Contents
- 1. Derry Girls
- 2. Sex Education
- 3. Norsemen
- 4. Ash vs Evil Dead
- 5. Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj
- 6. The End of the F***ing World
- 7. Crashing
- 8. She's Gotta Have It
- 9. American Vandal
- 10. The Good Place
- 11. Lovesick
- 12. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
- 13. Master of None
- 14. Love
- 15. Arrested Development
- 16. Portlandia
- 17. Parks and Recreation
- 18. New Girl
- 19. W/ Bob & David
- 20. Documentary Now!
- 21. GLOW
- 22. Jane the Virgin
- 23. Easy
1. Derry Girls
Erin (Saoirse-Monica Jackson), her cousin Orla (Louisa Harland), their friends Clare (Nicola Coughlan) and Michelle (Jamie-Lee O’Donnell), and Michelle’s English cousin James (Dylan Llewellyn) navigate their teen years during the Troubles in Derry, where they all attend a Catholic girls’ secondary school. The story follows Erin and her friends as they grow up in a world of armed police in armoured Land Rovers and British Army check points in 1990s Northern Ireland and attempt to navigate the highs and lows of being teenagers.
2. Sex Education
Socially awkward high school student Otis may not have much experience in the lovemaking department, but he gets good guidance on the topic in his personal sex ed course – living with mom Jean, who is a sex therapist. Being surrounded by manuals, videos and tediously open conversations about sex, Otis has become a reluctant expert on the subject. When his classmates learn about his home life, Otis decides to use his insider knowledge to improve his status at school, so he teams with whip-smart bad girl Maeve to set up an underground sex therapy clinic to deal with their classmates’ problems. But through his analysis of teenage sexuality, Otis realizes that he may need some therapy of his own.
3. Norsemen
Norsemen takes place in 790s Norway, with various characters taking the leading role as the series develops. The story covers the life of Vikings in the town of Norheim and them dealing with day-to-day life and conflict of varying comedic degrees. As the series progresses, disputes with neighboring villages, including a rival tribe with a chief wanting to modernize Norheim’s culture, result in conflicts that the main characters must deal with.
4. Ash vs Evil Dead
Ash is baaaack! Bruce Campbell reprises his “Evil Dead” film role as heroic, chainsaw-handed monster fighter Ash Williams, now an aging lothario who has successfully avoided responsibility, maturity and heinous villains for the past 30 years. Constantly peering over his shoulder, Ash somehow knew that the Evil Dead would return for him. That day arrives when Ash commits an act of carelessness, unleashing a Deadite plague that threatens to destroy mankind. Co-starring in the half-hour series are Lucy Lawless as mysterious Ruby; Ray Santiago as Ash’s loyal sidekick, Pablo Simon Bolivar; and Dana DeLorenzo as moody wild child Kelly Maxwell.
5. Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj
“The Daily Show” alumnus Hasan Minhaj gets the spotlight to himself – and his name in the title – on this Netflix original series. The Peabody Award-winning comic explores the modern cultural and political landscape with depth and sincerity. In each weekly episode, he uses his unique comedic voice and storytelling skill to investigate the larger trends shaping the fragmented world. According to Netflix, Minhaj – who also serves as an executive producer – is the first Indian-American host of a weekly comedy show.
6. The End of the F***ing World
Based on the comic book series by Charles Forsman, “The End of the F…ing World” sees two 17-year-old outsiders, James and Alyssa, embark on a road trip to find her estranged father, who left home when she was just a child. James, who is convinced he’s a psychopath, has decided it’s time to graduate from killing animals to something bigger – and he already has a target in mind. Alyssa, the embodiment of existential angst, feels like she doesn’t fit in at her new school despite being quite popular. Together, they get caught up on a trail of violent events that grow increasingly more ominous as their quest progresses.
7. Crashing
Sheltered suburbanite Pete dreams of a big-city career in comedy, but his wife, Jessica, has other ideas. Childhood sweethearts no more after he finds her in an uncompromising position with another man, Pete is suddenly homeless and frantically re-evaluating his priorities. As he attempts to find comfort in the rough-and-tumble New York comedy scene, the aspiring funny man bunks on other people’s couches while learning hard lessons about life and himself. Created by and starring Pete Holmes, with Judd Apatow as a co-executive producer, “Crashing” draws on Holmes’ own experiences as a comedian, presenting an inside look at the fickle world of stand-up comedy.
