For anyone who doesn't plan on screaming their guts out over the climax of the Premier League season this weekend, there’s plenty of great content to catch on Netflix for when the inevitable downpours strike and we all have to run for cover indoors. With two new hotly anticipated series dropping today, as well three other handpicked recommendations from us to you, you’ll have plenty to get you through to Monday.
Hot New Arrivals: The Keepers and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Season 3
The Keepers:
There’s been a lot of buzz in the last couple of weeks in the lead up to the release of Netflix’s latest true crime documentary series “The Keepers” which landed on the streaming site today. Being hailed the new “Making a Murderer”, “The Keepers” is a seven part series that follows the story of the unsolved Baltimore homicide case of a nun in 1969.
A beloved school teacher, Sister Cathy Cesnik, 26, went missing in November of 1969 and her body was found 2 months later. Though the case was never solved, shocking developments came to light in the years following the crime. In the 1990s a former student of Cathy’s came forward and revealed that she was taken to see Sister Cathy's undiscovered body and told, 'See what happens when you say bad things about people.'
The above synopsis will no doubt sound compelling to any true crime nut and “The Keepers” is expected to draw in a large audience.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Season 3
The wackiest show with the darkest premise is back for a third season. To the uninitiated, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” follows the narrative of Kimmy, a 30-something-year-old who gets a new chance at life when she’s released from the underground bunker she’s been imprisoned in for the better part of her life (and yes, this is a light and airy sitcom despite such a dark backstory).
Season 3, after seeing the eternally sunny Kimmy get her GED in season 2, sees her eager to start her collegiate life. Titus, Kimmy’s larger than life roommate returns from a cruise with a big secret, Jacqueline continues to hold steadfast to her new and unlikely beau played by David Cross and Lilian tries her hand at local politics.
Critics so far are mostly positive and note that fans will be satisfied with this third installment.
Animated Interest: Anomalisa
Fans of the eclectic filmography of Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) will doubtless be enamoured with this equally weird, if totally different animated tale from the director. For a film so painstakingly detailed and beautifully rendered in flawless stop motion animation, Anomalisa tells the relatively uneventful story of one man’s desperately lonely night in an upscale hotel.
The story follows Michael Stone, a man so fed up and disenchanted with life that everyone around him appears to him to have the same face and voice - that is until he hears the distinctive voice of Lisa, a customer care specialist who has come to see him speak at a conference.
Introspective and not a little pessimistic, Anomalisa might not be for everyone but it’s certainly unlike anything you’ve ever seen before and is worth watching for the animation alone.
Classic Comedy: See No Evil, Hear No Evil
See No Evil, Hear No Evil got a bad rep as the weakest of three Richard Pryor/Gene Wilder films but I can’t deny that I love this wacky caper and all the silly gags that come with it. The pair of comedy legends play a blind man, Wally, and a deaf man, Dave, respectively. Together they are wrongly accused for a murder neither of them committed, yet both witnessed. The problem is Dave had his back turned when the gun was fired and didn’t hear anything, where Wally heard everything but didn’t see a thing! Together they have to prove to the police that they didn’t commit the crime. Hilarity ensues.
Sure, it might be unrealistic, simplistic and farcical but See No Evil, Hear No Evil has some quality laughs, the above scene being an example of one of my favourite ever movie jokes.
Stellar Stand-Up: Ali Wong: Baby Cobra
Netflix has made a name for itself when it comes to producing quality stand-up specials but Ali Wong’s Baby Cobra is definitely in a class of its own. Appearing onstage with a heavily pregnant belly almost as big as her personality, Wong engages and surprises before she even begins her set.
Her show is a tour-de-force of cutting and hilarious observations that are often raw and raunchy and will genuinely leave you rolling on the floor in tears of mirth. As one critic detailed; “A master of shifting voices, she tackles many topics - scatology, aging, and Asian-American identity. Like the women of Broad City, Wong demystifies the female body - and all its oozy grotesquerie - as a site of relatability, not horror.”
Want more? Check out last week's recommendations here.
