8 family-friendly shows to watch with your kids on Netflix and Amazon Prime

Team CY handpicks eight TV shows that you can watch online with your family. Does your family have a taste in drama, sci-fi, music or sports? Our list has something for every family.

There are thousands of recommendations on TV shows you can stream on Netflix and Amazon Prime. But few recommend shows that you can comfortably watch with your entire family. Are you looking for shows that are informative, enriching and delightful, and yet not squeamish to watch with the younger ones? Our team at Creative Yatra brings you a list of eight shows that have been handpicked by us from across various genres and can be enjoyed with your entire family.

Travel and Automobile: The Grand Tour

If you’re a Top Gear fan, you’ll enjoy its producer Andy Wilman’s showThe Grand Tour. Though the language used in the series is not polished and the terrains covered are unpredictable, the British motoring television series is nothing less than a Hollywood blockbuster. The Amazon Prime original is a perfect family watch because of its picturesque visuals and the variety of vehicles that they are hosting. From rat motorcycles to superbikes, the show is here to narrate the genuine features, information and experience of the vehicle rather than bragging about its pricing amount or lavish aspects. Hosted by three popular automobile journalists, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, The Grand Tour promises to be a smooth ride for its audiences. With more than 36 episodes released since 2016, the show consists of celebrity face-offs, drag races, car reviews, heated automobile discussions and never-seen-before motoring challenges.

Science Fiction & History: Doctor Who

Produced by the BBC and streaming on Amazon Prime, the British Science Fiction series Doctor Who has been made since 1963. The popular TV show is based on the adventures of a Time Lord, a human-looking extraterrestrial being who can bend time through his spaceship while saving civilisations. The 2006 winner of the British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series, Doctor Who has had thirteen actors so far play the role of the Doctor. Every episode’s unique plot transports you across time. In one episode, you might meet the famous post-impressionist painter, Vincent van Gogh, while in another you might experience the atrocities of the India-Pakistan partition. The plot narrates accounts from the field of history, culture, arts as well as science and is a delightful watch for a family together.

Music – Harmony with A.R. Rahman

Academy Award and Grammy Award-winning musician AR Rahman takes audiences on a curated tour through the rich heritage of Indian music.  In this mini-series, Rahman traces the history of Indian music to its future, traverses the geographical diversity of music in the country, and explores both the vocal as well as instrumental traditions in India. The 5-episode-long Prime Original series is a high-end production documentary that’s full of art, entertainment and culture. The story will not only be a delightful initiation in music for kids but will also refresh grownup family members from their mundane milieu.

Science Fiction – Lost in Space

A re-imagination of the 1965 series with the same name, Lost in Space is a Netflix original that reinterprets the original series with great visual effects and a relevant rendition of the story. Broadly based on the 1812 novel The Swiss Family Robinson, the storyline follows a space colonist family as their spaceship veers off course and lands on an alien land. Beyond the allure of its sci-fi factor, the show’s Season 1 keeps its viewers gripped with the dynamics between the various characters, and the emotional uproar that the family members have to go through as they strive to survive against all odds.

Sports – Cricket Fever: Mumbai Indians

For a family with a little sports inclination, the Indian Premier League (IPL), today’s pop version of actual cricket matches that have a pinch of celebrity factor, is decoded through the perspective of one IPL team, Mumbai Indians. The eight-episode long Netflix original documentary series keeps you hooked by means of the many twists and turns that the cricketers, fans and team owners have to go through. Produced by leading mass media company Condé Nast, Cricket Fever follows the journey of Mumbai Indians in IPL’s 2018 season, from the team’s auction to their failed attempt at making the playoffs and trying to defend their championship title from the previous year.

Literature and Drama – Stories by Rabindranath Tagore

Directed by award-winning director Anurag Basu, this series is a charmingly dramatic rendition of 20th century Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore‘s original stories. Through his progressive writing, the Bengali polymath commented on how conservative Indian society was at the time. His works were meant to bring a shift in the mindset of Indian traditional values. The 20-episode-long series, based in Bengal, was originally aired on EPIC channel and is now available on Netflix. It features a talented star cast, including Radhika Apte, Jannat Zubair Rahmani and Sumeet Vyas. Barring a few episodes that touch upon sensitive issues in love and relationships, the series can absolutely be inculcated in a family’s must-watch list.

Science in a dramatic rendition – Genius

What happens when the brightest minds on earth become the biggest rivals? Genius happens! These dramatic representations delve deep into the lives of competing pioneers, entrepreneurs and inventors like Steve Jobs vs Bill Gates, Wright Brothers vs Glenn Curtiss, Thomas Edison vs Nicolas Tesla. Produced by National Geographic, the show’s eight episodes have collectively garnered a brilliant IMDB rating of 8.7 out of 10.

Drama and Fiction – Yeh Meri Family

This TV series tells tales from the times when dad’s shoulders were the highest place on earth, and ripe mangoes were sweeter than ice cream. Yeh Meri Family is a Hindi drama based in the year 1998 and narrated through the eyes of a 12-year-old who experiences an uproar of emotions in a typical Indian family. With a whopping IMDB rating of 9.4 out of 10, the series was originally telecast on the YouTube channel The Viral Fever and was later acquired by Netflix. Yeh Meri Family is bound to be a relevant viewing experience for every family member, no matter their age.