For the second weekend of the month, Netflix’s most popular shows include wildly different series that have almost nothing in common with each other.
But that also illustrates the strength of Netflix‘s programming, where even a South African revenge thriller can become one of the top 10 shows worldwide.
The Watch With Us team has put together our choices for the three underrated shows to watch this weekend.
This week’s picks include an emotionally moving update of a classic young adult novel, the second season of a Netflix original and a horror show on loan from AMC.
If you’ve ever read Judy Blume‘s 1975 YA novel Forever, then you might get the gist of this newly released Netflix series. But Blume’s beloved novel has been completely re-imagined by showrunner Mara Brock Akil into a modern love story between two Black teenagers, Justin Edwards (Michael Cooper Jr.) and Keisha Clark (Lovie Simone).
Justine and Keisha both come from loving homes, and they’re both high school athletes with bright futures. They also feel the weight of the relentless pressure to live up to the expectations that have been placed upon them. It’s hard for Keisha and Justin to figure out what they really want to do with their lives when they’ve got the weight of the world on their shoulders. Sometimes those outside pressures push them away from each other. But they always seem to find their way back together, even as the end of high school threatens to end their blossoming romance.
Forever is streaming on Netflix.
‘Unseen’ (2023 – Present)In the first season of Unseen, Zenzi Mwale (Gail Mabalane) was hellbent on finding her husband after his disappearance. Failing that, Zenzi went on a rampage through South Africa’s criminal underworld to get her revenge. She was literally talked off a ledge at the end of last season, but Unseen season 2 finds her trapped in prison and portrayed as a serial killer by the media.
Although Zenzi’s future seems pretty bleak, she has a chance to earn her freedom if she cooperates in an investigation of Andrew Harting (Frank Rautenbach), a corrupt South African billionaire who may remind you of some prominent real-life billionaire who is also from South Africa. The odds are stacked against Zenzi, but now she has a reason to live again if she can see this mission through to the end.
Unseen is streaming on Netflix.
‘The Terror’ (2018 – Present)
There are three seasons of The Terror, each with its own standalone horror story. Season 3 will premiere on AMC later this year, but Netflix only has the first season of the acclaimed series. In 1846, two British ships, the HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror, set out for the Arctic under the command of Sir John Franklin (Ciarán Hinds) and Francis Crozier (Jared Harris). The expedition was supposed to travel through the Northwest Passage, but too much ice stranded both ships for the winter.
When winter passes, the ships remain stuck. But now the men are turning on each other, supplies are low, and there may be a supernatural monster preying upon the remaining crew members. You’ll have to watch the show to learn more about the monster, but regardless of its origins, it’s a very real threat to the survival of the two crews.
The Terror is streaming on Netflix.
