15 shows you should watch on the local edition of Netflix

Note: This article was first published on 9th February 2016.

Limited Netflix catalog? Fret not, there's still plenty to binge-watch

Netflix launched in 130 new countries in early January to much fanfare, officially becoming a global Internet TV service. Finally, the rest of us could get behind those “Netflix and chill” memes and lose ourselves – and our weekends – in the sheer decadence of binge-watching TV series. This writer actually spent two entire days with a bag of chips and Season 1 of CW’s Jane the Virgin (sorry, not sorry).

But now that the hype has simmered down somewhat, doubts are swirling about just how worthwhile it is to sign up for a Netflix subscription in Singapore. That’s because Netflix’s catalog actually varies according to your country. Wonder why you can’t watch House of Cards in Singapore? Thank the fragmented content licensing deals that currently govern the distribution of TV series and movies around the globe.

Here are the facts. According to the Unofficial Netflix Online Global Search (uNoGS), an online searchable database of the videos available in all 244 regions where Netflix has launched, there are just 673 movies and series in Singapore’s catalog. In comparison, the US total sits at 5,680, which means that local customers have access to just under 12% of what they would get if they were in the US.

At first glance, that may not seem very encouraging (okay, it’s not). But numbers only show one side of the story. At the risk of sounding trite, we’d like to break out an oft-cited maxim – quality over quantity. It’s no loss that you can watch Asteroid vs Earth in the US but not here. Singapore’s Netflix catalog may not impress in terms of sheer variety, but there are plenty of hidden gems that will provide you with hours of seat-gripping – or hilarious, depending on your preferences – television.

Are you a hardcore science-fiction fan? Or do you like yourself a good romantic comedy? Either way, we’ve got you covered with a list of best picks from each genre over the next few pages:-

• Action & Adventure
• Comedy
• Drama
• Horror
• Sci-Fi & Fantasy

We’ll be restricting ourselves to just TV series though, because, well, you can’t really binge-watch movies.

Meanwhile, if you haven't yet signed up for a Netflix account, you would want to check out our Netflix 101 article.

Action & Adventure

Arrow

If you want an action-packed series that will hardly let you catch a breather, look no farther than Arrow. The show is just kickass action and an endless parade of villains through and through. Of course, there’s Oliver Queen himself, the show’s eponymous hero who starts off with a dogged determination to stop crime in Starling City by snuffing out the bad guys. The guy is so earnest in what he does that you can’t help but root for him right off the bat.

Arrow is intelligently written and solidly acted. Even if it plays out several familiar superhero tropes and conventions, it manages to do so without seeming like an old, broken record. Oliver’s gruff voice while in costume may tickle a few funny bones because of how pretentious it all seems, but that’s exactly the beauty of the show – it’s a superhero flick that is still exceedingly enjoyable even in this overdone genre.

Marvel’s Jessica Jones

Jessica Jones was released on Netflix to rave reviews, the example of a female superhero done right, in the words of various pundits. But we’ll simplify things for you – basically if you liked Daredevil, you’ll like Jessica Jones. Done up in the same gritty, hard-boiled fashion, Jessica Jones tells the story of a superhero that is only too human, having to grapple daily with past traumas and the struggle of doing right by those she cares for. In a sense, it’s a superhero show without all the gratuitous spandex, posturing and bicep flexing.

But for those of you who don’t watch superhero flicks for the character drama and are in it purely for the action, there’s plenty of that as well, and plenty of collateral damage along the way. David Tennant’s portrayal of the Purple Man is quite a sight to behold as well – half-crazed and megalomaniacal, he even manages to be vaguely sympathetic, right until the very moment he forces his own father to stick his hand in the juice blender.

There is nothing predictable about the series and it manages to keep you guessing throughout. In the final showdown between Jessica and the Purple Man, you’re never quite sure until the last moment who will be the last one standing.

Narcos

Remember the headlines around the recapture of El Chapo, the Mexican drug lord who escaped a maximum security prison through a tunnel dug by his associates in his shower floor? Narcos follows the story of another notorious drug kingpin, Pablo Escobar, who at the height of his fortunes had an estimated known net worth of around US$30 billion.

Escobar’s notorious career is an immense tale that literally saw him hold the Colombian government in his grasp. A movie could hardly encapsulate the breadth and scope of all the events, which is why we’re thankful for Netflix’s 10-episode first season.

Told through the eyes of DEA agent Steve Murphy, Narcos is a riveting chronicle of Escobar’s exploits, and also provides an intriguing peek into the political and economic circumstances in 1980s Latin America.

Comedy

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

If you think The Big Bang Theory may be getting a bit stale, you may want to check out Brooklyn Nine-Nine to get your daily fix of laughter. Set in the fictional 99th precinct of the New York Police Department, the show is a charming take on the standard cop show and its cast of colorful characters will set anyone off, unless of course you’re missing a sense of humor. Oh, and it’s produced by the same producers who gave us Parks and Recreation, so that should give you a hint of the quality to expect.

