When it comes to today’s give-me-something-to-watch-right-now streaming era, Netflix reigns supreme, as eponymous to random-night couch programming as Xerox was to the photocopier. Still, who among us hasn’t bounced off a Netflix show three or four episodes in? Hell, who among us actually finished one of the 10-episode gauntlets of the streamer’s early era? While Netflix is known for a deep well of movies and TV shows, it’s not as well known for hits that whisk you along to a finale and stick with you for years after the credits roll.
But there are a few. To help you find something you might genuinely love — like, love — we put our heads together to recommend three shows we really believe you’ll stick with and devour until the last bite. We know because we were you once. Binge-watcher tested, binge-watcher approved.
Bodies
Paul Tomalin’s adaptation of the DC Vertigo graphic novel of the same name begins in 2023 when a London detective monitoring a far-right demonstration chases down a suspicious man and stumbles upon a naked corpse. Things get much weirder as the show’s perspective shifts between detectives in 1890, 1941, and 2053 who all come across the same body.
The twisty miniseries for fans of Predestination and Looper follows the investigators as they each grapple with the prejudices and perils of their own time while uncovering an impossible mystery. Stephen Graham (Adolescence, Venom: Let There Be Carnage) steals the show as the leader of a cult-like conspiracy with the unsettling mantra “know you are loved,” but Bodies is filled with strong performances. Jacob Fortune-Lloyd particularly shines as a corrupt cop looking for something like redemption in the chaos of the Blitz. The likeable characters make Bodies’ darker moments all the more harrowing, but it’s well worth sticking with it to the end to watch all the pieces fit together. —Samantha Nelson
