We won’t bang on about the weather. It’s hot. But at this time of year we are most thankful for three things: air-con, ice cream and Netflix. Movie nights provide some of our favourite flavours but if you really want something to get your teeth into (other than that tub of Ben & Jerry’s) then this supreme streaming source has plenty of series that will turn these balmy September nights into a thing of visual beauty. If you’ve completed the classics, here are a few other Netlfix MENA shows we feel you’ll want to binge and won’t make you cringe. Pass the popcorn.
After Life
It doesn’t take a hard-nosed journalist to realise this Ricky Gervais creation is both close to the bone when it comes to small-town reporting and heart-wrenching when it comes to its overriding theme that life can go on, in spite of the tragic hand you have been dealt. Gervais is in his element here, his acerbic and self-deprecating wit to the fore as his Tony deals with the aftermath of his beloved wife Lisa’s death. Memorable one-liners are interspersed with some perfect casting in the cemetery agony aunt Penelope Wilton, wonderfully positive best friend Roisin Conaty, boundary ignorant postie Joe Wilkinson and utterly repugnant psychologist Paul Kaye. After Life offers both tears of joy and pain at a time when we most need them.
Alias Grace
Sarah Gadon shines in this adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s outstanding 1996 novel of the same name. Based on a real-life murder case from mid-19th century Canada, Gadon perfectly portrays the impoversihed Irish immigrant servant girl Grace Marks, who is apparently wrongfully accused of killing both her boss and his housekeeper. Remaining true to the original concept of Atwood’s work, writer Sarah Polley and director Mary Harron explore this gripping tale to its full. Worked primarily through a series of interviews and flashbacks, Alias Grace is hugely relevant to the massively unstable times women face both politically and existentially right now. Polley wrote to Atwood requesting the screen rights when she read the novel at 17. That missive has certainly proved wonderfully worthwhile.
AlRawabi School For Girls
This creation by dynamic duo Tima Shomali and Shirin Kamal has been hard to ignore since the trailers for it began to appear on Netflix. Telling the tale of a group of social misfits bullied to the point of breakdown by a trio of popular girls at a prestigious school, the show is both remarkable and relatable. The pressures of having to ‘fit in’ are doubled for the ‘outcasts’ by the turning of a blind eye from authority figures who should, in reality, be stepping in to thwart their torment. AlRawabi School For Girls is a lesson in the harsh realities of peer pressure and the sheer sense of entitlement those with both a narrow mind and wealthy upbringing bring to bear.
Atypical
Now having completed its fourth and final season, Atypical is an ‘autism comedy’ that has polarised opinion throughout its run on Netflix. Ridiculed initially for the lack of input from the autistic community it intended to represent, Robia Rashid’s coming-of-age comedy drama has undoubtedly redressed the balance and gained respect since. Keir Gilchrist has nevertheless excelled in every season as Sam Gardner, an 18-year-old on the ‘spectrum’ whose main love is for Antarctica, and more specifically the penguins who inhabit it. As he builds friendships and prepares to leave the family nest, we see Sam’s evolution played out perfectly as he later adjusts to life beyond his comfort zone. What is ‘normal’, anyway?
Formula 1: Drive To Survive
Fortunate enough to have the yearly finale to the world’s most prestigious motorsport right here in the UAE, it would be impossible to ignore the impact F1 has had on our great nation. And in Drive To Survive we have a docuseries that goes behind the scenes of what it takes to make the big time in this most competitive and high-octane of pursuits. A combination of in-depth interviews with drivers, managers and crew and footage of some of the most spectacular action you’ll likely see on four wheels, the overriding theme is of how the mighty Ferrari (a dominant force in the sport for several decades) has seemingly hit the pits of despair. There is, of course, the quite remarkable dominance of Stevenage’s finest, Lewis Hamilton, prominent in this insider’s guide to F1. It will have even those who can’t stand the sport realising the sheer skill it takes to drive, and survive, on some of the world’s most challenging circuits.
