Ever feel like you’ve discovered the most amazing show, only to find out it’s television’s best kept secret because none of your friends have heard of it? We know how you feel. Luckily, digital happy hours & digital outdoor viewing parties have opened the door for you to share your secret television obsessions with friends and family. Here are six hidden gems brimming with the potential to electrify watch parties and make new fans out of cult favorites.
Younger
Available on Hulu
At some point in time, Sex & the City was the cat’s meow of hit cable television. Are you a Carrie? Maybe you’re a Charlotte. Or maybe you’re a Liza? Younger follows a forty-something divorcee who lies about her age to land a career in publishing when ageism stifles her pursuit of happiness. Along the way she makes friends and enemies, finds and loses love, and becomes the person she always wanted to be, all in the Big Apple. While it may seem like a total knockoff, Younger actually shares a lot of DNA with Sex and the City, including creator Darren Star – making it a true successor, and soul sister, carrying the torch the landmark series lit back in 1998.
Hyperdrive
Available on Netflix
Even if you can’t tell the difference between a BMW and a Bentley, we all like fast cars. So, what happens when fast cars are put through a challenging obstacle course? Hyperdrive certainly wants you to find out. Watch as Drivers from around the world compete in a high-thrill driving competition that aims to leave you breathless. Root for these racers and let their stories of perseverance and determination inspire you. Who knows? You might even learn a thing or two about race cars.
Alias Grace
Available on Netflix
The Handmaid’s Tale captured the lion’s share of love of the two Margaret Atwood adaptations that hit television screens in 2017, but that doesn’t mean Alias Grace deserves any less attention. This physiological thriller follows a woman convicted of a heinous crime and recounts how she came to be a merry murderess in rural Canada during the 1840s. While the six hours may seem wry, patience rewards those that stick around with the miniseries fictionalized from actual events. Be sure to get the popcorn ready to enjoy the full binge watching experience.
Escape at Dannemora
Available on Prime/Showtime on Demand
Do you like television about true crimes committed by real idiots? Well, Escape at Dannemora is the ticket for you. It’s almost hard to fathom that Escape at Dannemora is based on the actual Clinton Correctional Facility escape that captivated the North Country in 2015. It follows two inmates and a government worker in an upstate New York Penitentiary and their plan to not only escape the confines of their concrete cells but their lives as they know them. It’s best to go into this experience with as little knowledge as possible and let the bombastic fictionalization take you away.
Twin Peaks
Available on Netflix/Showtime on Demand
This cult classic is the perfect pick for anyone that likes some supernatural mystery in their soap operas. David Lynch’s offbeat classic has got it all: suspense tinged with the occult, love triangles abound, and oddball characters that will steal your heart. It’s more or less The X Files meets Northern Exposure, and it’s late eighties cheese will keep you entertained for many an evening in your backyard living room, complete with a protective TV cover to keep your screen in between viewings. Once you’ve finished the original two seasons, head on over to Showtime on demand to catch up on 2017’s Twin Peaks: The Return, which makes everything new again in the wildest way possible.
Little Fires Everywhere
Available on Hulu
Uncover your firepit and whip up the s’mores for a show that’s sure to set your happy hour ablaze. Little Fires Everywhere follows two vastly different mothers and their silent struggle to hide the secrets that spread like wildfire in their idealistic community. Opposites attract for an explosive, dynamic, and (most of all) compelling firecracker of a show examining the difficult nuances that come with motherhood. Did we mention that the Hulu series stars Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington? Now we’re talking.
Fleabag
Available on Amazon Prime
Phoebe Waller Bridge is the all-that girl of Hollywood these days, her talent and irrepressible sense of humor seen in everything from the Star Wars saga to the Emmy-winning show adapted from her award winning play. This is not for the faint of heart, however. It’s bawdy, racy, vulgar, explicit – and laugh out loud funny. Waller Bridge’s ability to capture not only humor but pathos in her wildly dysfunctional and damaged heroine makes for riveting television.
I’m not Okay with This
Available on Netflix
Afraid of commitment? Not ready to get sucked into a series that requires 16 hours+ of viewing? Dip your toes in the water with this quirky little bit of kitschy horror. Taking its cue from Netflix’s wildly popular Stranger Things, it feels like a period piece but it’s not. It feels like Carrie, which it kind of is, but it’s not. It has many a familiar trope, but also a newness that blends psychological horror with coming of age with the decay or rural America. And that ending? Fuggetaboutit.
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