Samuel Brace with the top Netflix shows to look out for in 2017…
Netflix is very good at TV. They have a myriad of great content and a library replete of exceptional series. And 2017 is looking to be another fantastic year for the streaming service with top returning shows and eagerly anticipated new properties. So let’s run down the list of the best TV Netflix will have to offer in 2017.
House of Cards
The House of Cards hype train has certainly slowed down a little in recent seasons. People still love the show but perhaps not with the same fervour as before. It’s still a wonderful series however and season 5 will see its return. There is no doubt House of Cards is one of the best political dramas of all time; the behind the scenes wheeling’s and dealings (and occasional murders) of the White House has been a riveting experience from start to finish.
In Frank Underwood we have one of the most Machiavellian protagonists in TV history, and the connections he forms with his various colleagues and enemies (rarely mutually exlusive) are a treat to watch. Over previous seasons we have seen Frank’s house of cards being built, now all that’s left is to see the whole thing collapse. Frank is nothing if not resourceful however, he won’t go down without a fight, and watching it all unfold this coming season is bound to be one of the hottest tickets on Netflix. The show remains one of their very best.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Everyone who loved peculiar comedy and therefore adored Tina Fey’s 30 Rock was praying and hoping she would bring us something someday of a similar ilk. And that’s exactly what the writer/actor has done with Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Over its first two seasons it has claimed its spot as Netflx’s finest live action comedy series, bringing the absurd and wonderful imagination of Fey back into all of our lives.
What makes this show extra awesome however, is the very serious and desperately dark story at its centre. Kimmy is a former cult victim, kidnapped as a young girl and deprived of her childhood, now living in New York trying to figure things out. It doesn’t sound very funny but through its colourful characters and wacky storylines it absolutely is. But it’s this very dichotomy that elevates the show and allows for some very real drama to occasionally permeate the hilarity. If you want laughs on Netflix in 2017, don’t look any further than this.
Bojack Horseman
Bojack Horseman really is a wonderful thing. Not only is it damn funny, its right up there with the best and most touching dramas anywhere on TV. Netflix’s animated series about a former TV star horse (think of Charlie Sheen) is crazy, dark, and sharply funny but also a very real account of a person’s depression.
Bojack is a messed up guy. He’s a person (horse) who has done, and still does, terrible things. But he is also capable of great kindness. The best thing about this ride is travelling along with Bojack, being a passenger looking on as he continues to mess up, disappointing us as well as himself. He is well indeed his own worst enemy — something many of us can relate to. Bojack Horseman is a fantastic animated comedy, but it is so much more than that, and in actuality it works best as an impossibly sad dramatic narrative.
Stranger Things
Absolutley the biggest surprise of 2016 and probably in recent TV memory, the show that for many came out of nowhere quickly becamse the most buzzed about series available. Netflix will be very happy about this one. Capitlising on our nostalgia — a popular trick these days — Stranger Things takes us back in time not only to the 80s but to the childhood movies and books that we loved so much — drawing inspiration from things like E.T, IT, The Goonies, and Stand by Me.
This story about a group of boys tackling a creepy and magical mystery plaguing their small town was the most fun ride of 2016, and is a no brainer when considering Netflix shows to look out for this year. What will perhaps be most interesting is to see how they tackle season 2 as season 1 really could have been all there was. Hopefully things don’t go off the deep end too much and they can retain that magic of adventure we all loved so much. Oh and that sublime soundtrack. More of that.
The Punisher
Netflix have been doing a stellar job with their Marvel properties. Daredevil through its first two seasons has been glorious and perhaps the best thing to come out of it was Jon Bernthal’s Punisher. Always a fan favourite, Frank Castle captured even more hearts with his blistering appearance in DD‘s season 2. With a quite monumental performance by one very exciting actor (SHANE RULES FOREVER), Bernthal’s Punisher created a clamouring for more of the character’s brutal escapades.
And with Steve Lightfoot (of Hannibal fame) helming proceedings, Punisher’s solo outing is bound to be a treat. All the ingredients are there and if they pick the right story and manage to tackle the Netflix Marvel curse of too many episodes and not enough story, then this could be something very special indeed. This is must watch in 2017.
Bloodline
Here comes the truth. Bloodline is the best drama series on Netflix. And the fact that it goes virtually unnoticed is a crime shame. Over the its past two seasons, the story of the Rayburn’s has been the highlight of Netflix’s TV year, and the fact that it is all ending in 2017 (with season 3) is very sad indeed. Featuring some of the best performances anywhere in drama, especially from Ben Mendelsohn and Kyle Chandler, Bloodline has never failed to bring the goods.
With the show boasting the best setting in TV — the stormy shores and swamps of the Florida Keys — and a riveting account of family betrayal; the conclusion to this almost literary tale is surely going to be something special. Yes, it is sad that it’s all ending, but this is always preferable to dragging things out. Season 2’s cliff-hanger was flawless, and any fan of the show will be desperate to get back in that car with John. We need to know where this road leads and more importantly where it ends. If you haven’t yet given this show a go, do yourself a favour.
Samuel Brace