Good Girls
Despite hitting the top of the Netflix charts when it comes to streaming numbers earlier this year, it seems it’s time to say goodbye to Good Girls. Charting the trials and tribulations of a trio of suburban mums who turn to crime after robbing a local supermarket, Jenna Bans’ hilarious comedy has been canned, much to its fans’ obvious despair. Christina Hendricks, Mae Whitman and Retta are massively amiable as Beth, Annie and Ruby, whose desperate bid to make ends meet sees them descend deeper and deeper into the world of organised criminality. Talks over a fifth and final series sadly came to nothing (apparently over financial quibbles) but here’s hoping someone will pick Good Girls up and give it the send-off it so richly deserves. Crowdfunder, anyone?
Kingdom
South Korean cinema, or Hallyuwood as the locals call it, is impossible to ignore right now, especially after the Oscars triumph of the ridiculously brilliant Parasite. The first Netflix foray into this prolific nation’s talent pool has produced a masterful work that has perhaps kick-started a new niche genre – political period horror thriller. Ju Ji-hoon stars as Crown Prince Lee Chang, who unwittingly unearths a plague that could bring down the Joseon dynasty by resurrecting the ungrateful dead. Lee is seemingly the nation’s only hope when it comes to preventing this pandemic from sweeping the nation. Director Kim Eun-hee has been widely lauded for this zombie romper-stomper. Rightly so, as amid the glaring gore he has crafted a story so exhilarating that Netflix booked a second series of it before the first had even hit the small screen.
Lupin
When it comes to charismatic leading men, Omar Sy has a certain je ne sais quoi. What we do know about his gentleman thief, Assane Diop, though is that he is as a comfortable in this series’ superb set pieces as he is in avenging the death of his dad that was driven by his framing for a crime by the ridiculously rich Hubert Pellegrini. Inspired by a book given to him by his father about the notorious nicker Arsène Lupin, Assane sets about taking down his eminent enemies by hook and mostly by crook. Paris is the perfectly picturesque backdrop for this French thriller. And Sy is the undoubted stand-out in a show Netflix rightly believes in, with the first two five-parters set to be followed by a third very soon.
Master of None
We absolutely loved Aziz Ansari in the fabulous Parks and Recreation, especially as his Del Boy-style ‘this time next year, Rodney’ Tom Haverford was a comedy car crash waiting to happen. As aspiring actor and part-time pasta-maker Dev Shah, Ansari imbues such a sense of warmth that you just want to grab him, hold him and tell him everything is going to be all right. Walking the tightrope between career success and a desire to find true love, Dev takes his quest from New York to Italy where his attempts at amore are just as frustrating. Ansari’s real-life foodie buddy Eric Wareheim is massively loveable as Dev’s ‘token white friend’ Arnold Baumheiser. The third season, Moments in Love, sees Ansari pass on the baton to Lena Whaithe’s ‘Denise’, who powerfully propels the original concept yet further.
Rick and Morty
When it came to picking an animated comedy to join this list, BoJack Horseman was pipped to the post by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon’s superb sci-fi sitcom that has seamlessly moved into a fifth series this summer. Following the rather madcap relationship between the somewhat surreal scientist Rick Sanchez and his permanently perturbed grandson Morty Smith, the show takes you on a whirlwind tour of other planets and dimensions fuelled by both the eccentricities of the madcap genius Rick, and his flying car. Harmon himself calls the show a mélange of The Simpsons and Futurama but to us, it is far more than that. The British humour inspired by The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy definitely won’t be lost on fans of that absolute classic. And the absurdities and chaos of Rick’s existence make him one of those characters you’d like to be but glad you’re not.
The Last Kingdom
Adaptations of Bernard Cornwell’s wealth of works have done wonders for the careers of many a British actor, not least Sean ‘Sharpe’ Bean. But in The Last Kingdom, the BBC have produced a spectacular take on his ‘Saxon Stories’ that has been well received worldwide. Merging gorgeous cinematography with action sequences so perfectly choreographed viewers will actually feel as if they are a part of the mêlées, the show was taken over by Netflix for the third series. Set initially in the mid-to-late ninth century, The Last Kingdom recounts the bloodthirsty Vikings’ quest to conquer southern England and the efforts of the Wessex folk to repel them. Of the many memorable performances, look out for Thea Sofie Loch Næss as the villain Skade. Netflix has provided some extra oomph, the actors have clearly revelled in it.
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