8. She's Gotta Have It
Iconic filmmaker Spike Lee revisits his first feature film with this Netflix original series of the same name. Brooklyn-based artist Nola Darling struggles to stay true to herself and her dreams while dividing her time between her friends, her job and her lovers – all three of them. That trio includes married businessman and father Jamie Overstreet, photographer and self-described “biracial Adonis” Greer Childs and chatty Michael Jordan fan Mars Blackmon. In addition to creating the series, Lee directs all the episodes and serves as an executive producer alongside wife Tonya Lewis Lee.
9. American Vandal
True-crime series are gaining popularity on TV so, of course, there was bound to be a satire of the genre. “American Vandal” takes a look at the aftermath of various high school pranks. Aspiring student documentarian Peter Maldonado takes it upon himself, with help from friend Sam Ecklund, to investigate the cases and find out exactly who is responsible for the crimes. After looking into vandalism at a public high school, Peter and Sam head to a Catholic school after the cafeteria’s lemonade is contaminated with laxatives. In the style of the genre it lampoons, the series leaves viewers wondering who the real perpetrator is until the very end.
10. The Good Place
When Eleanor Shellstrop finds herself in the afterlife, she’s both relieved and surprised that she’s made it into the Good Place. But it doesn’t take long for Eleanor to realize she’s there by mistake. She hides in plain sight from the Good Place’s architect Michael and his all-knowing assistant Janet. Her seemingly perfect neighbors Tahani and Jianyu and open-hearted soul mate Chidi help her realize that it’s never too late. With the help of her new friends – and a few enemies – Eleanor becomes determined to shed her old way of life in hopes of discovering a new one in the afterlife.
11. Lovesick
Dylan, a 20-something romantic, has been intimate with a long list of women during his quest for true love. When he discovers that he has a sexually transmitted disease, Dylan must go back and contact everyone he has slept with to tell them about his diagnosis. Each time Dylan seeks out a different person from his contact list, the show flashes back to a defining moment in a relationship that he would prefer to forget. Friends Evie and Luke, who have been with Dylan through it all over the last decade, travel down memory lane with him.
12. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Successful and driven, Rebecca Bunch seemingly has it all – an upscale apartment in Manhattan and a partnership at a prestigious law firm – but she feels like something is missing. After a chance meeting with a former romantic interest, Rebecca impulsively decides to give up her life in New York and relocate to West Covina, Calif., a Los Angeles suburb she hopes will be the perfect home base as she embarks on a quest for love, adventure and true happiness. Star Rachel Bloom also serves as an executive producer.
13. Master of None
Comic Aziz Ansari and writer Alan Yang are the creators of this Netflix-original comedy, which is loosely based on Ansari’s real-life experiences. Ansari plays the role of Dev, a New York-based actor who is struggling to identify what he really wants, both personally and professionally. The series reveals glimpses of Dev’s younger years, and explores current aspects of his life, including modern etiquette (regarding texting and social media), and being young and single in the city. Other important people in Dev’s life are featured, including Dev’s parents, played by Ansari’s real-life mother and father, Fatima and Shoukath.
14. Love
When his cheating girlfriend leaves him, people-pleasing nice-guy Gus (Paul Rust, “I Love You, Beth Cooper” and “Inglorious Basterds”) moves into a trendy apartment complex inhabited by lots of college students. A chance encounter introduces him to wild-child Mickey (Gillian Jacobs, “Community”), also recently single, and who despises her job in radio. Though wildly different, the two are drawn to each other, and that relationship is the basis for the Judd Apatow-helmed Netflix original series. And in the end, their differences may be what help them figure out just what love is.
15. Arrested Development
Michael Bluth finds himself forced to stay in Orange County and run the family real estate business after his father, George Bluth Sr., is sent to prison for committing white-collar crime. He tries to juggle the wants and needs of his spoiled and eccentric family while being a good role model for his teenage son, George Michael.
