While some Netflix shows will be immortalized in TV history, others flew completely under the radar despite being almost flawless. The streamer has garnered a reputation for both producing a large slate of shows and then canceling those shows before they get a chance to truly shine.
This has led to many diamonds in the rough; incredible series buried in Netflix’s growing library of frustratingly short-lived shows. Of course, Netflix is only one corner of a media landscape saturated with content. The abundance of choice and not enough marketing have meant some gems never got the chance to rise to the household name status they genuinely deserved.
Sense8
Created by the Wachowskis, it’s a bit inexplicable that Sense8 didn’t have more traction. The series is a feat, certainly one of the most sweeping, culturally diverse series in Netflix history. Sense8 follows eight people across the globe who share a mind-body connection. These sensates are able to communicate telepathically, feel each other’s emotions, and share their skills in moments of need.
The eight are based in Nairobi, Seoul, San Francisco, Mumbai, London, Berlin, Mexico City, and Chicago. The show is intercut between all of them and was shot almost entirely on location around the world. Its focus on emotional connection among a group of people who couldn’t be more different is powerful and heartwarming.
Sense8 also has a somewhat dense sci-fi plot as the sensates are being hunted by an organization that wants to capture them and study/experiment on their unique situation. The show leans heavily into a ‘show, don’t tell’ storytelling model, requiring viewers to pay close attention while watching so as not to miss any plot turns or visual reveals.
This demand on its audience may be a reason the show didn’t skyrocket to huge levels of fame, but the attention to detail is well worth the rewarding experience of being immersed in this impressive piece of work. Ultimately, there’s no reason this show doesn’t deserve the same treatment as the equally niche yet significantly more revered Twin Peaks.
Messiah
Messiah‘s greatest strengths were also some of its biggest obstacles to fame. The show tackles perhaps the biggest possible thought exercise: what if the events of religious texts played out today? Messiah follows Al-Masih (“messiah” in Arabic), a man who seems to be performing miracles akin to the ones documented by the likes of Jesus, Muhammad, and Moses.
While accumulating devoted followers, Al-Masih also earns suspicion from naysayers and the CIA. In its ten-episode run, Messiah maintains a level of mystery in Al-Masih’s legitimacy. Doubt is raised with the reveal of his upbringing as a student of illusion, while the potential of genuine miracles remains with al-Masih’s deeds that seem to have no realistic explanation.
Messiah ended with perhaps the most convincing indication of Al-Masih’s legitimacy, but the show never got to commit one way or another. It was canceled after its first season, which premiered in January 2020. This ambiguity cost the series a degree of intimacy and personality from Al-Masih, but the show shines when viewed as an open-ended thought exercise rather than a character study.
The Rain
In a television landscape saturated with shows about all manner of viruses and apocalypses, The Rain deserves points for originality. Germany’s Dark is often credited as a notable Netflix Stranger Things replacement, yet Denmark’s The Rain gets no credit for attempting to fill the shoes of The 100.
The Rain evokes the 2014 Netflix hit, as well as elements of The Last of Us, and then becomes something all its own when two siblings re-enter the world after a virus carried by rainfall kills the vast majority of Scandinavia’s population. The search for a cure and survival drives the plot, but The Rain is ultimately about the devolving relationship between brother and sister.
It’s a YA show, and should be watched as such, but it shouldn’t be dismissed — at least not until another precipitation-induced apocalypse story comes along.
Maniac
This limited series had it all: bright, trippy visuals, an eerily simple yet sprawling plot, and great character work from A-List stars Emma Stone and Jonah Hill. It’s an intimate exploration of emotion and mental illness in a captivating sci-fi world — the best of both character and world-driven stories.
Paranoid schizophrenic Owen (Hill) meets depressed Annie (Stone) at a pharmaceutical trial that quickly becomes more than it seems, and is taken even further off the rails by the characters’ unreliability as narrators.
Hallucinations and questionable realities abound as Owen and Annie join a group testing the effects of a drug cocktail that can supposedly cure all mental disorders. The trustworthiness of the company running the trial is called into question, as is Owen’s and Annie’s when it’s revealed that Owen hasn’t been taking the drug as prescribed, while Annie has a history with it outside of the trial.
The show is set in an alternate America, completely overrun with ads, creating a dystopian commentary on both a world and a personal level. Arguably much stronger and more significant than Nine Perfect Strangers, Maniac deserved more attention.
Feel Good
Even when held up against Seinfeld, Feel Good might be the best instance of a stand-up comedian playing a fictionalized version of themself. With their most recent Netflix original, Wayward, Mae Martin has again proven their narrative writing chops — but no more proof was needed after their 2020 dramedy.
Written and created by Mae Martin, Feel Good is semi-autobiographical in its exploration of Mae’s rise in stand-up and drug addiction recovery, told primarily through the lens of their relationship with on-again/off-again girlfriend George. Today’s lines have blurred, but most shows still tend to lean more dramatic or comedic; Feel Good is a rare show that falls squarely (and successfully) in the middle.
Mae’s earnestness is palpable, as is their history of genuinely devastating trauma. Yet it’s all delivered with a note of humor and wonder for the world that doesn’t make light of anything, but consistently reminds the audience that Mae is a comedian to be reckoned with.
Adding to the tone, Lisa Kudrow makes, dare I say, a career performance as Mae’s mom, garnering a laugh with every single line she delivers. All told, Mae Martin does in Feel Good what Seinfeld failed to do: embed their signature comedic style into a TV series without sacrificing emotion, and do it all without a hint of ego.
