3 GREAT BINGE WORTHY SERIES ON NETFLIX

How many of you are firing through Netflix series one after another and are looking for something new to kill some time this week? With much of the US in isolation or “social distancing” we are stuck in our houses with nothing to do. If you are like us, we have cleaned our houses twice over, gone through clothes to donate to goodwill, and played every game in our cabinet. We have also binge watched numerous Netflix series. There are so many great options but we have chosen our favorites for this week’s blog.

BREAKING BAD/BETTER CALL SAUL/EL CAMINO (9 seasons, 114 episodes, 1 movie)

The Breaking Bad story spans three entitities, with Breaking Bad, Better Caul Saul (The Prequel), and El Camino, the follow up movie. This will keep you busy for a total of 9 seasons and one full length movie. The story starts with Walter White (Bryan Cranston) in Breaking Bad. Walt is a chemistry teacher with inoperable lung cancer. Walt turns to cooking and then distributing Meth using his chemistry knowledge to help support his treatment and his wife up for when he is gone. He ends up pairing up with a young Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) to help in the distribution. The show ends almost every episode with some type of predicament that looks impossible for them to escape, which is the true definition of binge worthy. You will not be able to wait to start the next episode to see how they solve their problems. Throughout their run ins with drug cartels, and DEA agents, they enlist the help of a two-bit lawyer, Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) and Saul’s right-hand man Mike. Which leads us to the development of the Saul Goodman character in the prequel Better Call Saul. Saul actually starts out the prequel as down on his luck defense attorney, Jimmy McGill. The 4 seasons of Better Call Saul traces the transformation of Jimmy, the good hearted attorney that is trying to be a good lawyer, into Saul Goodman the shady attorney that is doing what he can to make a quick buck. This series is not yet complete but it is getting closer to bridging the gap between Saul and Walt as you are seeing some of the same characters showing up in Better Call Saul. They will be completing the final season sometime in 2021. The follow up to Breaking Bad is the full length movie called El Camino and picks up literally hours after the finale of Breaking Bad and follows Jesse Pinkman and his reaction to the events of the Grand Finale of Breaking Bad. I don’t want to give you too much info and give you any spoilers. But you will be on the edge of your seat every episode and you will want to keep watching these one after another.

OZARK (3 seasons, 30 episodes)

Jason Bateman plays Marty Byrd in Ozark. He also won an Emmy for directing in 2017 for Ozark. Marty is a financial advisor from Chicago that gets stuck having to launder money for his drug cartel client. The delivery of his character is incredible and you will immediately start pulling for Marty. He is forced to move from Chicago to Missouri where he comes up with a plan to launder millions of dollars. This is another series, like Breaking Bad, where the star, Marty and his family seems to encounter many situations that leave them looking like there is no way out. What makes this series interesting is the character development. Almost immediately when the Byrde family arrives in Missouri, they encounter the Langmore family and Ruth Langmore (Julia Garner, who also won a best supporting actress Emmy for her role). The Langmores live in trailers and don’t have jobs. They try to steal the cash that Marty is trying to hide. A little later in the series they form a partnership with Jacob and Darlene Snell who aren’t afraid to make their presence known no matter what the consequences. You will be shocked when you see what they are capable of to get their way. This is a series that you will have a tough time pulling away from.

SCHITT’$ CREEK (6 Seasons, 80 episodes)

The third GREAT binge worthy Netflix series is Schitt’s Creek. This is completely different than the previous two series. If you are looking for something light that will make you laugh, this is the show you want to watch. The episodes are 22 minutes long and you will quickly roll through them as you are rolling on the floor laughing. Schitt’s Creek is the brainchild of Eugene Levy of American Pie fame and his son Dan Levy (Creator and writer). Eugene takes on the lead role as Johnny Rose. John is a very wealthy video store magnate who finds some bad fortune when he loses his entire net worth. Johnny, his wife Moira, and his two kids, David (Dan Levy), and Alexis are force to regroup in the town of Schitt’s Creek, which they bought as a joke many years before. Schitt’s creek is a small run down rural town with some unique characters including the Mayor, Roland played by Chris Elliot. You can imagine the disaster that ensues when you have the wealthy family mixed with a poor rundown town. The initial offering shows the Rose family moving into the local Motel for their Residence. You are sure to find humor in each episode as they try to adapt to their new surroundings and start engaging with the unique people of Schitt’s Creek.

Other great series that might interest you:

Bloodline

Lost in Space

The 100

Narcos

Gotham

Stranger Things

Weeds

Dexter