What to avoidĭon't subscribe to Netflix for big recent films, because they aren't here. Watching Hemlock Grove will just convince Netflix to make even more episodes (it has already started on a second season), and that would be a travesty. It's as stilted and wooden and dimwitted and interminable as anything else you're ever likely to see. Finally there's Hemlock Grove, Eli Roth's horror series. Prison show Orange is the New Black isn't quite as good as people would have you think, possibly because it's more a checklist of Important Issues That Need To Be Addressed than gripping drama. The fourth season of Arrested Development, for instance, was a letdown. Other Netflix shows have enjoyed differing levels of success. It has made history by being nominated for several Emmys, which is thanks in part to Kevin Spacey's gloriously hammy performance as corrupt Congressman Frank Underwood. Netflix's commitment to making its own shows started earlier in the year with House of Cards a bold, slick, lavish, expensive-looking, David Fincher-produced US remake of the British series. Like staring open-mouthed at things that you can't believe were even allowed to happen, let alone be recorded? David Icke: Live at the Oxford Union Debating Society. Like sad stories about what happens when hippies look after monkeys? Project Nim. Like environmental timelapse films? Chasing Ice. Like food? El Bulli: Cooking in Progress. Sets by Louis CK, Aziz Ansari, Doug Stanhope, Reggie Watts, Russell Brand, Demetri Martin and Patton Oswalt are all easy enough to find.įans of feature-length documentaries are well catered for. It's also the best place outside of YouTube to watch stand-up. It has the Peabody Award-winning Portlandia, which is superb, and every single incredible episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. It has a lot of Alan Partridge (including the otherwise hard-to-find Knowing Me, Knowing Yule Christmas special). And if you want to rewatch classic old shows, but can't be bothered to walk over to your DVD shelf, there's 24, Battlestar Galactica, Dexter, Firefly, Rome, Weeds and both versions of The Killing. And there's Justified and Sons of Anarchy, which both deserve bigger audiences. As well as Breaking Bad, there's Nurse Jackie, Edie Falco's criminally underappreciated Sopranos follow-up. You're probably much better off with my beginner's guide instead. Netfix's recommendations are so bad that there's even a Twitter account dedicated to listing the worst of them. Because I watched a John Hodgman stand-up set, perhaps I'd like to watch an image of David Hasselhoff topless under an unzipped leather jacket. Because I watched It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, perhaps I'd like to watch Serpico. Because I watched Iron Man 2, perhaps I'd like to watch Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj. I'm looking at my Netflix recommendations now. The problem is that Netflix will try to recommend things for you to watch, based on your love of Breaking Bad.īy no means should you follow these recommendations. It's why I have Netflix – after guzzling up the first four seasons on DVD in a dizzy, near-continuous, sleep-deprived, pizza-fuelled sitting at Christmas, I panic-subscribed because Netflix was the only place I could watch season five with any degree of legality (although the new episodes are also available on iTunes).īut now what? Perhaps it's time to explore Netflix a little more. Breaking Bad is why most people I know have Netflix. S o you've just signed up for Netflix to watch new episodes of Breaking Bad.