28 TV shows and movies to watch on Netflix Canada this summer

It’s summer, so you’re wondering what to watch on Netflix, right?

We weren’t all made to withstand high heat and humidity, so if your idea of a Not-Bummer-Summer is spending it indoors, here are nine TV shows (six of which are returning soon!) and 19 movies you should add to your Netflix List this summer.

Hannibal – 26 episodes, approx. 44 min. each (full series so far)

Another Hannibal adaptation? Yeah. Another one, and quite possibly the best one ever. The NBC series is two seasons in, and gets more creepy and spooky every week. Bryan Fuller’s reboot is totally enthralling and engaging, with unforgettable performances by Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy, who portray the eponymous character and Will Graham, respectively. Laurence Fishburne also does his best work in years. The show’s also shined a light on two incredible Canadian actresses, Montrealer Caroline Dhavernas, as Dr. Alana Bloom, and Brampton’s Lara Jean Chorostecki, as the ruthless and conniving blogger Freddie Lounds. Hannibal returns to NBC/CityTV for Season Three in 2015. (Related: Hannibal, one of the best shows of 2013, is “sinister yet cheeky.”)

The Good Wife – 90 episodes, approx. 44 min. each (four seasons; Season 5 ended on CBS in May 2014)

“That show’s for suburban white ladies.” – Me, before devouring the first season of CBS’s The Good Wife. Julianna Margulies’ performance anchors and elevates the show to much more than courtroom/law-firm drama. Though it goes the Boston Legal route around Seasons Three and Four (outrageous, ripped-from-the-headlines cases), the drama never falters. The rest of the cast is superb too, especially Christine Baranski and Archie Panjabi (it also attracts some top-notch guest stars, like Michael J. Fox, Martha Plimpton, Nathan Lane, Carrie Preston, Dylan Baker, Anika Noni Rose, Anna Camp, Denis O’Hare and Scandal‘s Joe Morton, to name a few). I started watching The Good Wife shortly before Twitter erupted in shock over the surprising and shocking death of a main character. I quickly watched four-and-a-half seasons of TGW and finally got to the episode in question and my worst fears were quashed. This was not a show grasping for relevance or desperate to jolt its narrative; The Good Wife is a confident series, and an addictive one.

The Good Wife returns to CBS/Global for Season Six in September 2014.

Review: House of Cards – Season 2

It took me about 10 days to watch the second season of House of Cards, but more than a month to sit down and write about it.

It was less exciting, less scandalous, and more slow-moving and into itself. About midway through, after I’d devoured eight episodes in the three days following its Valentine’s Day première, I needed a break. Finishing the season felt like a chore or, worse, a workout: you put in the time and got a small reward every few, torturous sessions.

I liked the first season of House of Cards but do remember a lull in the middle episodes. Some have written that on closer inspection, even the first season of the show isn’t strong. It has elements of a great show, but it isn’t one. I disagree. I was under no obligation to watch it but did – and quicker than I care to admit – and thought it was exciting, compelling and novel enough for me to even be giddy about the season-two première. I stopped watching Derek, the Ricky Gervais Netflix series, two episodes in, so the notions that people will binge-watch a show just because they can or because it’s available are not true.

Season two of House of Cards picks up where the first left off, with Francis Underwood (Kevin Spacey) just days from the office of the vice presidency he so cunningly chased in season one. Again, Spacey is marvellous as the sociopathic, psychopathic, cold and calculating Underwood. The whole cast, really, does tremendous work, especially Robin Wright as Claire Underwood and Michael Kelly as Underwood’s chief of staff Doug Stamper. Now that Francis is VPOTUS, there’s only one office – and one man – separating him from ultimate power. It makes sense that a character portraying the VPOTUS seeks the office of POTUS on paper, but in theory and in House of Cards, Underwood undermines everyone he’s around, regardless of whether they are above his pay grade. He already seems more powerful than the president.

Valentine’s Day: Romantic comedies on Netflix Canada

Romantic comedies get a bad rap, but just last year, releases like Warm Bodies, About Time, The Spectacular Now, Enough Said and Don Jon gave us fresh takes on the genre. It helps that I have a very broad definition of what could be a romantic comedy, but there’ll always be an audience for romcoms and I love a good one.

My selection of five great romantic comedies streaming on Netflix Canada this Valentine’s Day – followed by some anti-love picks for the cynics out there:

Le Fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain (a.k.a. Amelie)

Nothing short of magical, Amelie might just be the feel-good movie of life. Starring Audrey Tautou in the title role and directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Amelie tells the story of an imaginative and shy woman who finds love as she does small, good deeds around her community.

Best of 2013: Best movies of 2013 streaming on Netflix Canada

What’s open in Montreal on New Year’s Day? Not much other than movie theatres, video stores and restaurants.

If you’re brave enough to venture outside – forecasts are calling for a high of -18 in Montreal – you can spend your day at the movie theatre. The Wolf of Wall Street, American Hustle, 12 Years a Slave and Inside Llewyn Davis are all more than worthy of your time. There’s also a ton of great movies that came out this year that have been released on DVD, so you can rent them online or at a video store.

RELATED: BEST OF 2013: TOP 10 MOVIES 

And if you just wanna stay home, there are some great 2013 releases streaming on Netflix Canada.

It’s a Disaster

The indie by Todd Berger clocks in at 88 minutes and follows a group of young couples having brunch when they get word that the world is ending. Stars David Cross, Julia Stiles and America Ferrera.