Step back in time: 10 streaming shows from 2010s that deserve to be rediscovered
That got me thinking. Television's streaming age is long; Netflix and Stan* have been available in Australia since 2015. There's actually been different eras within those 10 years, with the programming philosophy of some streaming services changing dramatically in that time. Early Netflix, for example, sought quality over quantity.
Here are 10 streaming shows from the 2010s, available today, that also deserve to be rediscovered.
The Bisexual
A bracing, London-set comedy created by US filmmaker Desiree Akhavan, this 2018 show's sole season begins with Akhavan's Leila breaking up with her long-time girlfriend and deciding to sexually experiment with various men. Sexual identity, cultural truth-telling, and orgasm anxiety are all at work here, shot with low-budget discipline, as Leila realises she can be many versions of herself and each one matters. There's a bumbling housemate as sitcom relief, but this is mostly a vivid character study that's sexually and emotionally frank. ABC iview
Counterpart
Shogun co-creator Justin Marks put together this brain-bending science-fiction thriller, which is set in two parallel Earths that have split from a portal accidentally created in a Berlin basement decades prior. Debuting in 2017, the show is an existential mystery – there are two versions of everyone born before the secret split, as middling bureaucrat Howard Silk (J.K. Simmons) realises when his snarling doppelganger crosses over and contacts him. The world-building is fascinating, the plotting intricate, and the ramifications unsettling: what are you willing to do to yourself? 7plus
Escape at Dannemora
Based on real-life events, this 2018 crime drama is about the many forms incarceration can take. Directed by a pre- Severance Ben Stiller, the seven episodes are a slow burn that reveals how a pair of convicted murderers, Richard Matt (Benicio Del Toro) and David Sweat (Paul Dano), escaped from a high-security prison in upstate New York with the aid of a jail employee, Joyce 'Tilly' Mitchell (Patricia Arquette). The performances are exceptional, and there's a telling level of anthropological detail to the prison ecosystem and the town outside. Paramount+
The Girlfriend Experience
A caveat: there are three seasons of this sex-worker anthology, which was 'suggested by' Steven Soderbergh's 2009 movie of the same name, but we're just focused on the beguiling first instalment, which constituted one of 2016's best new shows. Riley Keough plays Christine Reade, a law student and intern at a prestigious Chicago firm, who takes up escort work to manage financially. The show upends expectations, explicit sexually and in terms of identity, as Christine infiltrates her life as the for-hire Chelsea. Each half-hour episode is intricately attuned to the storytelling. Stan*
Goliath
These days Amazon Prime Video is big on Dad Action – hello, Reacher! – but early on they leant into the kind of flawed male anti-heroes that had shifted television tastes on the likes of Breaking Bad and The Shield. With four seasons to binge, this 2016 legal drama stars Billy Bob Thornton as Billy McBride, a brilliant but washed-up lawyer who mostly lives in a Santa Monica bar. Billy's self-loathing and drive to make amends are at war in each season-long case, which comes with courtroom cunning and juicy supporting parts for the likes of William Hurt. Amazon Prime Video
Homecoming
Again, first season only of this gripping psychological thriller from 2018, which stars Julia Roberts as the same woman at two points on a timeline: a therapist at a corporate facility treating US soldiers returned from combat, and a diner waitress several years later with no connection to her prior career. The connection between the two eras unfolds with conspiratorial calm and evocative direction from Mr Robot creator Sam Esmail, making it a show both nightmarish and intimate as it measures trauma, memory and what we're ultimately willing to acknowledge. Amazon Prime Video
I Love Dick
Another feature of streaming in the late 2010s: if you had a big hit, you got to take a big swing with your next show. Having won rapturous reviews for her bittersweet family drama Transparent, creator Joey Soloway followed it with this maverick mash-up that satirises academic theory, dissects male iconography, and dives deep into the female psyche. Kathryn Hahn – no surprise, she kills it – plays a married filmmaker who relocates to a small Texan town and becomes erotically obsessed with the local potentate, Kevin Bacon's laconic conceptual sculptor. Savour what transpires. Amazon Prime Video
Kingdom
Long before Squid Game, Netflix struck gold with its first original series from South Korea. Debuting in 2019, Kim Eun-hee's period drama intertwines gruesome horror and grandiloquent adventure. It's set in the 17th century, but resonates with 21st-century concerns, as the crown prince of the Korean peninsula's ruling family, Yi Chang (Ju Ji-hoon), is exiled by his ailing father's courtiers, only to discover that the countryside is being overrun by a plague that raises the dead. By the third episode they're swarming. Netflix
Maniac
