Ozark is the platonic ideal of a Netflix drama
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"It’s easy to relate to the main characters of Ozark, Netflix’s hit crime drama," says Sean T. Collins. "No, seriously! You don’t need to be part of an elaborate criminal scheme to understand the saga of Marty and Wendy Byrde, white-collar money launderers drawn deeper and deeper into a drug cartel. As the show paints the Byrdes and their children and associates into a corner over and over again, usually allowing them to escape right into another, smaller corner, their reaction echoes the viewer’s: How does this shit keep happening, and how the hell are they gonna get out of it? It’s a formula that makes for gripping viewing. Gripping? Yes. Great? Though it’s often talked about in the same breath as the likes of Breaking Bad and The Sopranos, two other shows about family men behaving badly, those comparisons don’t quite fly. Ozark is like those shows, sure. But prestige-TV analogies fail to recognize the difference between this series and the others: This is a Netflix show, designed by creators Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams, showrunner Chris Mundy, and producer-director-star Jason Bateman, with Netflix’s binge model in mind. You’re meant to get onboard quickly and stay onboard for the duration. As such, Ozark’s creative decisions make it the Platonic ideal of a Netflix drama. It is its own unique beast."
