LONDON -- Netflix can be a daunting place. Once you've exhausted your free trial and signed over your soul to months of "where did that £10 go?", wading into the abyss of hours lost to "just one more episode" is a terrifying prospect.
It's easy to get sucked into the big guns. Beyond Orange Is The New Black and Breaking Bad, there are endless Disney movies and classics to get your head around. But where's the fun in that? Instead, why not scope out the path less travelled?
We've taken the liberty of rounding up Netflix UK's hidden gems for your perusal. There's something for everyone here -- from crime to comedy -- so waste no time in grabbing a seat on the couch and getting well and truly sucked in.
The Thick of It
Peter Capaldi reigns in this "fictitious reality comedy" centered on the British Government's Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship.
Portlandia
SNL's Fred Armisen and Sleater-Kinney's Carrie Brownstein keep Portland weird.
Gavin and Stacey
James Corden and Ruth Jones capture the chaos of modern day relationships in three series of Smithy, Stacey and "oh, what's occurring."
The League
Friendships are tested when fantasy football is taken to a whole new level. Team, HUDDLE.
Rita
Prepare for subtitles in this Danish comedy as school teacher and single mum Rita welcomes you to her world.
Brooklyn Nine Nine
Andy Samberg plays NYPD head cop Jake Peralta in an action comedy of epic proportions.
The Trip
In the comic pairing of the decade, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon play fictionalised versions of themselves as they take a culinary tour of Northern restaurants.
That Mitchell and Webb Look
Numberwang, Ted and Peter, The Helivets: David Mitchell and Robert Webb have it all in their best-loved sketch show.
Hjørdis
Rita's spinoff miniseries focuses on the students rather than teachers when the eponymous Hjørdis puts together a school play about bullying.
Lilyhammer
New Yorker and ex-gangster Frank Tagliano testifies against his associates and begins a new life under witness protection. In Norway.
Happy Christmas
Newly single Jenny (Anna Kendrick, yay!) shakes up the dynamic in her brother's home when she arrives to stay for the holidays.
Chef
John Favreau as a street-food-selling chef. Need we say more?
Frank
Michael Fassbender dons a papier-mâché mask for Lenny Abrahamson’s fictionalised adaption of Jon Ronson’s tale of life in a band.
Clue
The classic board game comes to life in this kitschy murder comedy.
Junebug
An affluent art dealer meets her newlywed husband's family, learning more and more about him in the process.
Hits
The nature of 21st century fame and Internet culture take a hit in this dark comedy from David Cross.
We Are The Best!
Inspiring, joyful Swedish film about the friendship between three misfit teenage girls who form a punk band.
It’s Such A Beautiful Day
Stick man Bill will become your new best friend in this adorable animated adventure.
Frances Ha
A world away from Girls, Noah Baumbach’s beautifully shot story of a twentysomething NYC dancer (Greta Gerwig) finding her feet in life is a funny and warm look at living in the city.
Tiny Furniture
Lena Dunham's pre-Girls creation is the perfect antidote to your post-graduation blues.
Bates Motel
Why did Norman Bates become Psycho's notorious killer? This prequel series explains it all.
The House of Cards Trilogy (BBC)
Where would Frank Underwood be without the original F.U.? Spend some time with Francis Urquhart, and you’ll soon realise he’s Frank’s more conniving British counterpart.
Friday Night Lights
Clear eyes, full hearts, must binge this show.
Fringe
Science goes awry in this paranormal drama led by Special Agent Olivia Dunham.
The Returned
The Emmy-winning French supernatural drama sees people rising from the dead in a French mountain town. A spooky story that's made all the more evocative by Mogwai’s haunting soundtrack.
Sense8
Eight people around the world experience strange visions and connections in a series from the directors of the Matrix and Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski.
Parade’s End
There are more than enough reasons to hit play as Benedict Cumberbatch takes the lead in a World War I-era miniseries.
Bloodline
Big family, big mysteries and big names in this tense, dark drama set in the sunshine state.
