Netflix: The evergrowing, multi-billion dollar movie streaming service, and the company most known for KILLING BLOCKBUSTER.
Many people, young and old, near and far, regularly watch movies and TV shows on Netflix. Many Millenials spend days upon days binge-watching shows like "The Office" or "Parks and Recreation." It's kind of a common trend for the people my age to watch the TV shows on Netflix and intentionally ignore the movies. Unless, of course, an early 2000's classic makes its way to Netflix like, "The Princess Diaries" or "A Cinderella Story." So, today, I have decided to comprise a list of three good Netflix original shows that should have the same popularity as "Orange is the New Black" or "Stranger Things" but don't.
1. "On My Block"
"On My Block" is a fictional show takes you into the lives of four teens living in an inner-city neighborhood of Los Angeles. We see teenage hardships that are more common, like starting high school, having crushes, and trying to please your parents. But, "On My Block" showcases what's normal to kids growing up in a more urban setting, like gang activity/rivalry, violence, and crime.
The cast is predominantly people of color, which is commendable and also, sadly, very rare. It was eye-opening for me, personally, because I would think many times "kids at that age shouldn't be worrying about or even put into these situations." But, I say this because I grew up in a typical suburban neighborhood with relatively low crime, so I wouldn't know much about what these kids have to experience. If you like an even balance between drama and comedy, I highly recommend to check this show out, as it has some educational undertones within each episode that I got a lot out of.
2. "Big Mouth"
If you enjoy raunchy adult animation shows like "Family Guy" or "The Simpsons", I highly recommend "Big Mouth." From the mind of the comedic genius, Nick Kroll, we follow pre-teens, Nick and Andrew as they are growing up (literally) and going through puberty. We also meet the "Hormone Monster" which is basically Andrew's confused hormonal mind personified.
The Hormone Monster is responsible for pushing Andrew to fulfill his sexual desires at the most inconvenient times. As real as the topics were, the comedic value of the show is portrayed by the bluntness of the discussion of topics as well as the personification of different objects and figments that the kids interact with throughout the show. These personified beings (including a pillow, the ghost of Duke Ellington, and the Statue of Liberty) offer helpful, yet confusing advice. This show perfectly conveys the awkwardness of middle school and the process that is puberty, by making the audience feel awkward as well. As I watched this show, I was taken back to the dark days which is better known as middle school and thought about how awkwardly everyone would act towards one another.
3. "Dear White People"
Stemming from a movie of the same name, "Dear White People" correctly shows the struggles African-Americans face by simply living in the U.S. "Dear White People" takes us to a (predominantly white) Ivy League University and follows the stories of several black students enrolled there.
We mostly follow Sam White, a radio host on the University's radio station. Her radio show discusses the racial problem America has and what must be done to keep it from getting worse. We see the blatant racism against the black characters of the show. I have experienced blatant racism before, whether it was intentional or not, it's still disheartening to see even fictitious characters face it. This show has many educational undertones in each episode, topics ranging from systematic racism to homophobia. I highly recommend this show to anyone and everyone, including those who are self-proclaimed "woke queens."
This article isn't meant as a dig towards "Stranger Things" or "Orange is the New Black", I just wanted to showcase lesser known Netflix Originals because Netflix produces so many quality shows and movies. However, Netflix spends millions of dollars on marketing for certain shows, but not a cent on any others. It's as simple as featuring them on the front page of Netflix, but even that doesn't happen.
These shows listed (and many more) offer diverse casts, meaningful plotlines, and quality entertainment. So, if you're one of those people who always tweets "I need new show recommendations on Netflix :/", here are three good shows to start with!
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