There's a lot to love on Netflix and always something new being buzzed about. It's easy for shows to slip through the cracks. Every time you think you have your queue under control, someone new at a party tells you about the series you just have to watch, and all of a sudden everything goes out the door. I get it. But it does mean that there are some TV series on Netflix that deserve more love, and I aim to get them that love. Just like a big, warm, love-y, buttery hug. Netflix has done so much for me over the years. I mean, they literally broke down what I should watch and when on Halloween. The least I can do is give back a little.
So what I've put together is a list of great shows with solid reputations that, despite everything, just aren't the buzziest things on Netflix right now. We're talking classics that deserve a revisit, more current stuff that got overshadowed by runaway hits like Stranger Things , and just straight up good stuff that I can't believe more people aren't into. So, yeah, no judgement, and you aren't a bad person, but here are some shows that we all, collectively, might have been neglecting while we were distracted by something shinier. Like Orange Is The New Black.
1. Peaky Blinders
This BBC Two program is a hit in the U.K. but has only reached cult status in the U.S., so there's still time for you to get on board with the series and look really smart in front of all your friends. It's based on a real-life gang in Victorian era England, and stars Cillian Murphy as Thomas Shelby, the gang's leader. A history lesson and a gripping plot? Where do I sign?
2. Daredevil
While everyone's been distracted by Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, Daredevil has been quietly plugging away; it was greenlit for a third season in July. The show centers around Matt Murdock, a man who was blinded as a child and now works as a lawyer by day, only to prowl the city as a crime-fighting superhero by night. The Netflix original is so strong that it's already birthed a spin-off for one of its characters, The Punisher, who's a vigilante antihero.
3. Luther
I'm not sure how a show starring Idris Elba and Ruth Wilson has managed to fly under the radar, but that's the case with Luther, a psychological crime drama from BBC One. Elba plays John Luther, a Detective Chief Inspector so passionate and dedicated to his job that he frequently ends up consumed by the darkness he's attempting to stamp out. The show has four seasons, but comprises just 16 episodes, so this is a quick one to catch up on. Basically, you officially have no excuse.
4. Parenthood
This is another one that had huge buzz right around the finale, in January 2015, but excitement about the messy, complicated, easy-to-love Braverman clan died down quickly. Now, it runs the risk of fading into the background. Don't let that happen. It's up to you to save them.
5. Futurama
Created by Matt Groening, the same brilliant man behind The Simpsons, Futurama has had seven seasons, broken up by cancellations and renewals and four separate finales, but it's the show that won't die. And there's a reason. It takes about six months to do a single episode, so every moment that you spend watching Philip J. Fry is well thought out and perfected down to the minutiae, with laughs and weirdness crammed in one on top of the other into a deliciously odd sandwich.
6. Freaks and Geeks
This cult classic lasted only one season, but was critically acclaimed and launched the careers of many actors who are still working today. Little known names like, say, James Franco, Seth Rogen, Linda Cardellini, and Jason Segel. It's frequently rated as one of the best shows of all time, and it's right there at your fingertips, so what are you waiting for?
7. Friday Night Lights
This drama centers around a fictional high school football team in small-town America, and tackles obstacles (no pun intended) that many in this country face. But instead of glossing over hard topics like racism, drugs, morality, and economic inequality, Friday Night Lights dives right in, and you get to know the characters very in-depth along the way. It would honestly be worth watching just for Connie Britton's hair, and so that you can pipe in when your friends make, "clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose" references.
8. Wilfred
For whatever reason, this series has always been under-appreciated, even when it was on the air. Elijah Wood stars as Ryan, a man who is asked to look after his neighbor's dog, Wilfred, to give Ryan some responsibility after a suicide attempt. The only thing is, Ryan sees Wilfred as a man in a dog suit, so hilarity obviously ensues. Don't let the weirdness of the material keep you away from this criminally underrated show.
9. Bob's Burgers
The Belchers are one of my favorite families on television, and the relationship between Bob and Linda is particularly delightful. The family owns — you guessed it — a burger restaurant, and has to deal with the running of that, along with the raising of their three kids. Tina is always falling in love and wanting to touch boy butts, Gene is playing his fart piano, and Louise is just a full-on hellraiser. But they have each others' backs through all of it, and it's surprisingly heart-warming.
10. Damages
You had me at "female-led legal thriller starring Glenn Close and Rose Byrne as her protégée," but I guess the rest of the star-studded cast, plot arc of digging more deeply into their relationship with ever episode, and multiple Emmy Awards also can't hurt.
11. 30 Rock
Excitement about 30 Rock has died down, but this comedy holds up. Almost nowhere else on television except maybe Arrested Development can you see this many intelligent, razor-sharp jokes one on top of the other. Even if you've watched this series once or twice before, it bears revisiting, because I promise you missed something. Plus, Liz Lemon is still one of the most honest portrayals of a woman I've ever seen on TV: she doesn't aim to be liked, just respected, which makes her all the more compelling.
12. Sherlock
The long hiatuses between seasons mean that this series can lose momentum at times, but start from the beginning on this modern reboot of the classic, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, and you'll be all geared up for Season 4's recently-announced return in January 2017.
13. The West Wing
You'll never convince me that this isn't the best thing that's ever been on television. Centering around President Jed Bartlet, played by Martin Sheen, and his staff, this Aaron Sorkin series is as full of heart as it is of brain — and that is very full. Also, please talk to me about the feminist powerhouse that is C.J. Cregg at any time, I am always ready.
14. Bloodline
That's two Kyle Chandler-helmed shows that have ended up on this list, so good for him. This time he plays not a coach, but John Rayburn, eldest son in his family and detective and deputy at the local sheriff's office. The first season begins when his older brother Danny returns home. The show has run for two seasons, and the third hasn't yet aired, but it's already been confirmed as the series' last, presumably because anyone I've ever talked to about it has said, "Oh, I've heard good things, I always meant to check that one one." It's too late to save the series, which was cancelled in September, but at least give it the love it deserves by watching the first two seasons of the Netflix original. And catch the third when it premieres in 2017.
I know you have a lot of love to give, so give it to these 14 deserving shows that are just waiting in the Netflix wings for your tender care and affection.
Images: FX Productions; Giphy (14)