The Paradise
Before Mr. Selfridge took the title of department-store-drama, there was The Paradise -- and in the The Paradise, there is DRAMA.
Peaky Blinders
In 1919 Birmingham, England, Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) will do whatever it takes to get to the top.
Locke
Tom Hardy is Ivan Locke, a family man and successful construction worker who puts everything on hold after receiving a life-changing phone call.
Short Term 12
Grace (Brie Larson) juggles a personal crisis with those of the at-risk teens she works with in a film that will both warm and break your heart all at once.
Mysterious Skin
Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars in this dark drama about damaged childhoods, which is a long, long way from being a cheerful watch; prepare yourself before you give it a go.
Fish Tank
Michael Fassbender appears in this gritty depiction of life on a London council estate, in which an aspiring 15-year-old dancer's routine is shaken by the arrival of a new man in her mum's life.
Palo Alto
A teen movie that takes teenagers seriously. Like, super seriously. Okay?
Big Words
Their music career lost, three friends reunite on the eve of Obama's first win.
Rachel Getting Married
Anne Hathaway's character is released from rehab to attend her sister's wedding, threatening to derail it with family drama and neediness.
Things We Lost In The Fire
Grieving widow Audrey looks for support from her late husband's friend Jerry, a struggling heroin addict.
Blue Is The Warmest Colour
Blue hair, don't care; 15 year-old Adele finds love in an unexpected place.
Capote
Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Truman Capote researching the Clutter family for his seminal work, In Cold Blood.
Beyond Clueless
It's not another teen movie, it's a documentary about teen movies.
Stories We Tell
Interviews and home movies come together to profile the family of documentarian Sarah Polley.
McCullin
Dive in to the life and works of renowned photojournalist Don McCullin, from war torn countries to humanitarian disasters.
Teenage
Exploring the phenomenon of the youth culture, Teenage delves into the past to find out where the concept of the not-child, not-adult began.
Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends
Spend the weekend with Louis' top class investigative journalism as he takes you on a tour of lesser represented subcultures.
Virunga
In the midst of poachers and oil companies, the mountain gorillas of Virunga National Park have only one hope for survival.
Chimpanzee
Disney does nature in this heartwarming, aww-inducing docu-film, which follows Oscar the orphaned chimp on his quest to find a home.
E-Team
The Human Rights Watch's Emergencies Team step onto the front line daily to document unlawful attacks on civilians.
Girlhood
Watch two teens and their journey through Baltimore's juvenile justice system in Liz Garbus' award wining documentary.
Alive Inside: A Story of Music & Memory
A social worker uses music to unlock memory in nursing-home patients afflicted with Alzheimer's disease. Warning: emotional.
Common
A trip to get take-out turns into something more grizzly in this BBC drama, which looks at the problems surrounding the joint enterprise doctrine.
Silk
This BBC legal drama follows a group of barristers doing all they can to take silk.
Quirke
In a trip back to 1950s Dublin, Gabriel Byrne -- joined by Michael Gambon -- brings criminal pathologist Dr. Quirke to life.
Lie To Me
Dr. Cal Lightman, human lie detector, takes you behind the scenes of his applied psychology in this procedural crime drama.
Damages
Glenn Close’s performance as the ruthless Patty Hewes ensures this multi-season show rises well above other legal dramas.
Top of the Lake
Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss sinks her teeth into a completely different role as Robin Griffin, a detective returning to a remote town in New Zealand to solve the mystery surrounding the disappearance of a 12-year-old pregnant girl.
Calvary
Father James, a priest in small-town Ireland, is given an anonymous note saying he will be killed in a week simply because he’s a good man.
The Bridge
One body, two victims and a boarder running straight through the middle makes for a must-see Nordic crime drama.
Luther
Idris Elba's crowning moment as urban detective Luther should be on everyone's list.
Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries
Australia's Det. Phryne Fisher will fill the Agatha Christie shaped gaps in your life with her 1920s detective skills.