Add it to your binge list.
If you're looking for something to binge on that's heavily inspired by Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, Fargo and Scorsese's Cape Fear then Netflix's latest drama is just the thing for you.
We've had our eye on Ozark for a while now because we'll always be massive fans of Jason Bateman. He's only Michael Bluth!
This being said, Bateman's more interesting work has been done when he has moved away from his comedic instincts and embraced characters that are a bit darker, morally complex and sinister.
Take a look at The Gift, Juno or Disconnect for proof of this.
In Ozark, Bateman plays Marty Byrde, a money launderer for a Mexican cartel, that relocates his family from Chicago to the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri to pursue a new avenue of business in the “redneck riveria."
After discovering that $8 million of his drugs funds is missing, a local kingpin threatens to put a bullet through Marty's brain, only for things to take a far more threatening and interesting turn.
With local criminals, the F.B.I and drug cartels in hot pursuit, how can this family stay one step ahead?
Bateman is also directing 4 of the 10 episodes and it has already earned some very impressive reviews.
Entertainment Weekly said that "crime dramas that audit the cost of morally murky American materialism are a dime a dozen, but Ozark makes a convincing case that this mostly spent genre still has worth" and
Empire noted that "from its pulsating, nails-in-the-sofa premiere onward this is a complex, hugely compelling and enthrallingly dark thriller that deserves to be a huge hit."
If you're looking for another reason to watch aside from the gangsters, drugs and violence, it's worth noting that the performances from Laura Linney and Julia Garner are incredibly strong.
Here's how audiences have reacted to the first few episodes.
https://twitter.com/SimonJohnPalmer/status/889244147160412160
https://twitter.com/skynet_dreams/status/889426092078936064
https://twitter.com/ABHoover2/status/889533116423053313
https://twitter.com/skynet_dreams/status/889426092078936064