16. Portlandia
Former “Saturday Night Live” cast member Fred Armisen and rock ‘n’ roll guitarist Carrie Brownstein first cracked up audiences as the internet sketch-comedy duo ThunderAnt. That led to this absurdist series set in Portland, Ore., that gently pokes fun at the laid-back Pacific Northwest city and the many eccentric characters that call it home. Among the many recurring guest stars on the series are Ed Begley Jr., Jeff Goldblum, Natasha Lyonne, Kumail Nanjiani and Kyle MacLachlan, who plays Portlandia’s mayor.
17. Parks and Recreation
Leslie Knope, a midlevel bureaucrat in an Indiana Parks and Recreation Department, hopes to beautify her town (and boost her own career) by helping local nurse Ann Perkins turn an abandoned construction site into a community park, but what should be a fairly simple project is stymied at every turn by oafish bureaucrats, selfish neighbours, governmental red tape and a myriad of other challenges. Leslie’s colleague Tom Haverford, who delights in exploiting his position for personal gain, is as likely to undermine her efforts as to help her, while her boss, Ron Swanson, is adamantly opposed to government in any form, even though he’s a bureaucrat himself.
18. New Girl
After going through a rough breakup, awkward and upbeat Jess (Zooey Deschanel) moves in with three single guys. Intelligent and witty Nick is an underachiever who took the bartender off-ramp on his road to success. Schmidt obsesses over his social standing and looks at Jess as a personal project. Winston is a competitive former athlete who, after realizing he will never become a pro, moves into the loft. Together with Jess’ best friend, Cece, they bond to form an unlikely, and dysfunctional, family.
19. W/ Bob & David
W/ Bob & David is a comedy sketch show created by and starring Bob Odenkirk and David Cross. The sketch show consists of four half-hour episodes plus an hour-long making-of special entitled “Behind the Making of the Scenes”. Although it shares much of the same writing team as Mr. Show with Bob and David, it follows a different structure with Odenkirk describing it as “lighter”, “less complex” and “faster”.
20. Documentary Now!
“Saturday Night Live” compatriots Fred Armisen, Bill Hader and Seth Meyers serve as creators, executive producers and writers of this IFC original series, using their love of documentary films and combining it with comedy to present a unique take on the form. Hosted by Dame Helen Mirren and starring Armisen and Hader, each episode is shot in a different documentary film style, paying tribute to some of the most important stories that didn’t actually happen. “SNL” creator Lorne Michaels also executive produces “Documentary Now!”, and guest stars include Jack Black and John Slattery.
21. GLOW
Alison Brie stars as Ruth Wilder, an out-of-work actress living in Los Angeles in the ’80s. Wilder finds an unexpected chance at stardom: enter the glitter and spandex-laden world of women’s wrestling, where she must work alongside 12 other Hollywood misfits. Marc Maron plays the role of Sam Sylvia, a washed-up director of “B” movies who tries to lead the group of women to fame. The series is created by Carly Mensch and Liz Flahive, who serve as executive producers with Jenji Kohan and Tara Herrmann.
22. Jane the Virgin
The daughter of a teen mother, Jane Villanueva grew up determined not to repeat her mom’s mistakes. At 23, her life is on track; Jane is studying to be a teacher and engaged to a handsome detective who supports her decision to remain a virgin until marriage. Then a routine clinic visit flips her life upside down. Inseminated by a specimen meant for a patient in the next room, now-pregnant Jane is in a situation made only more insane when she learns that the sperm donor is her boss, Rafael. As her meticulously planned life gets more like the telenovelas she loves, she faces a lot of complicated decisions about where to go from here.
23. Easy
From director and creator Joe Swanberg, this Netflix-original comedy anthology series explores diverse Chicago characters, modern romance technology and culture. Scenarios include a married couple hoping to reignite their sex life, a couple looking to spice things up with another woman, and middle-aged dating. The series features an impressive array of stars, including Jake Johnson of “New Girl,” comic Hannibal Buress, actor Orlando Bloom, actress/model Emily Ratajkowski and actor Dave Franco.
