This week we’re sharing some of our favorite things getting us through at the moment. Yesterday we did podcasts and now I have a ton of new podcasts to binge while cleaning my house and avoiding deadlines so thank you! Today, it’s tv/movies. What shows have been giving you life or vital distraction lately?
I’ll go first. A few of the shows that I’ve been loving lately:
Ramy, pen15, Lovecraft Country, Raised by Wolves (please let it make sense in the end), For All Mankind, Jack Whitehall: Travels with My Father, The Boys, Love Fraud (documentary-series), Ratched (worth it for the wardrobe & cinematography), The Great, You’re the Worst, Shrill, 90-Day-Fiance, Love After Lock-Up (don’t judge me), What We Do in the Shadows and HARLOTS (which I always recommend to people but can never remember the name of it and inevitably call it “Humpers”.)
Your turn. What should we be watching?
“Offspring”, “Frayed, “Upload”
My go-to-comfort-shows currently are Good Witch (perfect for Halloween), Jack Whitehall and Somebody Feed Phil. Oh and Samurai Gourmet, if you like japanese foodporn and japanese absurdity
Lucifer, Hart of Dixie, Fargo, The Masked Singer
On Netflix – The Umbrella Academy, Good Girls, Dead to Me, The Wrong Missy (fun, light-hearted comedy with David Spade)
Regular TV – The Good Fight, Supernatural, Tacoma FD, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
I’m catching up on Family Guy and The Simpsons. Because I don’t bother with telly at home save for Netflix, and I am currently at the Outlaws, I’m watching some old but new to me episodes of the Simpsons. I’m pulling up some old clips of Portlandia, A Bit of Fry and Laurie, and Kevin Spencer.
It get’s me through.
@WriterDann
Great British Bake Off, Psych, Elementary, Hamilton (over and over and over)
I know it’s received some mixed reviews, and it’s not much like “Haunting of Hill House”, but I LOVED “Haunting of Bly Manor.” The little girl is the most charming and spooky little thing ever!
I’m possibly the last person left in America who hasn’t seen it yet, but I’m binging The Office. It’s oddly comforting to watch otber people stumble through life and handle situations much worse than I would.
Great British Bake Off, And Father Brown
Escape to the Chateau!!! On NPR and Peacock.
If you’re a PEN15 fan: try “Plus One,” also on Hulu. Stars Maya but as an adult … but still a weird adult lol … I loved it.
Any of the cooking competition show, which my husband can’t stand. He goes for old movies. Sometimes we sit through the other’s comfort TV just because.
Schitt’s Creek, Letterkenney, Dark, The Boys. Those last 2 need a palate cleanser because they are DARK so I am rewatching True Blood because I need sexy hot vampires.
I am stunned that What We Do in the Shadows wasn’t on your list. 100% up your alley: dumb vampires in Staten Island. Chock full of good puns and simple, clever jokes. SO GOOD.
I finished up The Rain, Happy!, Lucifer, and the Good Place. I’m working on the last season of Dark.
Chelsea I have never watched the Office.
Eeeeeeverybody should be watching “Ted Lasso.” It’s the shot of positive, kind-hearted, optimistic content we all need in our veins right now.
Teenage bounty hunters on Netflix. Really.
800 words on Acorn.
West Wing on Netflix
On Peacock, the British comedy Hitmen with Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins is hilariously goofy.
Ted Lasso, on Apple TV+. It’s the kindest, most heartwarming, funniest show I’ve seen since The Good Place. I just finished season one and I’m having an emotional hangover.
What We do in the Shadows is sooo funny!!
Ted Lasso! I can’t recommend it strongly enough! Funny and sweet in a non-cringe, non-snarky, non-cynical way that’s just an absolute balm for real life right now. And there are two strong female characters who just…become friends! So unexpected! Shouldn’t they spend at least one season hating and undermining each other? Such a refreshing change. Downside is it’s on Apple TV Plus but it’s worth doing the free trial or paying for a month. We never watch anything and we’ve watched the whole season twice now.
I LOVE What We Do In The Shadows! I just started Deaf U. It is GREAT. Also, Evil, and Supernatural.
My Brilliant Friend
Just watched the dawn wall on Netflix. Not a rock climber but was hooked from beginning. Tommy Caldwell = friendship goals. True hero
Great British Baking Show (they are so nice to each other). Haunting of Bly Manor. The Chef Show. Schitt’s Creek.
Utopia on Amazon.
I’ve also been enjoying The Boys. I’m starting Ratched today. It’s been on my list for a while. Mostly I’ve been watching crime shows, Real Detective, The Confession Tapes, Evil Genius, The innocence files, Unsolved Mysteries. Also documentaries that make me hate big businesses even more than I already do, Dirty Money, Rotten, Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich, Athlete A. I guess it gives me a place to focus my anger and frustration, instead of letting it build up or take it out on others.
