By Mia Wise, Staff Writer
When it’s time for final papers and exams, procrastinators can be found binge watching television and movies on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon. While many students watch “The Office” and “Friends,” there are shows and movies that aren’t as popular but equally good.
This past year, Netflix has added original shows and movies. In 2018, the streaming service expects to add more than 700 Netflix originals. In February, they added “Everything Sucks!” a show set in the 90s and focusing on friends in high school.
“In my opinion the biggest lost treasure on Netflix is Everything Sucks! The show is one of a kind in its representation of lesbians. ‘Everything Sucks!’ takes the initiative and gives the solid representation that the community needs. Avoiding awful stereotypes such as the ‘dead lesbian’ and the ‘tragic ending’ tropes. It was a huge step for the LGBT community and deserves more than a single season,” Sophomore Elizabeth McArdle said.
Students can enjoy a free six-month trial with Amazon Prime. Prime offers unlimited streaming of tv shows and movies and released original content this past year as well. Prime original, The “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” won a Golden Globe in January.
“Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is a relatively unknown comedy on Amazon Prime that depicts the life of a newly divorced housewife in the mid-1950s. Instead of remaining in the house, she turns to comedy. The result is a hilarious tale of the life of a woman in a different time period of history. It’s equally funny and enlightening,” Senior Alicia Muir said.
Netflix and Amazon are great for binge watching shows or movies that aired months or years before heading to the streaming services, but Hulu adds new episodes of tv shows quickly after they’ve aired. Senior Olivia Beyer uses it to catch up on Comedy Central’s Broad City.
“One of my favorite hidden gems is ‘Broad City’. It makes me laugh out loud and the characters are super relatable. The show stays current and it’s nice to see a comedy show with women as its main characters,” Beyer said.
Watching comedy series is a nice way to relax but there are options for those who want to gain more insight into the lives of others through documentaries.
“Another show I’ve found on Netflix that I feel is a hidden treasure is Girls Incarcerated. The documentary follows the lives of young girls who are in a correctional center that aims to rehabilitate them to avoid actual prison when they reach adulthood. I like this program because I have studied the prison industrial complex and the exploitation of this system through the media. While the show is still exploiting the girls just by existing and turning the girls’ lives into entertainment, the idea of this being a documentary that humanizes the girls instead of criminalizing them makes the show better than the average prison related documentary in my opinion,” McArdle said.
Some of my favorites on Netflix are ‘Queer Eye’, ‘On My Block’, ‘The Get Down’, and ‘Easy’. ‘Queer Eye’ is a reboot of the 2003 show. Five men, all specializing in different areas like food and style, makeover men who have been nominated by their friends and families. Each episode ends with a man whose life is changed and me in tears.
‘On My Block’ is a coming of age show focusing on a cast of Black and Latinx friends growing up in an inner-city Los Angeles neighborhood. The ‘Get Down’ also features a cast of all Black and Latinx characters growing up in New York City. The show is set in the 1970s and features great music in every episode. ‘Easy’ is an anthology series that focuses on the characters unique experiences with life and love. The show features actors like Dave Franco and Kiersey Clemons.
Hidden gems are always fun to watch and recommend to others. It is just a matter of searching to find an interesting show or movie.
Photo by Mia Wise
