by Shameera Nair Lin

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Smart TVs have been on a meteoric rise these last couple of years. And yet, if you’re anything like 99 per cent of my friends, you will resort to watching Netflix on your iPad or laptop, perched on a lounge sofa between 11pm and 1am on weekdays. Do I do the same? I shall not admit to anything for now. But for those of you with an interest in watching ‘television’ — which has moved beyond the physical television — there are a multitude of shows that will certainly offer excellent after-work company and entertainment. Here are some streaming ideas: 

1. Bojack Horseman (Netflix)

Often lauded for its incisive depiction of emotional vulnerabilities in tandem with mental health, Bojack Horseman is the animated story of a talking  horse — Bojack Horseman himself — and a compelling host of supporting characters who feed the narrative of Bojack’s endlessly failing decisions. He flounders almost every waking moment, rolls into deeply uncomfortable situations and learns from them occasionally. Although none of this sounds like nighttime viewing, this is a series that generates laughing marathons while challenging performativity in the social space.  Season 3’s ‘Fish Out of Water’ is a masterclass in silence, where a show premised on voice acting finds itself in near-silence throughout, demonstrating the power of animation. And if you are interested in strong female voices, Princess Carolyn is — quite simply — the most powerful female cat in existence. 

2. Giri/Haji (Netflix)

Released at the tail end of 2019, Giri/Haji is an ambitiously delightful tale of two cities where a policeman from Tokyo ventures to London and finds that he has stepped into a situation beyond his sole control. Tokyo and London are contrasted in illustrative ways, rallying against assumptions that often surround the ‘East/West’ binary. It is mainly in English, but Japanese plays a crucial role in lending the series a grounded assurance in its identity as a Japanese-led narrative, one that does not turn Japan into a trope for the ‘Western’ gaze. Savour it over a few days, and look out for the sublime choreographed movement segment in the final episode.

3. Community (Netflix) 

Keen to return to college? If so, don’t watch this. Community is not a flattering depiction of college life: between Chevy Chase’s racist grandpa and Ken Jeong’s ‘Spanish teacher’, I’m not sure I’d want to study at Greendale Community College. But it is uproariously funny and heartwarming: Troy and Abed find themselves in a friendship that endures in the most awkward of situations, and the characters in the show often feature in episodes steeped in popular culture galore. From reviving the arcade game aesthetic to hyperbolic paintball wars, Community does not shy away from creative narratives. And again, it’s just really, really funny. For fans of Childish Gambino, Donald Glover is at his best here.

4. No Reservations/Parts Unknown (CNN) 

Anthony Bourdain was one of few mainstream documentary makers with immense respect for every culture he stepped into as a visitor, knowing his position as someone who’s learning from the places he encountered. In the context of Malaysia, he was not one to shy away from taking on a challenge — watch him receive a hand-tapped Iban tattoo, which looked painful as a process, even as a viewer. He held a special love of Malaysia, which spanned across a few episodes from both shows, and our food and heritage. He wrote in a blog entry, on filming in Libya, as an experience that stuck with him for ‘the faces of the people [he] met’. For two shows filled with heart and hearty food, both ‘No Reservations’ and ‘Parts Unknown’ are outstandingly poignant. 

5. Kopitiam (Netflix) 

Kopitiam holds a special place in my heart; it was the first time I watched local comedy in English, as a child. Revisiting this as an adult in 2020, there are — of course — many exhausting cliches. However, it’s a pioneering English-language sitcom that offers a vision of how Malaysian comedy could further itself, although I have yet to see a multitude of Malaysian sitcoms cropping up. Moreover, the kopitiam as a social space is an idea that will resonate with many of us. Needless to say, take a trip down memory lane for something light and easy in the evenings. 

Your feedback about any other suggestions are welcome,  as well as  general thoughts about these shows! If you share your favourites, we just might come up with another list!