Netflix/Prime/Hulu Discoveries

[centerstage01]

I had some people recommend Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries and I finally got around to watching. Not only are the clothes and cars to die for but I'm now a huge fan of Nathan Page (Seriously, Australia, why have you hidden him away? Yowza!).

Plus, it's great to watch a 1920's woman be completely comfortable with who she is and be kickass in the process. I really hope there will be a season 4.

What shows or movies have you found that you can't believe you missed the first time around?

 

[el henry]

Thanks for starting this thread, and having recently cut the cord, I would love more recommendations and their streaming service.

For me: Foyle's War (Netflix). What a wonderful, perfectly acted, perfectly filmed murder mystery, and sooooo 1940s British. Michael Kitchen is so calm and so understated, communicating so much by only clicking his teeth.

Why wasn't I watching this before? Oh well, I'm bingeing now

 

[Buzz]

Skinwalkers the Navajo Mysteries - based on the novels by Tony Hillerman. It is not a new series and the first episode aired in 2002 but it does star Adam Beach.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skinwalkers_(novel)


The Bletchley Circle - A group of female WW2 code breakers use their skills after the war to solve crime.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bletchley_Circle

P.S.
I also LOVED Foyle's War!

 

[Allskate]

I'm overwhelmed by all the options I have on Netflix and Prime. I just don't know what to watch.

I liked the Bletchley Circle. Also, I watched Grantchester on Prime and really liked it, so I'll be watching the new season on PBS.

My favorite Prime original series has been Mozart in the Jungle. Actually, I'm not sure I've watched any of the other Prime originals. I'd love some recommendations.

My favorite Netflix original is A Chef's Table. I liked the first season of House of Cards, but quickly lost interest the second season. I didn't get the fuss over Orange is the New Black. I couldn't get into Bloodline, and I thought that Grace and Frankie was pretty bad. I think I must be checking out the wrong shows.

I'll have to check out Foyle's War and Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries.

 

[Tesla]

Midsomer Murders I love this show. Be prepared for some pretty wacky murders.

 

[Allen]

Of the Netflix Originals I loved Jessica Jones but I realize it may not be everyone's cup of tea. Also, while not an original, I think Netflix is the only one showing The Fall which is one of my favorite shows at all. Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan are really just about perfect in that show. I tried to do Love, but it was cumbersome to me in the same way that Juno was...no one talks like that all the time. Apatow has a problem giving the audience time to breathe and it made me grow tired of Love pretty quickly.

On Prime, besides what's been mentioned, Transparent is pretty amazing.

For CSI type buffs, Netflix has a ton of episodes of Forensic Files and I've found myself sitting down and watching ten or more episodes in one sitting more than once.

 

[clairecloutier]

We watched The Man in the High Castle on Amazon and found it pretty interesting. (Then again, I'll watch pretty much anything that's based on a Philip K. Dick novel.)

 

[victoriajh]

I loved foyles war too!! Folye is fabulous - my granddad passed away when I was three and i dont have any memories of him- i told my mum i thought he sounded like folye and my mum said he did! it was odd to have that deja vous moment...
loved the bletchley circle too- wish they made more
scott and bailey is great as well- for this era

 

[Artemis@BC]

Also, while not an original, I think Netflix is the only one showing The Fall which is one of my favorite shows at all. Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan are really just about perfect in that show.

Does Netflix have season 2 yet? Last time I had a Netflix subscription they only had season 1. My library has season 2 on order but I wasn't quick enough and there's a long queue.

I love lots of the other series mentioned, particularly the British ones like Foyle, Bletchley, Midsomer, and Scott & Bailey. But I've seen them all already the old-fashioned way on PBS and Knowledge Network.

 

[NinjaTurtles]

I'm overwhelmed by all the options I have on Netflix and Prime. I just don't know what to watch.

http://netflixroulette.net

 

[oleada]

My favorite Prime show by far is Catastrophe, which is actually a British comedy. Hysterical. Would highly recommend.

 

[Buzz]

There is also a bunch of PBS documentaries on Netflix and I have seen most of them.

 

[Spun Silver]

I liked Foyle's War too but I got a bit tired of Michael Kitchener's mouth-wrinkling. The final episode was dynamite.

I watched all of Inspector Morse on Netflix. I began with a strong preference for its spinoff, Lewis, and ended finding Morse far more interesting because of the character and John Thaw's acting.

I'm watching the still-continuing period series Endeavour (a prequel to Morse) and George Gently. The first is good but the second is magnificent. The character of Gently is almost archetypal in his virtue and heroism.

I watched all of Sherlock on Netflix - love its manic quality. Also Broadchurch which, while very good in its first season, ran out of steam rather quickly. Maybe it was never designed to last long.

