On March 31, Netflix released their latest hit show, 13 Reasons Why. It only took hours for the show to get tons of acclaim and thousands of viewers that joined the obsession and finished the whole season in less than a week. This comes as no surprise, taking into account the successful productions the platform has been releasing since their very first House of Cards back in 2013.
Last year, Netflix confirmed they would be spending $6 billion to release 1,000 hours of original content in 2017. Here are some amazing shows the streaming service has been working on and you might not know that you need to catch up on or be excited for.
The Get Down
Created by Baz Luhrmann and Stephen Adly Guirgis, this show is set in the Bronx of the 1970s and showcases the rise of hip-hop and disco music through the stories of characters such as Zeke Figuero and Mylene Cruz, who desire to follow their dreams with the help of their developing musical talent. The Get Down has been praised for its representation of people of color and its marvelous high-budget production, and the first six episodes were released last year only a few weeks after Stranger Things, which may have prevented the show from becoming just as popular. If you would like to know more about one of the most iconic musical movements of all time, or just want to see young talent displayed in a fantastic story, this show is for you.
Status: Part 2 was released last Friday, pending for renewal.
One Day at a Time
Based on the well-known sitcom from 1975, this show follows a family of Cuban roots led by Penélope, a single mother who is also a military veteran; her children Elena, who is a determined feminist and Alex; and her mother Lydia. The first season consists of 13 episodes that deal with topics such as sexism in every generation expressed in different ways, a coming out story and how it affects each character; and the big message: being proud of who you are and where you come from. The showrunners find a way to combine all of this while still leaving place for comedic relief in a very light-hearted essence that will melt your heart in just 30 minutes.
Status: Renewed for Season 2.
BoJack Horseman
Set in a Hollywood where humans and anthropomorphic animals coexist, this animated show is one of the funniest and most moving things I have seen in a while. As bizarre as it might sound, its main character is a depressed alcoholic horse who used to be a huge TV star, but has since then become bitter and insecure, and finds a second chance when he gets the opportunity of tell-all book about him to be released. The show is constantly full of jokes, but in the most recent seasons it has started to explore its darkness and its depth, giving it a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes. No matter who you are, watching this show will make you think about life a lot.
Status: Renewed for Season 4, coming this Summer.
Merlí
Netflix has recently acquired this Catalan series from the channel TV3, and it is now considered a semi-original. If you enjoyed Dead Poets Society, you should check out this show that follows the life of both an incorregible philosophy teacher whose views and methods are very different from his coworkers, and his class of teenagers that includes his own son. Each individual story proves this is not just a dumb teen drama, and they really know how to get to teenagers.
Status: Renewed for Season 3.
Chewing Gum
Also a semi-original, this British sitcom originally from E4 is witty and hilarious. It stars BAFTA-winning-actress Michaela Coel, who is also one of the writers and plays the main character Tracey Gordon, a 24-year-old Christian shop assistant who goes out to the world to learn more about herself, sex, race, and more. The side of the working class filled with intelligence is rarely showcased in TV, so it is definitely a fresh concept that will keep you interested.
Status: Pending for Season 3 renewal.
Master Of None
Aziz Ansari, arguably one of the best comedians of our generation, teamed up with Alan Yang to create this award-winning piece that stars the Indian-American actor as a “less successful version of his real self, negotiating relationship and career set-backs with the assistance of a rag-tag of equally underachieving friends”, as said by Telegraph in its review. Like his stand-up personality, Dev’s character is sarcastic but honest, and at all times hilarious. Being set in Manhattan, the show has a very realistic tone that makes it even more interesting to watch and appreciate, and it is fit for (almost) everyone who enjoys these kind of things.
Status: Season 2 coming on May 12, 2017.
Girlboss
When she was only 22, Sophia Amoruso opened her own eBay store where she offered used vintage clothes and other objects of the sort. Later on, she launched Nasty Gal and became one of the biggest fashion entrepreneurs of the world, even appearing in Forbes lists. Now, Netflix is about to stream the first season of a show inspired by her autobiography that will explain the rise of this woman in such a huge industry, played by Tomorrowland’s Britt Robertson.
Status: Season 1 coming on April 21, 2017.
Dear White People
Based on the popular film of 2014 by Justin Simien, Dear White People will tell the story of a group of students of color that get into an Ivy League college, where they witness how white students of the institute throw a party celebrating blackface. The series will explore racial identity and discrimination in the United States, and will obviously be filled with social commentary. The trailer alone seemed to get ignorant people hurt since it got over half a million dislikes, so watching the show become a success will be a lot of fun.
Status: Season 1 coming on April 28, 2017.
Las Chicas del Cable – Cable Girls
Spain’s first production for Netflix was announced last year, and it is about to come to all of our devices. The story is set in the 1920’s and it follows four women that work together in the country’s only telephone company as switchboard operators. Before coming to Madrid, they all walked different paths, but they will find out they have lots of things in common, and the most important of them being their desire of freedom and acknowledgement for women in this difficult environment.
Status: Season 1 coming on April 28, 2017. Also renewed for Season 2.