Modern Love, Upload, Umbrella Academy and finally watched Ozark
There is a streaming site online called Daikaiju TV. I first got familiar with it because of it’s regular Godzilla movie marathons. But on October weekends they have been doing spooky movies on weekends and the past few weekend evenings they have featured Asian horror films. Nothing too scary, but it’s interesting to see what other people consider “spooky”.
Two weeks ago they had 3 movies about Yokai – Japanese spirits of various kinds. We really enjoyed the movies (Though the 2005 remake of one of them was a bit disturbing and confusing) and then we went to wikipedia to look up the various kinds of creatures and learn more about them. Last weekend was the 4 “Mr. Vampire” movies – Chinese films featuring lots of slapstick martial arts and “hopping vampires”, so we did the same thing. This weekend they are doing the Chinese Ghost Story movies
So it’s nerd-interest but still kind of cool and scratches that “Halloween movie” itch without actually being scary or stressful.
Dead to Me and Kobra Kai 🤣
i didnt know a single thing you mentioned : ( we just watched my octopus teacher, a movie. it was quite beautiful, but i was angry at him in the end, you will understand why if you see it. worth the watch. also loved the good place and umbrella academy
I’m currently making my way through The Haunting of Bly Manner. Also, just found Staged, with David Tennant and Michael Sheen. Soooo good. I also have a deep love for old game shows and found the first two season of Password Plus on Amazon. Oh and the newest season of The Great British Baking Show!
Literally just finished all of Downton Abbey an hour ago (series and the movie too), it’s so good!
If you haven’t watched Schitts Creek it is awesome. Hard to love in the beginning but stick with it! We just watched all 7 seasons of an oldie, Burn Notice, and its really fun! Currently watching Black Monday.
Hyori’s B&B on Netflix. Super low-stakes, everyone is really nice to each other, and they manage to make vacuuming look glamorous!
And I can’t edit my comment and I spelled Manor wrong. Excuse me while I go hide.
I love a good ghost story and I am really enjoying “Haunting of Bly Manor.” “The Boys” is great escapism although super violent. We also love “Umbrella Academy.” I like creepy religious shows so “Warrior Nun” was great fun. And “Motherland: Fort Salem” was a surprise favorite. It is a woman-forward revisionist history show that was super fun!!!
Reruns of Big Bang Theory. I have seen them all, but there’s something comforting about having them on in the background. Because there are actually people who are worse at adulting than I am…
If you’re good with subtitles, lots of wonderful Scandinavian series (mostly on Netflix) – Borderliner, Occupied, Quicksand, Deadwind, Bordertown, The Valhalla Murders, Nobel, Rita, Ragnarok, Trapped. And for good kinda raunchy fun, The Great.
The Alienist
Orphan Black
Coupling
There are two shows that got me through being bereaved three years ago – The Good Place (I think I started watching midway through season 2?) and a British TV show called Taskmaster. I don’t know how widely available the latter is outside the UK, but it is quite gloriously silly.
Youtube fave at the moment: Eight Out Of Ten Cats Does Countdown. British Meanie Comedians doing a game show, competing to make the longest word out of selected letters, or reach a target number using arithmetic on randomly chosen numbers in thirty seconds. We live for the moments when a comic who feels pretty stupid suddenly gets an astonishingly right answer and realizes they aren’t stupid. It’s a silly epiphany, but it’s the only kind I’m getting right now.
Lower Decks, The Boys, Mandalorian, Disney short cartoons from the 30s & 40s, stand up comedy (the comedy lineup on Netflix has some pure gold moments)
Utopia on Amazon was pretty entertaining. Warrior Nun on Netflix is also an interesting start to a series. Umbrella academy, especially season 2.
The Good Place!
Yes – Teenage bounty hunters – sooo good and I hate everything teenager…but I love these kick ass girls.
Strangely I’m really into foreign language mystery series – especially from Scandinavia. I’m currently on season 2 of “Border Town”. The German series “Dark” (available on Netflix) is a mind-bender. There’s time travel and the same characters at different ages. It makes “Lost” look like a simple plane crash series.
HBO currently has “The Towering Inferno”. The movie is almost 3 hours long, so I’m watching it over 3 nights.
Schitt’s Creek – just because
I just finished The Office, which was a fantastic distraction from real life. I’ve also worked my way through Supernatural–just waiting for the last season to be finished–and it is creepy and funny and entertaining.
Sorry but I can’t be much help since I rarely watch TV now a days. The only reason that I even know what the Boys is is because my hubs watches it.
Corner Gas (both live action AND animated), Death in Paradise, White Collar, old 70s Match Game on YouTube, Family Feud
Lovecraft Country!! And a rewatch of Schitt’s Creek when I need something lighter.