Imagine if Station Eleven creator Patrick Somerville conjured an idiosyncratic science-fiction labyrinth, with a cast headlined by Emma Stone, Jonah Hill, Julia Garner and Justin Theroux, while True Detective linchpin Cary Joji Fukunaga directed every episode. Actually, Netflix did this in 2018 and it's still there. Maniac is not perfect, but as an ambitious mix of Terry Gilliam's Brazil, David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest, and multiple sources of comic mayhem, it's a fascinating one-off. Despite the star power, I doubt this gets made today. Netflix
The OA
No show better illustrates Netflix's early willingness to experiment than this metaphysical mystery from independent filmmakers Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij. The opening credits in the first episode don't roll until the 58th minute, which is one of the least surprising things in this show. Marling plays Prairie Johnson, a missing blind teenager who returns after seven years having regained her sight. There's no point trying to explain anything else in this mix of the earnest and otherworldly, except to say that it remains quite extraordinary and, yes, that's a spectral Zendaya in season two. Netflix
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The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Chock full of cameos and callbacks, this sequel is fun but no hole in one
Happy Gilmore 2 (M, 117 minutes, Netflix) 3 stars Happy Gilmore looms so large in the collective memory that it's easy to forget that it's actually a pretty stupid movie. Iconic and genuinely hilarious, yes, but also unquestionably stupid. It's important to remember this going into Happy Gilmore 2. The sequel to the mainstay golf comedy of 1996 is not going to be high-brow in any way. This is an Adam Sandler film we're talking about. With very few exceptions, he makes broad, crass, shouty comedies. They worked incredibly well in the 90s and early 2000s, but have had dwindling success since then. So, is Happy Gilmore 2 worth the watch? Mostly, yes. It has several genuine laugh-out-loud moments and is chock-full of cameos and callbacks. But if you haven't seen the original in a while, or aren't super on top of American culture of late, you might find yourself scratching your head and trying to find the comedy. Taken on its merits alone, without the nostalgia and the impact of famous faces popping up where they're not expected, the film probably doesn't hit the mark. You do need to come in with a certain degree of knowledge and familiarity to get the most out of this film. We pick up with Happy several years after he's given up professional golf. His time on the tour earned him multiple gold jackets and plenty of money and acclaim, but in the years since his retirement he's squandered all his dough and fallen into addiction. He now lives with his daughter Vienna and John Daly (yep, the golfer, seemingly having a ball playing himself), while his four grown sons live elsewhere. They're a tight-knit if chaotic family. Happy, working at a grocery store, is approached by the amusingly named Frank Manatee (Sandler's Uncut Gems director Benny Safdie) who wants him to join his new league that's going to revolutionise the sport, called Maxi Golf. Happy doesn't want to have a bar of it and quickly shuts down this call-up to the barely disguised LIV Golf competition. But when Vienna's dance teacher says she has the skills to attend a prestigious ballet school in Paris, Happy must come out of retirement to pay for her tuition. He ends up qualifying for a special tournament: regular golfers against the Maxi golfers - a battle for the soul of the sport. The film - once again co-written by Sandler - doesn't shy away from the fact that it doesn't know what direction to take. One of the boys asks whether they're fighting to pay for Vivi's school or to save golf, and it's a "por que no los dos" situation. Happy Gilmore 2 is the cheaper, Netflix-ier answer to blockbuster F1, with a whole bevvy of real-life golfers playing themselves in this film, most notable Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler, and given they're sportspeople and not actors, they do a commendable job. The cameos don't stop there, with NFL star Travis Kelce (also known as Taylor Swift's beau), rapper Eminem, musician Post Malone and a range of social media stars making their own appearances. But the biggest surprise is Bad Bunny - credited with his real name, Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio - as Happy's makeshift caddy Oscar. He is a pure delight, and makes every scene better. Comedy could well be his calling. The return of Shooter McGavin is the best thing about the film, with Christopher McDonald absolutely eating the scenery at every opportunity. It's not Happy Gilmore without Shooter McGavin. The film is a real family affair as well, with Sandler's kids and wife, Ben Stiller and his daughter, and even McDonald's daughter all making appearances. Happy Gilmore 2 also sweetly honours the original cast members who are no longer with us, including Carl Weathers, Richard Kiel and even Bob Barker. Happy Gilmore 2 (M, 117 minutes, Netflix) 3 stars Happy Gilmore looms so large in the collective memory that it's easy to forget that it's actually a pretty stupid movie. Iconic and genuinely hilarious, yes, but also unquestionably stupid. It's important to remember this going into Happy Gilmore 2. The sequel to the mainstay golf comedy of 1996 is not going to be high-brow in any way. This is an Adam Sandler film we're talking about. With