah at 7:43 PM on November 11
Cunk on Earth, Kim Convenience, Derry Girls, Loudermilk, Fisk
posted by LiverOdor at 7:23 PM on November 12
posted by LiverOdor at 7:23 PM on November 12
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posted by wheatlets at 10:47 PM on November 9