After all the final exams, projects, and essays are over, it is time to relax and enjoy UMass’ long winter break. Although there are many ways to destress, none is easier than lying on a comfy couch with a bowl of popcorn and hot cocoa while watching a new series on Netflix. But how should one find a hidden gem in Netflix’s catalog of nearly 7,000 titles? To help with this search, I’ve compiled a list of five excellent Netflix TV shows with female protagonists to help you relax over winter break.Â
- Dead To Me
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It is a brilliant dark comedy and crime drama starring Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini. This three-season show follows cynical and harsh Jen Harding as she struggles to deal with her husband’s sudden death from an unsolved hit-and-run. In an attempt to deal with her grief, Jen goes to a support group where she meets optimistic and unconventional Judy, who is also suffering from a loss of her own. Despite their clear differences, Judy and Jen begin to form a deep friendship, but Jen does not know that Judy is hiding a dark and twisted secret that could change everything.Â
- Girls at the Back
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This moving Spanish miniseries follows five best friends who go on a girls’ trip following a recent cancer diagnosis. Once there, each day, all five girls complete a different item on their chaotic bucket list. It is a truly beautiful and touching show about female friendship that will make you both laugh and cry and is an absolute must-watch.Â
- Seven Lives of Lea
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An extremely unique and underrated French limited series based on the novel Les 7 vies de LĂ©o Belami by NataĂ«l Trapp. This show follows 17-year-old Lea after she accidentally stumbles on the remains of another teenager who died back in the 1990s. Lea is desperate to know what happens to him, especially since her parents are acting very suspicious, almost as if they know something they are not telling her. Everything comes to a head when Lea wakes up in the 1990s, and in the body of the young man she found a week before he is meant to die. Each day, she wakes up in a new person’s body, and she must figure out the truth of what happened to him before it’s too late. This is definitely one of the most creative shows I have ever seen, and I cannot recommend it enough.Â
- Everything Sucks
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This short and sweet show follows four freshmen struggling to adapt to high school life. Throughout the show, they navigate family problems, sexuality, romance, and more. Set in the 1990s, this show is funny, heartwarming, and completely worth the watch.
- I Hate Christmas
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This Italian holiday romantic comedy is hilarious and the perfect winter-break watch. This show follows the young and hardworking nurse Gianna as she struggles to find love deep into her 20s. However, due to the pressure that her family was putting on her, she lied and said she had a boyfriend whom she would bring to Christmas dinner. Not wanting to own up to her lie and disappoint her family, she sets out to find a boyfriend before a holiday, which is only a month away. This is the perfect Christmas show to watch after finals: warm, funny, and sweet, with an entertaining protagonist and two short seasons you can easily watch in one weekend.Â
These five extremely underrated Netflix TV shows are definitely worth watching this break, and I highly recommend them.Â
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