Tiger King, Unorthodox and other Netflix essential lockdown viewing

With many parts of the world now having spent more than a month under lockdown, online platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Video and HBO have seen a surge in subscription levels as households across the planet look for moments of escapism from the ongoing coronavirus news stories.

Netflix in particular has seen a significant increase in subscribers with 15.8 million new customers signing up for the service since mid-March and has doubled its subscription forecast for the first quarter of the year. These are a selection of some of the most popular shows that have caught the imagination of the global audience during the coronavirus pandemic.

1.- Money Heist

A Spanish production featuring the acting talents of  Álvaro Morte, Úrsula Corberó, Rodrigo de la Serna and Pedro Alonso. A criminal mastermind who goes by The Professor has a plan to pull off the biggest heist in recorded history -- to print billions of euros in the Royal Mint of Spain. To help him carry out the ambitious plan, he recruits eight people with certain abilities and who have nothing to lose. The group of thieves take hostages to aid in their negotiations with the authorities, who strategise to come up with a way to capture The Professor. As more time elapses, the robbers prepare for a showdown with the police. 

Netflix claim that this series, now in its fourth season has been watched by more than 65 million people globally.

2.- Tiger King

Released by the platform on 20 March, surprise hit Tiger King is is a seven-episode true crime docuseries centred on "Joe Exotic" an infamous collector of giant cats such as tigers and lions that he kept at a "zoo" in Oklahoma. His other wildcat-related money-making ventures included using tiger cubs as props in magic shows and selling animal-themed merchandise with the show focusing on the subculture of breeding wild animals in a domestic set-up and the tension within the tensions within the community.

64 million people across the planet have tuned into to see how the tension between Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin transpires.

3.- Sunderland 'Til I Die

When, then Sunderland chairman Ellis Short originally agreed to extensive, behind-the-scenes filming in the summer of 2017 on the basis it would attract potential investors no-one could have imagined the success of the first series. The first season of the Netflix docuseries Sunderland ‘Til I Die saw the North East club relegated to the third tier and was a global success.

4.- Elite

Another Spanish production, now on series four featuring the talents of Danna Paola, Miguel Bernardeau and Ester Expósito. The series is set in Las Encinas, a fictional elite secondary school and revolves around the relationships between three working-class teenage students enrolled at the school through a scholarship and their wealthy classmates. Given the ongoing global success of Elite, the production company behind the show have confirmed that a fifth series will be recorded.

5.- Unorthodox

A surprise hit for the online platforming with four episodes composing the miniseries that debuted on Netflix on March 26. The series is loosely based on Deborah Feldman's 2012 autobiography Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots and is the first Netflix series to be released with the principal featured language being Yiddish.

Esty is a young girl growing up in Williamsburg (Brooklyn) and a member of the Hasidic Jewish community and looks to forge a new life for herself away from New York.

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