5 good shows to binge-watch on Netflix this weekend (June 22-24)

5. The Toys That Made Us season 2

One of Netflix’s odd but fascinating documentary series, The Toys That Made Us examines the history of various toy crazes in America. And show’s first season, it explained how Star Wars, Barbie, He-Man, and G.I. Joe toys briefly became cultural phenomena.

While a deep dive into the history of various action figures and dolls may not sound interesting, the stories behind the toys we all grew up with are fascinating. For instance, it turns out He-Man franchise came into being as the result of an executive mistake.

Back in 1976, then Mattel CEO Ray Wagner decided not to produce Star Wars toys because he thought George Lucas’ demand of $750,000 for licensing rights was outrageous. After the films and its attendant merchandise blew up, Mattel attempted to create a competing brand from whole cloth. After producing a series of flops, Mattel finally struck gold in developing the massively popular Masters of the Universe franchise. However, a few more executive mistakes would ultimately doom the billion-dollar toyline.

The Toys That Made Us’ recently released second season offers equally captivating histories behind the Star Trek, Transformers, Lego, and Hello Kitty toy franchises. Even if you have no interest in those brands, their various backstories are so complicated and bizarre, it makes the series a highly addictive binge-watch.