In recent years, many streaming services have gained massive amounts of popularity. The ability to watch an entire series all at once has created a culture of binge-watching, but with so many different options, many shows go under the radar. Below are the top five underrated shows to stream on Netflix right now. 

5. Dead to Me

I first stumbled across this Netflix original a couple years ago, soon after its premiere in 2019. “Dead to Me” is a dark comedy starring Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini. Applegate’s character, Jen, is a newly-widowed mother grieving the sudden loss of her husband to a hit and run. In a support group, Jen meets a woman named Judy, who is dealing with her own loss. “Dead to Me” follows these two women’s unlikely friendship as they encounter twists and turns that make them question their entire relationship. 

My favorite aspect of the show was its uniqueness. “Dead to Me” centers around the relationship of two adult female friends in a very serious, dark, and twisted way that I haven’t seen in other films. However, the elements of comedy and mystery make this show interesting and hard to stop watching. It’s quite refreshing to see a show centered around the platonic relationship of two friends, as they help each other through mentally strenuous situations. The evolution of these women’s relationship is endlessly intriguing, and the remarkable on-screen chemistry between Applegate and Cardellini has made “Dead to Me” one of my favorite dark comedies. Although this series is quite underrated in terms of popularity, it still has a sizable fanbase. Netflix has announced that the third, (and unfortunately final) season of “Dead to Me” will be released soon, but because of delays due to the pandemic the exact date remains unknown. 

4. Santa Clarita Diet 

“Santa Clarita Diet” is anything but a typical zombie show. This Netflix original came out in early 2017, starring Timothy Olyphant and Drew Barrymore. “Santa Clarita Diet” is categorized as a horror-comedy, and although it can be gory at times, the incredible on-screen chemistry between Olyphant and Barrymore along with the hilarious situational humor often made me forget about the dark nature of the plot. The series centers around husband and wife realtors, Jole and Sheila, who live a seemingly normal life in Santa Clarita California. That is, until something unexplainable happens to Sheila, presenting her with a new sense of confidence and positivity. But she and Jole have to deal with the other side of her “condition,” the urge to kill and consume humans. 

Besides the humor, the most enticing aspect of “Santa Clarita Diet” for me was the characters’ desire to find out the cause of Sheila’s ailment. One of my biggest pet peeves about typical zombie series is their neglect to contextualize the origins of the phenomena. When watching shows like “The Walking Dead” I always wanted some backstory, and this backstory is exactly what “Santa Clarita Diet” tries to do. The show’s approach to discovering why and how Sheila had this sudden change in personality is not only funny and totally out of left field, but it also makes me feel sympathy for her, despite the fact that she would have been the villain in any other zombie media. 

Unfortunately, the true origins of this zombie apocalypse will never be known, because Netflix announced the cancellation of the series in 2019, after airing 3 seasons. The major cliffhanger that viewers left off with at the end of the third season will forever have me wondering what would have happened next. 

3. Episodes

This British-American sitcom first aired on Showtime back in 2011. The plot follows famous husband and wife comedy writers Sean (Stephen Mangan) and Beverly (Tamsin Grieg) from Britain as they move to Hollywood to create an American version of their hit show. However, as they begin to meet with producers and large media companies, they come to realize that their visions are not quite what the American producers are looking for. As they encounter one mishap after another, their exciting project quickly turns into a daunting task which not only affects their show, but also their relationship itself. “Episodes” ran for five seasons, all of which are available to watch currently on Netflix. 

My favorite part of this series is the portrayal of Matt LeBlanc. In “Episodes”, LeBlanc plays himself, or at least a version of himself. Throughout the show, LeBlanc is still basking in his glory days of being Joey from the landmark 90’s show “Friends”, despite the many years that have passed. His character is portrayed as arrogant and selfish, the typical billionaire Los Angeles celebrity. Although this caricature of LeBlanc is very different from his actual public persona, it is still very entertaining to see how an “outdated” celebrity deals with losing their fame. It was difficult to feel any sympathy for his character through his abhorrent attitude and large amounts of money, but it did make me think more about what was really going on behind the scenes in the lives of the celebrities society tends to worship. The addition of LeBlanc was the perfect way to Americanize a show that centered around a British couple. Any “Friends’” fan will love the many references and cameos from the beloved show.  

2. I’m sorry

“I’m Sorry” first premiered in 2017 on TruTV, and soon after was added to Netflix. Created by Andrea Savage, “I’m Sorry” is a hilarious and raunchy sitcom revolving around the life and series of funny events that happen to the main character Andrea Warren as she juggles motherhood and her career as a comedy writer in L.A. The premise of “I’m Sorry” was not only uncomfortably relatable, it also made me laugh out loud every episode. The structure vaguely resembles a typical episode of “Curb your Enthusiasm” but just replaces Larry David with Andrea Savage. The almost cringe worthy situational humor and call backs to jokes from previous episodes created a fictional world that was difficult to pull myself away from. 

“I’m Sorry” was scheduled to air their third season in 2020, but TruTV announced that the season would no longer premiere due to issues with Covid. The show ended up being canceled despite having a third season written and partially filmed, and was recently taken off of Netflix. Unsurprisingly, fans were very upset. There has even been a petition created to get Netflix to pick up the third season. However, while fans eagerly hope for more episodes of this underrated comedy, the first two seasons can be viewed on HBO Max. 

1. American Vandal 

American Vandal is probably one of my all-time favorite T.V. series. It’s incredibly stupid premise combined with its underlying, less obvious deeper meaning have given me chills every time I rewatch it. This mockumentary-style show first premiered in 2017 on Netflix and parodies a true crime show, following two students from Hanover High School’s newspaper who embark on the creation of a documentary about a vandalism that happened at their school. Dylan Maxwell, played by Jimmy Tatro, is the definition of a bad student. He is no stranger to skipping school and disrupting class, so when news breaks of a destructive vandalism at the high school, the school board is quick to expel Dylan for committing the crime. However, students Peter Maldanado and Sam Ecklund, played by Tyler Alverez and Griffin Gluck, realize that the school board did not have any hard evidence to prove Dylan was the vandal. With the school’s newspaper equipment, Peter and Sam create a documentary, trying to find the truth behind the vandalization. 

 It is no secret that “American Vandal” plays with immature humor, but when juxtaposed with the serious nature of the series, the ominous music and true-crime structure make for a thoroughly enjoyable viewing experience. The show was funny, but it also kept me at the edge of my seat. The main aspect of “American Vandal” that entices me the most is its more hidden message. This series is a great depiction of what it is like to be a high school student in modern times. The story of Dylan’s character made me start to question what it means to be a “bad kid,” and if the entire notion of a “bad kid” should even be a thing. Whether the creators of“American Vandal” intended for it to be taken seriously or not, I still found myself thinking back to it and drawing connections between life in this fictional world and to my own school experience.

 One year after the premiere of the first season, a second season was released with a similar premise, but a different cast and storyline. Unfortunately, soon after the release of the second season Netflix announced that the series was canceled, leaving fans with a mere 16 episodes.