I miss the days of binging one show over the course of several months. It’s how I completed shows like The Wire and Friday Night Lights. I must admit that I streamed the shows in college when I had significantly more free time on my hands. Since I write about entertainment for a living, I have less spare time to watch long-running shows that take weeks. Occasionally, I just need a show that I can finish on a Saturday night or Sunday afternoon.
Netflix is one of the best streaming services to finish a miniseries in one sitting. The show I’m most interested in features two terrific actors who play estranged lovers in a murder mystery. Other shows toward the top of this list include an adaptation of a landmark novel and a sports documentary about one of college football’s greatest runs.
5
The Perfect Couple
Murder by the sea
I love shows set in locations I would love to visit. If you set a show in a picturesque seascape with a beautiful house and stunning beach, I’m probably going to give the show the benefit of the doubt. The Perfect Couple is not a dramatic masterpiece, but it’s an entertaining thriller with a notable cast, a stunning location, and an enticing mystery.
Amelia Sacks (Eve Hewson) is set to marry Benji Winbury (Billy Howle), who comes from one of the richest families on Nantucket. Benji is the son of Greer Garrison Winbury (Nicole Kidman), a famous novelist who plans to make this wedding the event of the season. Unfortunately, a dead body is found in the harbor, bringing the wedding to a halt as everyone involved becomes a suspect. The Perfect Couple has the murder mystery energy of Knives Out combined with the melodrama of a soap opera. That style of show plays well when the goal is to watch in one sitting. Here’s to the twists and turns that are as amusing as they are ridiculous.
There are six episodes of The Perfect Couple, with run times ranging from 42 and 63 minutes.
4
Missing You
Another Harlan Coben mystery
If you’ve used dating apps, you may have come across your ex’s profile. That same scenario happens in Missing You, but with a serious twist. Detective Kat Donovan (Rosalind Eleazar) believes she has met the love of her life in Josh (Ashley Walters). The two are set to marry until one day Josh disappears without a trace. There’s ghosting, and then there’s what Josh did. What’s even stranger is that, 11 years later, Kat finds Josh on a dating app.
Since this is a Harlan Coben series, there is a mystery at play — Kat pieces together clues about her father’s murder. I feel like Coben owns Netflix’s limited series section at this point. The prolific author has done over 10 shows with the streamer, and more are on the way. He knows how to attract an audience with his enticing storylines. His shows are like catnip for fans of thrillers. Missing You is no different.
Missing You has five episodes that run between 41 and 46 minutes.
3
Untold: Swamp Kings
Gator Nation’s most prolific run
For many college football fans, myself included, you will instantly recognize this name: Urban Meyer. After an undefeated season at Utah, Meyer became the head coach of the Florida Gators. Once he arrived in Gainesville, Meyer immediately turned the team around. In his second season, Meyer and the Gators won the national championship. In 2008, Meyer led the Gators to another national championship.
Untold: Swamp Kings takes fans behind the scenes of Meyer’s turnaround through the eyes of his players, including Tim Tebow, Major Wright, Brandon Spikes, and Brandon Siler. However, the player that will garner your full and undivided attention is Aaron Hernandez. Frankly, this documentary needed to focus more on Hernandez’s story, which later ended in tragedy. Still, it’s a must-watch for college football diehards.
Untold: Swamp Kings contains four episodes, with run times from 45 to 48 minutes.
2
Lord of the Flies
I have the conch!
When I read Lord of the Flies in middle school, I didn’t appreciate its influence on movies and television. Yellowjackets, Lost, The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, and Survivor can trace their roots to the novel. Most of the book-to-screen adaptations of Lord of the Flies are mediocre. That all changes with Netflix’s Lord of the Flies from Adolescence creator Jack Thorne.
For those unfamiliar with the story, a plane crashes in the Pacific Ocean in the 1950s. The only survivors are a group of young boys who seek shelter on a deserted island. The boys are forced to govern themselves, which eventually leads to a schism that drives some of the boys toward violence and chaos. Thorne has an eye for young talent because the child actors are fantastic. In particular, Lox Pratt, who plays Jack, has a bright career ahead of him as Draco Malfoy in HBO’s Harry Potter.
Lord of the Flies consists of four episodes that range from 59 to 61 minutes.
Lord of the Flies
- Release Date
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2026 – 2026-00-00
- Network
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BBC One
- Directors
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Marc Munden
1
His & Hers
Jon Bernthal & Tessa Thompson investigate a murder
What a year it’s been for Jon Bernthal. This month alone, Bernthal starred in a surprise-release episode of The Bear and the Marvel special TV presentation, The Punisher: One Last Kill. Earlier this year, Bernthal teamed with Tessa Thompson in the addictive miniseries His & Hers, based on Alice Feeney’s 2020 novel of the same name.
Anna Andrews (Thompson) is a former news reporter turned recluse following a devastating tragedy. Her estranged husband, Jack Harper (Bernthal), is a detective assigned to a troubling murder case. Anna’s decision to return to the field and cover the murder interferes with Jack’s investigation, creating tension between the estranged couple. I find that murder mysteries are great for one-sitting binges — solving the case is motivation to keep watching. It also helps to have two magnetic screen presences in Bernthal and Thompson.
His & Hers consists of six episodes that range from 39 to 47 minutes.
More Netflix shows to stream
The great thing about Netflix is you’ll seemingly never run out of shows to watch. This May, Netflix has several new shows, including Nemesis and Legends, that should be added to your watchlists. This weekend, try watching the returns of Perfect Match and Devil May Cry.
- Subscription with ads
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Yes, $8/month
- Simultaneous streams
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Two or four
