The Crown:

The Crown is a riveting drama chronicling the start of Queen Elizabeth II reign after the death of her father, George VI. Her ascension to power as a 25-year-old with only her limited education as a princess behind her, results in innumerable challenges. From her coronation (the first to be televised in British history) to her sister’s interest in marrying a divorced man, she is forced to make a series of tough decisions between the crown and her family. This show provides an inside look into Buckingham Palace, from her father’s rise to kingship after his brother to her relationship with Winston Churchill.

Even as a person who doesn’t partake in the fanfare surrounding the Royal family today, I found this show to be extremely interesting. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys drama and luxury (it is the most expensive show Netflix has ever made at $156 million.)

Sherlock: 

Sherlock, a BBC television crime drama, is based upon Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic Sherlock Holmes detective stories. This show, since first broadcasting in 2010, has garnered a huge international following. The show has been running for four seasons, each featuring three episodes written by Stephen Thompson, Steven Moffat & Mark Gatiss. For the past three seasons, the UK broadcast the new episodes first, while the episodes were released to America several months later.  Series Four, however, was special, it was broadcast in both countries at the same time.

The “Six Thatchers” starts off the season, and the characters begin to solve the mystery of a stolen bust of Margaret Thatcher. Sherlock tells Watson that his wife, Mary, is a better partner for him because of her secretive and dangerous past. This brings the question to the audience, will Sherlock pick Watson’s wife over is best friend?

In the second episode of season four, “The Lying Detective”,  John is left broken after an accident. He turns against Sherlock, and refuses to see him. Sherlock loses control, and the audience for the first time, sees the depth of Sherlock’s drug addiction. His addictions, we find out, helps with his work, but also harms it. While he struggles to see reality and fantasy, Watson struggles between right and wrong.

The finale of the series, “The Final Problem”, Sherlock, Mycroft and Watson find themselves in a offshore, isolated psychiatric hospital to visit a surprising new character. A patient of the hospital somehow manages to take over the hospital and takes the trio on a psychological mind game, that tests their ethics. This horrible violence is parallelled beautifully with flashbacks to Sherlock’s childhood, creating an emotional roller coaster for all that are watching.