Watching movies and shows on Netflix is not even a luxury anymore. The streaming platform has instilled itself so deep into our everyday lives that it becomes hard not to accept it. However, everyone wants to watch what’s hot and trending on Netflix. Murakami once said, “If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.”
The same situation is also applicable to shows and books. Instead of watching the top 10 shows that are hot and trending, watch some underrated shows which are artsy, quirky and create their own audience in a way. Who knows? Maybe you start liking them. Below mentioned are some of the top 10 shows that you can watch on Netflix this week.
Top 10 shows to watch on Netflix this week
1. Fate: The Winx Saga Season 2
Originally based on the cartoon, The Winx Club, created by Iginio Straffi, The Winx Saga is a Netflix-Original teen drama series created by Brian Young. Debuted on January 22, 2021, the second season of these magical fairies returned in September 2022.
For those unversed, The Winx Saga is centred around a fairy, Bloom, who harbours fire powers and is admitted to the magical boarding school in the Otherworld, Alfea. In the course of her schooling, she becomes friends with Stella, a light fairy, Aisha, a water fairy, Terra, an earth fairy and Musa, a mind fairy. Intricately interwoven with her quest of digging her ancestry is the plot of Burned Ones who return to the Otherworld and promise to bring darkness back.
2. First Kill Season 1
Belonging to the coterie of one of those underrated dramas, First Kill is a Netflix Original featuring Sarah Catherine Hook and Imani Lewis. Based on a short story written by Schwab, the drama was written by Felicia D. Henderson and Victoria Schwab.
Premiered on June 10, First Kill was unfortunately canceled within two months of its release which came as a shocker since it was widely loved by the viewers, evidenced by the 90% rankings on Rotten Tomatoes.
The official synopsis of the series, according to Netflix, reads:
“Falling in love is tricky for teens Juliette and Calliope: One’s a vampire, the other’s a vampire hunter — and both are ready to make their first kill.”
3. The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem Season 1
For your Oriental tastes, we present to you The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem, an Israeli show that is set during the early 1900s, centring around Rosa, a housecleaner, who weds a shopkeeper. However, the catch is that the shopkeeper is in love with another woman, which creates a ripple effect in all the relationships.
On May 20, 2022, Netflix received season 1, which is now relabelled as season 1: part 1 and on July 29th, 2022, it received part 2. Even though the series is termed a Netflix Original, it is owned and broadcast in Israel on the network Yes.
The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem is streamed on Netflix in only nine countries, which include, the United States, United Kingdom, Argentina, France, Israel, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland.
4. Partner Track
This is more for your South Korean inclinations. Released in August 2022, Partner Track is based on the titular novel by Helen Wan and written by Sarah Goldfinger and Georgia Lee. The plot of the drama series follows a young lawyer, whose role is reprised by Arden Cho, and her plight to become the first minority woman to partner in an established law firm.
Interestingly, the first two episodes of Partner Track are going to be directed by Emmy nominee Julie Ann Robertson, who is popularly known for works like Bridgerton, Castle Rock, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and more.
The official synopsis of the novel, according to Amazon, reads:
“Ingrid Yung’s life is full of firsts. A first-generation Chinese American, the first lawyer in her family, she’s about to collect the holy grail of “firsts” and become the first minority woman to make a partner at the venerable old law firm Parsons Valentine & Hunt.
5. Spy x Family
For all anime fans, this is for you. Premiered on April 9, 2022, Spy X Family comes from Toho Animation and was created by Tatsuya Endo. Its season 1 constitutes 25 episodes, 12 of which have already been released on a weekly basis on the popular streamer, Netflix. It is available for streaming only in select regions from April through June 2022.
The second phase of streaming constitutes the remaining 13 episodes, which aired from October till the end of the year. This phase too was aired weekly on Netflix. However, the availability of streaming depended on where you lived.
According to Netflix, its official synopsis is:
‘A spy, an assassin and a telepath come together to pose as a family, each for their own reasons while hiding their true identities from each other.’
6. The Sandman
Buckle up, you fantasy fanatics, because The Sandman, as you are well aware, is now a part of the Netflix family. Gather your quilts and pillows to start binge-watching all 10 episodes of the series.
For those unversed, The Sandman is an American fantasy drama series that is based on the comic book written by Neil Gaiman in 1989-1996. Developed by Gaiman, Allan Heinberg and David S. Goyer for Netflix, the plot of the series focuses on the titular character, who is also called Dream.
Featuring Tom Sturridge as Dream, alongside Vivienne Acheampong, Gwendoline Christie, Charles Dance, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Boyd Holbrook and Asim Chaudhary, The Sandman has become one of the most favorite and popular Netflix original shows of the month.
The official synopsis of the series, according to Netflix, reads:
“After years of imprisonment, Morpheus — the King of Dreams — embarks on a journey across worlds to find what was stolen from him and restore his power.”
7. Dynasty Season 5
A reboot of the 1980s soap opera which made its premiere in October 2017, Dynasty originally belongs to The CW network. All five seasons are available for streaming on Netflix right now. The fifth season was renewed in February 2021 and currently constitutes 22 episodes.
The remaining four seasons of Dynasty are also streaming on Netflix, so there are 108 episodes for you to binge-watch if you haven’t already. The official synopsis of Dynasty, according to Netflix, reads:
“The Carringtons and the Colbys feud for control over their fortune – and their children – in this updated reboot of the classic prime-time soap.”
8. Riverdale
As you all might be knowing, Riverdale is coming back for its last shot and it’s going to be a bang for all its fans. It hurts to see the Archie Comics adaptation end after all this time, but if it’s of any help, you still have one more year to binge-watch the entire show before the last season kicks in.
For those unversed, here’s the official synopsis of the show (courtesy of IMDb):
While navigating the troubled waters of romance, school, and family, Archie and his gang become entangled in dark Riverdale mysteries. After the death of one of the rich and popular Blossom twins on the 4th of July, the small town of Riverdale investigates the murder.
9. All American
No matter how much we watch All American, we just can’t get all of it. Its latest season, season four, ended with some cliffhangers. For instance, Spencer and Olivia’s relationship. Olivia wills to write an article that will cause a ripple effect in her life of Spencer. Be that as it may, we all know that she needs to prioritize her career but will she be able to do that at the stake of her relationship with Spencer?
On the parallel front, we have Coop who seems very optimistic about what lies in front of her, but she is still consumed with a lot of doubts and conundrum. But when will we get to see her detangle herself from all these doubts?
Although these questions can only be answered in season five whose release date is not quite known, you can still binge-watch all four seasons of All American to brush up your memory.
10. Barbarians Season 2
Debuted on October 23, 2020, Barbarians is a German Netflix Original series that spiked the excitement of viewers ever since its release. Created by Jan Martin Scharf and Arne Nolting, this historical drama “was the eighth most-watched non-English language title on Netflix with 37 million views recorded in the first 28 days.” (What’s on Netflix)
Barbarians season 2 has already hit Netflix Germany. The official synopsis of Barbarians season 2 reads:
“A year after the Varus Battle, the Roman troops have returned to Germania, stronger than ever, and Ari is once again confronted with his Roman past. His brother has joined the Roman side to punish Ari for his betrayal of Rome. While Thusnelda and Ari try to unite the tribes against Rome, Folkwin makes a sinister challenge to the gods.”