3 excellent Netflix shows to watch this weekend (February 27

With the end-of-the-month crunch, the week has been a blur of errands, emails, and work-week-woes—not to mention the weather doing its late-winter thing. Time to clock out with some Netflix shows this weekend.

For February 27 to March 1 and beyond, I’ve got a mix of old and new series, including a dark and quirky stalker story, a Navajo murder investigation, and an Emmy-winning sci-fi thrillride from the mid-2010s.

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Baby Reindeer

It’s hard to believe that this chilling and obsessive psychological drama is based on true events that happened to writer and star Richard Gadd. Baby Reindeer, which shares a name with the Scottish comedian’s 2019 autobiographical one-man stage play, is a dark comedy about his real-life experience being stalked. Gadd plays Donny Dunn, a struggling London comedian and bartender, who brings an upset customer, Martha (Jessica Gunning), a cup of tea on the house. The simple act of kindness spirals into a disturbing onslaught of obsessive emails, phone calls, inappropriate visits, and Annie Wilkes-level outbursts in public places.

Martha’s presence in Donny’s life starts to disrupt his relationship with Teri (Nava Mau), his job, and his sense of safety, but the police don’t seem to think there’s anything illegal going on, leaving Donny in a predicament. Be forewarned, though, while Baby Reindeer is funny at times, it’s a deeply personal exploration of unresolved trauma that unfolds over the show’s seven episodes, and can get quite intense. The show’s popularity actually sparked a real-life search for the “real” Martha, leading to a well-publicized defamation lawsuit against Netflix, with some claims dismissed but defamation case continuing amid appeals.

Baby Reindeer is a chilling and compelling watch that’s earned its 99% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

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Dark Winds

Based on the acclaimed novel series Leaphorn & Chee originally created by Tony Hillerman and carried on by his daughter Anne, AMC’s Dark Winds is a refreshing take on the police procedural, taking place across the vast landscapes of the American Southwest in the 1970s and with a cast of predominantly Native Americans.

The popular series, now in its fourth season on AMC (the first three seasons are streaming on Netflix), follows veteran Navajo Tribal Police lieutenant Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon, Longmire), his younger partner Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon, Reservation Dogs), and their team, including office Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten, Tribal) as they investigate murders, disappearances, corruption, and other crimes.

The cinematography in Dark Winds is outstanding, and the sprawling backdrop adds a stunning, desolate beauty to the series, with viewers also being drawn to the show for its authenticity and weaving in Navajo culture and spiritual beliefs. Every season of Dark Winds has a perfect 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

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Orphan Black

Orphan Black is one of those TV shows that I had always heard great things about, mostly from its devoted online fan base, but that I had never gotten around to, for no good reason at all—and I had five seasons to get my act together. With it all streaming on Netflix, I decided to right that wrong, and I’m so glad I did.

I’m only a couple of seasons in, but right out of the gate, I have to confirm that all the hype (and the Emmy she won) about its star, Canadian actress Tatiana Maslany, is fully warranted. In the insanely clever and serpentine sci-fi thriller, Maslany starts off as Sarah Manning, a con artist in trouble who witnesses the suicide of a woman who is her dead ringer. Sarah decides to steal the woman’s identity to pay off some debts, but what she’s dragged into is a twisted global human cloning conspiracy. Sarah discovers that she is but one of a group maybe a dozen clones, including an alcoholic housewife named Alison, a corporate villain named Rachel, a scientist named Cosima, and a serial killer named Helena—all of which are distinctly different and complex, and all of which are played with frightening precision by Maslany. It’s an actor’s dream job.

Orphan Black is a dark and action-packed series with some of the best character work in any show, ever, and its near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score reflects it.

Three totally different vibes, one simple goal: end the weekend with that satisfying “just one more episode” grin. Grab a snack, silence the group chat, and let your couch do the heavy lifting.