Netflix’s 7 Most Underrated Titles Of All Time
It’s no secret the rise of this streaming giant has completely transformed the way we watch television, and its bid to steal our attention away from broadcasters with a subscription model brought with it innovative and experimental content unbound by the traditional constraints of scheduled programming with ad breaks. They played to niche audiences and pushed boundaries, at times receiving critical acclaim, and others flying under the radar.
These are the best hidden gem series that never received the buzz and hype they were due.
7. BONDiNG
A snackable series with episodes running 13 – 20 minutes long, BONDiNG brought us the story of Tiff Chester, a grad student living a double life studying psychology and working as a dominatrix by the name of “Mistress May”. Business is booming when she taps friend Pete to become her assistant, adopt the name “Master Carter”, and dive head first into the world of BDSM and kink. It did an amazing job of tackling themes of shame, sexuality, emotional intimacy, friendship, and empowerment in a short form structure that packed in the laughs.
6. Ares
This Dutch teenaged version of Eyes Wide Shut takes place at an affluent private school with major Gossip Girl vibes and a secret society known as Ares. The deeper young Rosa dives into its shadowy underbelly, the more she realizes its illusions of grandeur and opulence are built upon a rotten foundation of violence, exploitation, and sacrifice. A stunning metaphor for Dutch colonialism, with visuals inspired by 17th century paintings, and a powerful ending, this series is perfect for fans of dark academia or Donna Tartt’s The Secret History.
5. Maniac
How we ever got lucky enough to be graced by a miniseries starring Emma Stone and Jonah Hill, we may never know, but what’s even more mind-boggling is how everyone has seemingly forgotten this title ever existed. A retro-futuristic psychological buffet, it tells the story of troubled strangers Annie and Owen as they participate in a clinical trial where three pills promise to solve their mental health issues. A malfunction causes their Matrix-like experiences to intertwine, and they must join forces to confront their emotional traumas together in a series of artificial realities like an 80s heist and 40s spy noir.
4. Gypsy
Naomi Watts killed her performance as ethically corrupt psychologist, Jean Holloway, a woman who never fully adjusted to stable, suburban life, and lives a double life as alias “Diane Hart” to cope, inserting herself in her patient’s lives and relationships in order to get the drug-like dose of thrill and drama she’s been missing. Her conflict of interest reaches new heights when she begins a relationship with a patient’s ex-girlfriend, putting her marriage, career, and own mental stability at risk. Despite being cancelled after a single season, it’s still a great watch for fans of Alex Michaelides’ The Silent Patient, or anyone who wants to hear Stevie Nicks’ rerecording of the iconic song that inspired its title.
3. Freud
While we’re on the subject of psychologists, we can’t forget about the most famous one of all, Sigmund Freud. Netflix gave him the Young Sherlock Holmes treatment and reimagined the founder of psychoanalysis as a medical outcast turned reluctant detective who teams up with a psychic medium to solve a series of brutal, ritualistic murders terrorizing Vienna in the 1880s. Combining themes of gothic occult with political intrigue and mental turmoil, it takes wide creative license while still paying homage to a legend in this imaginative and suspenseful adventure.
2. Altered Carbon
This futurist cyberpunk adaptation of Richard K. Morgan’s novel pushes the genre of Black Mirror speculative science-fiction to a new max. Set in the 24th century where human consciousness has been digitized onto spinal implants called “stacks”, when physical death occurs, the stack can be re-uploaded into a new body or “sleeve”, making immortality a technological reality.
Rebel soldier Takashi Kovacs’ stack is reactivated after 250 years in “storage”, and he teams up with an AI-entity based on Edgar Allen Poe to solve a murder and uncover his own troubled past. With two seasons and multiple actors portraying various “sleeves” of the same characters, you can’t miss this unforgettable series starring Joel Kinnaman, Anthony Mackie, Dichen Lachman (Severance), and Renée Elise Goldsberry (Hamilton).
1. The Law According To Lidia Poët
Another reimagining of a historical figure, Netflix turns Italy’s first female lawyer into a Sherlock Holmes in her own right solving a series of crimes and murders in an effort to defend unofficial “clients”, who have turned to her for help despite having her license revoked by the government of Turin. She must battle against a misogynistic society, her conservative brother Enrico, and her own heart in order to figure out her place in the world. Matilda De Angelis delivers a standout performance that brings an original character to life with the same level of charisma and charm as male counterparts like James Bond or Indiana Jones. This is hands down the best streaming series you’ve never heard of.
