The past month saw highs and lows (but mostly highs) for additions to the Netflix streaming library.
There are plenty of exciting new series coming to Netflix in November, like Broadchurch, Minx and The Beast in Me, but there are plenty of recently released series from October to keep you sated.
Watch With Us is highlighting three shows that are new to Netflix and will fill the void until the November releases drop. Our picks include a medical drama, a British period series and a horror drama.
Read our picks, and see where they placed on IMDb’s rankings.
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‘NOS4A2’ (2019-2020)
Based on Joe Hill’s best-selling novel of the same name, NOS4A2 follows Victoria “Vic” McQueen (Ashleigh Cummings), a young artist who discovers that she has the supernatural ability to find things that are lost. This finds her on a path towards an immortal man named Charles Manx (Zachary Quinto), a malevolent being who feeds on the souls of children and then deposits their remains in a place called “Christmasland.” Vic struggles to rescue Manx’s victims while eluding his powers.
With a lot on its plate to execute a genuinely ambitious premise, NOS4A2 does succeed as an entertaining bit of horror drama and also serves as a fantastic showcase for Quinto’s expertise in portraying fictional psychopaths. It also features some unforgettable imagery and well-executed world-building, and is overall a visually appealing and spooky bit of fun.
‘Nurse Jackie’ (2009-2015)
Jackie Peyton (Edie Falco) is a committed emergency room nurse at the All Saints’ Hospital in New York City, but she struggles to manage the pill addiction she developed due to the demands of her job. While grappling with an inadequate healthcare system that frequently fails her patients, she does all she can to bend rules and cut corners to dodge doctors and bureaucratic red tape in order to get people the help and relief that they need. Meanwhile, her addiction becomes increasingly difficult to hide.
Praised in particular for its portrayal of addiction, along with kudos to the performances of both Falco and costar Merritt Wever, Nurse Jackie breathes new life into the medical drama genre. With commanding lead performances from largely female characters, the series does an excellent job at mixing tragedy and comedy while offering compelling plot lines and absorbing character drama.
‘Poldark’ (2015-2019)
Based on Winston Graham’s novel series of the same name, this is the second adaptation of it after the same-titled series, which ran from 1975-1977 on the BBC. Nearly forty years later, it stars Aidan Turner as Captain Ross Poldark, a Red Coat veteran of the American Revolutionary War who returns home to Cornwall and discovers his father has died, and his love has married another. With his estate left in ruins, the series follows Poldark’s attempts to rebuild his fortunes, navigating family, love and death.
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Poldark is a sumptuous feast for fans of period romances. The series boasts visual splendor, riveting romantic chemistry and is led by a lead actor who is almost too handsome. It offers plenty of melodramatic thrills and excitement for those who love both British period series and highly charged character drama. While some may find the melodrama a bit too reminiscent of a trashy romance novel, many will find that that’s exactly what they’re looking for, and Poldark manages it elevate it too.