Outlander, Star Trek ds9, finishing Frasier and headed for Malcolm in the Middle.
If you enjoyed Jack Whitehall, Bad Education is so funny. They also did a movie that follows the end of the show. Cuckoo with Greg Davies. Really funny!
Lucifer, Schitt’s Creek and Sex Education – all on Netflix.
Schitt’s Creek, Schitt’s Creek, Schitt’s Creek!!
I’m getting through the current election season by watching The West Wing.
Schitt’s Creek is among the best Canadian Comedies done over the last few years. I would also like to mention Kim’s Convenience.
QI, Jack Whitehall, After Life (which seems like it’s a downer, but is actually rather beautiful and funny)
QI. It’s a British show. It is hilarious.
Both the Stephen Fry ones and the Sandi Toksvig ones.
Rewatching Galavant (for the I-don’t-even-know-eth time) because the other half got it for me on dvd, binged season 1 of the bbc series Ghosts on hbo, and now I’ve started Anne with an E on Netflix
Also recommend Schitt’s Creek – Eugene Levy, the sublime Catherine O’Hara… watch for her wigs alone, the beautifully simple way they handle LGBTQ characters, the quintessentially Canadian humour.
Brooklyn 99 – comedy perfection. Amazing characters, fantastic cast.
The Expanse – sci-fi done so well. The costumes for Chrisjen Avasarala are To. Die. For. Strong female characters, amazing special effects…. just so good.
The Outsider (HBO I think) – creepy thriller. Great acting and story.
I have also been watching The Boys. Killing Eve is really great, The Great British Baking Show, Miracle Workers (Steve Buscemi as G-d?! yup), and whatever is on the Scary Killer Guy Channel.
Netflix’s Sweet Magnolias has been my happy place this summer. Also tend to retreat into Eureka, Psych, Charmed (the original series), Warehouse 13, & Timeless.
Doom Patrol – because it’s nice to see people on TV as messed up as we’re all feeling, but they somehow survive, and often because they’re together
Also, Morning Show on Apple+
Ted Lasso, Gentefied, Lodge 49, Woke, Atypical, Insecure
The Good Lord Bird, Wentworth.
Cobra Kai and Ratched.
Currently watching Great British Bake Off… light relief. Adore Lucifer and Umbrella Academy
Love in Pieces, The Marvelous Mrs, Maisel, Better Call Saul, Sneaky Pete, Fargo all on Amazon Prime, and just for fun: I was Prey on Animal Planet. 😄
The Goes Wrong Show. Completely ridiculous fun & I wish there were more than 6 episodes because it makes me laugh so much!
I will talk about Better Call Saul forever.
Another vote for Ted Lasso. So funny, so quick, and so honest and warm-hearted it literally made me forget all about 2020 for the brief time it was on.
Wynonna Earp.
Mrs Browns boys, Leverage, my 600 lb life, good omens, QI, Shakespeare and Hathaway
Evil is awesome. Season one is on Netflix now
On HBO, docuseries: The Vow. It is informative about how anyone can get sucked into more and more thought control with a master manipulator. Based on recent actions of Keith Raniere and the cult NXIVM. A must watch as more and more of our country seems to be in a political cult, where they are told what to think, not to believe what the outside says, and to obey the wishes of the leaders, even if it puts you in danger.
Harrow: Ioan Gruffudd as a forensic pathologist in Australia; 800 Words: a family moves to a quirky small town in New Zealand; Norsemen: a funny version of Vikings.
Back when Downton Abbey was a thing, I swooned over Brendan Coyle who played Mr. Bates. I recently discovered that Hulu has another period series that he’s in called Lark Rise to Candleford, which also has the same actress who plays Nurse Crane on Call the Midwife and is set in the late Victorian era. And I LOVE it.
We also just got Disney+ and I’ve made it my mission, hopefully before the end of the year, to watch every Disney animated film in order of release. I’m up to “Lady and the Tramp” (1958?), which is one of my favorite movies ever.
I also just started watching The World According to Jeff Goldblum and he is so adorably nerdy that you can’t help but like the series. 😀
Connected (Netflix), The Vow (HBOMax), Dr. Who (also HBOMax, and so glad I got to Jodie Whittaker as The Doctor. So Good). Class Action Park (Docu on HBOMax), and finally got through all the seasons of Elementary, which made me sad. And, as always, The Great British Baking Show gives me all the feels.
The Good Place, if you haven’t seen it. British Bake-off is back!
The Magicians and The Good Place,
Lovecraft Country, What we do in the Shadows, Escape to the Chateau and Escape to the Chateau DIY (Peacock channel), Vera (Britbox), Shakespeare and Hathaway (Britbox), 90 Day Fiancé (and all of the off shoot shows) and The Mask Singer. Also waiting on when Beat Shazam comes back on.
