Netflix has come so far since 1997. Back then, movies would come in little red envelopes that would be sent back a week or two later with the DVD. Now it’s a streaming giant, with thousands of movies and TV shows to watch whenever and wherever. Subscribers don’t have to wait three business days anymore – whenever the mood strikes, Netflix is there.

The time has come for a series of awards, but just for Netflix. Sure, Netflix receives its numerous nominations for its originals in the Emmys, but FlixFeats 2019, the first-ever series of awards just for Netflix shows (which is completely made up and doesn’t actually exist), will present all the pretty awesome recommendations anyone could ever need for their fall movie marathons. Each category showcases a different Netflix show for all the different aspects of fall: “Best Comedy That Shouldn’t Be a Comedy” for when hanging out with friends and everybody wants a good laugh, “Totally Terrific Terrors” for Halloween season, and “Notorious Never-Ender” for the weekend where there’s no homework to do and endless time. Here are the winners of all those awards and more.

Best Comedy That Shouldn’t Be a Comedy – After watching only one season of this show, “Jane the Virgin” proves to be one of the funniest things to ever grace Netflix. The plot line makes it seem like it’s supposed to be a drama, where watching the show presents lots of suspense and there’s so much going on all at once. And the show definitely lives up to that. But the omniscient narrator, which tells the watcher all about what’s going on but in a hilarious way, is what makes it a comedy, even when it shouldn’t be. The narrator is by far the best character on the show- it’s satirical, sarcastic, and humorous all in one, and it’s what wins “Jane the Virgin” this award.

Totally Terrific Terrors – “Criminal Minds” is definitely deserving of this award. The story-line is amazing, with plot twists at every second, so that it’s impossible to solve the case the FBI is working on, which is what makes the show so good! It adds an insane amount of suspense and surprise when the culprit is finally caught. What really brings it home is how absolutely terrifying some of the episodes are. For example, already in season one, episode two was crazy. A serial bomber was terrorizing a college campus and in the final moments of the episode, she poured gasoline all over three friends in an elevator and almost lit them all on fire! By being an amazingly terrifying show, “Criminal Minds” wins the “Totally Terrific Terrors” award. 

Notorious Never-Ender – “Grey’s Anatomy” is truly the one to watch this fall. As a Netflix staple, so many people have watched it, but it’s worth endless re-watches. It’s pretty difficult to remember what happened in every single episode, as the show has 15 seasons currently on Netflix, explaining the “Never-Ender” part of the award, and it has become famous for its amazing plot line and characters, which is why it’s truly notorious. Even if the viewer has already watched it, “Grey’s Anatomy will always give them a way to appreciate life as it is.

Student Favorite – While there was a variety of shows that were entered, after conducting a poll on Instagram and asking some friends, the winner of Student Favorite by a small margin is “Grey’s Anatomy,” followed by a second-place tie for “The Office” and “Stranger Things.” “Grey’s Anatomy” is totally worthy of being recognized for a second time. It has a crazy number of seasons, so it’s pretty hard to run out of episodes until after winter’s over (unless someone’s a complete Netflix addict, of course). But not only that, the plot is so in-depth and covers so many important life issues- love, loss, happiness, and how to deal with tragedy. It also puts forward newfound appreciation for humanity and for life to the viewer. While no one could really explain how this show makes watching bloody surgery after bloody surgery bearable, “Grey’s Anatomy” is obviously a well-justified favorite.

Kiddie Klassic – There is no other show that could win this award except “H2O Just Add Water.” Remember when we were kids and we watched the show and played mermaids with our friends? We all wanted to be Emma, Rikki, and Cleo! The memories like that aren’t the only thing that win the award for the show, but also the plot. While it might be just a kids’ show, it was intense! As a kid, my friends and I could talk about it for hours on end. We still make jokes about it and watch it to this day (if anyone doesn’t watch it, they really should), which is why this show wins the Kiddie Klassic award.

The Teacher of Television – “On My Block” is the winner of this final award, and it truly is the teacher of Netflix. While not being an educational show, it showcases so many lessons about friendship, loss, and unfair things happening in the world through the lives of Monse, Ruby, Jamal, and Cesar that anyone can take from and apply to their life. It’s so easy to truly enjoy watching this show, and all its fans were agonizing over every moment they waited for season two to finally come out (it took more than a year!). “On My Block” is definitely a show nobody would want to miss.

After all that, FlixFeats 2019 is finally over. While many of these are staples that most viewers may have watched already, maybe there’s one or two that they haven’t watched yet. Give them a shot- they’re all totally worth it! And even if you’ve watched them all, a good re-watch is waiting right around the corner.

Alex Martinez-Garcia, Staff Writer

Sophomore Alex Martinez-Garcia is a staff writer for the 2019-2020 Colonel. She is the class vice president and a dual sport athlete who is on the swim team and plays lacrosse. Out of school, Alex swims for the Westerly Dolphins and spends lots of time playing piano and watching the Office.