By: Holly Mason
As the air cools down, Netflix and Hulu become after-school staples. Here are some award-winning television shows with cult followings that are available for online streaming all winter long.
The X-Files After its premiere in 1993, this sci-fi thriller gained one of the most notable cult followings in the history of television. The X-Files follows two FBI agents, Dana Scully and Fox Mulder, as they investigate unsolved cases thought to be caused by supernatural and alien forces. Perfect for binge-watching on Netflix, The X-Files is a blend of horror, mystery and science fiction. This show will make you say “I want to believe.”
Twin Peaks After homecoming queen Laura Palmer is found brutally murdered, the quiet, small town lives of people in Twin Peaks, Washington are turned upside down. FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper is called in to investigate Palmer’s case and soon begins unveiling disconcerting facts that contribute to this cult show’s dark, supernatural undertones. Each episode in Twin Peaks gets better and better until the question “Who killed Laura Palmer?” is finally answered.
Freaks and Geeks Possibly the most relatable show on this list, Freaks and Geeks focuses on lives of socially awkward teenagers divided into “freaks,” a group of upperclassman burnouts and “geeks,” nerdy comic book-obsessed freshmen, as they experience the ups and downs of social cliques, peer pressure and relationships. Though cancelled after its first season, Freaks and Geeks has recently developed a large following of teens and young adults who can compare their lives to those of these 1980s outcasts.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Buffy Summers, main character of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a typical teenage girl; she enjoys shopping, hanging out with friends and dating, while battling demons and vampires, too. Watch Buffy and her friends (nicknamed the “Scooby Gang”) fight forces of darkness and the dreary day-to-day life of Sunnydale High School.
My So-Called Life Peek into the lives of 1990s teenagers Angela Chase and her friends Rayanne and Rickie as they experience the ups and downs of adolescence, tackling real-life issues such as homelessness, violence and drug abuse while still being funny.
Daria A satirical dark comedy released by MTV in the late 1990s, Daria perfectly encapsulates the angst-ridden high school years by following Daria Morgendorffer (a recurring character on Beavis and Butthead) and her artsy, equally jaded partner in crime, Jane Lane.
Futurama Futurama is an animated adult sitcom follows Fry, a pizza delivery boy who is cryogenically frozen against his will and unfrozen one thousand years in the future. Fry soon meets a mad scientist named Professor Farnsworth (simply known as “the Professor), a cyclops named Leela, who is captain of the Professor’s space ship, and Bender, a foul-mouthed, egotistical robot. If science fiction or dark comedies interest you, Futurama is a must-see.
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