Your summer binge list for 2019

MANILA, Philippines — Looking for shows to check out this season? Here’s a list of series you can binge on during the summer break. Now would be the perfect time to binge on these shows, since most of them either have new seasons that dropped recently, or have new ones coming soon.

Santa Clarita Diet

The third season of Santa Clarita Diet recently arrived on Netflix, and it was even better than the first two seasons (which were already plenty good, mind you). Season 3 expands on the story of Sheila Hammond — realtor, mother, and one of the ravenous undead. What’s surprising about this season is the amount of heart (literally and figuratively) it had.

The new season continues to expand on the relationships between Sheila and her family, while dropping some major reveals and setting the stage for greater developments in the future. Santa Clarita Diet is, true to its name, easy to binge. (READ: Binge-worthy: ‘Santa Clarita Diet’)

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

Part 2 of Sabrina was a great follow-up to the previous season. It starts out a bit slow and clunky, but eventually hits its stride. The show managed to ramp up the horrific premise set forth in the first part to near-apocalyptic levels.

The new season also doubled-down on its politics, which gave a human element to the supernatural themes being portrayed. (READ: Binge-worthy: ‘The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina‘)

Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger

With the Netflix Marvel shows cancelled, we are now facing a shortage of Marvel series (the ones on Disney+ are still a ways off). Watching Cloak & Dagger on Amazon Prime is a great way to address that shortage. But with that said, Cloak & Dagger still stands on its own merits.

The show puts a new spin on this obscure Marvel duo (the show’s Cloak and Dagger are more contemporary than their comic versions) and is chock full of thrills and action.

The Man in the High Castle

Season 4 of The Man in the High Castle is dropping later this year, so it’s a good time to brush up on this series. The show presents an alternate history. In it, the Axis powers won World War II, and the United States is occupied by Germany and Japan.

Based on Philip K. Dick’s book of the same name, the show gives us a harrowing vision of what happens when fascism takes control.

Hot Ones Philippines

Hot Ones Philippines is an interview show with a twist: guests eat chicken wings dipped in increasingly hotter sauces. The interviews are just okay, but what’s great about the show is the array of hot sauces featured — the show does a good job of showcasing obscure and artisanal hot sauce brands. If you wanna see your favorite celeb sweat through burning questions and burning sauces, this is the show for you.

The Expanse

With Game of Thrones on its final season, The Expanse could be the series to fill the void that GoT will be leaving. The show tackles the power struggles between the various human factions in the solar system. But one of the great things about this show is how probable and realistic it is. This definitely isn’t Star Wars.

One of the most critically-acclaimed series on TV, The Expanse was suddenly cancelled last year, only for Amazon to save it from doom. The new season is dropping later this year, and now is the perfect time to binge on the previous 3 seasons.

Kill It

Kill It was released just last month, and it’s already one of the more interesting South Korean drama series. It features two unlikely lead characters: Kim Soo-Hyun, an elite assassin with a mysterious past who also happens to be a veterinarian, and Do Hyun-Jin a detective from a rich family.

Do Hyun-Jin chases after Kim Soo-Hyun, believing that finding him will solve the mystery of her lover’s death. Kill It effectively portrays tensions between the two lead characters, while telling a story that is intense, violent, and beautifully shot.

Kingdom

Full disclosure: I wasn’t too happy with the first season of Kingdom. The season ended with a massive cliffhanger, and didn’t bother resolving some of its major conflicts. With that said, the show still did a great job of blending political intrigue with supernatural horror, and makes for compelling viewing. Since a new season is coming next year, we can be assured that some resolution to these conflicts is coming. (READ: Binge-worthy: Netflix’s new K-drama, ‘Kingdom’)

The Crowned Clown

Some of the best historical dramas today are coming from South Korea, and The Crowned Clown is a prime example of that. The kingdom of Joseon is in turmoil. To avoid the assassination of King Lee Hun, a decoy is put into place — a clown named Ha Sun who bears a striking similarity to the king.

The Crowned Clown is full of political tension, intrigue, and also happens to be a stunning spectacle of filmmaking. – Rappler.com

 

Iñigo de Paula is a writer who lives and works in Quezon City. When he isn’t talking about himself in the third person, he writes about pop culture and its peripheries.