I recently watched all of The Killing which was spectacular. The two leading actors and their relationship were riveting and I was horrifyingly mesmerized by the Seattle rain. It made me thankful to live in NJ, which takes some doing.

Justified on Amazon quickly became one of my all-time favorite TV series although I shocked myself with my tolerance for violence. Great acting can do that to me. The hardscrabble Appalachian setting was so convincing, and besides the main leads, there was a monumental performance for a couple of seasons by Margo Martindale.*

Now I am alternating between two lighter shows, Longmire and Murder, She Wrote. Angela Lansbury was a daredevil in those early episodes! A friend of mind who is retired law enforcement and a full-blooded American Indian thinks Longmire is quite accurate. I have to admit I like watching the aging sheriff beat up bad guys. But I guess everyone else does too as the show has been running quite a while.

I havent been watching movies because at the late hour I watch, I don't want to commit to two hours. But a few nights ago I saw In the Name of the Daughter, a true-life French film with Catherine Deneuve (not great, but I will watch her in anything) and my next one will be Jimmy Picard with Benicio del Toro, who I think is fabulous. I think I will be watching more foreign films, since I feel as though I've hit the pinnacle of detective series with Morse, George Gently, Justified, and The Killing. I think I will just ponder on those for a while.

Until all of this recent Netflix and Amazon viewing, I really never realized now utterly dominant the genre of crime/detective series is. Fascinating.

* ETA: I see Martindale is earning more plaudits for her work in a show called The Americans (based on a recent real-life episode in NJ) so I guess I will postpone my exploration of foreign films until checking that out.

 

[Allskate]

I see Martindale is earning more plaudits for her work in a show called The Americans (based in a recent real-life episode in NJ) so I guess I will postpone my exploration of foreign films until checking that out.

It's really strange to see her playing a Russian spy. I kept thinking that while watching her in the show. I think I'm a season behind and the new season is about to start. So, I guess I'll catch both seasons later. I did like the first couples of seasons, but it got a bit much.

 

[SkateSand]

Does Netflix have season 2 yet? Last time I had a Netflix subscription they only had season 1. My library has season 2 on order but I wasn't quick enough and there's a long queue.

I love lots of the other series mentioned, particularly the British ones like Foyle, Bletchley, Midsomer, and Scott & Bailey. But I've seen them all already the old-fashioned way on PBS and Knowledge Network.

Yes, Netflix has season 2 of The Fall.

 

[Artistic Skaters]

I really like Margo Martindale in Justified & The Americans, & I was so glad Netflix picked up both Longmire & The Killing. I like Sissy Spacek & Sam Shepherd, so I have been watching Bloodline which was renewed for another season.

SkateSand, thanks for the heads up about season two of The Fall. I'll definitely watch that one.

 

[shan]

I've really enjoyed Longmire and Bletchley Circle. I also am finally caught up on Call the Midwife thanks to Netflix. I love that one too. The show I'm binge watching now is Person of Interest. I guess it's on CBS, but I don't watch much on regular TV (except for The Voice and TAR).

My sister loves Midsomer Murders and Rosemary and Thyme.

 

[Allskate]

I've never really been able to get into Call the Midwife. I did like "Land Girls," yet another British period drama.

Merlin was one I had caught in parts when it aired on tv, but happily completed on Netflix.

 

[Artemis@BC]

I also am finally caught up on Call the Midwife thanks to Netflix. I love that one too.

Just in time: the new season starts on PBS in a couple of weeks.

My sister loves ... Rosemary and Thyme.

I liked that one at first, mostly because I have a great deal of affection for the two leads. But it got very twee and the storylines were very silly. Lots of lovely garden porn though.

 

[JoannaLouise]

I'm another fan of detectives and murder mysteries, and I second (third? fourth?) the vote for Miss Fischer's Murder Mysteries. I also really like Death in Paradise, which I somehow managed to miss when it was on PBS.

For those who like comedies, I highly recommend The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. (And Brooklyn Nine-Nine, if you haven't been watching it on tv.)

 

[tamuno]

You guys haven't begun until you've seen Scott & Bailey and Broadchurch on Amazon and Netflix respectively. Agreed on Miss Fischer's murder mysteries. I really enjoyed 'Murder and Mozzarella'. Also 'Line of Duty'. Did not enjoy 'Land Girls'.

If you liked Miss Fischer you will likely enjoy Scott &Bailey which is about two female detectives. It had a bit of language and chain smoking which I didn't like but otherwise....well acted and well written.

 

[Yehudi]

Endgame - quirky procedural about an agoraphobic chess champion who solves crimes to pay for his hotel bill.

