Best & Worst Netflix Originals

WRITTEN BY SANJANA DAVE // ILLUSTRATED BY VICTORIA CRABB

Over the past seven years, Netflix has ramped up its in-house production of original TV series and movies, creating over 1,500 titles. But while some originals have been met with critical acclaim and pushed boundaries in their respective genres, titles with offensive and problematic content are not uncommon. The immense difference between the best and worst Netflix originals is staggering. Whether it be differences in quality of plot lines, character development, or acting, it sometimes seems unbelievable that two titles were both produced by Netflix.

BEST NETFLIX ORIGINALS

1THE SOCIETY Rating: 9/10

“The Society” follows an eclectic group of high school students who come back from a school trip to find that everyone in their town—both adults and children—has disappeared with no explanation. In the resulting chaos, the students struggle to find a leader, allocate resources, and figure out what happened to everyone they know. With Lord of the Flies vibes, realistic characters, and shocking plot twists, the Society is easily bingeable but hard to forget. “The Society” is not afraid to take risks with its characters, and it definitely pays off for the viewers. Every time you think you’ve figured it out, the show will smack you with another twist. But despite being a surprisingly well-developed teen drama, the Society season 2 was cancelled by Netflix—just as viewers eagerly awaited an answer to season 1’s massive cliffhanger.

2ATYPICAL

Rating: 9/10

“Atypical” is truly one of the most underrated shows right now. The show centers around Sam, who is a gifted artist obsessed with penguins, and his journey navigating college and the dating scene as a teen on the autism spectrum. It’s a feel-good comedy with a quirky ensemble of characters whose mistakes can frustrate viewers because they’re just too relatable. “Atypical” doesn’t play into the assumption that all autistic people are the same, and it doesn’t belittle Sam’s journey. With real, raw acting, it’s easy to become attached to not only Sam, but also his band of family and friends on the show. “Atypical” also has refreshing LGBTQ+ representation that feels natural and not at all forced.

WORST NETFLIX ORIGINALS

3CUTIES

Rating: 0/10

“Cuties”, a French coming-of-age film, sparked a wave of controversy before it even premiered on Netflix. The film follows an 11-year-old girl named Amy who forms a dance troupe for competitive twerking. Marketing materials for “Cuties” depicted the pre-teens in very suggestive posing, and initially led to a wave of Netflix subscription cancellations. While director Doucoure may claim that the film is “starting a debate about the sexualization of children’s bodies,” the sexualization of children, and particularly that of young black girls, should never be a ‘debate’ or up for question in any manner. The film is fodder for predators, whether this was the original intent or not.

4INSATIABLE

Rating: 1/10

Problematic is an understatement when describing “Insatiable”. Patty, the stereotypical overweight, unpopular high school girl, loses weight after a traumatic injury where her jaw needed to be wired shut. The next school year, she comes back to find that she’s unrecognizable and now accepted into her high school’s ‘popular’ clique. Inherently, “Insatiable” promotes the message that Patty’s problems can be solved by losing weight — she’ll be more attractive, she’ll have more friends, she’ll have more guys interested in her, she’ll be happier. That’s not only inaccurate, but also a genuinely dangerous message to be spreading to anyone, particularly young women who watched “Insatiable” and recognized Debby Ryan from the childhood classic show “Jessie”. But not only is ‘Insatiable” problematic, the writing and acting also resemble that of 12-year-olds on TikTok. Pick a struggle. Insatiable is a disgustingly toxic package incorrectly labeled as ‘female empowerment.’ Netflix is undoubtedly a behemoth in the entertainment industry with over 192 million worldwide subscribers. With such a wide reach—and the ability to influence global media trends—Netflix has the responsibility to use its platform to promote all the values we’d like to see more of in the world like compassion and empathy. At the very least it should avoid producing lackluster, problematic content as a blatant cash grab. Instead of throwing money at low-level production, Netflix could be pumping their cash into promoting the underrated, high-quality originals that many viewers felt they had never even known about.