8 Shows to Binge Watch During Quarantine
Let’s be honest, quarantine is a drag. If you’re like me, you wake up and do the same things everyday. It can be frustratingly boring, but don’t fret, don’t succumb and turn on cable just yet! Here are 8 binge worthy shows that will spice up your dull day to day quarantine life.
Tiger King – Netflix (Harmony)
Hey, all you cool cats and kittens! I’m pretty sure by now you’ve seen the outrageous memes, you’ve probably heard the name “Carole Baskin” a thousand times, and you’re probably wondering what tigers have to do with all this. If you’re on the fence about watching Tiger King, I’m here to be your voice of reason: do it. This show is scandalous! Death, betrayal, possibly murder, love, and revenge, what doesn’t this show have? Tiger King will keep you on the edge of your seat and have you saying “what?!” throughout the whole series. It’s only 7 episodes and is one of Netflix’s hottest shows at the moment. Jump on the Tiger King bandwagon, there’s room!
Once you watch Tiger King, check out these hilarious memes.
Nailed It! – Netflix (Amanda)
Okay was it just me or did everyone start making banana bread? With the number of peeps showing their baking skills during quarantine, it is the perfect time to watch Nailed It! On Netflix. At-home bakers put their experience and knowledge of baking to the test to recreate masterpieces. Now a lot of the final pieces look nothing like the original at all but it’s the effort that counts, uhh right? In a time where you might feel alone, I love that Nailed It! makes me feel the complete opposite because these bakers are just as bad at baking as I am but are still so proud of their work. Hosted by comedian Nicole Byer, Nailed It! is the perfect show to pass the time and have a good laugh.
Morning Show – Apple TV (Ellie)
Now this show convinced me to buy an Apple TV subscription. It is arguably one of the best shows I’ve seen this decade and hits you where it hurts. With the use of such loveable actors such as Steve Carrel and Jennifer Anniston in pretty intense roles creates an interesting and personal scope into the “Me Too” movement. Funded by Apple so it is extremely well filmed and the music choices absolutely transform the score and create some light moments to balance the very serious theme. I have watched it 4 times now and I’m about to start my 5th viewing. If you have the time in your day, which many of us do, I would splurge on the subscription and watch this as soon as possible.
P.S I cannot stress enough how good the soundtrack really is.
Watchmen – HBO Now / HBO Max (Cody)
I know, I know. When Game of Thrones ended you cancelled your HBO subscription – but there’s still great content to enjoy on this service (or maybe wait until HBO Max comes out?). For every feel-good piece of streaming candy like The Office or Nailed It, you’ve got to have a nice solid piece of complicated steak to balance out your streaming snack-age. HBO’s Watchman limited series is here for you. Part dissection of what it is we love about superheros (and why it’s toxic), part meditation on the very real existential threat of racism (did you know about the 1921 Tulsa race massacre?) – it’s masterfully acted, completely compelling, and at only 9 episodes totally a low-risk, high reward watch. You don’t even have to have read Alan Moore’s epic 1980’s graphic novel, of which it serves as a sequel – but if you’re an art major you probably should have already done that.
Maybe when you’re done you’ll want to go down the rabbit hole and explore the puzzle that is Westworld…?
The Simpsons – Disney+
Don’t have a cow, man. With so much going on in the world it’s nice to just shut off your brain for a bit and enjoy some nonsense. In this way, The Simpsons is chicken soup for the soul. When Disney completed their acquisition of FOX last year they got the rights to our favorite Springfielders, so now you can find them nestled in-between episodes of The Clone Wars and Gravity Falls. With 673 episodes and growing, you could watch an episode a day for over two years and still not run out of content. Plus…even when it’s bad…it’s still pretty good.
Or…you could skip watching The Simpsons 24 hours a day for 2 weeks and instead check out Hari Kondabolu’s brilliant documentary ‘The Problem with Apu’, which…to our eyes sadly is not on a streaming service.
The Good Place – Netflix / Hulu
The world is bleak – but this gem of a show is so infectiously optimistic and brilliantly hilarious it never fails to lift our spirits and, dare we say, provide us with some hope for the future. If you haven’t watched this show (why?!), we can’t really explain the plot of this show without spoiling much of the twists and turns – but imagine if the afterlife was determined by an arbitrary points system of your life on earth. Hijinks ensue. If you have seen it, watch it again. Who would have thought we’d learn so much about philosophy from a 30-minute comedy…but it’s unsurprising when you consider it was made by the guy who brought us Parks & Rec, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and The Office (Michel Schur is Mose!). Additional pluses – everything about D’Arcy Beth Carden‘s performance as Janet. Epic amounts of spot on memes. And Chili Chidi perfectly representing our current mood.
Just watch out. That final episode is a tear-jerker.
Kidding – SHOWTIME/Hulu (Harmony)
Mr. Rogers meets dark deadpan humor in this mind blowing show. This show challenges both optimists and pessimists to view the world through a critical and analytical gaze. Jim Carrey excellently portrays a lovable and kind hearted man who tries his best to see the best in all people and things, however, Life has other plans.
P.S. Don’t sleep on SHOWTIME, there are so many good gems on this streaming service.
Insecure – HBO (Harmony)
You know it would be wrong if I didn’t mention my girl Issa Rae! Insecure is lit to say the least. If you grew up watching the classic, Girlfriends, then you’d love this show as well. Insecure follows the life of a 30 (something) year old Black woman who navigates friendships, relationships, and career endeavors.. Issa always finds herself in hilarious cringe-worthy situations, which is something we can all relate to. There are four seasons, the newest season is streamed every week on Sundays, you don’t want to miss this.
