If you’ve already watched the Best 25 Best Shows on Netflix, powered through the Next 25 Best TV Shows on Netflix, and got caught up on this week’s best new movies on Netflix, we now have even more Netflix options for you. Here’s all the recently released seasons of television on Netflix, plus upcoming expirations and Netflix TV news.
Pick of the Week
Wilfred: Season 3 (2013)
Though season three of the FXX offbeat comedy follows underwent a change in showrunner, the series — about the experiences of a depressed man (Elijah Wood) who becomes convinced that his neighbor’s dog (Jason Gann) is actually a man wearing a costume — managed to maintain the same strange, and sometimes, beautiful humor. In the third season, things got so dire for Wilfred that he befriended the mailman. Ratings were not good last year, but FXX brought it back for a fourth season (beginning on June 25th), so if you were one of the many who didn’t get around to watching last season, it’s a good time to catch up.
Expiring Soon — See under News of Note.
Netflix News of Note — There’s nothing this week set to expire on television, but looking ahead to July 1st, there are potentially some expirations on the horizon that could be devastating if you have young children. Though Netflix is building up some original content for kids (who probably watch Netflix more than their parents) with Just in Time and the resurrection of The Magic School Bus, they still rely heavily on PBS Kids to fill out their slate. I know my kids rely on PBS Kids on Netflix. The PBS/Netflix deal is set to end on July 1st, and a renewal is not that likely, as it seems that PBS has struck a deal with Amazon to move its streaming programming over there (which is fine, except that Amazon Prime content doesn’t stream on Chromecast, which IS A LOGISTICAL NIGHTMARE in my home). Anyway, the following shows are likely to be dropped from Netflix in a couple of weeks: Arthur, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Fetch! With Ruff Ruffman, Martha Speaks, Super Why, Wild Kratts and Word Girl.
This may not seem like a big deal to most of you, but I will tell you as a Dad with a six year old and two year old twins, when I saw the news, my heart fell into my stomach.
The Rest of Netflix’s Recent Releases
With so many great additions to Netflix last week (Luther, Sherlock, Orange is the New Black), Netflix clearly didn’t see much need to add a lot of good material this week. I’ve never seen any of the following series (or even heard of the last one).
Real Husbands of Hollywood: Season 2 (2014) — The half-hour sketch show starring Kevin Hart that sends up the Real Housewives has actually gotten pretty good reviews, and I’ve heard decent things about it from several people, although I suspect that how much you like it will depend on your tolerance level for Kevin Hart (I like him. Half the time). The AV Club wrote of the first season that it’s a “broad, goofy romp, certainly not appointment TV but worthy of keeping on if you’re flipping through channels and don’t want to watch yet another rerun of Law and Order: SVU.”
Amish Mafia: Season 1 — Here’s the logline for the series, and I couldn’t tell you based on it whether this is a fictional or reality series:
Although the Amish deny its very existence, season one introduces you to the sordid subculture of the Amish known as the Amish Mafia. Lurking within the quiet community of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Levi’s gang serves as the law, judge, insurance, and bank, dealing with the “English world” and trying to solve disputes before they’re taken to the church.
Turns out, it’s kind of both: It’s a docu-series, which is to say that it’s a quasi-documentary (in other words, there are a lot of reenactments). Reviews for season one were middling, at best.
Heartland: Season 5 (2011) — I’ve never heard of this show in my life. It is described as a show about a “spunky teenager who is reeling from the sudden death of her mother when she and her grandfather are threatened with the loss of their horse ranch.” It’s a Canadian family drama, and believe it or not, it has had really good reviews.
