Forget Foxtel, it’s so last decade. Netflix has cemented its place as the go-to for couch-side entertainment during this coronavirus madness.

The global streaming service said in late April, when it released its financials, that its membership growth had “temporarily accelerated due to home confinement”.

Memberships jumped nearly 23 per cent year-over-year to 182.9 million in Q1, and Netflix’s crystal ball tells it that Q2 will see 25.5 per cent more new members, pushing it closer to the milestone 200-million-mark.

The streaming service only expected to add 7 million new members in the first three months of the year, but that figure more than doubled to nearly 16 million.

So just what are people watching? Well, we’re pretty sure we don’t need to tell you the widely publicised Tiger King made the top 10. According to Netflix stats, 64 million subscribers tuned in to the riveting docu-series.

 

The all important question…


 

Netflix says Q1 highlighted the popularity of shows like Ozark (29 million), Love is Blind (30 million) and Money Heist (65 million), which debuted in early April, while movies that ranked highly included Spenser Confidential (85 million).

 

Chart toppers

Another month into this crazy year and this is what series and movies people are watching now, according to streaming search engine service Reelgood.

Series:

  1. Breaking Bad
  2. Stranger Things
  3. Money Heist
  4. Sherlock
  5. Better Call Saul
  6. The Office
  7. Black Mirror
  8. Peaky Blinders
  9. The Walking Dead
  10. Ozark

Movies:

  1. Inception
  2. The Matrix
  3. Avengers: Infinity War
  4. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
  5. Back to the Future
  6. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
  7. The Pianist
  8. Raiders of the lost Ark
  9. Inglorious Basterds
  10. Django Unchained

 

Hidden gems

Joe Exotic — the self-proclaimed gay, gun-toting, tiger-loving cowboy with a mullet — is hands down the most out there character we have seen on Netflix during lockdown.

But Tiger King isn’t the only bizarre series streaming right now. Here are some others we found while doing our research (read: sitting on the couch, perusing Netflix and stuffing our faces with popcorn):

All the pot aficionados out there will love this one: Cooked with Cannabis

 

Don’t try this at home folks (or maybe you already have!)

Chefs compete to get the hosts and special guests high on elevated cannabis cuisine with their artful use of leafy herb, THC infusions and CBD sauces.

Love Death and Robots

This is an animated anthology series comprising “terrifying creatures, wicked surprises and dark comedy”.

 

Creator Tim Miller says the whole goal of the series was to bring the wealth of great short stories and marry them with some of the great work that’s being done around the world in animation.

“And then do it for adults, because you know f@#k the kids really,” he (legit) said in an interview.

Velvet Buzzsaw

Murderous artwork, now that’s new. There’s a lot of big names in this one and given one of them is John Malkovich, it’s probably not really that surprising this one is a bit odd.

In this thriller, a feared critic, an icy gallery owner and an ambitious assistant snap up a recently deceased artist’s stash of paintings — with dire consequences.

Other big names in this gem include Jake Gyllenhaal and Rene Russo.

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