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We love Netflix.

(And no, we didn’t get paid to say that)

For most digital nomads living in foreign lands. watching traditional TV channels is slowly becoming an awkward thing, like a long lost habit from a previous life  – so having the bingeable wonder that is Netflix at our fingertips at all times? Hubba-bubba.

Going to the movies? Well first you got to be fine with subtitles and actors you know being dubbed in the language of the country you’re in, which can often get quite disturbing, but mainly you have to find a film that is actually worth an hour and a half of your time, and that’s getting trickier when you see what the industry is coming out with these days.

With enormous budgets involved, especially in the US, investors usually tend to the side of caution and will prefer a script that has been proved successful enough to make it a safe bet. Hence the shy 39 percent of original productions in the last 10 years.

In fact, in the US, the average budget for a non-original script is $70 million, while it hovers under 40 million for an original one.

So when Netflix started out its “Netflix Original” shows, where creatives were given the chance to get produced as long as they came up with an original (and good, most of the time…) storyline, unsurprisingly the ball started rolling.

Now, we love ourselves a bit of dark and twisted (who doesn’t?), so much so in fact, that the Netflix algorithm has started to feed us nothing but sinister true crime and uncomfortable horror flicks.

You would need 41 days solid to binge watch the totality of Netflix original shows.

But we’re going to cut to the chase here for you:

Here are the best dark and twisted Netflix original shows so far.

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Black Mirror

Already standing proudly at 4 seasons, Black Mirror is truly unique and maybe the most original show on Netflix.

Episodes do not correlate by narrative, and so each episode is a new story with new characters. What binds the brand together is the main theme of the show, technology’s lightning fast progress and what the implications are for human kind, especially when it comes to stuff we are still barely toying with, like artificial intelligence or the transfer of human consciousness into computer programs.

But a program doesn’t have rights, right? Unlimited life and knowledge may sound good, but what if it means the eventuality of unlimited suffering as well? By the way, if you were wondering, Black Mirror’s name comes from the state of your screens (laptop, tv, tablets, mobile…) when they’re off, showing only a black screen in which you can see a dark reflection of yourself.

Season 4 was released in December 2017 and expectedly received rip-roaring reviews.

Sense 8

Following a narrative that twists and turns through the lives of 8 individuals from all over the globe, Sense 8 is a wild ride exploring culture, sex, crime, love, drugs, evil corporate overlords- oh, and psychic connections.

We follow the journey of a fascinating group of characters- an Icelandic DJ, an Indian scientist, a lesbian activist in San Fransisco, a loveable German criminal, a Korean businesswoman, a handsome American cop, a cheeky Kenyan entrepreneur, and a gay has-been Mexican actor- as they slowly begin to come to terms with their psychic powers.

Fast-paced and deliciously dark, Sense 8 is one of the best Netflix Original shows to hit our screens in a long while.

Mindhunter

Although there’s only one season so far (*sob*), this binge-worthy show deserves every bit of praise it has received in the media so far- and more. Arguably the best Netflix Original show of 2017, Mindhunter explores the inner workings of the FBI back in the 1970’s as a team of investigators attempts to chase down the culprit behind a series of grisly murders.

Our handsome protagonist dives behind the scenes into the highest security prisons in the U.S. so that he can conduct interviews with some of the freakiest and most twisted killers the world has ever seen, in the hopes of shedding light on his latest case.

Fantastic script writing and top-notch production make Mindhunter one of the best crime shows on Netflix right now.

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Dark

Netflix has only recently begun adding foreign-language original shows to its repertoire, and this German-made psychological thriller was one of the first to kick off this awesome new trend. Set in a quiet German town, the seemingly perfect lives of four well-to-do families are blown wide open when two young children disappear from the village.

The clever narrative weaves together the seemingly unconnected tales of our lead characters across a timeline of 30 years, the result of which is a marvellously clever storyline that delivers twist after dark twist.

The Sinner

It’s more and more that we’re seeing big names joining in on the Netflix revolution, and this time it was Jessica Biel who pulled a blinder in her leading role in The Sinner, one of the darkest and definitely one of the most twisted Netflix Originals shows ever to be created.

The eight-episode standalone series unravels the tale of a young mother (Biel) who- to everyone’s horror and astonishment- stabs an apparent stranger to death on a sunny afternoon at the beach. The impressively artful and wildly uncomfortable story deep-dives into the disturbed mind of our protagonist as we try to understand the real reason behind the murder.

Better get stuck into this one over the course of a weekend- once you start watching The Sinner you won’t be able to stop.

Love a good Netflix Originals binge? In need of some more recommendations? Let us know what genre you’re into, and we’ll dig out the best of the bunch in our next article.

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Categories: Lifestyle

Jim Thirion

I'm an action sports videographer with a background in snowboarding, kitesurfing, wakeboarding and many other 'ings. After 10 years in Southeast Asia, I've stopped home in France in 2020 for a quick oil change and a pandemic and should be back splitting coconuts shortly.

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