November 2019 Netflix Recommendations

As most people nowadays, I’m a sucker for a good series to binge watch in the evenings and Netflix has really been smashing it out of the park with some incredible new TV shows recently. As someone who really does watch a lot of TV, I find it strange that I’ve never shared my Netflix recommendations, or really anything about what shows I enjoy before, so I thought I would share some of my Netflix recommendations with you today.

Atypical

Atypical has such a special place in my heart. It is a coming of age comedy following a young man called Sam, who has autism, in his search for a girlfriend.

Often, pop culture and TV, in particular, can stereotype autism and create characters that display typical high-functioning traits. Atypical, however, presents what I interpret as a more realistic portrayal. It can be hard to tackle sensitive issues with humour, but Atypical is so well-written that you find humour within their lives, rather than laughing at Sam directly.

Although the show is primarily about Sam dealing with life as a person with autism, many of the challenges he faces are recognisable to most people if they think back to the awkwardness of their teenage years. This is one of my favourite things about the show; it’s not saying ‘look at this autistic boy struggling with everyday things’ – it’s saying ‘look at this boy, who happens to have autism, struggle with things we all struggled with at that age’.

It’s truly refreshing to see a coming of age story from the eyes of someone on the spectrum, and hopefully, it will help to make more people aware of some of the struggles others can go through and teach them how to deal with any difficult situations they may encounter.

Season 3 of Atypical came out recently and with 30-minute episodes, it’s perfect for a light and quick binge-watch.

The Politician

I was so excited when Netflix released the trailer for this series, mainly because I’m slightly in love with Ben Platt. The Politician is about Payton Hobart, a wealthy teen whose dream is to be the President one day. In the series, Payton is running for Student Body President and faces a number of obstacles during the election period.

Now, firstly I just want to say that although I loved this series, it was not what I was expecting at all. It was a lot darker in places, and actually tackled some really challenging subjects well. I was expecting to watch quite an easy-going teen drama with the spin of politics, but it’s definitely more adult.

My only concern is the last episode. I’m not going to spoil anything because I’m not that guy, but essentially I was a little confused and felt like the series could have ended an episode earlier and everyone would have been okay with it.

Bonding

This is bloody fantastic. And strictly 16+.

Bonding had been sat on my list for months, and I’d just never gotten around to starting it. It centres around Tiff, a grad student with a side hustle as a dominatrix. She reconnects with her high school gay best friend Pete, and essentially employs him to be her assistant.

I was quite thankful that the episodes are only 15 minutes long because, wow, this show can be a bit intense. Not in a bad way, but it’s very explicit in places and it can definitely shock. As you probably are aware, I’m incredibly sex-positive (yo do you hun and all that) but episode two has some moments where even I had to look away. So maybe just consider where you are watching this, in case there are delicate eyes around.

Workin’ Mums

Despite not being a Mum or even thinking about having a baby just yet, I find there is something very comforting about a good Mum comedy. Workin’ mums follows the members of a baby group and the different paths they take in relation to raising their children and returning to work. Not only is Workin’ Mums brilliantly funny, it feels very real and honest. Don’t get me wrong, there are a few storylines that are a bit OTT but on the whole, it feels like a proper 21st century take on families and work and the struggle to balance the two.

Dead To Me

This is another show that sat in my watch list for a while because I thought it was going to be a lot deeper and more upsetting than it actually was. Dead To Me is about a woman whose husband dies in a hit and run and a friend that she makes in a grief support group. Their lives intertwine and you essentially explore their relationship, and those of the people around them.

I really loved this show and I think I got through the whole thing in about a week, which is very quick for me! It keeps you on your toes, and even though the subjects covered are quite sad, there are moments of brilliance and I personally didn’t find it a heavy watch.

The Good Place

Ah, The Good Place. I think basically everyone has watched this series now or has at least heard of it. The Good Place follows a woman called Eleanor and her story in the afterlife. I fell in love with this show about a year ago, and I’m so sad that the current series will be the last.

I will say that I’m not finding the latest series is having as much of an impact on me. I don’t know whether the series in general works better when you binge it, rather than watching an episode a week. The episodes themselves are only 20 minutes long and sometimes it does feel like not much happens, but in the grand scheme of things, it has (if that makes sense?).

At the time of writing this, the last season hasn’t yet finished so I can’t say for sure how I feel about it, but I’m still enjoying it so far and fingers crossed for a good ending!

Do you have any Netflix recommendations? Let me know in the comments!