6 Netflix Shows to Watch While You’re Waiting for the New Season of ‘Dark’
It’s been a long year for fans of Dark. Season 2 of the Netflix sci-fi series premiered in June 2019. Since then, viewers have been eagerly awaiting the third and final season, which they hope will resolve their biggest questions about what’s really going on in the small German town of Winden.
With Dark Season 3 arriving on June 27, the wait is almost over. But if you’re looking for something to binge in the few days before the season premiere, check out these shows. All have elements — from time-travel focused stories to creepy forest settings — that might appeal to Dark fans.
‘Stranger Things’
When Dark dropped on Netflix in late 2017, it immediately garnered a lot of comparison to the streaming service’s mega-hit Stranger Things. That show focuses on a group of junior high outcasts who discover their small Indiana town is harboring a portal to a parallel universe they dub the “upside down.” There are definitely some similarities between the two series, what with their focus on the supernatural, cast of teenage characters, and action set in the 1980s (though only parts of Dark take place in that decade). If you’ve somehow missed out on the Stranger Things phenomenon, now is the time to dive in. Three seasons currently streaming.
‘Black Spot’
In Dark, Winden is a small town with dark secrets surrounded by a spooky forest. In the French series Black Spot, Villefranche is a small town with dark secrets surrounded by a spooky forest. It’s plagued by a series of grisly crimes and unsettling phenomena, which the town’s police chief and a new prosecutor must investigate. Two seasons currently streaming.
‘Twin Peaks’
Sometimes sinister, sometimes delightfully campy, the must-watch series Twin Peaks is one of the most celebrated TV shows of all time. Created by Mark Frost and David Lynch, it focuses on an FBI agent whose investigation of the murder of a teenage girl in a small logging town in Washington State darks him to some very dark and mysterious places. Dark’s creators have acknowledged a debt to the show’s creator, telling SFX magazine that their series is “more David Lynch” than Stranger Things.
‘The Forest’
Another French series, this one focusing on the disappearance of a teenage girl from a small town. There’s no supernatural phenomena or time travel in this series, but there are plenty of dark secrets and creepy happenings in the woods outside of town. And with just one season, it’s a quick binge before Dark premieres.
‘Outlander’
Outlander might be a steamy costume drama about the enduring love between a headstrong woman and a handsome Scottish soldier. But it’s also a show about time travel. Heroine Claire Fraser accidentally travels back in time from the 1940s to the 1770s. Once there, she falls in love with a Highlander named Jamie Fraser. The story moves back in forth through time as Claire (and other characters) tries to change the course of history and reunite with her soulmate. The first three of five seasons are streaming on Netflix.
‘Russian Doll’
Dark is pretty, well, dark. If you’re in search of something with more of a comic bent, try Russian Doll. This comedy series stars Natasha Lyonne, who plays a woman named Nadia who ends up stuck in a time loop. She’s forced to relive her 36th birthday party over and over again as she tries to figure out what is happening to her. One season currently streaming.
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