Netflix subscribers seem to be enjoying the pleasures of a dark comedy once again after it came to end in 2022.
Airing for just two seasons, the series (created by Valerie Armstrong) featured Russian Doll star Annie Murphy and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs actor Eric Petersen.
Set in Worcester, Massachusetts, it centers around a woman 'struggling to redefine her life amid an unhappy marriage to her husband, a narcissistic man-child whose cruel and manipulative treatment of her borders on domestic abuse'.
Technically, it mashes together a typical canned-laughter sitcom setup with the more traditional single-camera mode associated with TV dramas, offering a unique blend of perspectives.
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In a Reddit forum asking for people's hidden gems on the streaming service, and it didn't take long for someone to recommend the show.
The show we're talking about is Kevin Can F**k Himself, a riff of Kevin Can Wait, a sitcom starring Kevin James, which also only had two seasons.
"I just rewatched and it's honestly even better the second time — flawless performances by all and a real delve into the complicated angles of being a person," somebody wrote.
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Despite its short run on AMC+ - its 16 episodes were eventually picked up by Netflix - the critics were always big on the show and it still holds a fantastic 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
James Poniewozik wrote for The New York Times: "[Kevin Can F**k Himself] is like that bottle; it will make us see the horror in what we've been trained to see as harmless, even if it has to smack us upside the head. It may be as subtle as a blow to the skull, but it's an inventive meta-critique of TV."
When it arrived on Netflix and reached a much broader audience, social media was overflowing with love for the series too.
One person wrote on X: "Netflix added Kevin Can F**k Himself, which means time for a re-watch. This show was ahead of its time. The way they use lighting and comedy to portray an abusive marriage is f**king brilliant. I felt exactly like that whenever people were around him and I. One big charade."
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Another said: "Now that it’s on Netflix I’m desperately hoping Kevin Can F**k Himself is gonna find the wider audience it deserves, truly such an achievement of TV."
A third raved: "Just finished Kevin Can F**k Himself and let me be SO real that was genuinely the best thing I've ever watched. The format of the show, the ending, the deeper meanings behind the choices... I could speak about this for the rest of my life."
As for other unmissable streaming shows, iconic horror author Stephen King once recommended Amazon Prime Video's The Man in the High Castle, which boasts 84% on the aforementioned reviews aggregator.
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The dystopian alternate‐history drama imagines a world in which the Axis powers won World War II and have divided the former United States into three territories.
They are the Japanese Pacific States (West Coast), ruled by the Empire of Japan, the Greater Nazi Reich (East and Midwest), under the brutal control of Nazi Germany and the Neutral Zone (Rockies), a buffer region rife with spies and resistance fighters.
"THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE (Amazon Prime) is just wonderful," tweeted King.
"Some of the images, while disquieting (American children giving the Nazi salute, a Nazi storm trooper replacing the Statue of Liberty), are jaw-dropping. Start from the beginning."
Topics: Film and TV, Netflix
Dan Seddon