With seemingly endless options, these are some of the Netflix originals from last year that might’ve gone overlooked.
Netflix unleashed thousands of hours of original movies and series in 2018, so it’s literally impossible to catch everything. The obvious choice is the meme-generator Bird Box or critically-lauded Roma, both which the streaming service made a point to showcase.
Beyond that, 2018 gave us the Netflix original staples like BoJack Horseman and Glow and talked-about original movies Set It Up and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. So, once you’re done with your 15th play-through of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch to get all possible endings, check out this list below of what you might’ve missed from last year.
1. ‘Happy as Lazzaro’
This little-seen but highly-acclaimed Italian film out of Cannes (it won Best Screenplay at the festival) is an equal parts whimsical and dark fable about a good-hearted young peasant named Lazzaro. He strikes up a friendship with an alluring nobleman named Tancredi, and their bond unwittingly changes the course of both their lives forever.
Filmmaker Alice Rohrwacher explores mesmerizing magical-realism in the confines of a harsh world, and it stands chief among the many hidden gems available on Netflix.
2. ‘Nailed It! Holiday!’
There are already two seasons of the Nicole Byers-hosted cooking competition show, and then Netflix quietly dropped a third season just in time for the holidays, fittingly titled Nailed It! Holiday! And even if the holidays are over, the laughs provided here are good year-round.
It might remain a little hidden because it’s not under the same banner as the rest of Nailed It! so be sure to seek it out if you haven’t already, as it delivers on more of the same delightfulness we’ve now come to expect from Nicole Byers & Co.
And also seek out the comedian’s 30-minute segment on Netflix’s event series Comedians of the World that also just dropped.
3. ‘The Other Side of the Wind’ / ‘They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead’
It’s truly insane to think we received a new film — the final film — from legendary filmmaker Orson Welles in 2018. But we did, and it awaits you on Netflix if you haven’t sought it out already. It is one of the most impressive film accomplishments of the year and deserves even more recognition than it’s been receiving.
And pair it with not one but two documentaries on the making-of and restoration of the long-gestating film. The feature length documentary, which provides a sweeping scope of Welles’ career and strained relationship with Hollywood, is They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead.
A shorter doc is hidden under the trailers section of The Other Side of the Wind, titled A Final Cut For Orson: 40 Years in The Making, which digs into the specifics of how the film got restored.
4. ‘The End of the F***ing World’
A pitch-black comedy, a romance and a road trip movie all wrapped into one sinisterly funny package, this eight-episode series is a quick binge with each entry clocking in under 25 minutes.
In its short amount of time through season one, it manages to pack a punch and have a lasting impact, as we follow deranged odd couple James and Alyssa (Alex Lawther and Jessica Barden).
5. ‘Disenchantment’
The new series from The Simpsons creator Matt Groening didn’t get glowing reviews, but neither did The Simpsons upon its release. Not to say this show will reach the heights of that, but it’s also certainly not bad.
With an inspired voice cast led by Broad City‘s Abbi Jacobson who plays Princess Tiabeanie, a.k.a. Bean, as she escapes her imminent marriage with a demon named Luci (Eric Andre) and an elf named Elfo (Nat Faxon). The misadventures of this trio allows the show to perform some clever tricks with the typical fairy tale and fantasy genres.