Some of these are available in streaming services like Netflix or Hulu, some are available in demand from your cable company, some are discontinued, some are ongoing, and some are returning soon, or currently airing. I plan on checking out the series that I never got to watching that won lots of awards over the years or had great ratings but that I didn’t watch at the time like Murder She Wrote, Scandal, Homeland, etc.
Shows I love(d)
Schitts Creek, Lucifer, The Vow, Fargo, The Affair (but it’s really about depression
and dysfunction so don’t watch it if you’re down,) Married At First Sight (American, all seasons, and Australian versions,) because I love to see what people are doing right or wrong in their relationships and cheering them on or yelling at them on the tv screen for messing it up.
Killing Eve, Amy Schumer learns to cook, The Alienist, Belgravia (if you loved Downton Abbey,)The Masked Singer, The Voice, The Connors, Young Sheldon, The Big Bang Theory, American Housewife, Friends, King Of Queens, Rosanne, The Office, The Blacklist, Evil, anything on PBS on Sunday night, The Sinner, Trust, Genius, Vikings, Yellowstone, Mayans MC (but now I have to watch the other motorcycle show that I can’t remember the name of that came before it and ties into it,) Watchman, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, The Chi, All American, Friday Night Lights, The Fosters and Good Trouble, Snowfall, Queen Of The South, The Rookie, The Orville (but you should watch Classic Star Trek first,) Humans, Atlanta, Better Things, You’re The Worst (about depression and dysfunction,) I’m Sorry (unrated episodes,) The Detour, Brockmire, Animal Kingdom (American Version,)Trust, American Soul, United Shades Of America, No Passport Required, Who Do You Think you Are, Finding Your Roots, Outlander,
The Spanish Princess seasons 1&2, The White Princess, The White Queen (all on the Starz network.)
Why can’t we have a historical romance channel as part of a romance channel group of channels? One for historical, one for contemporary, one for romantic comedies, one for fantasy/time travel, and one that just shows movies that are romance in one way or another. I bet it would have a HUGE audience due to all the romance readers out there. A little PG-13 through rated R or unrated grown up fun for us people who are tired of all the action/adventure testosterone focused films and tv shows and would like some romance to watch.
I love weird, quirky, funny little series about dysfunctional people just doing their best to muddle along in this world and who are very real and very flawed.
I love mysteries, psychological thrillers, true crime and slice of life and exploring counter cultures or other cultures around the world and America. Anything that makes you think and leaves waiting with impatience for the next episode, anything that makes you wishing for more when they end the season or the series.
Thank you for doing this, I can’t wait to watch all the suggestions that your fans have to add to my “to be watched” list.
May I suggest a couple of Australian shows that are on Netflix? Rake, is very funny, he manages to muck up at every opportunity, and also Offspring, for its socially awkward anxiety ridden doctor.
Also I have a list of Scandinavian detective series if you like that kind of thing…..
Hi! Well, Schitt’s Creek is a pleasant way to spend time; earlier in the quarantine, I stumbled across two sci-fi series I had missed when they were originally run- Eureka and Warehouse 13. Both were full of familiar faces playing cameo parts, and there was some crossover stories between the two shows. I was surprised I liked them as much as I did, because I’m not much into sci-fi. Of course, Good Omens was everything and more I had hoped it would be; and Longmire is still a good watch when I despair of there being decent people in the world. I have lots of go-to movies, too; anything with Hugh Grant; Mumford; and an odd little one called ‘Peace, Love and Misunderstanding’- Jane Fonda as an aging hippie, set in Woodstock, NY. Surprisingly good. Oh- and ‘Grace and Frankie,’ because it does a decent job of featuring older women in a positive light-Lily Tomlin!!!
In addition to all of these, I am all about K-Dramas. If you need a good laugh, a good cry, and to see a lot of good wholesome wholesomeness. I highly recommend It’s Okay Not To Be Okay, King, Eternal Monarch, Crash Landing On You, Romance is a Bonus Book all on Netflix.
Kath and Kim, Australian comedy series. Watch with closed captions so you can catch all the malapropisms. For years I watched reruns of The Gilmore Girls because it helped my depression. Ozark, Bosch, Inspector Montalbano (Italian, filmed in Sicily, gorgeous), any Kathleen Madigan or Lewis Black comedy special.
Offspring on Netflix is fantastic and funny and quirky! I’m watching all of the old episodes of Columbo and Psych on Peacock. The Stranger on Netflix. Blown Away – a glass blowing competition show on Netflix. The Grand Tour on Amazon. Outlander on Starz. Dude Your Screwed on Amazon is an interesting survival show that is fun to watch.
