Sometimes, you need to binge-watch. While Stranger Things 4 was split in half, Netflix typically encourages you to devour a whole season like Eleven going through a box of waffles.
And we always encourage you to "keep watching," when a new season of a show is about to arrive. Whether you need to re-watch that show to remember what happened last time, or you've always put off watching a show that's about to get new episodes, there's always a good reason to binge-watch. Because once you know you like a show and you're caught up, you can watch the new season along with everyone else and be a part of the conversation, be it with friends or family or acquaintances online.
This is why I'm taking a look at three big shows that are returning to Netflix. We've got a super-powered series returning for its third chapter, a crime show entering its sixth and final season and a sitcom looking to hit a sophomore stride. Each offers something different, with stylish heroics, family drama and historical machinations.
Two of these picks are also on our best shows on Netflix list, for what it's worth. But since everyone has a blind-spot or few, we won't hold it against you if you've still yet to dive in. And be sure to check out the latest Netflix show cancelation — one that's been critically acclaimed.
Binge-watch these Netflix shows before you're even more behind:
Peaky Blinders
5 seasons to watch — around 30 hours total
Unfortunately, the series with the longest running-time is up first. Some were able to watch Peaky Blinders season 6 early — it first aired on the BBC starting in February, so those with regular access to the 'beeb' or use of one of the best VPNs were able to jump the line. But if you're going to consider Peaky Blinders now, I'm guessing you're one of the many who hasn't jumped into the Peaky pack yet.
Over six seasons, we've gotten to intimately know the practices of the Peaky Blinders street gang in Birmingham, England, who are iconic by their peaked flat cap and overcoats (the actual uniform for the actual real life gang of the same name). The series is led by Cillian Murphy, who plays Tommy Shelby, who runs operations, and is surrounded by family (who are also in the Peaky Blinders).
While nobody compares Peaky Blinders to The Wire (possibly because of a lack of the cops side of the story), Peaky is about as beloved by its fans as David Simon's crime drama was by its. Peaky Blinders stretches from 1919 to the 1930's, culminating while fascism was on the rise in Eastern Europe.
Peaky Blinders season 6 arrives on Netflix on June 10, so you've got a better shot of figuring out if you like it than catching up by then. Unless, of course, you just devote every free hour you have between now and then.
The Upshaws
1 season to watch — around 5 hours total
Whom among us couldn't use a fun new sitcom? While I wait for Abbott Elementary to come back I'm going to give The Upshaws a shot. While nobody claimed that the series reinvented the wheel, a Wanda Sykes-led series always sounds like a fun idea.
The premise is simple, as a blended family of Regina (Kim Fields, who is the best part of the show) her husband Bennie (Mike Epps) are trying to raise kids, while Regina's older sister Lucretia (Sykes) is around to provide commentary. Bennie is something of a traditional sitcom dad, always getting fooled by his daughter and caught in his mistakes.
Everyone is trying to make their lives better, and their pasts (especially Bennie's) tend to haunt them like this is a comedic take on a spooky Netflix show. This is very much your standard sitcom, but depending on the day, that might be exactly what you want. And it's nice to see Netflix actually hold onto a show that isn't about true crime or a dating reality show.
The Upshaws season 2 started on June 29, and it's already jumped into the top 10 list so you've got more than enough time.
The Umbrella Academy
2 seasons to watch — around 17 hours total
One of the most anticipated returns to Netflix is The Umbrella Academy season 3, the latest chapter of the big red streaming machine's adaptation of the Gerard Way comic series of the same name. And while its premise — 43 women gave birth at the same time around the world, even though they had no reason to expect they were pregnant — sounds like something out of Netflix's true crime doc Our Father, this show is all fiction.
Because not only does one odd billionaire (is there any other kind) named Sir Reginald Hargreeves adopt seven of these kids, but he gives them numbers instead of names. Oh, and they have a robot mother named Grace (Jordan Claire Robbins). And then ol' Reggie turns these kids into his own superhero squad known as, you guessed it, The Umbrella Academy.
The most famous of the talents playing Reggie's adopted kids is Elliot Page, who leads the series as Viktor Hargreeves (aka The White Violin and Umbrella Number Seven). In seasons 1 and 2, Viktor is known as Vanya, though season 3 will see Viktor come out as a transgender man — (mirroring Page's own transition). Viktor was the loner of the family because of the belief he had no abilities.
Each season of The Umbrella Academy has revolved around an apocalyptic concern that the Hargreeves sibs have to stop, and season 3 looks to flip the script in a very multiversal way.
The Umbrella Academy season 3 drops on Friday, June 22, so you've definitely got enough time to catch up for this trippy return.
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