Industry (2020-) With its anxiety-inducing pace, despicable characters, and cutthroat corporate setting, the British finance drama is being called the heir to Succession. It follows a group of ambitious graduates at a prestigious investment bank, who are forced to confront their motives and morals. Streaming on Apple TV+
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Geek Girl (2024-)
The Netflix series based on the bestselling books by Holly Smale follows a socially awkward girl who is “discovered” by a modelling agency. She must confront her insecurities, navigate complex friendships and balance her old loves and her new career, in this charming yet joyful take on young-adulthood.
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Loot (2022-)
The comedy series stars Maya Rudolph as a billionaire in her mid-40s, who becomes America’s third-richest woman after her divorce from a tech baron. As she navigates her new purpose in life, she rediscovers a charitable foundation she had once set up. An unusual workplace comedy evolves from there. Expect a gentle yet scathing look at privilege, and the perils of self-discovery. Streaming on Apple TV+
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Gullak (2019-)
This web series created for the streaming service Sony Liv follows the small, everyday misadventures of a middle-class north Indian family. The Mishras love each other, worry about their gas cylinder being stolen, face failure and disappointment, navigate little joys and frenemies in the neighbourhood. The first two seasons are particularly moving, as we see Mrs Mishra’s character evolve ever-so-tentatively, as her sons grow and her own role changes. Gullak, incidentally, is Hindi for piggy bank; a little clay pot, the repository of the family’s hopes and spare coins, acts as silent chronicler and narrator.
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For All Mankind (2019-)
What if the Soviet Union had landed on the Moon first? What if the global space race was still being fought? This science-fiction drama, streaming on Apple TV+, explores an alternate history, as the US opens up in new ways - erasing biases of race, gender and creed, in the search for the best man or woman for the job that’s not yet done.
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Paper Girls (2022)
Set in the ’80s, the science-fiction-horror series follows four suburban newspaper-delivery girls who get caught in a time war. They navigate alternate realities and must each choose to embrace or reject their fate. Think Stranger Things, but with a refreshing all-female cast. Streaming on Amazon Prime.
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Jury Duty (2023)
This is a fake reality show built around a staged jury trial. The focus is the one man who doesn’t know it’s staged. James Marsden is masterful as an arrogant, pretentious actor who find himself doing jury duty. The rest of the cast are marvellous too. The show is a unique look at how humans react to the unexpected. Expect hilarity and some discomfort, as lines blurs between reality and fiction. Streaming on Amazon Prime.
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The Railway Men (2023)
The Netflix miniseries about the night of the 1984 Bhopal gas leak is an engrossing account of how railway workers risked their lives and battled bureaucracy to save as many lives as possible, while still struggling to understand what was happening in their neighbourhood. Artfully staged, there are jump scares like nothing you’d expect. Knowing it is based in real life makes it all the more chilling.
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Somebody Somewhere (2022-)
What does homecoming look like for someone in their 40s who has worked dead-end jobs, endured a series of unfulfilling relationships and now feels a sense of disconnection from the world? With witty dialogue and offbeat humour, this endearing HBO series follows a woman who moves back to her hometown to look after her ailing sister, and finally finds her voice and her tribe. Streaming on JioCinema.
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