As with many recent Lee productions, Netflix’s She’s Gotta Have It is so formally exhilarating that the sensorial often overrides the textural. There’s a sense in Spike Lee’s filmography of a scolding intellectual seeking to outrun his demons with the cathartic power of style. Though she’s anything but a stone face, Bamford has more than a little Buster Keaton in her, her cosmic befuddlement and heroic efforts to navigate even the simplest situation highlighting the absurdity in just about everything. Her bafflement and improvised solutions to uncomfortable situations make things we have all struggled with, like dating, feel as freshly and insightfully witnessed as her wide-eyed adventures in Hollywood. Her endearing eagerness to please, extreme social awkwardness, and hopeless inability to camouflage her feelings makes the semi-fictionalized version of her bipolar self that actor-writer-comedian Maria Bamford plays in Lady Dynamite a kind of human emoji factory, her unguarded face expressing a kaleidoscope of comically intense emotions. Creator and writer Lisa McGee perfectly balances wit and raucous comedy to tackle topics such as queerness and grief with highly specific cultural references-like how Protestants keep their toasters in the cupboard-peppered with borderline crude jokes and leftfield cameos from the likes of Chelsea Clinton. Over three seasons, the series has never shied away from the violence of the era, its anarchic humor delivered with directness and poignancy. Nathan Frontieroīowing out with a finale based around the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 that largely ended the conflict in Northern Ireland, Derry Girls proved once again how powerful a tool comedy can be in capturing the nuances of real-life events. These 25 Netflix original shows, old and new, prove the marathon-watching juggernaut’s equal concern for both quantity and quality. The unexpectedly thrilling Queen’s Gambit, the addictive Squid Game, and the zeitgeist-tapping Stranger Things are merely a few of the latest storytelling pleasures available to anyone with a WiFi connection and a (potentially borrowed) Netflix login. While competitors like HBO Max, Hulu, and Disney+ certainly vie for our time with their own in-house programs, the sheer inundation of Netflix originals requires its very own examination. Over a decade after expanding from DVD-by-mail to streaming service, and seven since debuting its first original series with House of Cards, Netflix still dominates the online TV landscape. Like Google, Netflix has evolved from a Silicon Valley venture to a legitimate verb in the cultural lexicon. Editor’s Note: This entry was originally published on February 20, 2019. RECOMMENDED: Get your summer sorted with our round-up of the best stuff happening in July. Just make sure you’ve got the Factor 50 on ’s hot out there! Or make the most of the spoils of the summer and head to one of London’s best lidos for a cooling dip, then soak up some suds and some sun on an epic rooftop terrace. Ukraine’s Freedom Orchestra will also be playing an extra-special concert at The Proms this weekend and if you missed out on seeing ‘Killing Eve’ star Jodie Comer’s West End debut, ‘ Prima Facie’ will be screening in cinemas all over London this weekend. London’s art scene is also popping off this weekend as The Whitechapel Gallery’s London Open returns with plenty of dark, but brilliant, apocalyptic art inspired by the last two turbulent years, or check out more brilliant shows from English painter Lydia Blakeley and joyful works from the late American artist Milton Avery. If you’re ready to party, glorious LGBTQI+ fest Body Movements is back with London’s finest queer collectives descending on Hackney Wick for a big dance music blow-out, or take in dance crews, beatboxing, MCs and DJs from young talent at Hackney Empire Young Producers take over the National Theatre’s River Stage on the South Bank. Or, grab a pint and head to the fan zone in Trafalgar Square to cheer on lucky teams in the Women’s Euros finals. ![]() The pleasantly balmy weather means it’s the perfect time to take in some outdoor theatre: check out Regent’s Park Open Air theatre’s all-singing adaptation of ‘101 Dalmations’, or a very magical-sounding production of ‘Twelfth Night’ staged in Kew Gardens. The last weekend of July in London is set to be very special indeed.
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