From rich and beautiful Gossip Girl to hilarious The League, here are five TV shows to stream online.
As Netflix becomes our hub for all things film and television, the content the over-the-top service offers forever increases in quality, particularly in terms of TV, where they have every hit show you could want, so here's five of the shows you need to put in your queue:
Gossip Girl
Rich, beautiful people doing devilish things in gorgeous gowns is probably the best way to sum up Gossip Girl, an unashamedly exaggerated depiction of wealthy New Yorkers that wasn't afraid to become a little ridiculous and embrace a soap opera sensibility. The breakout star was Leighton Meester as the hilarious, elitist and kind-of sociopathic Blair Waldorf whose romance with the boy billionaire with a distinct personal style, Chuck Bass, became the anchor of the show during its later seasons. Gossip Girl's addictiveness makes it perfect for Netflix binge-watching, and it won't let you down if you like a PG-13 version of a Bret Easton Ellis novel.
Arrested Development
Arrested Development has perhaps the finest constructed comic narrative of all time, its extremely self-referential style never grabbed viewers whilst on air, but has lived on through cult appreciation and being available on Netflix. Jason Bateman is the perfect straight man to the wackiness of David Cross, Will Arnett, Jeffrey Tambor and the rest of the maniacal Bluth family, and the show also made a star out of Michael Cera, who is defined by his unique brand of comedic weirdness. The fourth season, a Netflix exclusive, may have been too indulged and meta for its own good, but the first three seasons are as perfect as you will get from a sitcom.
Dexter
It may have imploded towards the end, but the first four seasons of Dexter are endlessly fascinating and each reveals a different layer of the moralistic serial killer from which the series is named. Dexter did perhaps become *too* human by the end, and became distinctly less interesting, but the way he unravels from the cold stalker in the night to husband and father whilst discovering feelings that were previously alien to him, is fine storytelling. Michael C Hall's performance is one of the very best in the history of TV, and there were no shortage of great guest stars either, namely John Lithgow, Jimmy Smits, Julia Stiles, Ray Stevenson and Mos Def.
The League
It doesn't matter if you're not into fantasy football, or indeed American football, because, whilst you might be occasionally baffled by the terminology, The League is a show about a bunch of ultra-competitive friends that take trash talking to an entirely new level, whilst simultaneously giving the machismo mentality a satirical takedown. As you'd expect, there's cameos galore, not just from NFL stars such as Rob Gronkowski and Jay Cutler, but actors like Seth Rogen, Adam Brody and Ray Liotta make guest appearances and take away with the best lines of the episode. The show is semi-improvised, which elaborates on the talents of its main cast, which includes Nick Kroll and Mark Duplass, actors who are often used in bit-parts, but they shine here, in this brilliantly unhinged sitcom with the most trivial of premises.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Best surmised as Seinfeld on ecstasy, Charlie, Mac, Dennis, Dee and Frank are the most loathsome, self-indulged, narcissistic people on the planet, who will wreak havoc all across Philadelphia as part of their many nefarious schemes to exploit each other usually for financial gain. Looking back, the first season is so tame compared to the mayhem that followed, and the musical episode in season four is still the show's highpoint as it featured everything that makes It's Always Sunny so great - nefarious scheming, the entire cast doing absurd things and satirising ty
