If you’re looking for the perfect weekend binge, Netflix has you covered. As we proceed into the fall season, the desire to settle in, get cozy, and spend a whole weekend binging a great show only grows stronger. Lucky for us, we are in an age with nearly infinite options. The world of streaming lets us conjure up just about any show we can imagine, and Netflix, especially, offers a massive TV library that covers all the bases.
Of course, not all TV binges are created equal. There’s a lot of value to finding a multi-season series that will take several weeks to get through, but that’s not always the desired vibe. On the other hand, a show with just a few simple episodes can take up a cozy afternoon, but sometimes we want something with a bit more weight and substance. The perfect weekend binge will generally take just under eight hours to watch, follow a smooth, cohesive story arc, and explore concepts that are just heavy enough—all of which describe The Queen’s Gambit perfectly.
The Queen’s Gambit is a Netflix period-drama miniseries released in 2020. Based on the book of the same name by Walter Tevis, the show stars Anya Taylor-Joy as Beth Harmon, an orphaned chess prodigy seeking to claim the world title. Beth’s genius comes with a share of torment, however, and her competitive career suffers under her drug and alcohol dependence. The Queen’s Gambit was a massive success, and with seven satisfying episodes and a 96% score on Rotten Tomatoes, you can’t miss out.
The Queen’s Gambit Was Built For Binging
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Miniseries in general are perfect for binge-watching, and The Queen’s Gambit holds a special place in this category of television. By 2020, Netflix had several massive original hits, but it was The Queen’s Gambit that really demonstrated the spectacular benefit of the limited-series format. In this show, even more than others, the story arc plays out with the balanced structure of a novel or film. There’s no needless stringing along or stalled plot points. The Queen’s Gambit moves fluidly through comedy, tragedy, determination, triumph, and beyond.
Though the themes around trauma and substance abuse add significant emotional weight, The Queen’s Gambit isn’t an overly depressing or arduous watch. Those moments of emotional intensity skew the mood just enough to give us a strong sense of Beth Harmon’s inner turmoil. Still, they’re eventually balanced by themes of companionship and, generally, hope.
It’s also important to note that The Queen’s Gambit isn’t just for chess fans. There is no need to know anything about this game going into the series, and it’s perfectly alright if all your past chess experiences were a bore. The Queen’s Gambit, with significant help from Taylor-Joy, effortlessly makes chess feel like the most beautiful, exciting game to have ever been played. The characters have a palpable passion, and you’d be damned if you didn’t find it contagious.
Anya Taylor-Joy Deserves Every Single Accolade From The Queen’s Gambit
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The Queen’s Gambit has even more going for it than its bingeability. In truth, we could go on for hours (about seven of them, in fact). If anything were to call you to this miniseries, however, it would have to be Taylor-Joy. The actor has a sweetly dark quality about her, and that works spectacularly for the very tormented yet very likable Beth Harmon.
The Queen’s Gambit earned Taylor-Joy a Golden Globe for Best Actress (in a Miniseries or Television Film) as well as a Screen Actors Guild award. Beyond this, nearly every positive review for The Queen’s Gambit calls out Taylor-Joy’s performance as key in its success. This is an excellent story all on its own, but after binging through these episodes, you likely won’t be able to deny that those critics were right.
The Queen’s Gambit
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