This article was written for Annabel & Grace, which is now part of Rest Less.
I love Netflix but I also hate it. Trying to find some box sets to watch is seriously like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Apparently they are constantly gathering information about our viewing habits and then sending suggested viewing, personalised to us, because now they know us better than our best friend.
Maybe they get it right but who knows as the next thing I find most irritating is that after watching a series Netflix suggest another one. Perfect you think – they know me and have made a calculated suggestion. However it is unlikely that you are going to watch it immediately. So when you come back to Netflix the following night the suggestion is no longer there and of course OH and I can’t remember the name of the suggested series.
Why can’t they……..no I am not even going to go there. I am just going to tell you about a series that we watched recently and were totally hooked.
UNBELIEVABLE
The first of my box sets recommendations is a Netflix drama about a retracted rape allegation and is a fiercely feminist look at the nature of truth and whose stories get heard. It is a true story. The following happened:
In the early hours of a March morning in 2008, an 18-year-old woman, Marie, in Lynnwood, Washington, was awakened by a stranger in her apartment. Holding her at knifepoint, he tied her up, raped her for hours, photographed her, and said that if she went to the police, he would post the photographs online. Then he left.
In the second episode, Unbelievable begins to unfold on two tracks. While still tracing the fallout of Marie’s rape accusation in Washington, the narrative shifts forward to 2011 and southeast to Colorado, where Detective Karen Duvall (Merritt Wever – Nurse Jackie) is working a rape case with circumstances that sound very similar to Marie’s, though Duvall has no way of knowing that. A woman named Amber who lives alone, was raped by an intruder who broke into her apartment and made sure to leave the scene absolutely clean of all DNA traces. What’s different about the two situations is the way the victims are treated.
The series is concerned with the victims of that rapist, how they are treated by an inconsistent criminal justice system, and what a difference it makes when a woman who says she’s been assaulted is not only heard, but treated with compassion.
As additional rapes take place, Duvall eventually joins forces with Grace Rasmussen (Toni Collette), a Colorado detective who works in another nearby jurisdiction and is also starting to see similar cases.
It is an incredible series that will make grown women weep and be angry.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
This is an Amazon series about a woman who takes on the man’s world of 50s standup comedy.
Miriam “Midge” Maisel, a 1958 New York City woman who has everything she’s ever wanted–the perfect husband, two kids, and an elegant Upper West Side apartment perfect for hosting Yom Kippur dinner. But her perfect life suddenly takes an unexpected turn and Midge discovers a previously unknown talent–one that changes her life forever. She charts a course that takes her from her comfortable life on Riverside Drive, through the basket houses and nightclubs of Greenwich Village as she storms the world of stand-up comedy…a course that will ultimately lead her to a spot on Johnny Carson’s couch.
It is funny, light-hearted and a good break from all of the political dramas and thrillers. There are now 3 seasons so plenty to keep you going.
I love Netflix and Amazon but I think I will rely on my friends to suggest series for me to watch as leaving it to the networks is not working right now. I don’t think they know me as well as my friends do.
For more Box sets read our previous post by clicking HERE.