The holidays are often a time when streamers premiere tons of new offerings for eager viewers who find themselves with some free time. For the average Netflix user, though, it can be tough to keep up with which shows are worth catching up with, and which aren’t.
The Thanksgiving holiday offers the perfect opportunity to do exactly that. Once the meal has been eaten, you have plenty of extra time to catch up on the best shows on Netflix that will get you in that holiday spirit. Here are five shows that are definitely worth checking out this Thanksgiving.
Derry Girls
Set in Northern Ireland during the height of checkpoints and violence in the 1990s, Derry Girls is nonetheless one of the wildest, funniest shows on TV. The series follows a group of teenage girls who come of age at a particularly troubling time in the history of their community.
Derry Girls became a critical darling thanks to its sharp writing and its astonishing central performance, and it manages to be at turns touching and absurd. Few shows on TV feel more carefully calibrated, offering a window into a very specific world and somehow making it universal.
Mo
Mo is one of many creator-driven shows that is inspired by the creator’s real life. In the case of Mo, the show follows a Palestinian refugee who is still fighting for U.S. citizenship as he deals with the many cultures he’s attempting to navigate.
Based on comedian Mo Amer’s real life, the series is told from a distinct perspective but manages to lace itself with plenty of acerbic humor throughout. Mo has only gotten a single season to date, but here’s hoping that they’ll be back for more at some point in the future.
Heartstopper
Heartstopper is, at its core, simply a love story. The series follows two boys whose burgeoning friendship slowly transforms into something more against the backdrop of their lives in high school.
Based on its premise alone, you may not think that Heartstopper is all that revolutionary, except for the fact that it’s still remarkably rare to get a story like this focused on a same-sex relationship. On top of any ground it may be breaking, though, Heartstopper is also delicate, thoughtful, and sweet in the way it chooses to tell its love story.
Better Call Saul
Perhaps one of the best prequel stories ever told, Better Call Saul follows Saul Goodman, the lawyer from Breaking Bad, as we learn exactly how he became the lawyer he was on that show. The show unfolds over six seasons, so you may not be able to get to all of it over Thanksgiving, but once you start, you’ll find yourself engrossed in one of the most fascinating legal shows ever made.
If Breaking Bad is all about slow corrosion, Better Call Saul is about the cycles people put themselves through as they try, and often fail, to become better people.
I Think You Should Leave
If you’ve ever been on the internet, you’ve likely seen memes from I Think You Should Leave, even if you’ve never seen the actual show. A brilliant, deranged sketch comedy show from the mind of Tim Robinson, I Think You Should Leave is often unafraid of taking bits to their logical conclusions.
Few shows on TV are bolder and more brazen, and while not every sketch lands, the ones that do have a habit of becoming cultural phenomenons. I Think You Should Leave is always surprising and usually great, and it’ll leave you in stitches no matter when you watch it.
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