Unorthodox: A Miniseries on Netflix

A friend of mine recommended a mini tv series called Unorthodox on Netflix. Just when I was thinking I had run out of things to watch this tv series came my way. I needed something interesting to occupy my free time and this popular series hooked me immediately because it is based on truth.

What is Unorthodox about?

Unorthodox is a German-American miniseries on Netflix. It is based on an autobiography written by Deborah Felman. A true life experience that you wouldn’t believe exists today.

It’s about Etsy Shapiro’s life growing up and living with the Jewish faith in an ultra-Orthodox Satmar Hasidic community in Brooklyn, New York City. The tv show stars the Israeli actress, Shira Haas.

We see Etsy grow up in a community that some may think harsh and degrading to women. There are rules in this community and everyone has to follow them including Etsy who is told she has to have an arranged marriage at 19 years old. There are also unimaginable rules for her before she can eventually marry like having her head shaved and wearing a dark brown wig for the rest of her life. This is not the only rule though. It sounds awful, doesn’t it, but very true!

Etsy’s arranged marriage starts to fail along with her strict tradition. She realizes she can’t keep up a life there as she becomes more and more suffocated by pressure from her husband, Yanky’s family. So, she decides to run away from her marriage to Berlin where her mother has lived since she was banished from the community when Etsy was a young girl. From there, things get interesting for Etsy and the story develops as Etsy discovers what life in another place other than the community she has grown up in has to offer her.

How good was Unorthodox?

I found Unorthodox highly addictive to watch. You could actually watch this four-part miniseries in one day and why wouldn’t you if you are enjoying it. I binged watched this show with excitement because I wanted to see how her life would turn out.

There are subtitles at the beginning but once Etsy is in Berlin, there is a lot of English speaking. Of course, there will be more subtitles on and off throughout the series but this didn’t put me off watching because I didn’t have time to be bored. To be honest, I watched this show in one day because I couldn’t stop watching it. I recommend it to anyone.

The book

It was an unusual story that I hadn’t come across before. I believe the book might be better so perhaps I might read that next. The autobiography written by Deborah Felman is based on truth and the community actually exists in New York City. It seems weird for a young girl to be cut off from the world during the 21st century. The book appears to be popular on Amazon with over twelve hundred reviews there. The reviews are outstanding with many people saying how thrilling it was to read about Etsy’s life and the community that exists today in New York City.

I definitely recommend Unorthodox if you subscribe to Netflix. It’s very entertaining, exciting, and thrilling.

I highly recommend this show and rate it 9 out of 10 because it’s the best show I have seen so far!

Rotten Tomatoes rates it 95% and the audience rates it 81%.

Watch the trailer below:

©️ Denise Larkin 2020. All Rights Reserved.

This article was also published on Medium.com by Denise Larkin.