There is more to Netflix than Stranger Things. A shocking statement to some, but there is life outside of Hawkins on the streaming platform. In fact, there’s almost too much life out there. The constant coming and going of content on Netflix can make it near-impossible to discover good content…which is where we come in.
It’s easy to get lost in a “What should we watch?” spiral. Been there, done that. And along the way, discoveries were made, including a wild true-crime documentary and one hilarious Irish comedy.
These are the best hidden gems on Netflix.
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Abducted in Plain Sight
It’s best if you go into this hour and a half documentary without much info because it will truly blow you away at every turn. Just when you think the story of Jan Broberg, a missing 12-year-old girl can’t get any wilder, it does. And then it does again. And, yes, again.
Prepare yourself, it can be triggering for those who have experienced sexual abuse.
Netflix
Instant Hotel
If you love critiquing Airbnbs, this is for you…because that’s exactly what the show is about. There are two rounds of competition in this Australian reality show, then the finals. In each round, five teams travel around to each other’s “instant hotel” home and rate them. The winner of the first round then goes on to face the winner of the second round with judges coming from both rounds of competition.
Instant Hotel has all the ingredients of the perfect reality show. There are villains you will love, villains you will love to hate and all kinds of things to judge from your couch, from the homes themselves to the critiques from the contestants and head judge Juliet Ashworth. Let your judgmental voyeuristic tendencies fly with Instant Hotel.
Netflix
Back With the Ex
This Australian reality show is fascinating. The premise is simple: one half of a former couple wants to reunite with their ex. The ex has to agree to seeing their former partner again (spoiler alert: they all agree, otherwise why would they be cast members on this show?) and away they go! The couples eventually live together in two separate locations and then must decide if they want to get back together. You’ll love certain couples and probably grow to hate others. It’s a quick series, perfect for a lazy Sunday.
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Netflix
Million Pound Menu
This food competition show features aspiring restaurant owners opening up pop-up restaurants in an effort to impress wealthy investors. Should all go well, an investor (or more than one!) will make the chef an offer of some kind, whether it’s money or a location to open up a restaurant…
Netflix
Derry Girls
If you’re not from Northern Ireland, you may need closed captions on for this hilarious six-episode series of half-hour installments. Set in Derry (duh) in the 1990s, the show follows a group of Catholic school students and their many, many misadventures. There are plenty of laughs mixed in with some heartwarming moments as you fly—and you’ll for sure fly—through the series. Get ready to be obsessed with Nicola Coughlan, an Irish Melissa McCarthy in the making, because she steals the show as Clare.
Netflix
The World’sMost Extraordinary Homes
This show is just house porn, plain and simple. An added bonus: hosts Caroline Quentin and Piers Taylor are charming.
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Netflix
Catwalk: Tales From the Cat Show Circuit
The world of cat shows gets exposed in this quirky documentary that primarily follows two award-winning cats and their humans through a circuit in Canada.
Netflix
The Apartment
If you were at all fascinated by the culture showcased in Crazy Rich Asians, you will fall in love with this reality series about hot models, DJs, and influencers attempting to win a rent and mortgage-free home (or in some seasons, $100,000) through a series of interior design challenges. It’s the longest-running reality competition show in Asia!
Pop
Schitt’s Creek
Yes, you hopefully have heard of this Canadian comedy by now (it airs in the United States on Pop), but it’s just that good we’re putting it here to make sure you’re on board this train. The comedic talents of Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Dan Levy and Annie Murphy as a rich family forced to relocate to a very, very small town deserve to be seen.
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All programs are now streaming on Netflix in the United States.
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