12 Best Netflix TV Shows and Movies That You Must See
Odds are, there aren’t a lot of live-action Netflix TV shows and movies being made right now. However, there are some that were in the finishing stages of their production, as well as quite a few that were able to make it out just in time for this crazy epidemic, not to mention the great movies that have finally trickled down to Netflix. There’s even one produced during quarantine, and surely it’s one that you didn’t see coming back (though you probably know what I’m talking about). To help you skim past all the older shows, not to mention help anticipate what’s to come, I offer a guide to the latest and greatest Netflix TV shows and movies that you can binge on or look forward to while you’re in quarantine this April!
1. Hail, Cesar (April 16)
George Clooney! What more be said? Alright, maybe he isn’t really the lead, just one of the many scandalous movie stars that the actual protagonist, Eddie Mannix (played by Josh Brolin) has to deal with in his work as the studio “fixer” at Capitol pictures. Truth is, there’s a whole slew of great and well-known actors and actresses in the cast, and between that fact and the skillful comedy itself, how can it not be a good addition to our list of new Netflix TV shows and movies?
2. Bleach (April 17)
Follow the story of Ichigo Kurosaki, a high school student who obtained the powers of a Soul Reaper, which is basically a badass grim reaper that battles evil spirits that attack humans, as well as the usual task of guiding lost spirits to the afterlife. So if I may, I would like to take a moment to point out that you can find a lot more seasons of Bleach on Hulu or Crunchyroll or something, however for the sake of this article, we will assume that you have nothing else but Netflix at your disposal, be it out of stubbornness, laziness, or simply a lack of funds. Or maybe you just one day stumbled upon the show one day out of boredom, turns out you love it, and no one told your poor little soul just how expansive the Bleach franchise is, with an official 16 seasons and 5 films in total. Now that’s out of the way, Netflix seemed to be stalling the release of the 4th season, and with good reason – leaking not one but two new seasons: The Bount (28 episodes), and The Assault (18 episodes)! Who knows? Perhaps you’ve just been putting off watching Bleach even though you knew it was there, but now that you have to spend all your free time inside (if not all of it), you think “why not?” You’ve got the time, and now you’ve got 100 episodes on Netflix to figure out if it’s worth going all the way to season 16, and more importantly, to kill all that free time with.
3. Despicable Me 3 (April 16)
I mean sure it’s a kid’s show but it’s got Steve Carell and those ridiculous little minions so it can’t be all bad for us bored and pent-up adults right? When the new leader fires Gru from the Anti Villains League, rather than returning to a life of villainy like the minions so desperately want, he instead decides to travel to the country of Freedonia, where his long-lost brother resides. Sure, it’s a kid’s show, but it’s silly, with some genuinely hilarious moments, plus it’s perfect if you’re trapped in quarantine with small children!
4. Tiger King and I (April 12)
Packaged as a new episode of Tiger King, this brief documentary acts as more of a conclusive series of interviews recorded between comedian Joel McHale, the producer, and other members of the cast via video chat from their respective locations during this lovely little quarantine. It does give some insight as to what’s going on currently with the members of the cast, but more importantly, it means to be critical of the resulting explosion in the documentary’s popularity as well as emphasize the fact that the Joe Exotic is not a victim what so ever, but in fact is an egomaniacal monster that abuses animals that are meant to be in the wild for his own personal gain. Don’t worry, he’s not apart of this, he’s still rotting in his overwhelmingly ironic little cage. The real question at hand is this: will there be more? Because the end of the documentary certainly insinuated that there would be. If you haven’t seen Tiger King, do it, if for no other reason than to understand what all the memes are about (or attempt to anyway).
5. The Last Kingdom (April 26th)
The show follows the warrior Uhthred, who was born the son of a Saxon lord. As a child, he was captured on the battlefield and raised by invading Danish raiders, and later settlers of the British isles. He lived a happy life until his birthright was usurped and his adopted family murdered. Now he seeks vengeance, and his home, and teeters between allegiances between the Dains and the power-hungry Saxon king to do it. Now get ready for season 4 to make its debut on April 26th, only on Netflix! Is it worth a watch? Absolutely it is! Granted, I kind of fell off at season 2 because my attention was diverted to other things, but what I did see was pretty epic, and definitely worth a watch whether you’re a history buff interested in adaptations of events from the Saxon rule of the British isles, or you’re just a big fan of medieval action shows!
6. Cheech and Chong, Up In Smoke (April 1)
Coming out just in time for 4/20/20, the king of all classic stoner films straight from 1978 has finally trickled down to Netflix! Join the misadventures of two marijuana enthusiasts, Anthony “Man” Stoner and Pedro De Pacas, as they reach their final goal: winning the Battle of the Bands at the Roxy Theatre, and smoking or taking some sh*t or another to get there. With lots of that drug-related counter-culture comedy along the way that you could only find in the late 70s, it’s certainly worth a go if you’re into old-school comedy.