 

[Artemis@BC]

If you liked Miss Fischer you will likely enjoy Scott &Bailey which is about two female detectives. It had a bit of language and chain smoking which I didn't like but otherwise....well acted and well written.

I hate to quibble, but the two series are very, very different from each other, and share little in common other than the fact that both have female protagonists. The Miss Fisher mysteries are "cozies," light and frothy. I like them for the eye candy: the drop-dead-gorgeous costumes, and Jack. But they're very silly.

Scott & Bailey, oth, are hard-core, gritty, steeped in real life and real people with all their faults. And I love them for it.

And speaking of female detectives, have any of the streaming services picked up Vera yet? It's another Britdram I really like, based on the books by Ann Cleeves. They're set in Newcastle / Northumberland, so get ready for some heavy Geordie accents. Both PBS and Knowledge have carried them at various times.

 

[Tesla]

@Artemis@BC The first three seasons of Vera are in Hulu.

For non-English shows, I'm really enjoying Dicte and Swedish Wallander.

 

[gkelly]

Another vote for Jessica Jones.

Has anyone watched this mulitnational Borgia on Netflix? So far I've gotten through the first season.

I tend to prefer cable or British (or some other non-American) short-season series with strong acting and serialized or semi-serialized plotting. With episodic series I tend to lose interest fairly quickly, and most US broadcast series make me cringe at the obviousness of the writing and acting. I'm often playing catchup by watching series from years earlier as often as I watch current series while they're unspooling.

So I often end up watching a lot of mysteries, and I also prefer shows with female protagonists or at least several strong female characters. And a lot of historical shows.

Nephew: You watch a lot of shows with murders in them.

Me: Yes, but I've also been watching Call the Midwife, which has almost no violence, although there are occasional deaths. But pretty much every episode involves blood and screaming.

Nephew: Birth and death are a lot alike that way.


I subscribe to some premium cable services (changing which ones occasionally) and also to Netflix both online and on DVD right now.

Just finished watching Top of the Lake.

* ETA: I see Martindale is earning more plaudits for her work in a show called The Americans

I also have enjoyed that.

You guys haven't begun until you've seen Scott & Bailey and Broadchurch on Amazon and Netflix respectively. Agreed on Miss Fischer's murder mysteries.

Those too.

I'm really exhausted tonight, so I might be in the mood for lighter stand-alone episode viewing. I'd watched I think 6 episodes of Miss Fisher last summer (and read the first book a few years earlier) -- it might be time for another one tonight.

 

[HeManSkaterDad]

Justified was excellent, and if you are a Timothy Oliphant fan, Deadwood (Amazon) is also very good.

If you are a fan of the Doctor, and need a David Tenant fix, Broadcastle was very good, although season II went downhill a bit.

 

[nlloyd]

Count me another fan of Scott & Bailey (Hulu). Looking forward to the fifth series (only 3 episodes, I believe). Also enjoyed Death in Paradise (Netflix) for the scenery, the Caribbean ethos, and the representation of the British ex-pat community. Just finished watching The Strip (Hulu), another detective show, this time set on Australia's Gold Coast. More stunning beach scenery. One season only, unfortunately.

Also enjoyed the pan-European settings of Transporter (Netflix), a would-be James Bond-type show, but a little more risque, and Crossing Lines (Netfix). Am considering XIII: The Series (Netflix) next. Started watching Legend (Netflix) but found it too gruesome. Ditto for Luther. Jericho (Netflix) was compulsive viewing: edge of one's seat watching for me. Also enjoyed White Collar (Netflix).

For drama, loved Last Tango in Halifax (Netflix).

For comedy, Gates (Hulu) has been quite funny, if a little forced, and I have just watched the first episode of Whites (Hulu). It could go either way.

Some of these may have been on regular TV, but I don't have a TV, so do most of my watching on Netflix and Hulu.

 

[shan]

Oh I forgot about Death in Paradise. I started watching on PBS and then found it on Netflix. I've done the same with Doc Martin. I watched a season or so of Scott and Bailey on PBS as well, but have only found it on youtube. Is it only on Hulu?

 

[Spareoom]

Duuuuudddeee, Jessica Jones...that show gave me the creeps...I mean, it was amazing, but I've never had a show/movie make me so paranoid in real life, haha. *shiver* Krystin Ritter was perfect in the role.

Just watched Daredevil for the first time in anticipation of S2 starting soon. I'd tried watching it awhile back but lost steam after two episodes; I can't remember why. Maybe because it look a little long to get going. I'm glad I re-watched it; again, great show. Funny how maligned it was for it's violence back when it came out three years ago, but to me JJ was so much more horrifying to watch. I literally watched Jessica Jones between my fingers a lot, lol.

 

[Buzz]

Daredevil season 2 is now available on Netflix!