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Ranking the Top Ten Netflix Original Series to date

This weekend brought the release of the latest Netflix Original Series, Marvel's Jessica Jones, a...
Newstalk
Newstalk

12.15 23 Nov 2015


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Ranking the Top Ten Netflix Or...

Ranking the Top Ten Netflix Original Series to date

Newstalk
Newstalk

12.15 23 Nov 2015


Share this article


This weekend brought the release of the latest Netflix Original Series, Marvel's Jessica Jones, and having binge-watched the show over two days, it is a fantastic new addition to the streaming sites line-up.

While it's too soon to add it's positioning to the pantheon of previous Netflix productions, we have decided to look back over the rest of the shows that have been made mostly exclusively for the streaming service.

There have been one or two outings - Grace & Frankie, Marco Polo and Sense8 all come to mind - that haven't quite reached the giddy heights of the following ten, but just about every project has been interesting in it's own right.

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10. Arrested Development - Season Four

Number Of Seasons: Four (Fifth Season due in 2016)

While it doesn't quite compare to the unparalleled genius behind the first three seasons, the new layout of the comedy does take some getting used to, and for those who were left disappointed by their first play-through, Season 4 is definitely worth a second go around. Plus, considering that some of the stars took off into the stratosphere following the success of the show - Michael Cera and Jason Bateman in particular - it's a minor miracle that they managed to get them all back together for another season at all.

9. Narcos

Number Of Seasons: One (Second Season due in 2016)

Telling the true story of cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar and the DEA agent sent to Columbia to take him down, this may have turned a few audience members away with it's subtitle-heavy dialogue and grim levels of violence, but it's definitely worth sticking with if you're looking for a nail-bitingly tense thriller on an epic scale.

8. Wet Hot American Summer: First Day Of Camp

Number Of Seasons: One (no confirmation of a Second Season)

A prequel/spin-off to the cult 2001 movie that manages to surpass the original in some respects, this is another case of Netflix bagging a mighty cast (Bradley Cooper, Amy Poehler, Paul Rudd and loads more) even as their massive stars in their own right now, plus new cast additions include Chris Pine, Jon Hamm and Kristen Wiig makes it one of the more impressive cast-lists for any comedy project ever created.

7. Better Call Saul

Number Of Seasons: One (Second Season due from February 15th 2016)

Another prequel/spin-off, this time of the hugely popular Breaking Bad series. The difference with Saul's show is that American TV station AMC still owns the rights to his origins, so instead of the usual episode-dump all at once, we had to wait for each episode to come out once a week, once they'd been aired on AMC itself.

6. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Number Of Seasons: One (Second Season due in 2016)

Coming from the minds that created 30 Rock (aka one of the best sit-coms of all time), this story of a girl forced to live in a bunker and then trying to survive in modern New York once she's been released could've been painfully dark, but thanks to Ellie Kemper's blisteringly bright leading performance, you can't help but fall in love with her. And the show.

5. BoJack Horseman

Number Of Seasons: Two (Third Season due in 2016)

Unlike the previous entry, this is a show that could've been all bright and sparkly, but went the other way and ended up in some truly darkly depressing (but still funny!) places. The all-star voice cast are amazing, but the writing at play here is on another level, bringing equal amounts of intelligence to a former A-list actor's slow decent into manic-depression as they do to the celebrity puns (say hello to Maggot Gyllenhaal!).

4. Orange Is The New Black

Number Of Seasons: Three (Fourth Season due in 2016)

This is the show that probably breaks The Bechdel Test more regularly than just about every other TV programme ever created, as we're tossed into prison with Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling) after she helped her ex-girlfriend smuggle drugs a decade ago... only to find herself in the same prison as said ex-girlfriend. Comedy, tragedy and some very smart dramatic twists and turns ensue.

3. Marvel's Daredevil

Number Of Seasons: One (Second Season due in 2016)

Nobody was particularly interested in Daredevil after Ben Affleck's failed take on the character, and while Marvel could've played it safe with this new attempt, perhaps all the money they've made from The Avengers movies had allowed them to be a little more risky, as Daredevil is probably the most violent project by the company to date, and the series has been called "a superheroes take on The Wire". We can't think of a better compliment than that!

2. Master Of None

Number Of Seasons: One (no confirmation of a Second Season)

The newest entry to the list (the first season was released on Netflix on November 6th), but once we watch all ten episodes, you'll understand why it's placed so high. Aziz Ansari, mostly known as the hyper-kinetic guy from Parks & Recreation, plays a vague version of himself here, dealing with everything from love, work, religion, racism, sexism and everything in between. The show has been favorably compared to the work of Louis C.K. and Woody Allen, which is some great company to be in.

1. House Of Cards

Number Of Seasons: Three (Fourth Season due in 2016)

Netflix's first original series, and still it's best. Coming from the darkly moody mind of David Fincher, based on the BBC's mini-series, and getting Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, Kate Mara and Corey Stoll, this political thriller has constantly kept us all guessing as to where it might be going next. Despite only arriving in our lives two-and-a-half years ago, the look, sound, style and influence of the show can be felt in TV since it's initial release.


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