Tired of popular shows like The Pitt and Stranger Things overloading the public hive mind?
If you’re looking for something a little more lowkey this weekend, we understand the feeling completely. The fact is that Netflix isn’t just the home of stuff like Is It Cake? and Emily in Paris. You can find plenty of hidden gems, too.
Watch With Us is spotlighting three of the best, most underrated shows you can watch on the streamer right now.
Our picks include a sports dramedy, a crime show and an obscure French horror series.
‘Glow’ (2017-2019)
In 1980s Los Angeles, struggling actress Ruth Wilder (Alison Brie) finds star potential in an unexpected place: women’s wrestling. Donning glitter and spandex, Ruth teams up with washed-up B-movie director Sam Sylvia (Marc Maron) and twelve other women, as Sam tries to lead his ragtag team of misfits to fame and glory. But Ruth gets a surprise after she joins the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (GLOW): her former best friend, retired soap opera actress Debbie Eagen (Betty Gilpin), has joined too.
Despite developing a passionate fanbase, GLOW was unfairly cancelled by Netflix after only three seasons because of production and financial complications due to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Still, the show is well worth your time — it features a well-oiled ensemble cast of memorable, unique performances, a seamless alternation between character drama and comedy and a subversiveness that is glittery, campy and fun.
‘Good Girls’ (2018-2021)
Suburban Michigan mothers Beth (Christina Hendricks), Ruby (Retta) and Annie (Mae Whitman) are each going through difficult financial decisions and are desperate for a way out. Pushed to their wits’ end, they decide to do the unthinkable: pull off a heist at their local supermarket. Though their robbery is successful, Annie is recognized by the store’s manager, while the group gains the unwanted attention of a gang leader (Manny Montana) who was using the grocery store as a front for money laundering.
It’s a shame that Good Girls was cancelled after only four seasons because, after a shaky start, the show had finally managed to hit its stride. Featuring fantastic chemistry between Hendricks, Retta and Whitman, the show at times strained credulity but managed to surpass this flaw with its entertaining execution and engaging performances. Good Girls successfully combines dark humor, crime narrative and suburban drama into something totally unique.
‘Marianne’ (2019)
After famous horror novelist Emma (Victoire Du Bois) receives a surprise and unsettling visit from her childhood friend, Caroline (Aurore Broutin), she is shocked to discover Caroline has publicly hung herself. Left with a dire warning, Emma reluctantly returns to her hometown with her assistant, Camille (Lucie Boujenah), to investigate Caroline’s claims that her mother, Mrs. Daugeron (Mireille Herbstmeyer), is possessed by an evil witch — the same one from Emma’s books.
Marianne is handily one of the (if not the) scariest horror shows of the past decade. This eight-part French limited series may have gone under the radar, but it combines terrifying visuals, an absorbing central mystery, intelligent character writing and simply the scariest performance of all time from Herbstmeyer. After you finish watching, you’ll find it is impossible for Marianne not eternally haunt your dreams.
