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Five Netflix shows worth failing for

If you are looking for your next binge-watch, your next night in, or your next reason to avoid study for another couple of hours, then you have come to the right place. While lecturers and tutors may tell you to avoid Netflix and distraction in the weeks leading up to your exams, there are some shows which even they will admit are worth failing for. It’s important to give yourself a seven hour TV break after you colour code your study plan, crucial to fit an episode in between lectures, and obligatory to log into your friend’s account as soon as you find your seat in the Berkeley. The following five shows offer you a guilt-free method of avoiding hard work and productivity, all because they are just too good to be missed.

FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened

If you write at the bottom of your summer exam that you didn’t understand the paper because you were watching FYRE instead of studying, your lecturer is bound to understand. The shocking documentary follows the failed FYRE festival, a supposed music event for the rich and famous, which captured the imaginations of influencers around the world but ended up being a total failure. The central characters, like the idiotic CEO of Fyre, Billy McFarland, and the equally clueless Ja Rule, promised an exclusive luxury experience on a private Bahamian Island. Instead, they provided easy single sandwiches and damp mattresses not dissimilar from the type you would find in Halls. Furthermore, the hour-and-a-half long masterpiece offers some truly unique soundbites, such as those involved in the planning of the festival laughing at how ridiculous the whole thing was, which becomes even funnier once juxtaposed with the commitment of McFarland’s deluded disciples. It feels like something made by the Lonely Island, except it actually happened. Being able to wrap your head around this one is the kind of mental exercise college will never provide.

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This is one of the more disturbing shows that Netflix has on offer, which is really saying something. The plot revolves around Joe, a troubled bookstore owner who becomes infatuated with one of his customers, Beck. Instead of simply asking her on a date, he begins to stalk her, killing off anyone who gets in his way. The show has been incredibly well received, with each plot twist more shocking than the next. It is a perfect binge watch, and certainly more productive than wasting away in the library. On a more practical level, watching will enable you to enter the Twitter debate over whether or not Joe is a misunderstood hopeless romantic or just a serial-killing stalker. The answer is probably the latter, but that hasn’t stopped some people referring to Joe as “dreamy”, or begging their four followers for a “man just like that.”

The Hardy Bucks

The Hardy Bucks is one of the strongest Irish comedies on offer. The four season mockumentary explores life in Castletown in County Mayo, through the eyes of local waster Eddie Durcan, best friend Buzz McDonnell, and self-proclaimed “small-time drug dealer”, The Viper. The show is a hilarious take on rural Ireland which the Celtic Tiger left behind, told through a main cast obsessed with “the three main things in life; women, the drink, and a bit of cash in the pocket”. Moments of note include the Viper organising a music festival, headlined by “Can Ye Wesht”, or Eddie trying his hand as a taxi driver in search of some money, by driving around aimlessly in his car giving lifts to the pub. The show is underscored by a uniquely Irish sense of humour, and is certainly worthy of a place on this list.

Big Mouth

Big Mouth is a cartoon style comedy about the trials and tribulations of puberty. If you like cringe-inducing humour, uncomfortably vivid imagery, and outlandish confusion about when, where, and why the hairs on your body are growing where they are growing, you will love this. It is a weirdly relatable show, which is sure to bring laughter to your study sessions. There is an incredibly diverse cast, from the hilarious hormone monsters to the confused Nick, Andrew, and Jessi. From the mind of Nick Kroll and John Mulaney, it is definitely worth a watch.

Stranger Things

Stranger Things has binge-watch written all over it. An engrossing drama about an alien abduction in the 1980s “Hawkins”, the show has something to offer for history and sci-fi fanatics alike. With incredible characterisation, acting, and pacing, the show will have you hooked from episode one. Due to the show’s success, there is also some pretty cool merchandise available to collect, for those of you who are in search of a new personality trait rather than just a light Netflix viewing session. Stranger Things, more than any other show on the list, can fill that void.

If these shows don’t appeal to you, you can always resort to watching every single episode of Friends, or playing the first two Shrek movies on repeat. In any case, a Netflix binge is definitely more worthwhile than a study session in the Berkeley. So sit back and relax; it’s time to start your free trial.

Jonathon Boylan

Jonathon Boylan is a Deputy Sports editor of Trinity News, and a Junior Sophister Law student.