Welcome to your Netflix Streaming Report for February 25, 2016. After the long week you deserve a relaxing staycation with a bowl of popcorn, a bucket of ice cream, and only your Netflix queue to judge you. This past week, Netflix Watch Instant has been kind enough to supply us with Love (Season 1), An Idiot Abroad (Season 1-3), RWBY (Season 1), and more. Also, find out what the Netflix and Chill pick of the week and what’s leaving Netflix this March.

Love – Season 1 (Paul Rust, Lesley Arfin, and Judd Apatow) – Rebellious Mickey and good-natured Gus navigate the thrills and agonies of modern relationships in this bod new comedy co-created by Judd Apatow. Staring Paul Rust, Gillian Jacobs, Claudia O’Doherty, Brett Gelman, and Dave Allen

Conveniently enough, Love is both the only major release for this Streaming Report, but it is also my Netflix and Chill Pick of the Week. I haven’t seen any of the other recently released titles because I spent wasted my time burning through Knights of Sidonia Season 1-2 (an OK anime series) and this first season of Love. 

Not to be confused with Gaspar Noé’s 2015 movie of the same name, Netflix’s Love was co-produced by Paul Rust, Lesley Arfin, and Judd Apatow – yes, the Judd Apatow, creator of Freaks and Geeks and director of Knocked Up, Trainwreck, and Funny People. And ss much as I had believed Love could be as refreshing as Aziz Ansari’s incredibly honest and hilarious series, Master of None, it couldn’t be any further in opposite direction.

Love is like watching two people set fire to everything in their path with little remorse to their actions. They sometimes even decide it best to dance in the fire without the slightest inkling of the damage they are causing to themselves. Gus (Rust) and Mickey (Gillian Jacobs) are some of the most unlikable characters I have ever encountered. On the inside, they are truly ugly people who are given plenty of chances to see the error of their ways, but growth in character is few and far between. It’s as if the writers wanted to see if they could develop the most detestable characters ever imagined without having them do anything seriously troubling like murder or something equally sinister. They’re just plain childish, immature, and oblivious to their issues.

The series is a thorough disappointment, with very little return on investment of the time spent hoping this relationship between these two makes for interesting television. There’s a few chuckles here and there – mostly out of discomfort – but the best take away from this entire series, so far, is Claudia O’Doherty who plays Bertie, the shining gem of positivity high atop the steaming pile of narcissistic suck bags she has to deal with. Aside from Bertie, the only voice of reason on the show, Love also offers a raw look at the affects of addiction. It’s no Requiem for a Dream, but Gillian Jacobs’ does portray her character’s internal deterioration well. Unfortunately, poor character motivations and story direction hinder Mickey to become anything more than the shell of a human as she is presented. And Paul Rust’s Gus is a whiny, self-absorbed, desperate leech who drains the life out of anyone he latches onto. It’s hard to watch most scenes with him.

And as much as you might want to give this series a go, you’ll find yourself turning it off after the first episode because of how unpleasant these two characters behave. It doesn’t get any better. Which is why it makes the perfect “Netflix and Chill” pick to resort to because you’ll find better use of your time without having to succumb to this complete time waste. If you choose to indulge in all 10 episodes, trust me, you’ll wish for those 6+ hours of your life back.

(Watch it now)

Also newly added to Netflix:

• An Idiot Abroad (Seasons 1-3)
• Cooked (Season 1)
• Crossing Lines (Season 3)
• The Summer of Sangaile
• Bare
• 30 for 30: The ’85 Bears
• RWBY (Season 1)

Last Call Titles:

March 1

• Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman
• American Pie
• American Wedding
• Atlantis: The Lost Empire
• The Babysitters
• The Chosen One
• Down and Out in Beverly Hills
• Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights
• Gone in 60 Seconds
• Hackers
• Hamlet
• Hannie Caulder
• Hardball
• Hart’s War
• Hitch
• Indecent Proposal
• Johnny Dangerously
• Jumanji
• Masters of the Universe
• Men in Black II
• The Monster Squad
• Not Another Teen Movie
• Paycheck
• Switchmas
• The United States of Leland
• Wings

March 2

• Stevie Nicks: In Your Dreams

March 3

• Night Catches Us

March 4

• Getting Go: The Go Doc Project
• Private Romeo

March 5

• I Am Divine

March 6

• Le Week-End
• Refuge

March 7

• Deadfall

March 8

• Holidaze

March 9

• Arn: The Knight Templar
• The Mistle-tones!

March 10

• Geography Club

March 15

• Best of TEDx: Season 1
• I Killed My Mother
• Lola & Virginia: Season 1
• TED Talks: Life Hack 1-2
• TED Talks: Sex, Secrets & Love: Season 1
• TED Talks: The Best of TEDx in Español: Season 1
• TEDTalks: Ancient Clues: Season 1
• TEDTalks: Animal Voices: Season 1
• TEDTalks: Artistry and Illusion: Season 1
• TEDTalks: Beasts, Bugs & Bio-wilderment: Season 1
• TEDTalks: Body By Design: Season 1
• TEDTalks: Brave Neuro World: Season 1
• TEDTalks: Building Wonder: Season 1
• TEDTalks: Chew On This: Season 1
• TEDTalks: Cyber Awe: Season 1
• TEDTalks: Defying Disease: Season 1
• TEDTalks: Global Villages: Season 1
• TEDTalks: Head Games: Season 1
• TEDTalks: Hot Buttons: Season 1
• TEDTalks: How to Start a Movement: Season 1
• TEDTalks: Humanity’s Future: Season 1
• TEDTalks: Inexplicable Connections: Season 1
• TEDTalks: Into the Abyss: Season 1
• TEDTalks: Let Your Mind Wonder: Season 1
• TEDTalks: Life Lessons & Confessions: Season 1-2
• TEDTalks: Love, No Matter What: Season 1
• TEDTalks: Music Revolution: Season 1
• TEDTalks: Numbers Speak Louder than Words: Season 1
• TEDTalks: Rad Invention: Season 1
• TEDTalks: Rebel Design: Season 1
• TEDTalks: Robotic Machinations: Season 1
• TEDTalks: Smart Laughs: Season 1
• TEDTalks: Space Trek: Season 1
• TEDTalks: The Capitalism Paradox: Season 1
• Waste Land

March 15

• Elegy

March 18

• Cosmopolis
• Music For Mandela
• Out in the Dark
• Side Effects

March 25

• Keep the Lights On

March 26

• The Comedy

March 28

• Gayby

March 31

• Dr. Dolittle 3
• Garfield’s Pet Force
• The Sandlot 2
• Twelve Mile Road
• Women Who Kill
• The Writers’ Room: Season 1

What will you be watching this weekend?

Look forward to more new titles from the Netflix Streaming Report every Thursday on TTRC.

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All plot synopses courtesy of IMDb.com