Surprised that no one mentioned Hell on Wheels series (about the construction of the transcontinental railroad in the late1800s) on Netflix. The Night Manager series also on Netflix.
I have so many shows, new and old, to catch up on. Comfort shows – Mary Tyler Moore Show, (we’re watching that again, in order right now) Great British Baking Show, Chopped, Love it or List It. British comedies – Are You Being Served, Fawlty Towers and Keeping Up Appearances (Hyacinth could be my mother in law) and the very best, AbFab. Someday I’ll get around to many. many others…..I am such a diehard Shirley Jackson fan that the updated Haunting Of Hill House didn’t work for me….
Of the stuff I’m watching that you didn’t mention: The Last Kingdom, Peaky Blinders, Altered Carbon, re-watched Farscape (still one of the best sci-fi shows ever, the Jim Henson enabled aliens are a MUST see; ultimately it is also a romance story).
My comfort shows include: Killing Eve, Altered Carbon, and my beloved K-Dramas – I hear your voice, Goblin, Korean Odyssey
Another vote for Hyori’s B&B on Netflix. Also Lodge 49, Detectorists, The Durrells on Corfu, and Derry Girls.
Wynonna Earp (Western fantasy based on graphic novel with lots of women being awesome – great for fans of Buffy), Ghosts (BBC comedy), Westworld, Stumptown (another graphic novel with female lead, although a little more through male gaze) and funnily, Station 19.
Current shows that I’ve been watching are Gentleman Jack (HBO), Rookie Historian Goo Hae-ryung (Netflix, Korean language, but English Sub), Cats of Japan (Prime, Japanese language, but English Sub), Murdoch Mysteries (Acorn), and Rachel Maksy on YouTube.
Things I’m watching lately include Lovecraft Country, the current season of Fargo, and Utopia. Would recommend all, though with some trigger warnings for Utopia. There’s a pandemic involved and it can hit some nerves. With my kids I’m watching Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, old episodes of A Different World, and any Halloween baking show we can find on the Food Network.
The Casketeers, documentary series of a New Zealand funeral home. Funny, and touching at the same time.
A British show with full episodes on YouTube called Taskmaster. It’s sort of hard to describe, kind of a game show. It’s 5 comedians (changing each season) that are given random tasks to complete or solve for points. It’s very British and I laugh out loud every episode. Season 4 was my favorite. The seasons are only 5 to 10 episodes and are a lot of fun.
I just finished Peaky Blinders and it was amazing. We’re on Season 2 of Pen15 now. And I’m rewatching What We Do in the Shadows.
Rita – on Netflix. It’s in Danish, so you have to read the subtitles, but totally worth it. It is funny, enlightening and maddening all at once.
Schitt’s Creek of course! Halloween Baking Championship, Evil, Teenage Bounty Hunters (this is one of those don’t judge me suggestions, Love on the Spectrum, Daybreak, Bobs Burgers. https://possumscatsthingsgnawingatme.wordpress.com/2020/10/10/the-stats/
Dead to Me, The Good Place, Grace and Frankie, also love watching Two Broke Girls. I am so glad you are doing this!
I don’t share your taste for the darling side of things do it’s no surprise that my funnest binge has been Emily in Paris.
Rescue Me, Dead like Me, Orphan Black, Being Erica, The Expanse
I’ve been loving a few British comedies here lately. Fleabag and Crashing (both Phoebe Waller-Bridge–she’s so funny and smart), This Way Up (Aisling Bea and Sharon Horgan), and Catastrophe (Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney). All funny and worth watching. Also loving Big Little Lies, Dead to Me, and Little Fires Everywhere (chick flicks). Also The Umbrella Academy, Orphan Black, Hunters, and The Man in the High Castle…really makes you think about how our lives could be so different if the Allies hadn’t won the second world war…
I’m watching The Mandalarian for the 3rd time… but we’ve also watched all of Avatar: The Last Airbender and have moved on to Legend of Korra; The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel; watched and re-watched The Good Place; Disenchantment; re-watched all of Merlin (haven’t seen that one in years); and The Clone Wars
I’m having to really monitor what I expose my mind to these days and have found refuge in a sweet home reno show called Home Town. It’s about a young couple who are restoring homes in their small home town in Mississippi. There’s always a little drama (Termites! Bats! Bees!) but everything turns out well in the end. All the people seem so lovely. It helps reset my nervous system so I can sleep at night. I love historic homes but live in a little apartment, so it’s fun to dream.
I am loving Last Tango In Halifax on Netflix. British soap opera-type show. I can’t travel so the British countryside, constant tea drinking, and their problems is keeping me entertained.
I forgot to mention Glow!
I love Lovecraft Country and The Boys!!! Try Schitts Creek, Letterkenney, Bob’s Burgers, Prodigal Son, Evil (CBS).