7. Django Unchained (April 25)
Arguably one of the defining films of our time, Tarantino’s 2015 new-school western definitely needs to be next on your watch list if you haven’t seen it already. It’s the story of Django (the D is silent by the way), a slave who was separated from his beloved wife Broomhilda von Shaft and now found himself in destitute, powerless state, that is until his owner is wounded and forced to sell Django to the dentist disguised bounty hunter Dr. King Shultz for his knowledge of the plantation where his targets, the outlaw Bristle Brothers, are hiding out (that is before setting Django and the other slaves free, leaving the wounded slave owner at their mercy). From there Dr. Schultz trains Django in the ways of the gunslinger and bounty hunter in preparation for when they locate his beloved wife so they can liberate her. It contains as much badassness as a western movie can contain, and it’s almost as gory as Kill Bill (granted not as much eye-gouging or decapitation, but as much as you can get from gun-slinging). Conclusively, it’s a great flippin’ movie, and definitely worth a watch, if you haven’t given it a try yet.
8. 7 Seeds
Okay, so this series of Netflix TV shows isn’t THAT recent, however, it is relatively recent (the latest season was released just last month), and more importantly, it’s a new and pleasant anime surprise I found that I’d like to share with you. Heads up: the preview (or commercial or whatever you want to call it) that they made for it absolutely does the show zero justice. They make it look like some feel-good castaway show. I mean it is sort of a castaway show and there are some feel-good moments, as there often are in anime, but the island isn’t really an island, but a chain of islands formed by the remnants of Japan, assuredly many years after a cataclysmic comet impact on the earth. Before the end of the world, however, the world governments planted healthy adults from there societies underground in cryo-stasis, and in particular, Japan planted 5 teams of 7, and thus “The 7 Seeds Project”. While there are actually quite a few feel-good moments, there are also some super raunchy moments of survivalism and the less pleasant side of human nature. Between all that, the element of post-apocalyptic society building, and even a romantic story about lovers torn apart by armageddon itself, this anime is definitely worth a try – and did I mention that there’s aplenty of episodes to keep you entertained? 24 to be exact!
9. The Witcher (December 2020)
Follow the story of Geralt of Rivia and the origin of the child of surprise, Ciri – the story most commonly known from the franchise’s latest video game, The Witcher. Okay, so it isn’t entirely true to the games or the books. Regardless, this addition to our list of Netflix TV shows is full of magic, monsters, gore, and plenty of Geralt’s emotionless wit. The show is undoubtedly a masterwork of Netflix, and it’s certainly worth looking forward to, though it may be a while away. Who knows? Perhaps The Witcher won’t be the only badass video-game-related franchise to get an equally badass TV show (come on Fallout!!!).
10. The Green Hornet (April 18)
While certainly not the creme de la creme of Seth Rogan’s Performances, The Green Hornet is an entertaining watch none the less. Follow the story of Brit Reid, an aimless playboy, and son of a newspaper fortune, that is until his father dies and he and his father’s assistant Kato become a crime-fighting duo. Again, not the best movie ever, yet entertaining none the less and definitely worth a watch while you’re stuck in quarantine, especially if you’re into kinda cheesy hero movies.
11. Fun With Dick And Jane (May 1)
Arguably one of the best Jim Carey movies out there, and that’s saying a lot, so I added it to our list of new Netflix TV shows and movies! Dick Harper, a busy white-collar worker, loses his job at Globadine after the company takes a titanic collapse, leaving him not only jobless but without retirement, pension, or even stocks (all of which was tied to the company). With now no other option than to start at ground level at Walmart or become homeless, Dick and his wife Jane resort to robbery, which they’re pretty damn good at turns out. Anywho, Rotten Tomatoes didn’t give the movie that good of a score but they’re party poopers anyways. It’s defiantly a great movie, and worth a watch when it comes out at the beginning of next month.
12. Trailer Park Boys, The Animated Series (May 22)
Last, but far from least (in my book anyway) on our list of new/upcoming Netflix TV shows, there’s a new gree-hee-heesy season of Trailer Park Boys to come out in late May! Granted, it’s animated, and anyone who started watching it may have been turned away from one or two somewhat painful moments of bad animation or cheesy dialogue that didn’t seem quite right, but they were probably just working the kinks out, as the quality significantly improves the deeper into the episodes the show goes. For those of you who haven’t seen it, it can be a bit of an acquired taste, as the show is vulgarity and white-trash incarnate. That said, I can’t help but love it, for its idyllic tone, its amazing characters that you can’t help but get attached to, and it’s accessive and more often than not creative use of the word “fuck”, amongst numerous other reasons, some of which simply cannot be fathomed by words in the English language. It’s the epic tale of the residents of Sunnyvale Trailerpark in Nova Scotia, Canada; namely Ricky, Julian, Bubbles in their seemingly never-ending quest for making money by any means – from robbing laundrymats to cultivating acres of marijuana and selling them to prisons across Canada. Most recently, the boys are perpetually stuck in a cartoon from each eating a pile of psilocybin mushrooms (before they could be busted for international drug smuggling along with the Japanese mafia that is). They might be running out of ideas (though who wouldn’t after this long?), not to mention cast members, but oh well! I’m going to watch it anyways and so should you! And if you haven’t seen the show yet, what better time than now to binge on now 12 seasons live-action, soon to be two seasons animated, two special seasons where the boys travel to Europe and the U.S., as well as numerous films, and even live comedy specials!
