For cord cutters, the anticipation of watching an event live gets transferred over to the weekly dumps of content on the various video streaming platforms. What’s dropping when becomes important knowledge to have, as you organize your queue. If you don’t have time to comb through all the content coming down the series of tubes that make up the Internet, don’t worry — we do. Here are our picks for what you should watch this week.
Sense8
It seems like we’ve reached a point where there is a new Netflix show every week. That’s great news for binge-watchers, as the shows drop in their entirety on day one. The second you hear about a show, you can deep dive into it. It’s just hearing about it that can be the difficult part, as most don’t launch to the fan fare of Orange is the New Black or House of Cards. But if you’re paying attention, gems are popping up on the regular.
Such is the case when it comes to Sense8, the newest in a series of Netflix originals that have managed to fly under the radar. The sci-fi drama comes from the producers of the Matrix trilogy and V for Vendetta. With a strong track record, Andy and Lana Wachowski put together a 12 episode run of the show, which tells the story of eight unique characters, all from different backgrounds and cultures, who suddenly find themselves emotionally and mentally linked to each other.
Sid and Nancy
When you think about punk rock, it’s hard to better embody the music and the lifestyle than Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols. Punk rock to his very core, he lived life hard and fast, and he died the same way. In this 1986 British biopic about the musician and Nancy Spungen, Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb star. The film tells the tragic story of the two lovers, who are both riddled with their own problems — but madly in love with one another — as they spiral out of control.
Sex Ed
If you’ve been paying attention to the indie film scene in recent years, you’ve been seeing a lot more of Haley Joel Osment. Most famous for his child acting career and his role in The Sixth Sense, Osment has reemerged as a well adjusted, funny, and quirky star. His charm carries Sex Ed, a film that revolves around Osment’s character Eddie Cole. In his first teaching gig, Eddie learns that his students aren’t receiving sex education courses. He seeks to rectify this, though he’s a virgin himself.
Hidden Kingdoms
There’s something inherently compelling about nature documentaries, especially in today’s world where the cameras can get closer and capture more — in better quality – than ever before. The BBC’s Hidden Kingdoms gets the added benefit of tapping Stephen Fry for narrating duties, which makes the footage all the more enjoyable. Fry walks us through various parts of the animal kingdom, showing the perspective of the surrounding world from creatures we don’t often think about.
Pretty Little Liars Season 5
ABC Family debuted Pretty Little Liars, a series based off a a run of books by Sara Shepard, back in 2010. Since then, it’s spawned its own spin off show and has already been renewed for a seventh season, despite just starting its sixth. The teen drama will come to an end after year seven, though, so now is a great time to play catch up on Netflix, so you’ll be ready for the wind down and can see where the four girls of Rosewood eventually end up.
