This summer was a very popular season for new additions of TV shows, documentaries and movies on Netflix. While new seasons of popular shows were added and classic movies were uploaded, Netflix Originals had a successful few months with content. Whether you were busy working over the summer or spent it outside enjoying the beautiful weather, unable to really sit down and enjoy a nice episode or movie, here are some of the additions to the Netflix Originals family that you can stream on a quiet weekend or at night before you fall asleep.
“13 Reasons Why”: Based off of the 2007 novel written by Jay Asher, the Netflix Original “13 Reasons Why” has given viewers an insight into how real life problems such as suicide, bullying and sexual assault can affect the lives of teenagers. The third season of this drama series was released on Aug. 23 and follows a storyline that one of the football players at Liberty High School, Bryce Walker, is missing after the Homecoming game. This season starts after the incident that occurred at the end of Season two with Tyler, a student who was bullied, almost committing a mass shooting with others helping to clean up Tyler’s mess. Season three is going to show that well intended acts can change someone’s life forever.
“Hyperdrive”: This new series on Netflix is an unscripted, reality show that follows tournament drivers from across the globe. The show brings together these racers with different backgrounds to an illuminated course that is over 100 acres at Kodak’s Eastman Business Park in NY. These competitors are faced with various challenges requiring them to drive in unique ways such as having to drive their car like it is a skateboard sliding down a rail.“Hyperdrive” was released on Netflix on Aug. 21 and its first season consists of ten episodes.
“Love Alarm”: “Love Alarm” is Netflix’s first Korean original series and it is available to be watched in most languages. The show is based off of a webtoon with the same name that follows Jojo’s life as society starts to use dating app that tells you whether there is a person within 10 meters of you that has romantic feelings for you. Jojo then finds herself in a love triangle with her childhood friend, Jung Ga Ram, and a model, Hwang Sun-oh. The first season of “Love Alarm” premiered on Aug. 22.
“American Factory”: “American Factory” gives an insight into the struggle factory workers went under trying to unionize an auto-glass factory in Ohio. This factory had an interesting history with the fact that General Motors ran the factory and then shut it down due to the financial crisis in 2008. In 2015, a Chinese glass manufacturing company re-opened the factory and hired many of the old workers, requiring them to be supervised by Chinese employees. This documentary captures the bleakness of working in the field of manufacturing in today’s economy. This documentary is also a project created by Barack and Michelle Obama’s new production company. On Netflix, this documentary was premiered on Aug. 21.
“Orange is the New Black”: The seventh and final season of a beloved Netflix Original series premiered on July 26. After watching the main character, Piper, entering prison for the first time back in season one and adapting to its environment throughout all six seasons, season seven follows Piper’s journey after being released from prison while leaving some good friends behind, still stuck behind bars. Even though the series is finished after the seventh season, chairman of the Lionsgate TV Group, Kevin Beggs, has some hope with bringing the ladies of Litchfield back onto screen.
“We’re really proud of the long run that Orange is the New Black had,” Beggs said to RadioTimes. “It remains one of Netflix’s most-watched shows. We’re ending on a high note. Keep in mind we own that series and will be distributing it for years to come. We’re already in discussions and, when the timing is right, we’ll talk further with [writer] Jenji [Kohan] about a potential sequel.”
“Rust Valley Restorers”: “Rust Valley Restorers” is a Canadian reality television series that follows a British Columbian mechanic who restores collectible cars. This mechanic, Mike Hall, is the owner of Rust Brothers Restorations and in the series, he works with his son and his team to bring these older cars back to the ways they were during their glory days. The show originally premiered on History Canada in Dec. of 2018 and was one of the top five shows. On Netflix, the show premiered on Aug. 23.
“Stranger Things”: The third season of Netflix’s classic science fiction horror television series premiered on July 4. “Stranger Things” season three takes place in the summer of 1985, a year after season two ended. Big developments have occurred within the relationships between the main characters and in the town where they live.
“It’s 1985 in Hawkins, Indiana, and summer’s heating up. School’s out, there’s a brand new mall in town and the Hawkins crew are on the cusp of adulthood. Romance blossoms and complicates the group’s dynamic, and they’ll have to figure out how to grow up without growing apart. Meanwhile, danger looms” a synopsis from Netflix reads.