Great British Baking Show is my insomnia comfort medicine. Just started Pen15– LOVE. Early on in the pandemic I rewatched GLOW. They recently announced that they will not be filming another season but there is a movement to try to save the show or at least get a movie done to tie up story lines. Lately, I’ve been watching 80s films: St Elmo’s Fire, About Last Night, Dirty Dancing, Footloose– takes me back to my teens– comfort films. Other series I love: Shameless, Little Fires Everywhere, United States of Tara, Unbelievable, and Atlanta. Great movies I’ve watched in the last couple months: I Am Not Your Negro, Fruitvale Station, and Buffaloed was a lot of fun. Oh, and my family is very partial to BBC’s Pride and Prejudice– yes, the one with Colin Firth as Darcy.
We just finished ‘Borgen’ – wonderful political show (kind of ‘West Wing’ in Denmark) – also loved ‘A Place to Call Home’ – six seasons of wonderful Australian family drama
Lovecraft Country, What We Do in the Shadows and Schitt’s Creek, as others have suggested but also Peaky Blinders and Call the Midwife.
Lucifer, The Witcher, and Somebody Feed Phil
Peaky Blinders, Harley Quinn and The Great.
Isn’t Lovecraft Country phenomenal? It’s the Pose of this year.
(And I just saw that Pose has started filming S3!)
Taskmaster. Full episodes available on youtube. Pure genius.
The White House Farm Murders. Schitts Creek Season Six. New Girl (mindless TV). The Great British Sewing Bee.
My favorites are Peaky Blinders, Vera, Mindhunter, Criminal United Kingdom (S2 is so excellent), Unbelievable (made a Merritt Wever fan of me), Anne with an E (yay for smart girls!), Messiah and Sense8 (may it rest in peace). Great recommendations from everyone!
And I saw that Ava mentioned Fleabag above. YES!
The Watchmen (HBO but bought the DVD’s – with the masks the police wear it’s oddly prescient), Peaky Blinders (was David Bowie’s favourite show), Schitts Creek, Umbrella Academy, Agents of Shield and Agent Carter (Joss Wheldon do he uses some of the same actors as Buffy/Angel/Dollhouse)
A few more – I saw someone mention QI there is also Would I Lie to You (British panel show that is hilarious).
Schitt’s Creek and the Good Place are great if you need something lighthearted. I never watched West Wing, so I’m binging it now and I’m obsessed. For the darker side of humanity, I like Succession and Barry. And for comfort, I will always drift towards Great British Baking Show.
Food Channel, Dr Jeff- Vet, Dr Pol, Rachel Maddow, RuPaul, baseball, football
The Kominsky Method, Eureka, Brooklyn 99, Bosch, Brave New World, Raised by Wolves
If you haven’t binged “The Great” – you are missing out on one of the great joys of the universe. (Hulu)
I usually watch anime and a select few on Netflix/Hulu. Heartland is one of my favorites, the 100 is good. I also really liked Hart of Dixie.
What we do in the shadows. Miranda. It’s a wonderful life. Golden girls. I love Lucy. Anything from the 80’s
Currently rewatching all 5 seasons of Outlander and just started Schitt’s Creek.
Kim’s Convenience on Netflix – short and light and well done.
Staged, Good Place, Space Patrol Luluco, Over the Garden Wall (a lot!), The Promised Neverland, Dorohedoro, One Punch Man, Derry Girls, Umbrella Academy, Teasing Master Takagi-San, Aggretsko, The Devil is a Part-Timer, Evangelion, Hunter x Hunter, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress (Steampunk zombie samurai are awesome!), Good Omens, Dark Shadows (or I would be if Hulu still had it….), Demon Slayer, Chi’s Sweet Home (3 minute episodes of an anime cat doing stuff), Trigun, Hellsing: Ultimate, Salem, Runaways, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency (on Hulu, one of the few modern shows with good writing), Stranger Things, Kaguya-Sama: Love is War, The Wrong Mans, Buffy, What we do in the Shadows, Hand Shakers, Dragon Ball Super, IT Crowd, Outlaw Star, and British Bake Off are all the shows I’ve been watching lately.
Derry Girls over and over and over. Raised by Wolves on Acorn is absolutely hysterical.
Raised by Wolves the British series from 2013-2016 on Acorn, not the HBO series, which may be perfectly fine, but not he funny one I watched.
Beforeigners is fantastic HB0. Evil is also good.
Cursed, Warrior Nun, Schitts Creeks
Rita, Orphan Black, Killing Eve, Call the Midwife.
Also 90 Day Fiance any of the Pillow Talk episodes
Cobra Kai is great!
