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The Netflix original shows to get excited about

Ashton Kutcher and Danny Masterson will play brothers in 'The Ranch'. Photo: Getty

Ashton Kutcher and Danny Masterson will play brothers in 'The Ranch'. Photo: Getty

It seems there will be no end to the spiral of binge watching we’ve all been caught in since Netflix’s launch in March this year.

First, it was shows like Orange Is the New Black and House of Cards that drew us in with their unique approach – available all at once, no ads and none of the constraints typically placed on them by big networks.

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Then came additions like Master of None, Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Grace and Frankie, Sense8, Bloodline and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

These shows, plus Netflix’s catalogue of old classics, enticed the nearly three million Australians who have a subscription (as of November 2015) to the streaming service.

This week, the company committed to double its output of original content in 2016, promising to release 31 scripted series next year, compared to 2015’s total of 16.

What this means for the viewers at home is, on top of second seasons for shows like Grace and Frankie and Daredevil, there’s a host of new shows hitting your living room in the new year.

Flaked

Set in Venice Beach, California, this rom-com follows a classic love triangle in which protagonist Chip (played by funny man Will Arnett) falls for the object of his best friend’s affections.

As Chip weaves a tangled web of lies to protect himself and keep his secret, his image and his sobriety begin to unravel.

Relative unknown David Sullivan stars as Chip’s best friend Dennis, while Irish actress Ruth Kearney plays the duo’s love interest, London.

Will Arnett stars as Chip, a man caught in a web of lies. Photo: Getty

Will Arnett stars as Chip, a man caught in a web of lies. Photo: Getty

Fuller House

Unless you’ve been living in a remote rural town with no wi-fi, a Full House reboot won’t be news to you. The popular family sitcom is getting the full remake treatment from Netflix, with the new version picking up where the 1987 original left off.

D.J. Tanner-Fuller, played by original cast member Candice Cameron-Bure, is all grown up, pregnant and recently widowed, living in San Francisco.

To help her take care of her two sons – the 12-year-old J.D. and 7-year-old Max – D.J.’s younger sister Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin), her best friend Kimmy Gibbler (Andrea Barber) and Kimmy’s teenage daughter Ramona (Soni Bringas) move in.

Sound familiar? Just don’t expect to see Mary-Kate or Ashley Olsen, they’ve officially bowed out.

The original 'Full House' cast today.

The original Full House cast today.

The Get Down

If you’re a Baz Luhrmann fan, you’ll likely love this musical set in the 1970s New York hip hop and punk scene.

In the harsh streets of the struggling city,  a rag-tag crew of South Bronx teenagers can rely on only each other, armed with verbal games, improvised dance steps, some magic markers and spray cans.

Starring Will Smith’s sons Jaden Smith and Justice Smith, The Get Down tells the mythical story of how bankruptcy gave birth to the cultural movements that came to define a decade.

Love

We know Judd Apatow knows how to make great movies, so his first television series in a decade is sure to deliver the goods (his last was 2001 college comedy Undeclared).

Starring Gillian Jacobs (Community, Girls) and Paul Rust (Inglourious Basterds), Love is, as its name suggests, a modern love story.

The show pairs nice guy Gus (Rust) with wild child Mickey (Jacobs) in a hilarious, realistic and honest take on relationships in the modern age. Apatow is creator, writer and executive producer so expect Knocked Up-level awkwardness and brilliance.

Gillian Jacobs plays the wayward Mickey. Photo: Getty

Gillian Jacobs plays the wayward Mickey. Photo: Getty

Stranger Things

From the creators of Wayward Pines comes a supernatural series set in 1980s Indiana and starring that decade’s golden girl Winona Ryder in the lead role.

Ryder plays Joyce, a working class mother whose two-year-old son vanishes into thin air.

The search for the young boy brings Joyce to a mysterious tangle of government experiments, supernatural forces and one very strange little girl.

Winona Ryder stars as a mother searching for her lost son. Photo: Getty

Winona Ryder stars as a mother searching for her lost son. Photo: Getty

Marvel’s Luke Cage

If you watched Netflix’s runaway hit Jessica Jones, you’ve already met Luke Cage, Jones’ love interest and a steel-skinned superhero moonlighting as a bar owner.

Part of Marvel and Netflix’s five-show partnership, which kicked off with this year’s DaredevilLuke Cage brings us one step closer to Defenders, the finale series in which these heroes will team up to fight forces of evil.

Mike Colter, who played Cage in Jessica Jones, will be joined by Alfre Woodard, Mahershala Ali, Theo Rossi, and returning star of Jessica Jones and Daredevil, Rosario Dawson.

Next in the line-up is Iron Fist, based on comics of the same name starring kung-fu master Daniel Rand.

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events

Before The Hunger Games hit shelves and cinemas with its violence and harsh commentary on the nature of conflict, Lemony Snicket served up bleak truths to kids with his eccentric A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Snicket’s 13 novels sold like hotcakes for their completely unique tale of three orphans – Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire – attempting to uncover the secret of their parents’ death while evading their evil, money-hungry uncle, Count Olaf.

The movie version of the books failed to take off, so here’s hoping executive producer Barry Sonnenfeld and Daniel Handler – legal, literary and social representative for Lemony Snicket – can capture the magic with this series.

Special Correspondents

Ricky Gervais wrote, stars in and directed this satirical film about a New York-based radio journalist who decides to fake front-line war reports from the comfort of his hideout in Manhattan in an effort to rescue his failing career.

Aussie actor Eric Bana will star in the lead role alongside a stellar cast including America Ferrera, Vera Farmiga, Kelly Macdonald, Kevin Pollak, Raúl Castillo and Benjamin Bratt.

The cast of 'Special Correspondents'.

The cast of Special Correspondents.

The Ranch

This multi-camera comedy sees Ashton Kutcher play Colt, a failed semi-pro football player who returns home to a Colorado to run the family ranching business with his older brother Jameson (Danny Masterson), father Beau (Sam Elliott) and mother (Debra Winger).

From the producers of Two and a Half Men, this promises plenty of family-friendly, classic sit-com fun.

Ashton Kutcher and Danny Masterson will play brothers in 'The Ranch'. Photo: Getty

Ashton Kutcher and Danny Masterson will play brothers in The Ranch. Photo: Getty

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Topics: Netflix
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