One season each day for a week 💻

A long time has passed since my first and last challenge. I'm here today to change that. Two weeks ago, I watched one whole season from different Netflix original series for a week. This was a huge challenge for me as I was used to watching two episodes a day at most. But as you can guess, I managed to successfully complete my mission. I should note that I made sure that the series that I watched had only one season so that the post has a variety of series to recommend. So, let me list the series I watched and I hope that I inspire you to watch one or all of them as well.

Monday 

When They See Us ~ 4 episodes of about an hour each

It follows the lives of five black teenagers who had been accused and convicted of a rape they did not commit. What makes the series heartbreaking to watch besides the immensity and the intensity of violence and hurt experienced not only by the young characters but also by their parents is the fact that it is based on true events. 

It is a total must as great messages against racism, against an unjust and biased police force but also in favor of sticking up and supporting the people you love are conveyed. Plus, the acting is impeccable and the atmosphere of the period - the events occurred in the spring of 1989- gets across thanks to the outfits and the hairstyles of the actors. 

Tuesday 

Love, Death + Robots ~ 18 episodes of about 20 minutes each

It is like Black Mirror but animated. There is no plot connection among the episodes, they stand alone. However, all of them provide food for thought concerning many aspects of our daily lives even though the stories are surrealistic and belong to the science fiction genre. Moreover, many animation styles are used throughout the series which indicate the evolution of the field over the years. 

Wednesday

Alias Grace ~ 6 episodes of about 45 minutes each

The psychiatrist called Dr. Simon Jordan (Edward Holcroft) meets Grace (Sarah Gadon) in the hope that he will understand why she killed her employer Thomas Kinnear (Paul Gross) and her fellow housekeeper Nancy (Anna Paquin) and help with her release from prison. It is based on the titular book by Margaret Atwood. 

I find this series a great source of understanding an oppressed but strong mind. And a woman in the nineteenth century is an excellent example of such a mind. From the beginning to the end, you desire to enter Grace's mind. However, it leaves you with questions and gaps about the motives of multiple characters but the magic of trying to understand a person and attempting to put yourself in his or her shoes can give you the answers that the series does not clearly state. 

Thursday

Mindhunter ~ 10 episodes of about 50 minutes each

In this case, FBI agents Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) interview serial killers in the hope that not only can they understand their motives and way of thinking but also they will be able to catch such criminals in the future with all the new information they get from them. 

What makes this series stand out is the fact that instead of showing gruesome scenes, it is the powerful dialogues and the subtly creepy acting of the murderers that make everything much more intense. In other words, it is not the action but the diligent work of the writers that makes this series addictive. 

I should note that the second season of the series is now out!

Friday

Russian Doll ~ 8 episodes of about 30 minutes each

Nadia (Natasha Lyonne) relives the day of her birthday because she keeps dying. As plot, it sounds a bit boring and non-innovative. It doesn't succeed in causing much laughter to the viewer. However, the last episodes with their dark turn and their search for understanding the meaning of life and what can make us happy are very interesting. Plus, the editing with its fast forwards and its split screens makes the series fun to watch.

Saturday 

I think you should leave with Tim Robinson ~ 6 episodes of about 20 minutes each

This is the series that I enjoyed the least. I wanted to include a comedy show but it wasn't that fun to watch. Each episode contained sketches. Althought the sketches are inspired by everyday situations, like advertisements on TV, friends gathering at home to celebrate someone's birthday or a job interview, they are so exaggerated that no laughter comes out. Unfortunately, I wouldn't recommend this one. 

Sunday

The Alienist ~ 10 episodes of about 50 minutes each

Again, a doctor called Dr. Laszlo Kreizler (Daniel Brühl) tries to understand and catch a serial killer. Everything happens in the late 19th century when boys worked as prostitutes. This serial killer chooses these boys as his victims. Thankfully for Laszlo, he has a Times illustrator, John Moore (Luke Evans) and the first woman to be employed in the police department and work there as a secretary, Sara Howard (Dakota Fanning) to help him with his investigation. 

Besides the great acting, I really enjoyed the elaborate costumes that were used and the ambivalent ending. Thankfully for us, a second season is coming this year. 

To conclude, I would like to say that I wouldn't recommend doing this challenge to anyone. When the week ended, I didn't want to watch any series and I wasn't even in the mood to sit and write this post. Thus, TV series are supposed to entertain us, to make us laugh or cry and in the best cases to make us think and question our way of living and our value system. Don't watch a TV series if it feels like a chore because you'll miss all these great emotions and stimuli. 

What is your favourite TV series of all times?