My husband has gotten the family hooked on Doctor Who, we’ve been binge watching on HBO Max since spring? summer? (what are seasons any more?) Currently on the 12th doctor’s seasons. All of it is so good. If you decide to watch, it might take a few episodes before you are hooked but hang in there – it’s worth it!
We just started Umbrella Academy. Also lots of baking shows including Great British Bake Off and the Halloween Baking shows.
I’m also late to the party with The Office – but love it. Dead To Me, Schitts Creek, Grace & Frankie, The Unicorn, Younger, Weeds, Wentworth for the 2nd time around (SO good), Cobra Kai, and just started Haunting of Bly Manor.
My go to recommendation is always Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries – a show about a lady detective set in 1920’s Australia. It’s fun and the outfits are gorgeous. I’m still super upset that Netflix no longer carries it, but it is available on Acorn. To satisfy my need for lady detectives, I watched a few episodes of Murder She Wrote. I need to get back to that one.
Chuck (with Zachary Levi) is another great binge watch (I think it’s still on Amazon Prime).
I recently discovered Escape to the Chateau on Peacock (it’s free!). It’s the true story of a British couple who bought a run down 45 room chateau in France and are working to restore it. I’ve only watched the first episode but I am hooked!
Umbrella Academy!
Watching endless episodes of the British show “Escape to the Country.” Very soothing.
If you love the wardrobe on Ratched, you must watch Umbrella Academy for the Handler’s outfits alone. They are fabulous!
Lucifer, Renovation Island (a Canadian family are renovating a resort on a island in the Bahamas), Penny Dreadful: City of Angels (Showtime)
I’ve watched ‘Normal People’ (Hulu, BBC3) a few dozen times because it’s beautiful, and I need to see smart and attractive (though pale) Irish people touching each other and having truly lovely sex.
Also ‘Ted Lasso’ (Apple+) is mandatory, because don’t we all love joy?
On Netflix – “Dark” – the German TV show. Like stranger things but MUCH BETTER! Make sure to fix your setttings so you watch it in German with subtitles, otherwise they’ll force the dubbed version on you. It’s a great show!
Taskmaster on YouTube! It’s a British comedy panel game show, and it’s an absolutely bonkers joy. There are 7 full seasons up, and new episodes are released weekly. It got me through a particularly rough patch of the Inside Times.
Ditto on so many shows – Dead to Me, The Good Place (if you haven’t watched it yet start at the beginning and don’t read anything about it – great twist at the end of the first season), The Great -truly a joy, the Komisky Method
But, these have not yet been mentioned and they are my happy place: Cheers (we’re up to the 6th season now and it just keeps getting better), Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist – If you love good-hearted tv like The Good Place, Zoey’s is a worthy successor. If you love great music and choreography Zoey’s is must see!)
Lovecraft Country, The Good Place, The Haunting of Bly Manor, The Umbrella Academy, The Great British Baking Show, Schitts Creek.
I can’t believe how many I left off that you guys reminded me of and how many I’ve now added to my list.
Umbrella Academy, The Good Place, New Girl, Schitts Creek, Lucifer, A.P. Bio, Zoey’s Infinite Playlist, Zac Effron Down to Earth, and many of the ones you already named. 🙂
If not already mentioned, 2 seasons of NOS4A2. Just binge-watched and preferred season one but season two
still worth watching.
I make it a point to not watch things that are too dismal due to my depressive undertones, and well, pandemic, but “Dark” on Netflix is absolutely worth watching because it’s just great art!
If you watch “Dark”
maybe watch something super cheerful like “Queer Eye” afterward as a palate cleanser!
I love any and all reality ghost/paranormal shows. Hulu and YouTube tv have “The Dead Files,” which is my binge worthy favourite. It’s about a paranormal investigative duo that help families in paranormal crises. One is a psychic medium, and the other is a retired homicide detective. Happy watching!! 🙂
TV from the pandemic era: What We Do In The Shadows (on the 3rd go round with this show. It is THE best)
Whatever British Crime Drama looks interesting – currently Inspector Lynley (kind of a prick, but a handsome one)
Psych
Fleabag and now Utopia.
And of course, original run Arrested Development is always a familiar comfort
Hell on Wheels for history buffs! and Longmier a contemporary series about an honest Sheriff in western USA
On Netflix – After Life with Ricky Gervase – he shows a different side from his stand up, but there are some seriously cringe-worthy moments. IT is at times funny, heart-rending and thought-provoking.
On a lighter side I watch Schitt’s Creek, Arrested Development, Repair Shop
My son just discovered Harry and the Hendersons so that’s been on loop. Hubby and I are watching Dark (Netflix), the haunting of Bly manor (Netflix), Too many spirits (Shane and Ryan on YouTube), aaaaand OUTLANDER!!