Andy Samberg’s Jake is incapable of taking anything seriously, but his bumbling tomfoolery is an endless source of amusement. Then there’s the stone-faced Captain Holt, straight-laced Amy, and forever-angry Rosa, who together share a repertoire of sharply written lines, acerbic wit, and scenes that play on age-old police tropes for fresh entertainment value.

The show and its cast has bagged two Emmy Awards and two Golden Globes, testament to the stellar writing and acting that has made it one of our favorite comedies to date.

Master of None

Jack of all trades, master of none. The series follows Dev, played by Parks and Recreation actor Aziz Ansari, a 30-year-old New Yorker who is the worst decision-maker ever and also rather bad at being an adult.

Master of None pivots on engaging visual cinematography and well-written dialogue, providing a compelling look at stories revolving around race, culture, community, and relationships. The fact that it also manages to be funny while doing all this is even more impressive. The lines are light-hearted and the delivery is spot-on – another trophy in Netflix’s growing cabinet of stellar original series.

Video Game High School

What’s the next best thing after going to Hogwarts? Maybe going to a school where you learn how to play video games all day. In the near future, video games are now the world’s most popular competitive sport, and Video Game High School is essentially the Harvard for aspiring competitive gamers.

The show puts a new spin on the standard high school drama, complete with teenage politics and other complications. It goes through all the usual motions, but thanks to the unconventional setting, it turns out to be surprisingly entertaining. And with in-game handles like BrianD and Gr8fulTed for its characters, the show gives gleeful vent to all manner of gaming tropes and conventions.

Don’t judge it by its name though. We know it sounds like a subpar B-grade show, but it’s anything but that.

Drama

Breaking Bad

Breaking Bad is widely acknowledged as one of the best things to come out of television in all time and we’d be remiss if we left it out. Bryan Cranston’s Walter White is a 50-year-old high school chemistry teacher that has been diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. In order to pay for his treatments and leave something behind for his family, he turns to cooking crystal meth in a rundown RV with his former student.

Walter’s gradual evolution into a ruthless drug lord is a remarkable exploration of the darker parts of human nature, and the capacity of perfectly ordinary people for evil. Both the picture of impotence and cut-throat ambition, Walter is a fascinating depiction of the narratives and lies we construct to maintain the images we have of ourselves.

The complete five seasons of Breaking Bad are already on Netflix, which means you can thumb your nose at all manner of cliffhangers and race ahead to the finish line.

Jane the Virgin

This is what would happen if a Korean drama went off and had multiple affairs with a long list of action and comedic series. Jane is a smart, educated woman with a clear plan for life, until she’s artificially inseminated by accident, courtesy of the sister of her future lover. So there you have it, a pregnant virgin. Sounds too sordid? Give it a chance.

The show is a side-splitting mix of drama, romance, and all manner of intrigue involving drug cartels, bodies buried in concrete and nefarious plots. For those of you who shun romantic comedies because you find them sappy, Jane the Virgin will make you rethink the genre. It is refreshingly self-aware, leveraging existing tropes and well-worn plot lines – love triangles and illicit affairs! – and turning them to its own ends.

This is satire at its best and most unpretentious. And of course, it’s also drop-dead hilarious and brilliantly acted, with a Latino narrator in the background that might just possibly send you into fits.

Orange is the New Black

This darkly humorous prison comedy-drama is one of the most popular series on Netflix. Based on Piper Kerman’s memoir on her year in a minimum security federal prison, it is alternately funny and moving. Piper belongs to New York’s upper-middle class, so when she’s thrust into prison because of a nearly decade-old drug smuggling offense, her struggles to navigate the politics and quirks of the prison system make for some of the best comedy ever.

There’s also plenty of character drama for those of you who like that sort of thing. The series devotes a considerable amount of time to exploring the backstories of the various inmates and guards and how they ended up in their present situation. From a transexual fireman who also happens to be married with children to the tough-as-nails prison matriarch, each and every one of the characters is richly drawn, serving as a poignant reminder that everyone has a story that deserves to be acknowledged.

And if you want your fix of scandal and drama, there’s Piper’s relationship with Alex, the ex-girlfriend that got her into prison in the first place. Tons of memes and GIFs have been made about the two, and all we’ll say is that the two are something of an Internet sensation.

Horror

Bates Motel

Bates Motel is something of a prequel to the classic Hitchcock film, Psycho. But instead of 1960s hair and Norman’s bad wig, the series has been updated for the present day with a modern setting, depicting the lives of Norman and his mother when she was still alive.

It picks off just after Norman kills his father in one of his psychotic episodes, and follows the mother-and-son pair’s struggles to keep Norman’s illness under control and under wraps. If you want a look at how even the most loving of human relationships can be subverted and twisted, Bates Motel is right there waiting. Its handling of taboos is exceedingly well done – a too-close mother-son relationship where 18-year-old Norman still sleeps in his mother’s bed for instance – effectively creating a fascinating picture of the human psyche and familial relationships.

