Black Mirror season 7 is sitting right at the top of Netflix’s streaming TV chart. With 10.6 million views in the past week, it’s even more popular than Ransom Canyon, which is clocking in at 7.2 million views so far.
It’s clear that when it comes to viewing numbers, Black Mirror is pretty much review-proof: it’s racking up big numbers, despite some critics suggesting that one of the best Netflix series feels like it’s running out of ideas. Those critics include us: in our Black Mirror season 7 review we said that perhaps Charlie Brooker and co should quit while they’re still ahead.
That said, the series does still deliver some great episodes: we really liked Common People and Hotel Reverie in our Black Mirror season 7 episode ranking. Both episodes stick to Black Mirror‘s most resonant theme: that technology can really mess with your head.
Sometimes, of course, you actually want technology to mess with your head. It’s why some of the most enjoyable shows are also some of the weirdest – and why I’m recommending these highly rated sci-fi and supernatural shows for you to stream.
Stranger Things
Stranger Things isn’t so much a show as a phenomenon, and the world owes it a big thanks for introducing a new generation to Kate Bush’s sublime Running Up That Hill. Oh, and for making some utterly compelling television too.
Stranger Things is set in a sleepy midwestern town in the 1980s where weird things are going on. It’s smart, it’s scary and it often feels like a love letter to a much-maligned decade. As someone who was a teen back then, I’m well aware that growing up then was as much about expecting World War III as it was big pop songs and highly flammable clothes. And ST absolutely nails that.
It’s “a fascinating stew that juggles numerous genres and influences,” Keith & The Movies says. “Yet it all comes together to form an enthralling eight-episode television season that plays like one well-paced and impressively conceived movie.”
“It’s scary when it means to be scary,” Rogues Portal says. “It’s endearing when it’s meant to be endearing. And overall, it’s a delight to watch.” And the LA Times raved: “Stranger Things honors its source material in the best way possible: By telling a sweet ‘n’ scary story in which monsters are real but so are the transformative powers of love and fealty.”
The first season achieved 97% on Rotten Tomatoes and while later seasons haven’t quite reached that high point they’re still great, gripping TV.
Dark
“Having Stranger Things withdrawals?” asks CNET. “Tune in to the eerie supernatural German Netflix show that will make you think twice about stepping into caves.”
Stranger Things comparisons are common for this, well, Dark drama. Here’s the Sydney Morning Herald: “If Stranger Things is a big bowl of macaroni and cheese made with that lurid orange cheddar you can only get in America, Dark is a gamy Old World stew ladled out from a pot that has been bubbling away for centuries.”
Dark has consistently scored highly on the Tomatometer, with the second season hitting the full 100% and season 3 getting a still exceptional 97%. It’s an extremely twisty drama that centers on the disappearance of two children in a small German town – a disappearance that unearths the town’s sinful past and something supernatural.
Dark is the first German original series made for Netflix and has been described as being rather like Lost, without just being another Lost. “Dark’s creators Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese’s have crafted a remarkable, labyrinthian series of interconnected characters, events, and consequences,” says Loud and Clear Reviews, while CNET said “For my money, it’s the best show on Netflix.”
Russian Doll
Natasha Lyonne is Nadia, a young woman who finds herself out of time: en route to a fancy New York party, she gets trapped in a mysterious time loop that has her attending the same event again and again and again.
Season 1 and 2 both racked up a 97% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and clearly delighted many reviewers: “The show is perfect,” said LatinaMedia.co, while Consequence said that “It offers philosophy, humor, a strong cast, and sci-fi-esque twists and turns that feel intentional rather than hokey.”
Lyonne is remarkable, ScreenCrush says: “Natasha Lyonne gives a terrifically layered performance that ranges from hilariously funny in the early episodes to brutally emotional.” And Collider loved it. “A brilliant tale of morality and mortality that finds an expert balance between sincerity, cutting comedy, and wild genre flourish.”
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