Spring break is a perfect time to get your Netflix fix, especially since many USC students and students from campuses across the U.S. will be doing online course work to avoid the spreading of the COVID-19 pandemic. While there will be a lot of time spent indoors over the next few weeks, there are plenty of titles to help get you through this new remote routine.
1. “Gentefied”
This bilingual Netflix comedy-drama series follows the Morales family, the owners of taqueria Mama Fina’s Tacos. Besides showcasing delicious Mexican cuisine, the show tackles themes around Latino identity and gentrification in the Boyle Heights community in East L.A.
Opens in new window2. “One Day at a Time”
Inspired by Norman Lear’s 1975 series of the same name, this sitcom centers around newly single mother and Army Veteran, Penelope and her Cuban American family as they face the hilarious and sometimes painful challenges of everyday life. The first three seasons of this sitcom appeared on Netflix, but when the platform didn’t renew the show for another round of episodes last year, fans were outraged. Since it was in such high demand, the show is taking to regular TV and will be back for its fourth season on Pop on Mar. 24. It is the perfect time for a series recap.
Opens in new window3. “Narcos: Mexico”
If you loved “Narcos,” you’ll love this continuation of the series, which examines the origins of the modern drug war by going back to the 1980s — a time when the Mexican trafficking world was a loose, disorganized confederation of independent growers and dealers. It tells the story of Felix Gallardo as he leads the Guadalajara Cartel who unites traffickers to build an empire of his own.
Opens in new window4. “Puerta 7”
The new Netflix series centers around the “barra bravas,” Argentinian soccer fans that are feared by the public and even by police after causing organized crime, drug deals and fatalities at soccer matches. After a stabbing incident occurs in the stadium, Diana, an NGO lawyer with familial ties to the soccer team steps in to help put an end to the corruption, tightening security around the stadium to preserve her family’s legacy.
Opens in new window5. “Carmen Sandiego: To Steal Or Not To Steal” Interactive
Want to control the story of your next Netflix binge? If you’ve watched the first two seasons of “Carmen Sandiego,” you might enjoy the next chapter about the female master thief as she and her team venture to Shanghai in order to steal back a V.I.L.E. treasure and restore it to its rightful place. Since this series is interactive, the viewer has the power to make a multitude of choices to help Carmen during her mission and help her as she tries to escape.
6. “All the Freckles in the World”
This coming-of-age film is set in 1994 and follows 13-year-old Jose Miguel Mota Palermo as he enters a new high school halfway through the year. The quirky, invention-making protagonist ends up falling for the most beautiful girl in school and with a little help from his friends, he will stop at nothing to win her heart even it means assembling a rag-tag futbol team to take on his crush’s bully boyfriend.
Opens in new window7. “The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia”
Ashley Garcia has it all. She’s a teenage robotics engineer, a rocket scientist and the youngest person to have a PhD. But she’s never had a normal high school experience. When she moves across the country to work for NASA and live with her uncle who coaches the local high school team, Ashley experiences a taste of everything she has missed out on from parties and dances to friendships and crushes.
Opens in new window8. “On My Block”
This coming-of-age comedy series follows best friends, Monse, Ruby, Jamal and Cesar as they experience high school for the first time, the struggles of being an adolescent and the reality of their predominantly Hispanic and black neighborhood in South L.A. Netflix just released its third season on Mar. 11, so you can binge all day long!
Opens in new window9. “Como Caído del Cielo”
This comedy-drama film imagines a world in which legendary Mexican actor-singer Pedro Infante returns to Earth after being stuck in Limbo for his womanizing ways. He is reincarnated in another man’s body who happens to be an Infante impersonator and in order to enter heaven, he must learn to solve his new identity’s life problems, respect women and make up for his past behavior. Fun fact: Jose Pepe Bojorquez, the film’s director is also an alumni of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts.
Opens in new window10. “The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez”
This true crime documentary series investigates the tragic murder and court case of Gabriel Fernandez, an 8-year-old boy from California who suffered through years of abuse at the hands of his mother and her boyfriend, which eventually killed in him 2013. The series tells the young boy’s story and reveals the injustices and complexities of the system that failed to protect him.
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