Without wanting to get into the tired old debate about whether streaming is now bigger than cinema, we certainly can’t deny the way that series have become so popular and something of a cash cow for streaming platforms. And this rise in popularity has had as much impact on quality as it has on quantity, as seen in the spiralling artistic and technical costs to produce these series.
As if this weren’t enough (even though many series have been criticised for being “written by an algorithm”), there are a growing number of productions that cater for all tastes and interests. Aside from the classic genres of adventure, science-fiction, horror and comedy, the last decade has seen the emergence of much more niche sub-genres, including shows focused on technology and computing. So, since life isn’t just about deploying services or carrying out systems audits, here are 5 series that any sysadmin is bound to enjoy.
5 Series for SysAdmin (I)
The IT Crowd
Seasons: 5
Available on: Netflix
Genre: Comedy
Original Release: 2006
Episode Length: 25 mins
Obviously, we couldn’t start with anything else. Available on Netflix, this British comedy ran for 5 seasons from 2006 and 2013. The show follows the antics of Roy and Moss, who work in the IT department at Reyholm Industries, and their new boss Jen, who doesn’t know the slightest thing about IT but has somehow managed to get the job. The tangles they find themselves in are bound to be familiar to many readers.
Person of Interest
Seasons: 5
Available on: HBO Max, Movistar+
Genre: Science-fiction, thriller, action
Original Release: 2011
Episode Length: 44 minutes
A reclusive billionaire programmer develops a software program capable of predicting terrorist attacks and gives it to John, a disgraced former CIA agent. Created by Jonathan Nolan (writer of Westworld, Interstellar and The Dark Knight) and co-produced with J. J. Abrams, the series ended in 2016 and is considered one of the top science-fiction shows of the last decade.
Mr. Robot
Seasons: 4
Available on: Prime Video, SkyShowtime, Movistar+
Genre: Thriller
Original Release: 2015
Episode Length: 49 mins
This series follows an IT security specialist with a dissociative identity disorder after he is recruited by a group of hackers seeking to destroy the banking industry. The producers and writers pay very close attention to detail, having taken advice from experts in IT security, systems and networks.
Silicon Valley
Seasons: 6
Available on: HBO Max
Genre: Comedy
Original Release: 2014
Episode Length: 29 mins
Partly inspired by creator Mike Judge’s own experience as an engineer in Silicon Valley at the end of the 80s, this sitcom tells the experiences of six programmers who live together and create a revolutionary compression algorithm. This will lead to a battle of interests as they aim to keep a startup afloat at the height of the Silicon Valley ‘gold rush’.
Inside Bill’s Brain: Decoding Bill Gates
Seasons: 1
Available on: Netflix
Genre: documental
Original Release: 2019
Episode Length: 53 mins
This three-part documentary explores the mind and motivation of Bill Gates, co-founder and former CEO of Microsoft and founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Although it focuses more on Gates’ philanthropy and the fight against disease and climate change, the series does cover his life, including the first years of the technology giant Microsoft.
These are just five of the best that we’ve picked out, but there are many more. We’ll back again with a second instalment and five other series that will have you glued to the sofa. After all, it’s important to take a break from work now and again. But in 2023, that’s easier said than done.
