My Favourite Shows & Movies Of 2018

2018 was officially my first full year of having a Netflix account. I know, late to the party as ever but hey, that’s kind of my thing. Anyway, as I do like to spend an hour or two in the evenings watching a show or movie to wind down after a long day, we’ve gone through quite a few titles in this household. Today I’d like to share my top favourites with you: the ones I enjoyed the most and found memorable. They didn’t all come out in 2018, but I did watch them this year. If you haven’t seen these yet, you might want to give them a go!

The Sinner

This show is amazing. I honestly want to leave it at that and urge you to just watch it. It’s one of the few shows I’ve ever seen that’s actually unpredictable in the best way possible, it gets more and more intense and intriguing with every episode and has a satisfying ending. Both seasons were great, but season one was a tiny bit better in my opinion. It’s about a woman who murders a stranger on the beach out of the blue, in broad daylight, in front of her family, and the detective who tries to figure out why she did it.

Orphan Black

Without giving away too much of the plot: this show is about a young woman who keeps running into others who look just like her. It’s a captivating show with characters you really grow to care about, but what I love most is the brilliant acting on the part of the lead actress. The women are all played by the same actress and the way she completely transforms her voice, mannerisms and everything is absolutely amazing. There are a few scenes where she plays one of the women impersonating another one and those are just mind blowing. Robbert and I both thoroughly enjoyed watching all seasons of this back to back.

Peaky Blinders

The tale of the Peaky Blinders, a gang from 1920’s Birmingham, continued with a new season this year and I couldn’t not include one of my all time favourite shows in this list. A must-watch, if you ask me!

Homeland 1-4

This show is about a CIA officer who believes that a soldier who’s been found after being MIA for years has been turned by a terrorist. It’s full of clichés, but we found it quite enjoyable and the story moves at a quick enough pace that you want to know what happens next. After the first four seasons the show moves to a new story line which didn’t hold our attention, but the first seasons were nice.

Altered Carbon

Future space murder mystery, anyone? Honestly, I’d recommend this show just for the visuals. It’s very impressive on that front, and the story is quite complicated and captivating. One of the best things Netflix has produced when it comes to production quality!

Alias Grace

Speaking of murder mysteries, here’s a much calmer show for those who like histrorical pieces. It’s about a handmaid convicted of murdering her masters, and a doctor who tries to establish her (in)sanity in the early age of psychology. I found the ending a bit disappointing, but the show is really enjoyable nonetheless.

The Alienist

If early psychologists are your thing, you might enjoy The Alienist where one tries to hunt down a serial killer. I really enjoyed this show and watched it within a few days!

The Expanse

Another Sci-Fi show! It took a few episodes for me to really get into this one as it’s really fast paced and I found it hard to remember who’s who and how the storylines run and connect. Once I got it though, I really enjoyed the show and we watched both seasons back to back.

Over The Garden Wall

Ok honestly, I don’t know what this is, who the target audience is, or really anything. But I do know it’s lighthearted, really cute, and has the bizarre humour I love. We watch an episode of this here and there when we have a few minutes to kill.

Anne With An E

Ah, I’m pretty sure “charming” is the only proper word to describe this show. It’s based on the Anne of Green Gables books and I think it’s absolutely wonderfully done. The casting is great, the sceneries are gorgeous, the music is amazing and I cried with every episode. I did feel like season two was pushing a bit of a political agenda (ok, a lot) and I’m not really into that, but it was still nice. Season one is a definite must-see though.

Blindspot

If you’re looking for some action-packed, easy entertainment, Blindspot is a really good place to start. It begins when a woman with full-body tattoos and complete memory loss is delivered to the FBI. The tattoos turn out to hold clues that help the FBI uncover crimes. The show is full of clichés and honestly pretty bad at some points, but I look at it as a guilty pleasure. If you’re willing to accept some of the more ridiculous things about it it’s really very entertaining and quite thrilling to watch.

A Star Is Born

Ending with a bang: this is what I believe to be the single best movie of 2018. I got invited to the Dutch premiere and didn’t know what to expect, but it blew me away. Astonishing performances from both Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, amazing screenplay, great music, everything just worked perfectly. It’s also an absolute emotional rollercoaster, just watching the trailer now is giving me goosebumps all over again. I don’t often re-watch movies, but this is definitely one I’ll want to see again.

So, what’s the best show or movie you’ve seen in 2018? I’d love to hear!