Supernatural, Paranormal or Time Travel TV shows : Best of Netflix & Amazon Prime 2021

su·per·nat·u·ral  /ˌso͞opərˈnaCH(ə)rəl/

Learn to pronounce

adjective

1. (of a manifestation or event) attributed to some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature.

Beyond scientific understanding, defying logic and laws of nature - these two attributes give unlimited freedom to story writers. While I pooh-pooh at the fantasy genre and couldn't care less about the American construct of zombies or their living relatives vampires or werewolves, I cannot explain why I am drawn to the type of supernatural / science fiction shows I have listed below, but I am.

Tunnel (Netflix US): Tunnel was my introduction to K-Drama. I still consider it as my favorite. It is a police procedural about the hunt for a serial murderer with a time traveling detective thrown in. All the Korean stars are young and immaculate - must be the reason why Korean skin care products are a rage everywhere. They are easy on the eyes and glide the narrative along a smooth-as-butter path, even when it is along a dark and ominous abandoned tunnel. Highly engaging and binge-able.

Signal (Netflix US): I was looking for Korean shows to watch after Tunnel when I chanced upon Signal. I almost gave up after the first couple of episodes. But I am glad I did not. Signal get better and stays engaging for the rest of the episodes. While no-one really time travels, there is real time communication happening between past and the present through an old radio.

Dark (Netflix US): Dark is like the German cousin of Stranger Things, where time is the upside-down. It checks my time travel subject box. But the story went into the Matryoshka doll zone in Season 3 - nesting of characters never before seen in the space-time continuum we inhabit. I had to quit watching after a couple of episodes in Season 3. Still Season 1 and 2  are worth the watch and many die-hard fans, especially in millennial age group can't sing enough praises of the series.

Equinox (Netflix US): From Denmark, Equinox feels like Frozen meets Stranger Things, played out on a darker, adult canvas. It starts with an incident where 21 high school graduates go missing, never to be found again and progresses through a sister's search for the truth behind the disappearance of her sibling.

The Haunting of the Hillhouse (Netflix US):: This is one of those rare instances where the show/movie was better than the book it was based on. I went to sleep trying to read Shirley Jackson's original. Although I did finish it almost succeeded in driving me off ghost stories, usually one of my favorite subjects to read, altogether. Unlike in the book where the people who spend time at the Hillhouse are a group of strangers, in the TV adaptation it is a family - that change improves the narrative. If you are looking for a spine-chilling ghost story to scare the living day lights out of you, look no further, you have arrived at your destination.

The Haunting of Bly Manor (Netflix US): This show is a follow up to The Haunting of Hillhouse, but it is not half as good, not enough spine-tingling qualities and not very scary ghosts. It is more of a gothic romance than a ghost story, if you ask me.

Glitch (Netflix US): Ghosts or the living dead (who are not zombies, not blood-thirsty) who have time traveled to reach the present day. Glitch is Australian for highly binge-able. More detailed review here.

The OA (Netflix US): The first season was addictive with cross-dimensional travel, life after death and blind girls gaining sight. The second season is kind of weird and I am not sure what the producers where trying to do, but then Netflix canceled the show after Season 2. The OA was where I first came across Kingsley Ben-Adir.

Erased (Netflix US): A one season Japanese TV show based on a popular thriller manga series Erased has the protagonist Satori Fujinuma traveling back in time to save some of his elementary school friends. It is a quick and compelling watch if you don't mind watching shows with subtitles.

Intruders (Amazon Prime): Produced for BBC America, you can see a young Millie Bobbie Brown in this paranormal series about returning souls. Ms. Brown is quite an acting powerhouse. The series does have many edge-of-your-seat moments and if you can not get lost in the logistics and timing of soul transfers and mummification is a gripping mini series. 

The Living and the Dead (Amazon Prime): English ghosts in the turn of the (20th) century English countryside in a TV show with excellent production quality - that is The Living and the Dead. During the years 1880s to the First World War, one of the most happening fields was psychoanalysis. All the cool kids were psychoanalytical theorists or psychologists like Freud, Jung, Karl Abraham and the protagonist of the series, Nathan Appleby. Is it schizophrenia, multiple personality disorder or real ghosts from the future and the past?

Truth Seekers (Amazon Prime) : If you love the quirky British duo Nick Frost - Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, The World's End & Hot Fuzz) who usually have been showcasing their talents in movie-dom only, this supernatural ghost buster TV show is their first foray into TV land. If you want a show that is warm, fuzzy, spooky and very British, try Truth Seekers.