This time of year I can get away with watching gratuitous amounts of Addams family and beetlejuice so
I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson absolutely killed me. And Detroiters too, of course! 🙂
The Marvelous Mrs. Mazel. And I hear they are somehow giving us more soon.
fyi – Love the show Shrill that you watch, and not just because it is filmed in my hometown. And the parent’s house is a home that was disigned by my architect father, Bill Fletcher, way back when. I’ve been there on a home tour or his architecture. It’s as cool in person as it is on the show. Okay, maybe I partly love it because of those two things.
Disclaimer, I didn’t read what others posted so that I could think of my own so forgive me if I duplicate. Ok, don’t judge me either. The Great British Baking Show. Yellowstone – I’m currently re-watching this season, if you haven’t watched this show you are missing out. Selling Sunset – I don’t have any bitchy friends so I live vicariously through these witches. Indian Matchmaker – I should have done this with my first marriage. Ratched – my alter ego (lol just kidding). Ricky Gervais in After Life. Patiently waiting for Ozark, Rectify and Virgin River to come back. Yes, I watch a lot of Netflix.
Derry Girls & Dead Pixels
Dark, The West Wing (I’m retro), The Wire, Oz, The Great British Baking Show, any of David Attenborough’s nature programs, Ozark, Marianne, Peaky Blinders.
Worst Cooks and Worst Bakers on Food Network – these people are so bad at cooking/baking that it seems like they’re doing it on purpose, but they’re not. Like so bad they set things on fire and have given food poisoning to people. But two chefs team up and teach them how to cook/bake better, and at the end when there’s one person left on each team, they cook a fancy three-course meal that looks like it came from a restaurant. So funny to see how bad people are, but love how quickly some people can learn! Chef Anne Burrell started it all with Worst Cooks so there’s many seasons of that, and then a few of Worst Bakers
Great British Bake-off – they compete to win the title, and not even any money! They make a lot of difficult things, and are so nice to each other along the way. Also cheeky humor
Supernatural – 15 seasons of greatness, which will be finishing up next month (I had to start it over after ECT because I couldn’t remember a lot of what happened, but am getting close to the end!). Warning though – lots of choke scenes and there’s some suicide/looks like suicide from spirits/witches/etc. But it’s still worth watching (at least for me anyway)
Movie: Rubber – B horror movie about a killer tire. Yes, a tire goes around killing people (I watched it pre-ECT so I can’t remember how much blood is in it, but I do remember laughing a lot at the ridiculousness)
The Car – another B horror movie, this one’s about a killer car with no driver, made in the 70s. Minimal blood, hilarious to watch
I hope you get tons of new stuff to enjoy!
Well I’m totally addicted to cooking competitions, home reno shows, anything on ID Tv and certain reality shows. So Guys Grocery Games (I will literally watch this for hours), Chopped and Good Bones. Love After Lockup, any of the 90 Day Fiancés & Love is Blind are the best kind of trainwrecks. American Murder:The Family Next Door on Netflix is both terrible and riveting. Psych is amazing and I highly recommend it. Dexter is super creepy and they are bringing back a reboot next year. Love Weeds, Mom and Brooklyn 99. And I can always watch Friends on repeat and it’s soothing to me. I already had a list of things to start and thanks to this post I’ve just added more lol. Yay!
Just another person voting for Ted Lasso on AppleTV+. It’s based on a character from a commercial Sudeikis did for when the Premier League (English professional football/soccer) became available on NBC here in the states, featuring my team, Tottenham Hotspur. All of us Spurs fans were ready for the show to be cringe-worthy and folks, IT IS NOT. It’s funny as heck and heartfelt. All of the characters–but especially the strong women–are well-written and multi-dimensional. The only downside is that there’s only one season available right now, but it has already been renewed for 2 more seasons. If you feel like cheering and laughing and sometimes even crying, it’s the show for you.
The Umbrella Academy
A French Village. It’s subtitled and rather grim but beautifully done. I’m in the final season and hoping the story lines tie up. It would be nice to see a happy ending but I’ve learned a lot about France during WWII and even learned a few French words. What’s wonderful about the series is it shows we are all flawed, good and bad in all of us.
Mr. Robot is the Infinite Jest of hacker series’. So crazy. So good.
Raising Dion on Netfix is soooooo good.
On HBO, docuseries: The Vow. It is informative about how anyone can get sucked into more and more thought control with a master manipulator. Based on recent actions of Keith Raniere and the cult NXIVM. A must watch as more and more of our country seems to be in a political cult, where they are told what to think, not to believe what the outside says, and to obey the wishes of the leaders, even if it puts you in danger.
Raised by Wolves the British series from 2013-2016 on Acorn, not the HBO series, which may be perfectly fine, but not he funny one I watched.
maybe you just order another life to end this life for ever
I like information
Lucifer! 😈🖤
Preacher 🖤🌷