What to watch on Netflix this week: Outer Banks and The Innocence Files

Stay home, stay safe, and binge Outerbanks, a summer adventure/treasure hunt series, and The Innocence Files, a docuseries on the Innocence Project’s work.

Hey, Netflix watchers! We here at Culturess are still getting our social distance on, and we hope you are, too. Binge-watching has been the name of the game for some time now, but having fresh content from Netflix has been a TV godsend during this prolonged isolation period. This week we’re bringing you some fun in the sun with Outer Banks and some education on the U.S. justice system with The Innocence Files.

Mix a summer adventure with a group of friends on a treasure hunt and a docuseries on the Innoncence Project and you get what we think you should check out on Netflix as you social distance and binge.

Check out the trailers for Outer Banks and The Innocence Files below:

Outer Banks

Yes, it’s still spring, but that doesn’t mean we can’t indulge in some summer coolness with Outer Banks. Described as paradise on Earth, the Outer Banks is “the sort of place where you either have two jobs or two houses. Two tribes, one island,” because even in paradise, the wealth gap is still going strong.

The series lead, John B, and his friends — aka The Pogues — are a part of the working class of the Outer Banks. In between busing tables and running charters, their mission for the summer is to have a good time, all the time, but their plans take a turn when John B’s father goes missing.

Now the hunt is on for John’s father along with the $400 million in gold he has stashed somewhere. But The Pogues aren’t the only ones after the treasure, and the race to find it won’t be a cakewalk. They’re playing a dangerous game of cat and mouse, where the risk isn’t getting caught — it’s winding up dead.

Outer Banks is available to stream on Netflix now.

The Innocence Files

While it’s true that our justice system is supposed to work on the assumption of innocence until proven guilty, it’s also true that there are innocent people serving significant prison sentences because of rushed trials, false evidence, and poor representation.

The Innocence Files is a docuseries that chronicles some of the work being done by the Innocence Project, a nonprofit legal organization whose mission is to “free the staggering number of innocent people who remain incarcerated, and to bring reform to the system responsible for their unjust imprisonment.”

The docuseries focuses on eight cases the organization worked on, and it’s divided into three parts: the evidence, the witness, and the prosecution. It’s through these cases that The Innocence Files shines a light on the societal factors that lead to wrongful convictions such as bias, pressure to close cases quickly, and the belief system held by too many prosecutors and judges that the ends justify the means when it comes to serving justice and keeping communities safe.

The Innocence Files will be available to stream on Netflix on April 16.

What else should be on our Netflix radar? Serve up your selections in the comments below!