Face it, no matter how much a person looks forward to summer vacation, a time will come when boredom sets in and the Netflix marathons begin. To avoid the guesswork and trial-and-error involved in finding a new, great TV show, check out our recommendations on the best programs on Netflix.
“American Horror Story” (season 1): Warning: If you start this series, you will not be able to stop watching it until you reach the mind-blowing season finale. Seriously – don’t start watching it unless you have at least 12 hours to watch every single episode, because it will have you hooked from the very beginning. The show has an excellently written story that is performed by a talented cast – standouts include Jessica Lange, Evan Peters, and Taissa Farminga. It is, without a doubt, amazing. Don’t watch the second season, though (it’s not even on Netflix yet, anyway), it lacks the same thrill-factor as the original season, and after the first few episodes, it starts trying too hard to be shocking.
“Bones” (seasons 1-7): Starring Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz, this crime-drama is centered on forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan and her partner, FBI agent Seeley Booth, as they work to solve crimes were minimal evidence was left behind (namely, the bones of the deceased). What separates “Bones” from other crime TV shows is the authenticity of the characters – after watching a few episodes, you’ll really feel as though you were a member of the Jeffersonian team.
“Nip/Tuck” (seasons 1-6): From the creators of “American Horror Story” and “Glee”, “Nip/Tuck” is the story of two Miami plastic surgeons and the complications that arise in their controversial practice: McNamara/Troy.
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”: Yup. Sounds crazy. Basically, you have Buffy Summers (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar), who is the “slayer”, or “chosen one”, destined to save the world from the dark forces. Buffy grows to be your new favorite person, and will blow you away with her ability to handle all the challenges of being an adolescent (boys, mean girls, school, the normal things that most high school girls can relate to), on top of fighting off those evil bloodsuckers.
“The Walking Dead” (season 1): Zombies. Action. Drama. All downloaded in less than a minute directly to your laptop, iPad, or BluRay player. What more could you want in life?
“Lost” (seasons 1-6): The title says it all. They are lost. On an island. And they can’t get off. Not a good situation.
“Breaking Bad” (seasons 1-5): A high school chemistry teacher starts a meth lab in order to support his family after he is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. It’s a really methed up show.
“South Park” (seasons 1-15): What separates “South Park” from other adult comedies is the interesting social commentary and satire hidden beneath its raunchy humor and foul-mouthed fourth graders, Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny. The best episode by far is the one where they all get trapped inside the waterpark, or when Cartman attempts to become a famous NASCAR driver, or the one when they come up with the wildly famous “fishsticks” joke, or that time that Cartman hates his mom for making him the poorest kid in school after Kenny leaves and goes into foster care with a “deeply religious agnostic family”, or…actually, they’re all funny. Maybe that’s why it’s about to enter its fifteenth season this fall.
“Lie to Me” (seasons 1-3): This fascinating crime drama, inspired by the work of Dr. Paul Ekman, the world’s foremost expert on facial expressions, adds a new element to the typical crime TV show. The show features Dr. Cal Lightman (Tim Roth) and his colleagues at The Lightman Group who work with local law enforcement and other agencies to uncover people’s lies and reach the truth through “reading” their body language and small facial expressions and gestures. It is quite far-fetched at times (some of their theories are based on minimal hard evidence), but nevertheless continues to fascinate.
“Workaholics” (season 1): If you’re a fan of crazy, hilarious adventures, then you’re in for a treat with “Workaholics”. Season 1 features college dropouts and now-roommates-and-co-workers Anders (“Ders”), Adam, and Blake on their wild adventures, including their office campout that goes awry after a break-in, arranging a To Catch a Predator-inspired mission to arrest a local child molester, going to a concert/fair filled with creepy clowns, taking their boss’ son on a night of fun on the town, attempting to get basketball tickets in order to impress Adam’s “third love”, and organizing a strike in order to protect their religious right to celebrate “Half-Christmas”, among many other unforgettable misadventures.
