Hundreds of TV shows are broadcast every year, but only a small part of them are smash hits. A lot are garbage. And some series, no matter how good they are, fail to find the audience and critical recognition they deserve. So these underrated dramas, rom-coms, thrillers, comedies and sci-fi shows deserve more viewers.
Yes, we know it’s tempting to follow the crowd and catch the latest and greatest TV series to be released on your favorite streaming service, but today we invite you to follow your sense of adventure as over the past few years they have Real gems have appeared, many of which you didn’t even know existed. For this reason, today we gather eight of our favorite series, all of them with a different touch. So whether you’re into the supernatural, sci-fi or fancy a bit of nostalgia, there should be something here for you in this selection of the best shows you haven’t seen yet.
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8. Dead Like Me (2003 – 2004) | showtime
Available in: MGM Amazon Channel
Dead Like Me it was that serial weirdness that wasn’t afraid to explore death, while still managing to make us laugh. The dark comedy followed the travails of Georgia Lass, a recently deceased teenager who is assigned to work as a Grim Reaper. In it, we see the afterlife as a bureaucratic mess, run on Earth by Mandy Skatekin. The series lasted only two seasons, followed by a less than successful movie that only kept half of the original cast. The kiss of death (no pun intended) for Dead Like Me may have been having to compete with the very popular and also death-focused six feet under on HBO. Still, it’s worth a look.
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7. Wellington Paranormal (2018 – 2022) | tvnz
Available in: HBO Max
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Wellington Paranormal is a cult comedy series, and a spinoff of the vampire comedy What We Do In The Shadows, and follows a small-town police force dealing with everything from aliens to demons. Bottom line: It’s even bigger niche comedy than the original, and just as funny in its own terrifyingly weird ways. What makes her attractive? The small-town humor and deadpan way Agents Minogue and O’Leary handle supernatural cases fearlessly, treating monsters like any other citizen. They usually solve the cases thanks to a good dose of luck, bureaucracy, police procedures and the occasional casual knowledge of what exists in the afterlife.
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6. in the flesh (2013 – 2014) | BBC
Available in: Until now, on no legal website, but on other sites. Also, you can find it on DVD/BR.
In the flesh, from the BBC, it was undoubtedly one of the best and most underrated series on television when it aired. The premise of the series is quite simple: set in the UK after a zombie epidemic, scientists find a cure that restores the memories and personality of the undead. Although these people are still zombies, they are also undoubtedly people, and the same ones they were before anything happened. Kieran Walker is one of those zombies, a teenager who must go back to his old life, in which his parents are beyond scared, his sister is afraid of him and a militant anti-zombie group lives in town. Thus, using makeup to appear alive, he must assimilate again to a society that does not trust him, does not want him and that fears that he will attack others again. It’s very short, but it will make you cry.
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5 The Knick (2014 – 2015) | HBO
Available in: HBO Max
Even though each episode is packed with fantastic performances (clive owen should have all won awards for his work as drug addicted megalomaniac Dr. Charles Thackery) and incredible attention to period detail in this early 1900s hospital… the success of this series rests squarely with Steven Soderbergh. By allowing him to direct, shoot and edit each installment, he made The Knick It went from being just another medical drama to something much more artistic. Even when the most gruesome medical procedures appeared on screen, Soderbergh’s use of colour, lighting and camera movement made it impossible to look away. And that was essential, as the series’ exploration of the early days of mental health, the discredited ideas of eugenics, and the rise of African-Americans in the medical field always made this series above average.
Four. Nathan For You (2013 – 2017) | Comedy Central
Available in: Until now, on no legal website, but on other sites.
Based on the idea of its producer, creator and protagonistNathan Fielderfrom being a business graduate with good qualifications, Nathan For You it was twisted and uncomfortable and refreshing. In each episode, Fielder “helps” small businesses increase their sales with disturbingly effective ideas that sometimes end up going viral. In addition to being wild, Fielder hides a certain sincerity, doing his best never to exploit the people he helped for the benefit of a good joke, hoping that somehow he could at least draw attention to the business he was doing. they suffered But in the end, Nathan For You is something far more sublime: Over the seasons, he becomes more human and delves into the sublime, grappling with the human connections that lie at the heart of capitalism’s most basic tenets.
3. Pushing Daisies (2007 – 2009) | abc
Available in: HBO Max
The 2000’s were a tough decade for Bryan Fuller in regards to the series he created about death, having also been the showrunner during the two-season adventure of Dead Like Me on showtime. Pushing Daisies focused on Ned (played by Lee Pace), a simple pastry chef with the ability to raise the dead with a single touch. After accidentally bringing his childhood sweetheart back from the grave, Ned tries to solve the mystery of her death, befriending a private investigator played by Chi McBride. Running for only two seasons, it was a comedy and romantic drama that touched on many big issues (just like its predecessor, Dead Like Me), and had a small cult following which, sadly, wasn’t enough to keep it on the air.
2. Derry Girls (2018 – 2022) | Channel 4
Available in: Netflix
If you are looking for something fun and refreshing, the Irish production Derry Girls it’s a terrific option. Released in 2018, it is inspired by the experiences of its creator’s adolescence Lisa McGee. The series is set in Derry, Northern Ireland, in the 1990s, at the end of a decades-long socio-political conflict known as the Troubles. The Protestant North wanted independence from the United Kingdom, and the nationalist Roman Catholics wanted Northern Ireland to be absorbed into the Republic of Ireland. Context plays a large role in the series as a comedic backdrop, as the teenagers attend a private Catholic school in a Protestant-majority region. The series plays with ’90s nostalgia and distinctly Northern Irish idiosyncrasy as it follows four teenage schoolgirls and one down-on-his-luck English boy on their hilarious adventures.
1. My Mad Fat Diary (2013 – 2015) | E4
Available in: Until now, on no legal website, but on other sites. Also, it is available on DVD/BR.
Set in 1996 in Lincolnshire, the series tells the tragic and humorous story of a teenager named Rae, who has just been released from a mental hospital, where she spent four months after attempting suicide, and begins to meet her best friend Chloe (a very young Jodie Comer) and his group, who are unaware of Rae’s mental health and body image issues, believing that she has been to France. In an attempt to redefine herself and pursue the teenage dream she’s always wanted, she begins to bond with Chloe’s friends, and the cool new people she’s met in Rae’s absence. As Rae gets to know this group more, she embarks on a coming-of-age journey that is by turns hilarious, awkward, and painfully real. With a soundtrack set to the beat of the best Britpop tunes, My Mad Fat Diary it’s also nostalgic for those who grew up in that era, but it’s also a true portrait of psychotherapy and depression, and a gem for anyone who has struggled to come to terms with their teenage selves.
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