very few exceptions, he makes broad, crass, shouty comedies. They worked incredibly well in the 90s and early 2000s, but have had dwindling success since then. So, is Happy Gilmore 2 worth the watch? Mostly, yes. It has several genuine laugh-out-loud moments and is chock-full of cameos and callbacks. But if you haven't seen the original in a while, or aren't super on top of American culture of late, you might find yourself scratching your head and trying to find the comedy. Taken on its merits alone, without the nostalgia and the impact of famous faces popping up where they're not expected, the film probably doesn't hit the mark. You do need to come in with a certain degree of knowledge and familiarity to get the most out of this film. We pick up with Happy several years after he's given up professional golf. His time on the tour earned him multiple gold jackets and plenty of money and acclaim, but in the years since his retirement he's squandered all his dough and fallen into addiction. He now lives with his daughter Vienna and John Daly (yep, the golfer, seemingly having a ball playing himself), while his four grown sons live elsewhere. They're a tight-knit if chaotic family. Happy, working at a grocery store, is approached by the amusingly named Frank Manatee (Sandler's Uncut Gems director Benny Safdie) who wants him to join his new league that's going to revolutionise the sport, called Maxi Golf. Happy doesn't want to have a bar of it and quickly shuts down this call-up to the barely disguised LIV Golf competition. But when Vienna's dance teacher says she has the skills to attend a prestigious ballet school in Paris, Happy must come out of retirement to pay for her tuition. He ends up qualifying for a special tournament: regular golfers against the Maxi golfers - a battle for the soul of the sport. The film - once again co-written by Sandler - doesn't shy away from the fact that it doesn't know what direction to take. One of the boys asks whether they're fighting to pay for Vivi's school or to save golf, and it's a "por que no los dos" situation. Happy Gilmore 2 is the cheaper, Netflix-ier answer to blockbuster F1, with a whole bevvy of real-life golfers playing themselves in this film, most notable Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler, and given they're sportspeople and not actors, they do a commendable job. The cameos don't stop there, with NFL star Travis Kelce (also known as Taylor Swift's beau), rapper Eminem, musician Post Malone and a range of social media stars making their own appearances. But the biggest surprise is Bad Bunny - credited with his real name, Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio - as Happy's makeshift caddy Oscar. He is a pure delight, and makes every scene better. Comedy could well be his calling. The return of Shooter McGavin is the best thing about the film, with Christopher McDonald absolutely eating the scenery at every opportunity. It's not Happy Gilmore without Shooter McGavin. The film is a real family affair as well, with Sandler's kids and wife, Ben Stiller and his daughter, and even McDonald's daughter all making appearances. Happy Gilmore 2 also sweetly honours the original cast members who are no longer with us, including Carl Weathers, Richard Kiel and even Bob Barker. Happy Gilmore 2 (M, 117 minutes, Netflix) 3 stars Happy Gilmore looms so large in the collective memory that it's easy to forget that it's actually a pretty stupid movie. Iconic and genuinely hilarious, yes, but also unquestionably stupid. It's important to remember this going into Happy Gilmore 2. The sequel to the mainstay golf comedy of 1996 is not going to be high-brow in any way. This is an Adam Sandler film we're talking about. With very few exceptions, he makes broad, crass, shouty comedies. They worked incredibly well in the 90s and early 2000s, but have had dwindling success since then. So, is Happy Gilmore 2 worth the watch? Mostly, yes. It has several genuine laugh-out-loud moments and is chock-full of cameos and callbacks. But if you haven't seen the original in a while, or aren't super on top of American culture of late, you might find yourself scratching your head and trying to find the comedy. Taken on its merits alone, without the nostalgia and the impact of famous faces popping up where they're not expected, the film probably doesn't hit the mark. You do need to come in with a certain degree of knowledge and familiarity to get the most out of this film. We pick up with Happy several years after he's given up professional golf. His time on the tour earned him multiple gold jackets and plenty of money and acclaim, but in the years since his retirement he's squandered all his dough and fallen into addiction. He now lives with his daughter Vienna and John Daly (yep, the golfer, seemingly having a ball playing himself), while his four grown sons live elsewhere. They're a tight-knit if chaotic family. Happy, working at a grocery store, is approached by the amusingly named Frank Manatee (Sandler's Uncut Gems director Benny Safdie) who wants him to join his new league that's going to revolutionise the sport, called Maxi Golf. Happy doesn't want to have a bar of it and quickly shuts down this call-up to the barely disguised LIV Golf competition. But when Vienna's dance teacher says she has the skills to attend a prestigious ballet school in Paris, Happy