BINGE
Queen Sugar is easily one of the most criminally underrated TV series ever. Having only recently discovered its existence, I've just been slowly working my way through all four episodes and have never once been disappointed. It's produced by the dream team that is Oprah Winfrey and Ava DuVernay and tells the story of the Bordelon family, who reunite to take over their father's sugar cane farm after his death. It has an insanely talented cast and is a truly beautiful and poignant look at family life, race relations and country politics that takes its time to craft each story perfectly. Catch it on TVNZ on Demand.
LEARN
On a whole other level of binge-watching is Netflix's Girls Incarcerated, which recently dropped a second season just as infuriating and heartbreaking as the first. Each season follows a group of teen girls who are in a juvenile detention centre and dives into the causes of their anger and insecurity, their need for love and stability and their attempts to make a better life despite the odds and environments being stacked against them. Some of them are Hollywood-worthy success stories, others fall victim to circumstance all over again - but all of them are worth having their stories told. This series does it well.
