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Ozark

Ozark: The Best Netflix Show You’ve Never Heard About

  • Drama
  • Out now
reviewed by
Omar Yousry
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Ozark: The Best Netflix Show You’ve Never Heard About

The likes of 13 Reasons Why and The Defenders are just a few of the shows that have dominated Netflix this year; but lurking in the library are other new originals that have totally flown under radars, but are worth checking out – not least Ozark.

The dark and gritty crime drama stars Jason Bateman as Martin Bryde; a self-employed financial adviser who has been laundering money for the Mexican drug cartel. After one of the schemes goes wrong, the cartel comes to collect, killing all involved, except for Martin who promises to not only return the money, but gain a profit by undertaking some shady dealings in the summer town of Ozark.

The acting is top notch all round; Bateman is charismatic, conniving and can talk himself out of any situation; long gone are the days of him being pigeonholed as a comedic actor and he gives a gripping, dramatic performance of a man at the end of his rope, barely clinging to life. Seasoned actress Laura Linney also delivers an excellent performance as his wife, who is on the verge of losing her mind in not knowing if every other day is their last day alive.

The show hasn’t quite reached the heights of similar crime shows, but the first season is bubbling to something special, while providing an engaging story. Survival is the name of the game in the show’s plot; there’s a tension built by a constant feeling of all the players trying to be the smartest person in the room; it’s the subsequent web of lies and deceit that Bryde weaves to survive that makes it such a complex and compelling watch.

One of the strangest things about Ozark is that, despite its big-name leads and its en vogue topic, it has received little promotion; but despite mixed reviews, it is slowly but surely fathering a following and could turn out to be the best show you’ve never heard about.

360 Tip

Laura Linney was in the 1992 film, Lorenzo's Oil - Jason Bateman's character in 2011 flick, Paul was called Lorenzo Zoil. Crazy.

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