must come out of retirement to pay for her tuition. He ends up qualifying for a special tournament: regular golfers against the Maxi golfers - a battle for the soul of the sport. The film - once again co-written by Sandler - doesn't shy away from the fact that it doesn't know what direction to take. One of the boys asks whether they're fighting to pay for Vivi's school or to save golf, and it's a "por que no los dos" situation. Happy Gilmore 2 is the cheaper, Netflix-ier answer to blockbuster F1, with a whole bevvy of real-life golfers playing themselves in this film, most notable Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler, and given they're sportspeople and not actors, they do a commendable job. The cameos don't stop there, with NFL star Travis Kelce (also known as Taylor Swift's beau), rapper Eminem, musician Post Malone and a range of social media stars making their own appearances. But the biggest surprise is Bad Bunny - credited with his real name, Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio - as Happy's makeshift caddy Oscar. He is a pure delight, and makes every scene better. Comedy could well be his calling. The return of Shooter McGavin is the best thing about the film, with Christopher McDonald absolutely eating the scenery at every opportunity. It's not Happy Gilmore without Shooter McGavin. The film is a real family affair as well, with Sandler's kids and wife, Ben Stiller and his daughter, and even McDonald's daughter all making appearances. Happy Gilmore 2 also sweetly honours the original cast members who are no longer with us, including Carl Weathers, Richard Kiel and even Bob Barker. Happy Gilmore 2 (M, 117 minutes, Netflix) 3 stars Happy Gilmore looms so large in the collective memory that it's easy to forget that it's actually a pretty stupid movie. Iconic and genuinely hilarious, yes, but also unquestionably stupid. It's important to remember this going into Happy Gilmore 2. The sequel to the mainstay golf comedy of 1996 is not going to be high-brow in any way. This is an Adam Sandler film we're talking about. With very few exceptions, he makes broad, crass, shouty comedies. They worked incredibly well in the 90s and early 2000s, but have had dwindling success since then. So, is Happy Gilmore 2 worth the watch? Mostly, yes. It has several genuine laugh-out-loud moments and is chock-full of cameos and callbacks. But if you haven't seen the original in a while, or aren't super on top of American culture of late, you might find yourself scratching your head and trying to find the comedy. Taken on its merits alone, without the nostalgia and the impact of famous faces popping up where they're not expected, the film probably doesn't hit the mark. You do need to come in with a certain degree of knowledge and familiarity to get the most out of this film. We pick up with Happy several years after he's given up professional golf. His time on the tour earned him multiple gold jackets and plenty of money and acclaim, but in the years since his retirement he's squandered all his dough and fallen into addiction. He now lives with his daughter Vienna and John Daly (yep, the golfer, seemingly having a ball playing himself), while his four grown sons live elsewhere. They're a tight-knit if chaotic family. Happy, working at a grocery store, is approached by the amusingly named Frank Manatee (Sandler's Uncut Gems director Benny Safdie) who wants him to join his new league that's going to revolutionise the sport, called Maxi Golf. Happy doesn't want to have a bar of it and quickly shuts down this call-up to the barely disguised LIV Golf competition. But when Vienna's dance teacher says she has the skills to attend a prestigious ballet school in Paris, Happy must come out of retirement to pay for her tuition. He ends up qualifying for a special tournament: regular golfers against the Maxi golfers - a battle for the soul of the sport. The film - once again co-written by Sandler - doesn't shy away from the fact that it doesn't know what direction to take. One of the boys asks whether they're fighting to pay for Vivi's school or to save golf, and it's a "por que no los dos" situation. Happy Gilmore 2 is the cheaper, Netflix-ier answer to blockbuster F1, with a whole bevvy of real-life golfers playing themselves in this film, most notable Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler, and given they're sportspeople and not actors, they do a commendable job. The cameos don't stop there, with NFL star Travis Kelce (also known as Taylor Swift's beau), rapper Eminem, musician Post Malone and a range of social media stars making their own appearances. But the biggest surprise is Bad Bunny - credited with his real name, Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio - as Happy's makeshift caddy Oscar. He is a pure delight, and makes every scene better. Comedy could well be his calling. The return of Shooter McGavin is the best thing about the film, with Christopher McDonald absolutely eating the scenery at every opportunity. It's not Happy Gilmore without Shooter McGavin. The film is a real family affair as well, with Sandler's kids and wife, Ben Stiller and his daughter, and even McDonald's daughter all making appearances. Happy Gilmore 2 also sweetly honours the original cast members who are no longer with us, including Carl Weathers, Richard Kiel and even Bob Barker.
