There’s nothing better than crawling into bed after a long day and binge watching YouTube videos. While watching interviews of your favorite celebrities or the newest music videos from today’s hottest artists is always a joy, sometimes it’s nice to watch some original creative content that the YouTube community works tirelessly to create for viewers like you. Here, we’re counting down 8 underrated YouTube series to watch.

Every Frame A Painting

YouTuber: Tony Zhou

This series is a must for any lover of the cinematic arts. Every Frame A Painting is the brainchild of Tony Zhou, a professional film editor and 10-year veteran of the industry. As he states in the channel description, the series is dedicated to the analysis of film form. Some of my personal favorites of the series include “The Spielberg Oner,” Satoshi Kon—Editing Time and Space,” Jackie Chan—How To Do Action Conedy” and “Akira Kurosawa—Composing Movement.”

While these are my personal favorites, every single video in the series is a masterclass in cinematography. He breaks down each concept so precisely that you can’t help but sit back at the end and wonder how you never noticed any of it. Then you realize that you were never meant to. Good film technique should be invisible, moving the audience without them ever realizing it.

Lateef Thynative

Real name Lateef Abdulah, this Black YouTuber is the most underrated and undiscovered entry on this list. Residing in Florida with only about 23,000 subscribers right now, I think Lateef is poised to become a big name in the YouTube community in due time. His comedic style is effortlessly genuine and relatable. Unlike Kingsley, Lateef is noticeably more understated with a quiet but bold presence. He’s a Nintendo fanboy who loves anime (Yu Yu Hakusho shout out!) and just wants to share his life and style with the world. I want to believe that YouTube is still the home of the self-made underdog, so I’m rooting for Lateef to succeed.

Geography Now!

YouTuber: Paul Barbato

This gem of a YouTube channel is hosted by Paul Barbato, and each episode covers one country in the world. The team behind Geography Now! is attempting to cover every single country on Earth in alphabetical order, so it may be some time before your favorite country gets its own episode. Each episode in broken up into five segments: dissect the flag, political borders, physical geography, demographics, and then the friend zone. The segments are fairly self-explanatory except for the friend zone, which covers the country’s political relationships with other countries.

Each video is a short and fun nugget of information, and usually gives the audience a brief overview of the country’s political history. Overall an awesome series to watch when you want to learn some geography for fun. Plus you’ll get to impress all your friends and co-workers at the next office party with your impressive knowledge on some small and obscure country like Bhutan, my favorite country in the whole wide world.

Cooking With Dog

 YouTuber: Francis and Chef

We are a voyeuristic society that desires instant gratification. Want a quick laugh? Watch a popular vine. Hungry but dieting? Tune in to any number of cooking or eating shows available on the internet—from mainstream Food Network to the niche Mukbang (South Korean binge-eating shows) community. So it’s no secret why this channel has a winning formula.

Viewers are treated to a fuzzy and meticulously pampered dog named Francis as his human chef whips up a veritable cornucopia of Japanese delicacies. If you want to watch a painfully cute, delicious and wholesome cooking channel, try giving this one a go next time around.

Penguinz0 aka Cr1TiKaL

“What’s up everybody it’s Cr1TiKaL…” I don’t have words to describe my love for this man and his gameplays. Let me preface this with an honest truth: I am not a fan of Let’s Plays and I wouldn’t really consider myself a gamer. The most I dabble in is Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Mario, and a little Crash Bandicoot here and there. I have watched PewDiePie and Markiplier, and while they aren’t my style, Cr1TiKaL never fails at getting me snot-faced and red from crying with laughter.

He is by far the best comedian-gamer on YouTube in my opinion. His deadpan delivery and dry sense of humor are unique to most YouTube gamers, and my does he has a way with words, coming up with some of the most unique expressions I have ever heard. I highly recommend him and his channel to anyone who wants a solid, genuine laugh-fest, whether you’re interested in games or not. Cr1TiKaL is the star of the show anyway.

Life Where I’m From

YouTuber(s): Aiko and Greg

Life Where I’m From is a treat for any escapist suffering from wanderlust and the desire for an authentic experience. This series follows Aiko, Shin and their father Greg, and offers viewers a glimpse into their everyday lives in Tokyo, Japan. Greg, the father and cameraman, started a spin-off channel recently called Life Where I’m From X, which provides a more adult perspective on life in Japan as well as behind the scenes footage on the overall process that goes into creating content for Life Where I’m From. This is a great series for all, from hardcore Japanophiles to the innately curious.

Marinashutup

YouTuber: Marina Watanabe

Who would I be without including at least one Asian female vlogger? This unapologetic feminist who has around 70,000 subscribers tackles the subjects most are too afraid to touch—affirmative action, white-passing POC, white feminism—all from the perspective of a mixed-race woman of color.

As a Chinese-American female myself, I feel that it is vital that no one group dominates the discussion around race and gender and identity, and I appreciate that the Asian perspective is getting the attention its long been due. Her opinions on the prominent social issues of our time are all her own—whether you agree or disagree with them is irrelevant. Being socially conscious means learning from the experience of others and integrating other peoples’ stories with your own. Love her or hate her, everyone should listen to her.

Crash Course World History

YouTuber(s): The Vlog Brothers (John & Hank Green)

Probably the most famous and least underrated entry on this list, Crash Course is a downright awesome channel headed by Hank Green and his famous novelist brother John Green of The Fault in our Stars fame. On Crash Course, you can find educational videos on every topic imaginable—gaming, physics, literature, philosophy, economics, evolution, you name it.

My favorite series of theirs is Crash Course World History, in which John Green whisks audiences through all of human history, beginning with our Cro-Magnon brethren and ending with us today. John doesn’t simply explain historical events and list off dates. Instead, he approaches each topic with the aim to address a cultural trend. Along the way, John and his creative team is able to deftly introduce and infuse broader thematic elements to each standalone segment. As he often reiterates throughout the series, history and the way we understand history is subjective, under the will of those who tell the story. The result is a thought-provoking and engaging exploration of history from a modern, 21^st century perspective.