Penny Dreadful

Fans of Gothic horror and literature will love this one. Named after the cheap and lurid serial literature that was popular in Victorian-era England, or penny dreadfuls, the show draws inspiration from the mainstays of 19th-century fiction, featuring an eclectic mix that includes Victor Frankenstein and his Creature, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and even Oscar Wilde’s Dorian Gray. To cap that all off, the show also grapples with other supernatural elements like werewolves, witches, and demonic possessions, all tossed together in a titillating stew of Gothic horror and dark, foreboding sets.

Penny Dreadful is an excellent visual treat for those of you who relish depictions of the macabre. Case in point: Frankenstein smothers a tuberculosis-stricken prostitute with a pillow, only to revive her as a bride for his original creation. Needless to say, things don’t go quite as planned and he ends up finding himself falling for her, the victim of some form of irresistible, twisted attraction.

Holding the fort down is the enigmatic Vanessa Ives, portrayed by the inimitable Eva Green of Casino Royale fame. What can we say? Green is a force to be reckoned with on screen – her performance here netted her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress, and we’ll even go so far as to say that she’s one of the key reasons you should watch Penny Dreadful.

Residue

Game of Thrones viewers will recognize a couple of familiar faces on this one. Natalia Tena and Iwan Rheon – Osha and Ramsay Bolton in Westeros – play a couple that is seeking to uncover the truth behind a mysterious explosion at a nightclub on New Year’s Eve. This is a real delight for conspiracy theorists, a dystopian melting pot of government cover-ups, futuristic settings, and a healthy dose of good ol’ horror in the form of ghostly figures and creepy, evil-looking stains on walls (yes, really).

Residue is set in a UK metropolis in the unspecified future. You’re hit by a palpable sense of dissonance right from the start. For instance, why does everyone have a British accent, but all the store signs are in Chinese? That all builds up to the unshakeable feeling that something is dreadfully wrong and out-of-place as the series progresses, a feeling that is only confirmed by a spate of unexplained suicides and tendrils of smoke that enter people and make them gouge their own eyes out.

The short three-episode first season is perhaps best summed up in this ominous line from the season finale, “You ever read that story, Peter Pan? Do you remember his shadow?”

Sci-Fi & Fantasy

12 Monkeys

This is a TV adaptation of the 1995 Bruce Willis film of the same name. Time travel, paradoxes, and viruses that spell the end of the world – it’s got it all. The show follows Cole as he travels back in time to the present day from 2043 in order to stop a deadly pandemic from happening. Of course, he finds himself thwarted by a group that seems to be actively trying to bring about the outbreak, and is troubled by ominous references to a collection of individuals called the 12 Monkeys.

Who are the monkeys? Why do they hate humanity so much? Where did the virus come from? So many questions, but so few answers. This is one of those series where everything is set to a slow-burn. It’s a little frustrating watching Cole and his doctor friend Cassandra try in their own clueless, inept fashion to identify the source of the virus and destroy it, but science-fiction fans will likely enjoy the show’s futuristic premise (because time travel).

The 100

Alright, this is one of our favorites. After a nuclear apocalypse devastates the world, what’s left of humanity now lives in a revolving space station called the Ark. But things aren’t exactly peachy up there, and basic resources like oxygen are scarce. All crimes, however minor, are punishable by death, which involves being blasted out of an airlock like a piece of space trash. Eventually, the Ark’s leaders make a decision to send 100 teenagers – all “criminals” who have been spared the airlock fate because they are not yet 18 – to the ground to test if the earth has become inhabitable again, which is where the real story begins.

As you might expect, they aren’t alone on the ground. Humanity has survived after all, and the spacefarers must contend with the local tribes that view them with suspicion and hostility. What transpires is a daring concoction of non-stop action, heart-wrenching betrayals, and thought-provoking questions about how far it is justified for one to go just to survive.

Oh, and there’s even an artificial intelligence involved, which supposedly brought about the nuclear apocalypse à la Skynet. If you dig deeper, you’ll even see the makings of a sly commentary on the anxieties of today – tribe mentalities, culture wars, and other petty divides probably don’t matter so much when you’ve got a big, bad AI to deal with.

Black Mirror

Black Mirror may not be that well-known outside of the UK, but it certainly deserves more recognition. As a work of speculative fiction, it is unnervingly relevant to our times, a sharp examination of the dark places that new technologies could lead us to.

All the recent clamor over green technologies? One Black Mirror episode is set in a world where everyone must cycle on exercise bikes in order to generate power for their surroundings. How about all the paranoia over government spying and surveillance technologies? Another episode deals with a world where people can endlessly replay everything they’ve done, seen, or heard, leading to unhealthy obsessions with the smallest details and events long past. Then there’s the episode where it’s possible to create virtual avatars of people based on their online communications. And you guessed it – someone eventually uses the technology to talk to her dead boyfriend, and contemplates the possibility of giving his pseudo-consciousness a physical form.

Each episode stands on its own, with a different cast and characters, but they are all incisive commentaries on the technologies and debates that dominate public discourse today. Part of the allure of science fiction is the way it invigorates our imagination with the prospect of worlds that are so unlike the one we live in, but which just might become real if we aren’t careful. And even if none of that interests you, Black Mirror is worth watching because of just how creepy and disturbing it is.

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