Perth Now
7 hours ago
- Perth Now
Nick Cannon: 'Bre Tiesi is an amazing mom and amazing businesswoman'
Nick Cannon says Bre Tiesi is an 'an amazing mom and amazing businesswoman'. The 44-year-old father-of-12 shares son Legendary Love, three, with the Selling Sunset star and Nick is proud of how she has handled herself on the Netflix reality TV show. He told PEOPLE: 'She's built for this. She's a rockstar. She's a superstar. She's an amazing mom, amazing businesswoman and truly like a boss.' 'I mean when you see her on Selling Sunset and even how she moves on her own, you know, it's content, [but] it's not a façade. She don't need [advice], I need to get some advice from her.' Nick shares his 12 children with six different women, including Bre, 34, and his former wife Mariah Carey, 56, and his and Bre's unconventional relationship has caused some issues with her castmates on Selling Sunset. Her co-star Chelsea Lazkani said on season six: 'I find Nick Cannon and Bre's relationship rather off-putting. Ultimately the way I live my life is very different to her as a Christian, so I don't know if we will ever be super, super close friends." Chelsea also told Entertainment Tonight: 'I think she wants to kill me, and I want to stay alive for a very long time. So, you know, I just think I'll keep my distance from her. 'I mean, I get it. She doesn't like me. And some of the things I said were very hurtful. So, I completely acknowledge that.' Bre previously told PEOPLE: 'You know, as I said on the show, I'm perfectly fine in a room with a bunch of b****** that hate me. I could not care less. It seems more like a you problem, to be honest."
Sky News AU
11 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Meghan Markle eyeing new ‘gold mine' but Sussexes could still be forced to cut staff at Archewell production company
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's new 'first look' deal with Netflix could end up netting the Sussexes more money than their original contract, an insider has claimed. The Sussexes signed a five-year, $100 million content partnership with the streaming giant through their Archewell company in the heady days of 2020. The deal produced the massively successful docu-series Harry and Meghan, where the Sussexes dished royal secrets, but subsequent projects have come and gone with little fanfare. Infamously, Harry's Drive To Survive-style series on Polo attracted less than 500,000 viewers around the world. Only Markle's cooking series With Love, Meghan, is set to return to the streamer for a 'second season'. It is understood the Sussexes will transition on to a 'first look' deal at Netflix within months, which gives the streamer first dibs on optioning any new Sussex projects. According to royal insider Alison Boshoff, the deal could end up being highly lucrative if Netflix opts to purchase several programs or expand the With, Love Meghan universe. 'There are options on the table for other lifestyle shows from the Duchess, tied to hosting gatherings at Thanksgiving or Christmas,' she wrote in the Daily Mail on Thursday. 'The idea is to announce those in September when the second series (already shot) of With Love, Meghan drops.' While standalone specials could be a 'goldmine' for Meghan, Ms Boshoff claimed that the Sussexes may struggle to cover the payroll at Archewell without the Netflix deal. 'It's bad news for their own large team at Archewell Productions, which has been funded up to now by the Netflix exclusive deal,' she wrote. 'Insiders suggest that running the team and the office costs around $3 million USD a year.' Meanwhile a source close to the couple expressed concerns that without the guiding hand of Netflix the Sussexes are 'horrible' at managing their business affairs. 'They are horrible at making decisions,' the source told the same outlet. 'They ask everyone, then don't take their advice.'
