The 7 best hidden gems on Netflix: get more from your subscription

[Karlston]

The 7 best hidden gems on Netflix: get more from your subscription

Watch some less obvious favorites

•  
•  
•  
•  

(Image credit: Netflix)

 

That Netflix subscription is probably getting an awful lot of mileage right now. Once you’ve seen all your Orange Is The New Blacks, your BoJack Horsemans and your Mindhunters, you might find yourself looking for the road less traveled. 

 

We’ve scoured the globe to find six of the best hidden gems Netflix has tucked away. From TV series to movies, comedies to dramas to whimsical animation, Netflix’s secret treasure trove has got your back no matter what you’re in the mood for.

 

Check out our best Netflix movies, best Netflix shows and best Netflix documentaries lists for recommendations on our other favorites. 

Money Heist

(Image credit: Netflix)

Now, calling Money Heist a hidden gem is slightly disingenuous, since it's actually Netflix's biggest non-English TV series, but anecdotally you're less likely to hear English-speaking people talk about it than, say, The Witcher or Sex Education. But they really should be.

 

Spanish drama Money Heist is part crime thriller, part telenovela. Told in two series of two parts (four parts total), the first series focuses on a multi-day heist of the Spanish Royal Mint. The robbers battle with the hostages inside of the Mint and the police outside, with flashback sequences establishing the five month long planning preparation and the motivation of each character. 

 

While Ocean’s Eleven is built around the glamor of the caper, Money Heist puts its characters in the driving seat. Part three takes a look at the aftermath and next job, while part part four is set to drop on April 3rd. Just in time for you to binge all of it.

Derry Girls

(Image credit: Netflix/Channel 4)

Derry Girls is Ireland’s most popular sitcom, but it hasn’t garnered too much recognition away from its native shores. The Irish Troubles of the ‘90s doesn’t seem like the ideal setting for a comedy, but by digging into the very human experiences of that era, it carries the heavy themes flawlessly. It's about four Irish school girls and the first boy to go to their school (he couldn’t go to the boys school or they’d beat him up for being English). Derry Girls offers a new, uplifting perspective to a tragic time in history. 

 

Viewers in Ireland and the UK can watch both series on All4. 

Wentworth

(Image credit: Foxtel Now)

It does Wentworth a disservice to call it the Australian Orange Is The New Black, but it’s a fairly accurate description. If you’ve blazed through the misadventures of Piper, Taystee and Alex, Wentworth might satisfy that craving. A remake-cum-prequel of the cult ‘80s show Prisoner: Cell Block H, Wentworth tells the tale of Bea Smith, a woman awaiting trial for the murder of her husband. Through her naive eyes, we see how the world works in a women's prison. All the classic characters from the original are there, but you definitely don’t need any knowledge of it before you go in. 

 

UK viewers will have to watch this one on Amazon Prime Video.

Seoul Searching

 

Seoul Searching not only has the best name of any movie in history, it’s also a wonderfully colorful Korean tribute to the work of John Hughes. 

 

Set in 1986 but made in 2015, it features a set of foreign born Korean teenagers heading back to South Korea for a summer camp. It borrows heavily from The Breakfast Club but does it knowingly, and is careful to reinvent Hughes’ tropes while injecting fresh life into the premise by tackling it from an entirely new perspective.

First They Killed My Father

 

 

(Image credit: Roland Neveu)

First They Killed My Father is a Cambodian biographical drama about the 1970s regime of the Khmer Rouge, told through the eyes of young Loung Ung. Initially from a middle class family, Ung’s life is turned upside down when they’re forced out and into a primitive work camp, leading to the death of her father. 

 

Ung went on to become an award-winning author and human rights activist, and the movie gives a startling insight into the horrendous conditions which shaped her into the woman she became. Through director Angelina Jolie, this one has a touch of Hollywood to it too.

WHAT DID JACK DO?

 

 

(Image credit: Netflix)

How do you feel about the idea of cult favorite director David Lynch interviewing a monkey about a murder? You probably already know if that's something you want to watch or not. 

 

That's literally what this short film is, and you might've seen it come up in your recommendations if you've watched anything Twin Peaks-y on Netflix lately. WHAT DID JACK DO? is a mere 15 minutes long. You'll watch it, you'll scratch your head, and you may laugh at its extremely surprising ending. 

Flavors of Youth

 

(Image credit: Premiere Pro)

Ending the list with a little bit of animated wonder, Flavors Of Youth is a Japanese Chinese anthology movie centered around food. If your favorite part of any anime is the animation of the meals, you’re definitely going to want to watch this one.

 

It’s only the first segment which really puts food in the spotlight, but in the tradition of Paris, Je T’aime, all of the stories link up by the end. With gorgeous visuals, a heartwarming plot and likeable characters, Flavors Of Youth is the perfect palate cleanser.

 

 

Source: The 7 best hidden gems on Netflix: get more from your subscription (TechRadar)