What Now? Netflix Instant TV
That was pretty awesome, right? You just watched/read/heard/experienced something you absolutely loved, and you can’t wait to get your hands on more things like it…if only you knew what those things were. Times like these, you’ve got no choice but to ask What Now?
The other day in the PoP!ulation forums, we were having a discussion about reaching a point with Netflix Instant where the options available no longer seemed worth the price. Now, it’s no secret where I stand with my love for Netflix. Beyond my monthly feature highlighting the newest releases, I’m also the proud owner of my own custom app that scours upcoming tv listings for movies in my queue and spits out a list of movies to record. Finding cool things to watch is one of my passions. That’s why I was so surprised to hear that other people were having trouble filling up their Netflix queue.
Let’s say you’re one of those people. You’ve already watched the more popular streaming options and now you’re feeling like you’re running out of options. So, What Now? Well, to help you find something new for your queue, I’ve gathered some hidden gems from the less popular titles (according to the popularity statistics from InstantWatcher.com)
For fans of:
Torchwood – this one is an easy recommendation, as fans of Doctor Who will already recognize Torchwood from some of the better Doctor Who episodes, which set up this spinoff.
Caprica – Like Torchwood, Caprica is a spinoff of the more popular Battlestar Galactica, except this story takes place before the war with the Cylons destroyed Earth.
Roswell – Back in the hey-days of Thacher’s favorite frog’s network, The WB was host to this series mixing teen drama and science fiction. The clothes and references are dated, but between Katherine Heigel and WHO from Lost at least there’s plenty to look at.
Robin Hood – Breaking away from the sci-fi aspect for a moment, this British series features a modernized telling of the classic tale of Robin Hood. With more sword fighting than a typical @Gojiratoho weekend, this show is worth a shot.
For fans of:
Being Human – Being Human follows the lives of a vampire, werewolf, and a ghost trying their best to blend in with normal society. But don’t be fooled – there’s plenty of horror here for you. The original British series is fantastic, and reviews have been positive for the US remake as well.
Reaper - The tragically short lived Reaper pits slacker Sam and his friends against escaped demons from hell, all thanks to Sam’s parents having sold his soul to the devil as a baby.
The Vampire Diaries – True, this teen drama may be a bit too high school for some of you, but there is a surprising number of PoP!ulation members who watch Gossip Girl, so it’s worth mentioning. When they’re not swooning over each other, there is some legitimate gore to be had.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer- Just because you’ve (hopefully) already seen it, doesn’t mean you can’t watch it again!
For fans of:
Luther – So you like dramatic storytelling filled with solid acting and writing, eh? You would be well served checking out this British cop drama, starring Idris Elba, that blends the best elements of your favorite AMC shows into something really special.
Terriers – Just a few stations over from AMC, FX is consistently putting out shows to rival their quality, and this under-watched private eye series is no exception.
Friday Night Lights – Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can’t lose. You may not like football, but I all but guarantee that you’ll like this show.
Sherlock – Another entry from across the pond, Sherlock takes Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary detective and places him in modern day England. Shenanigans and murder solvin’ ensue.
For fans of:
Jericho – What if society as we know it crumbled tomorrow? For the town of Jericho it means learning how to live in a world where you’ll need to defend what’s left of your food from neighboring towns and roaming gangs.
MI-5 – Called Spooks in it’s native Great Britain, this series brings you inside the world of the agency that deals with Britain’s domestic threats.
Rescue Me – A former movie star who delivers most of his lines by yelling? Denis Leary improves on Keifer’s formula to provide a solid show about NYC firemen in the wake of 9/11.
Damages – Backstabbing gets turned up to 11 in this legal drama featuring Glenn Close and Rose Byrne from Bridesmaids and X-Men: First Class.
For fans of:
Peep Show – This riff on the classic Odd Couple set up comes highly recommended from PoP!ulation member @FoxyArt. Other such recommendations: Always Sunny, Bob’s Burgers, and Your Mom jokes. If she says it’s funny, it probably is.
The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret – David Cross jumps at the chance for a big promotion, putting him in charge of selling the energy drink “Thunder Muscle” in England…until it pretty much ruins his life.
Portlandia – Sketch comedy focusing on the hipster-like residents of the organic paradise only known to us outsiders as Portland? Sure, why not? SNL alumn Fred Armisen teams with former rocker Carrie Brownstein to bring this IFC series to life.
Workaholics – A favorite of the 11th Hour, Workaholics takes the “unlikable protagonist” approach to a new level, pitting three slacker best friends against everything keeping them from having a good time. Plus it has Double Dare’s Marc Summers. In a bear coat. IN. A. BEAR. COAT.
For fans of:
G.I. Joe Renegades – You may have missed this one-and-done re-imagination of the G.I. Joe franchise that aired on The Hub. With Cobra embedded as a large corporation and household name, and handful of AWOL soldiers – just “regular joes” – try to gather the evidence they need to prove Cobra’s sinister plans.
Wolverine & The X-Men – Wolverine and the X-Men is to the X-Men what Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes is to the Avengers: a well done, engaging cartoon that ended far too soon.
Home Movies – Before he was Archer, before he was Bob, H. Jon Benjamin was McGuirk, and third grader Brendon was recording his life lessons.
The Tick – While we don’t have the original cartoon available to us just yet, this life action version of The Tick – starring Patrick Warburton – is a decent substitute. If you haven’t given this show a chance before, add it to your queue.
Before we call it a wrap, it would be a shame to wrap this column up without featuring these three options, all of which are fantastic for entertaining you during whatever small amount of downtime you may have.
Saturday Night Live – With hours and hours and HOURS of content available on streaming, it’s a surprise more people aren’t re-watching their favorite episodes from years past.
Mystery Science Theater 3000 – There are so many MST3K episodes on streaming. It can be easy to overlook them when adding to your queue, but what better background noise for a Saturday at home than Crow and Tom Servo?
Mission: Impossible – before Tom Cruise started making movies about it, Mission: Impossible was a high quality spy show following the weekly adventures of the Impossible Mission Force. It holds up surprisingly well!
How about you, PoP!ulation? What underappreciated shows do you have in your queue? Share them with us in the comments below!
Great article!
As I said on the forums, I tend to have the problem where there is too much stuff on Instant Watch that I want I watch.
The Vampire Diaries is amazing! It’s my 6th favorite show of all time. Some people have the misconception that it is a Twilight ripoff. That couldn’t be further from the truth. It definitely has teen drama elements, but they become less prominent as the series goes on. Even if someone is lukewarm to the first few episodes I would still recommend sticking with it. It just keeps getting better. Though if they hate the first few episodes then I wouldn’t say to continue.
Jericho is great. It’s 29 episodes of television gold.
What is Woefully missing from this list is Aaron Sorkin’s freshman series Sports Night. fans of Newsroom will appreciate the patter in a 20 minute format. Sports fans will appreciate the references and Nerds will appreciate a look into yet another world where people speak like they actually paid attention in their high school english classes.
Sports Night is not only hilarious, but human and hits home on many levels. Despite being filmed in 1998 and 1999 the production value and humor don’t feel one bit dated.
Oh, did I forget to mention that this series also featured Peter Krause of Six Feet under fame and Sabrina Lloyd at her most adorable.
If I haven’t sold you nerds enough, I’ll say this Clark Gregg, yes, Agent Coulson plays a key role in the series (all too early) Finale.
SPORTS NIGHT the complete series on Netflix, mark it, watch it, then sadly miss because it’s gone.